2008 WSOP Main Event: Matt Garner, Brandon Adams Lead Day 1A

This is pretty much what the Rio looked like yesterday, and last year, and two years ago, and three years ago, except with different banners.

First of all, our apologies. We would've gotten this recap up sooner but apparently the World Wide Internets, or as we like to call trademark it, "The Information Super-Highway^TM," was down this morning. Or at least our connection was. Maybe Canada was behind it, trying to get some of that Internet money. Who knows.

Anyway, this is our fourth year covering the World Series of Poker Main Event. While it is without a doubt the most exciting day in poker each year, it's also pretty much the same damn thing every year.

Shuffle up and deal...AA vs KK all-in on the first hand...some requisite pro among the early big stacks.

The honor of "requisit pro early big stack" goes to Brandon Adams, as he finished the day second overall with 176,450. Adams trails Mark Garner, who has a stellar if somewhat limited track record in WSOP events, with 194,900.

In all, the 1,297 entrants to Day 1A played down to 636 last night. Some notable big stacks include the where-have-you-been-the-past-three-years Kido Pham (120,650), Mark Vos, a ginger (113,200), "Glum Girl" Svetlana Gromenkova (94,125), and let's not forget about the uber-present Blair Hinkle (58,275).

And sadly, the following list is of people who will not win the 2008 WSOP Main Event. They will be missed but surely not forgetton: Shannon Shorr, Josh Arieh, Gavin Smith, Mekhi Phifer, Dan Harrington, Joe Sebok, half-man, half-amazing Freddy Deeb, David Benyamine, Tom "durrrr" Dwan, Eli Elezra, Lyle Berman, Davidson Matthew Club founder Davidson Matthew, Erica Schoenberg, a woman, Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul, J.J. Liu, a woman, and last year's runner-up, Tuan Lam, who actually now will probably be forgotten.

Get full chip counts here.

2008 WSOP Band of Bloggers: Get full recaps and payouts from WorldSeriesofPoker.com here. Get Dr. Pauly's take on WSOP happenings here. Please please don't forget Pokerati here. And get Poker Prof's recap and more photos here.

Jason Alexander Has a Bad Beat Story

Never slow play Aces. Just don't.

2008 WSOP: Jason Alexander Bad Beat Story

2008 WSOP Update: Day 1A of the WSOP Main Event Underway

Poker pro Shawn Rice, somewhere in the photo above, is among the pros who have already busted on Day 1A of the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

Day 1A of the 2008 WSOP Main Event kicked off today at noon, and the big story brewing is that the number of runners is looking to be down from last year's 6,358. And Harrah's ain't talking about it, refusing to share with media or anyone how many are in the field today (rumor is around 1400). They've even gone as far as blocking the number generally visible on the tournament clocks located throughout the Amazon Room. All we can see now is that 907 players remain at the dinner break.

The early chipleader is "friends and family" player Christopher Kero with 118,700 in chips. Big names at the top include David Rheem, Kido Pham, Glum Girl, Dustin Dirksen and ever-present Blair Hinkle.

Pros sent home early include Davidson Matthew, Gavin Smith, Chad Brown, OMGClayAiken, Katja Thater, a woman, Taylor Caby, Lyle Berman, Dan Harrington, Freddy Deeb, James Mackey, Vanessa Selbst, a woman, Durrrr, a ginger, Devilfish, a chav, David Benyamine and 2007 final table-ist Raymond Rham.

Keep track of chip counts here.

Adam Sandler Also Played the Ante Up for Africa Charity Poker Tournament

Adam Sandler couldn't hide his excitement of playing in the Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament yesterday

Not much more to say than the headline above. We have tons of photos from the first 3 and a half minutes of the event yesterday before all the celebs busted, so we're dumping some more on you.

See a few more shots of Adam from a different angle by clicking thumbnails below.

And oh yeah, Johnny World Hennigan took down the event and won a bunch of money. He was asked to give 50% of it to charity and he ended up giving it all away because apparently pros like him and John Phan are out to make us seem like bigger assholes than we already are.

They Say the Best Things In Life Are Free

Well, not all things that are free.

One of our readers found this Craigslist listing for the told-you-we're-not-making-this-sh!t-up All In: The Poker Musical. Apparently Harrah's is giving away free tickets to the show this weekend.

Or you can pay 55 bucks a pop for them here.

We're guessing all the players who seem content with wasting $10k on donkey-ass moves during the WSOP Main Event today will go for the latter.

Shannon Elizabeth on Ante Up for Africa Red Carpet at the 2008 WSOP

We didn't quite listen to what Shannon Elizabeth had to say in the video above from the Ante Up for Africa poker tournament yesterday at the 2008 WSOP. Something about actors being tired doing poker players who act while playing poker at the World Series of Poker. Or something. We don't know. Honestly we were distracted by that cute vein Shannon has on her forehead and the British glam girl with huge breastesses who walked by near the end of the video and who somehow made an appearance in our photos of Ben Affleck yesterday.

Watch Shannon Elizabeth on RawVegas.tv here

Jeffrey Pollack Reads, Loves Wicked Chops Poker

"I read Wicked Chops and I love it!"

That's what WSOP commish and famed blogger Jeffrey Pollack reportedly told Michele Lewis the other day.

And to think we thought he came here just for the photos of girls on the rail.

2008 WSOP Update: The Year of The Pro(TM) Not Dead Yet

Well, it looks like it all comes down the the Main Event this year to determine if the 2008 WSOP will forever be known as The Year of the Pro^TM or as something else. Fortunately, as reader "Mike" pointed out here, the man who won the $10,000 PLO tournament, Marty Smith, is in fact an Irish pro, which definitely helps.

:: Event #52 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Pro poker player David Daneshgar took this one down, winning his first WSOP bracelet and banking $625,443. Daneshgar defeated Scott Sitron (not a pro), for the title. Ginger pro Dan Heimiller finished third. Get full results here.

:: Event #53 ($1,500 Limit Hold'em Shoot-out) - Survivor's Jean-Robert Bellande could've put away The Year of the Pro^TM race with a win, but he came up just short of his first bracelet. JRB lost heads-up to Matt Graham, who is arguably pro material with four cashes in this year's World Series of Poker. Graham banks $278,180 for the win. Get full payouts here.

Main Event starts tomorrow at noon PST. Check back with WickedChopsPoker.com for regular updates.

2008 WSOP Band of Bloggers: Get full recaps and payouts from WorldSeriesofPoker.com here. Get Dr. Pauly's take on WSOP happenings here. Please please don't forget Pokerati here. And get Poker Prof's recap and more photos here.

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Don't Play Poker Anymore, Are Good Tippers

This video can best be summed up as: don't have kids.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were in Las Vegas today to play in Don Cheadle and Annie Duke's Ante Up for Africa charity poker tourney. Both said that they really won't be playing poker anymore, and one of the major reasons was because they both have kids.

So yeah, don't have kids.

In unrelated news, apparently Affleck is a legendary tipper.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Las Vegas for Ante Up for Africa

Charles Barkley Thinks We're Jackasses

Charles Barkley is awesome. No way around it. Even if he thinks the so-called "media" (which he is a part of) are "jackasses." Not that we disagree with Sir Chuck, but sometimes it hurts being called a jackass. Although this isn't one of those times.

Regardless, good to see Charles in Las Vegas again...hope the pit bosses are ready.

Charles Barkley in Las Vegas for Charity Poker Tournament

Don Cheadle and Mekhi Phifer Have Similar Taste in Ed Hardy Shirts

If we were the type of guys who posted on a poker forum run by sanctimonious old douchebag pricks, we'd probably make a Phil Ivey joke here. But we're far better than that. Seriously, we are. Don't laugh. So yeah, Don Cheadle, aka one of the coolest dudes alive, and Mekhi Phifer were among the celebs who played today in the Ante Up for Africa poker tournament and incidentally both showed up wearing the same not-so-limited limited edition Ed Hardy t-shirt (which apparently runs about $2k).

Matt Damon Among Celebs Playing Today in the Ante Up for Africa Poker Tournament

Matt Damon (above), the actor who starred in the only decent poker movie in the past decade and who stole the show in Team America, joined his bud Ben Affleck at the tables today in the Ante Up for Africa poker tournament at the 2008 WSOP.

Another shot of Matt similar to above and one for the ladies after the jump . . .

Ben Affleck Among Celebs Playing Today in the Ante Up for Africa Poker Tournament

Actor Ben Affleck was among the A-list celebs who played in today's Ante Up for Africa poker tournament today at the 2008 WSOP. Click away below to see the rest of the photos our trusty photog got of Ben playing today.

For more girls on the rail, at the table, or within eyeshot of some notable pro at the 2008 WSOP, go here.

Google Image Photo Dump of Some Celebs Playing the Ante Up for Africa Event Today

Don Cheadle and Annie Duke's Ante Up for Africa poker tournament at the 2008 WSOP got underway today. Lots of celebs ponied up the $5,000 buy-in to play for something called "charity".

We'll have some pics from the event shortly but until then below is a photo dump of google images we found for some of the celebs in attendance.

Jeff Madsen and Phil Ivey's Cuz Smokey Rap Battle Video

As promised in this post, we just put up a YouTube video of Jeff Madsen's rap battle with Phil Ivey's cousin Smokey at last night's World Series of Barbecue at the Golden Nugget.

Jeff Madsen is the white guy.

Check it out below or on YouTube here.

UPDATE: Yeh the audio blows. It's from a phone but Madsen's moves straight from 8 Mile are worth the watch.

2008 WSOP Gingers of the Day

They're multiplying! Like gremlins or something, except way creepier.

2008 WSOP Update: The Year of the Pro(TM) Back In Jeopardy as Phil Hellmuth, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi Do Not Win Bracelets

The Grinder failed to rack up his first WSOP bracelet last night.

Uh oh.

:: Event #50 ($10,000 Pot Limit Omaha) - Errr. Eeee. Hmm. Well, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi entered final table play as chip leader, but he couldn't pull through that first WSOP bracelet, eventually falling in third. Instead, Marty Smith, who is not even a pro, took the title, his first bracelet, and $859,549. Even worse, and this is truly scary, Marty Smith is...ugh...a ginger. Get full payouts here.

:: Event #51 ($1,500 H.O.R.S.E.) - After Grinder not winning a bracelet, all eyes were on Phil Hellmuth. Could Hellmuth keep hope alive for The Year of the Pro^TM at the 2008 WSOP? It was such a main storyline that nobody was even paying attention to the fact that Phil was going for his 12th bracelet. Didn't even cross anyone's mind. It was all about The Year of the Pro^TM. But following in the steps of The Grinder, Hellmuth finished third. Instead, James Schaaf took his first bracelet, banking $256,412. Get full payouts here.

:: Event #52 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - There is still hope though. Three guys we consider pros by any measurable standard, Matt Matros, David Daneshgar, and Dan Heimiller, who happens to be THIS GINGER, enter final table play stacked second, fourth, and sixth respectively. If Heimiller pulls out his second bracelet, will that make this The Year of the Ginger? (patent pending) They all trail chip leader Corwin Cole (not a pro). Get full final table chip counts here.

:: Event #53 ($1,500 Limit Hold'em Shoot-Out) - A field of 823 whittled down to 72, paying out first $278,180. Some pros still alive and fighting to ensure this year is their year include Jean-Robert Bellande, Hoyt Corkins and Kenna James (see their brokeback moment here), and David Bach. Get chip counts here.

2008 WSOP Band of Bloggers: Get full recaps and payouts from WorldSeriesofPoker.com here. Get Dr. Pauly's take on WSOP happenings here. Please please don't forget Pokerati here. And get Poker Prof's recap and more photos here.

Poker News Made Better with Venezuelan Hottie Gabriela Vergara

Some poker news to go along with photos of Venezuela hottie Gabriela Vergara, who plays the seductress on the Univision version of Desperate Housewives, if you care and aren't already clicking away at the thumbnail images below.

• British guy on holiday loses poker game, gets naked, plunges to death. [link]

• Assistant principal at elementary school gets nabbed for running underground poker room in Texas. [link]

• Same story above but this time involves girls stuffing cash in their bras. [link]

• The poker player once described by Nolan Dolla as a "ball-busting, cantankerous curmudgeon" passed away on Saturday. [link]

• Norman Chad counts the ways the World Series of Poker is better than the Olympics. [link]

• Poker nights helping to populate Jews in Britain. [link]

• Some poli-blogger on what poker and craps say about Obama and McCain. [link]

• WSOP Europe announces schedule. [link]

2008 WSOP Update: Grinder Goes for First; Hellmuth Takes Aim at 12th

Phil Hellmuth (above) is in the hunt for bracelet #12 again.

Just one more tournament before the Main Event begins. After the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran bagged his first WSOP bracelet yesterday, all eyes will be on Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi this afternoon. With the Grinder in contention for bracelet #1 today, it might be time to consider a new official moniker for the 2008 World Series of Poker: The Year of the Best Without a Bracelet^TM. Although that title is a little complicated, as to be the best without a bracelet you also must be a pro, so actually it just lends more support to it being The Year of the Pro^TM. Interesting...VERY...interesting.

:: Event #50 ($10,000 Pot Limit Omaha) - As mentioned, the story here is if Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi can capture his first bracelet. He'll bring the big stack to the final table with 1,767,000. Grinder is followed by non-pro Brandon Moran with 1,286,000. Get final table chip counts here.

:: Event #51 ($1,500 H.O.R.S.E.) - It was an up and down day for Phil Hellmuth. Or perhaps even a rollercoaster. Despite some ups and downs, Hellmuth finished the day as big stack with 287,500. Pretty sure we don't need to explain the implications of a Hellmuth win, not only for his bracelet count but for a little thing we like to call/trademark The Year of the Pro^TM. Hellmuth is followed by James Schaaf, who is not to be confused with Snarf, with 236,500. Some other big names of the 20 remaining include no one. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #52 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - The last mega-field tourney before the Main Event had 2693 entrants with 228 remaining at the end of the day. Keith Carberry will take the chip lead to Day 1 with 203,000. Get full chip counts here.

For another good, insightful look at yesterday's action, read Dr. Pauly here.

2008 WSOP Band of Bloggers: Get full recaps and payouts from WorldSeriesofPoker.com here. Get Dr. Pauly's take on WSOP happenings here. Please please don't forget Pokerati here. And get Poker Prof's recap and more photos here.

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

This one is so gross, we can't post it on our home page.

Click 'continue' . . . if you dare.

The Spectacularly-Breasted J.C. Tran Wins His First Bracelet

We might as well just call this post the J.C. Tran All-Star Boob Spectacular.

In honor of the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran winning his first WSOP bracelet, this post will be a little overboard on the cleavage. We imagine many, many browsers in Corporate America will be quickly minimizing right now.

Tran overcame a Double-D sized chip disadvantage in heads-up play to capture the Event #49 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) title. For the win, Tran banked $631,053. Get full final table payouts here. Click the thumbnails for the full sized version of the photos. More pics after the jump. We'll work on getting J.C. himself to be our Friday Night Parting Shots.

If The Spectacularly-Breasted J.C. Tran Wins This Tournament, Well, You Don't Even Wanna Know

The spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (above) has fought his way back to even in his heads-up battle against Rasmus Nielsen for the Event #49 title. Many consider J.C. now the "Best Without Bracelet." He's definitely the best-breasted without a bracelet.

In honor of a potential J.C. win, well, remember that movie There Will Be Blood. Well, our site will be just like that movie, except replace "Blood" with "Boobs."

Follow the action here.

Girl on Girl: Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh

The below is WCP contributor Michele Lewis' latest interview in her "Girl on Girl" series at the WSOP. Stay tuned for more interviews with some of the coolest, hottest girls in poker. Check out Michele's blog at michelelewis.com.

Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh has been a favorite on and off the poker table. She’s sweet and social with a firm opinion on women’s bodies. No, get those naughty thoughts out of your mind… she’s not referring to her recent appearance in Playboy but actually how strongly she feels that women need to be comfortable with eating and having curves rather than starving themselves.

Leigh admits she played poker 24/7 when she first started because she “wanted to try and learn as much as I could.” However, her attendance at the 2008 WSOP remains to be seen. Her experience of traveling the circuit… often presented tiring situations even when she cashed. She hasn’t ruled out the WSOP completely for there are people, places and things she loves in Las Vegas; however, she’s enjoying a balanced life at home focusing on her time with friends and family.

Thump to the jump to read more on Jennicide’s future plans and viewing guys through rose colored glasses.

2008 WSOP Update: J.C. Tran Goes After First Bracelet (Again); Phil Hellmuth Takes Aim at Number 12

While most of the attention was on the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, some big names were making their mark on other 2008 WSOP tournaments this weekend.

:: Event #48 ($2,000 No Limit Hold'em) - Unfortunately none of those big names were in this one. Brazalian Alexandre Gomes took this won down, banking $770,540 and his first bracelet. Get full payouts results.

:: Event #49 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - The mega-field of 2,718 is down to its final nine. Rasmus Nielsen is the chip leader, stacked at 2,998,000. The spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (above) once again goes for bracelet number one, entering the final table second overall in chips with 1,438,000. Joe Pelton, who a couple years ago had a cool girlfriend but we haven't heard much from since, is third with 1,093,000. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #50 ($10,000 Pot Limit Omaha) - Nice turn-out as 381 signed up, creating a first place prize of $859,532. Josh Arieh just killed it on Day 1, ending play as big stack with 343,700. He's followed by Guillaume Patry with 226,400. Some other big name big stacks include David Williams (142,900), David Singer (128,200), Nenad Medic (101,800), and The Intense Stare of Scott Clements (88,600). Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #51 ($1,500 H.O.R.S.E.) - All the big names who went all Big Brown in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. entered this one. In total, 803 runners signed up creating a first place prize of $256,412. Phil Hellmuth ended the day as chip leader, stacked at 46,400. He's closely followed by "Salty" Joe Hachem (37,500) and Lorenzo Lamas (36,700). Get full chip counts here.

Get full J.C. Tran photo spread here.

The Year of the Pro(TM) Reclaims Official 2008 WSOP Moniker Race

Scotty Nguyen keeps the Year of the Pro^TM alive at the 2008 WSOP.

With Scotty Nguyen's victory in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event and some strong showings by other pros this weekend, The Year of the Pro^TM has reclaimed its lead as official moniker of the 2008 WSOP.

After Nguyen's win, The Year of the Pro^TM now has 147 points, catapulting it over Jacobo Fernadez's Own Personal Playground (130 points). Also still in contention are Good for Poker (121) and The Year of the Random Guy We've Never Heard Of (98).

To everyone's disappointment, David "The Dragon" Pham* has not dominated the bracelet count, denying us the opportunity to dub this The Year of the Dragon**.

* Not a real dragon.
** Not a real year of the dragon.

Erick Lindgren Takes 2008 WSOP Player of the Year Lead

With his third place finish in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren overtook the lead for 2008 WSOP Player of the Year.

Lindgren now has 245 points, 10 ahead of Barry Greenstein, who moved into second place with math math math 235.

Previous leader, Jacobo Fernadez, has cashed again (making it seven for the year) but fell back to third with 232.

Get full standings here.

Scotty Nguyen Wins $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event; The Year of The Pro(TM) Off Life Support

In what all "pros" as well as "years" at the 2008 WSOP considered a "must-win" situation, Scotty Nguyen, a pro, won the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event early this morning, giving The Year of The Pro^TM what could best be described as a "serious shot in the arm" for official moniker of this year's World Series.

Fortunately for the pros, the deck was stacked in their favor going into the event. From our pick to win it, Huck Seed, to Barry Greenstein (who counts twice) and Erick Lindgren, the odds were in favor of a pro pulling this one out.

In the end it was Nguyen, baby. The title gave Scotty $1,989,120, his fifth WSOP bracelet, and poker journalists everywhere a chance to make plays on the words "Win" and "Nguyen" in their tournament recap headlines.

Nguyen defeated Mike DeMichele ($1,243,200) for the championship. Erick Lindgren finished third ($781,440). Get full payouts here.

Jean-Robert Bellande Is Surviving the 2008 WSOP

Captain Obvious could see our headline above coming a mile away. Wow. Not creative.

Regardless, or as stupid people say, "irregardless," Jean-Robert Bellande has seen his stature in the poker world rise since his stint on Survivor. And while he admittedly is a bit down on his 2008 WSOP results, he's certainly not out of opinions on just about anything. Take it away, JRB.

VIDEO: Jean-Robert Bellande 2008 WSOP vlog

Jean-Robert Bellande on the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event
More RawVegas.tv 2008 WSOP vlogs

2008 WSOP Update: Erick Lindgren Leads $50k H.O.R.S.E. Final Table; Ryan Hughes Wins Second Bracelet

Right now, we'd say it's a coin flip as to whether the 2008 WSOP will end up earning it's The Year of the Pro^TM moniker that we trademarked when all is said and done.

Some of this argument simply hinges on this: when exactly do you qualify as a "pro?" We're certainly not willing to play the role of God and make that assessment for people. But then again, how else will we know for sure? It's so daunting.

:: Event #47 ($1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo) - Case in point. Ryan Hughes, who won a Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event last year, took down this one, earning his second WSOP bracelet. Even though only 7 people in the poker world have heard of Hughes before and only 3 would recognize him walking down the street, Hughes is a pro, right? We say an emphatic "yes" to that question, btw. For the win, Hughes banks $183,368. Get full results here.

:: Event #45 ($50,000 H.O.R.S.E.) - Here's a chance for the pros to put a stake in the ground and say, "Dammit, this is the year of us!" Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren will bring the chip lead to the final table, stacked at 3,680,000. A win here would all but cement Lindgren as the 2008 WSOP POY. The same could be said for the man in third, Barry Greenstein, who is stacked at 1,955,000. Scotty Nguyen is second overall with 3,535,000. And our perennial pick to win it, Huck Seed, is sixth overall with 1,200,000. Get full final table chip counts here.

:: Event #48 ($2,000 No Limit Hold'em) - Lots of collective WSOP cashes in this group but no one that you'd really look at and say, "Yeah, he's a pro." Get final table chip counts here.

:: Event #49 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - This one had 2,718 entrants, playing down to 215 early this morning. First place pays $631,053. A surprising number of big named pros remain, although chip leader Micah Raskin (175,000), is not one of them. However, some big named big stacks do include Young Phan (128,000), Greg "FBT" Mueller (120,000), the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (above, 93,000), and David "The Dragon" Pham* (90,000). Get a more complete list of chip counts here.

Get J.C.'s full photo after the jump and check out the entire spread here.

* Not a real dragon.

All In The Musical Song Title Are a Joke, Right? Seriously Though, Right?

 

Thanks to one of our readers walking through the Rio in Las Vegas for snapping a photo of the "All In: The Poker Musical" poster.

As we first reported, this Entities-can't-believe-is-really-happening production held at the Rio July 4th and 5th and starring Phil Hellmuth among others also has a Entities-can't-believe-the-song-titles song list.

We really hope there's a huge degree of irony and tongue-in-cheekiness going on with this thing, because "I'm Gonna Bad Beat You Boy" really, really has us worried. Almost as terrifying sounding as being hoyt corkin'd. 

We're In The Money

Mike Wattel played the role of bubble boy in the 2008 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. event, busting in 17th place. There's been a number of knock-outs since then, including Doyle Brunson in 16th and Andy Bloch in 15th (earning both $124,320).

At dinner break, 13 remain. Erick Lindgren is chip leader, stacked at 1,790,000. Our perennial pick to win it, Huck Seed, is third with 1,460,000. Scotty Nguyen, Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein, and Daniel Negreanu are all alive, giving The Year of the Pro^TM a last gasp shot at still being The Year of the Pro^TM.

Get full chip counts here.

2008 WSOP Update: The Year of the Pro(TM) Is In Jeopardy

Lyle Berman and Robert Williamson III getting rail'd by Gus Hansen's lap girl from Day 1 of the H.O.R.S.E. event.

Maybe we jumped the gun a bit in dubbing (and trademarking) the 2008 World Series of Poker as The Year of the Pro^TM.

We almost don't want to recap yesterday's action because of its general lack of proness. But we're professionals. And it's not our fault pros and making it less the year of them right now.

:: Event #44 ($1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/ Rebuys) - Max Greenwood, not a pro, wins his first (and likely last) bracelet by capturing the $1,000 rebuy event. Greenwood banks $693,392 for the win. The one pro in the event, Alex Bolotin, was the first out at the final table. Nice work, Alex. Get full payouts here.

:: Event #45 ($50,000 H.O.R.S.E.) - Not sure what to make of this. On the surface, about 80% of the remaining field of 24 would qualify as "pro." But the chip leader, Mike DeMichele, is new on the scene and has a girly French sounding name. Two huge knocks against him. DeMichele does have three WSOP cashes, all in mixed games, which gives some credibility to him being a "pro." But not much. Luckily, after DeMichele is a laundry list of who's who run the gamut the whole kit and kaboodle and the kitchen sink of big named pros. Following DeMichele are Barry Greenstein (who is such a pro he counts twice) with 1,311,000 and uber-pro Daniel Negreanu with 1,226,000. Some other names you've probably heard of include Scotty Nguyen (1,033,000), Doyle Brunson (777,000), Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi (701,000), Erick Lindgren (485,000), likely second place finisher Andy Bloch (421,000), Gabe Kaplan (360,000), Brandon Adams (290,000), our pick to win it Huck Seed (190,000), Phil Ivey (145,000), and Lorenzo Lamas (81,000). And that's just to name a few.

:: Event #46 ($5,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed) - A total non-pro final table. Only notable mention is the singular version of David Kita, Davidi Kitai, is short-stacked. Get full finaly table chip counts here.

"Salty" Joe Hachem Can Rub Off On People

Apparently, "Salty" Joe Hachem has some sort of osmosis effect on people he sits next to at the World Series of Poker. That's a lot of salt at one table.

DoylesRoom.com Renews Doyle Brunson Sponsorship

There's been some speculation as to why Doyle Brunson (and Todd Brunson) were without DoylesRoom.com logos the first two days of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the 2008 WSOP (speculate on the WCP forum here). Even stranger, why were Hoyt Corkins, Dancing with the Stars' Shannon Elizabeth, Sam Grizzle, and others still wearing the logo around? Even stranger, DoylesRoom.com's marketing strategy.

Anyway, Doyle donned the DoylesRoom.net logo again today. Although he doesn't look thrilled about it from the above photo. He could be Glum Girl's grandpa.

All of this speculation though doesn't seem to be impacting Doyle's game, as he's still above averaged stacked. Huck Seed, who happens to be our pick to win it, is currently the chip leader. Follow the action here.

2008 WSOP Update: Erik Seidel Doesn't Win Non-Record 9th Bracelet, Is The Year of the Pro(TM) No Longer The Year of the Pro(TM)?

Isabelle Mercier, a woman pro, is one of the many pros still fighting to ensure that the 2008 WSOP remains The Year of the Pro^TM.

The talk around the Rio Amazon room today among so-called poker "media" and industry types completely surrounds whether or not Erik Seidel and his non-win of Event #43 means that it is no longer The Year of the Pro^TM.^* Or maybe it signals a changing of the tide. Or maybe it's just a blip on the screen, and pros will continue making it the year of them in the last few tourneys before the Main Event starts next week. Like that song from Asia, only time will tell.

:: Event #43 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo) - You've probably figured out by now that Erik Seidel, a pro, did not win Event #43. He finished fourth. A win by Seidel would've all but solidified the 2008 WSOP as The Year of the Pro^TM. A win by Kasey Castle would've at least been a nice consolation, as his hot porn star sounding name gives us a little chubber. Until we see his face. Which then obliterates said chubber. Kastle finished second. Martin Klaser, who is not even a pro, won the event. Further hammering home Klaser's non-pro status is the fact that this is his first ever WSOP cash, let alone bracelet. For the win, Klaser banks $216,249. Get full payouts here.

:: Event #44 ($1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/ Rebuys) - What the fuck is going on here man. We're willing to say that the wildly under-rated Alex Bolotin is a pro, but he's pretty much it at the final table, and he's among the short-stacks, sitting with 308,000. This is Bolotin's third final table of the 2008 WSOP, and for the sake of pros everywhere, he better win. And if not for the pros, than for the sake of The Year of the Pro^TM and all the money we spent trademarking it and dividends we're expecting in return. Jesse Chinni, not a pro, will bring the big stack to final table play with 2,160,000. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #45 ($50,000 H.O.R.S.E.) - Now we're talking! The leaderboard for this one has more pros on it than a Chinese phonebook. Let's count 'em down: Lyle Berman (pro, 507,000), Patrick Bueno (not a pro, 485,500), Barry Greenstein (such a pro you should count him twice, 473,000), Minh Ly (pro, 451,000), Chris Reslock (pro, 435,500), Joseph Michael (Internet pro and Davidson Matthew Club member, 401,000), Erick Lindgren (pro, 397,500), Justin Bonomo (pro, 384,000), Daniel Negreanu (pro, 374,500), Doyle Brunson (pro, 366,000), and Andy Bloch (pro, 362,500). So counting Barry Greenstein twice, that makes 11 of the top 12 chip leaders in Event #45 pros. That's 91.6%!!! Of the other 49 remaining (counting Greenstein twice still), we'd be willing to bet that at least 80% are pros. And we'd even be willing to count Isabelle Mercier twice (146,000), just because of her fantastic new rack. Get full chip counts here.

Poker Pros Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren on the $50k H.O.R.S.E. Event

Full recap (i.e. a paragraph) coming shortly, but half-way through last night's $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, here's Daniel Negreanu and Erick Lindgren's take on some of the bad play going on and general thoughts on Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler (i.e. Larry David).

VIDEO: Daniel Negreanu's 2008 WSOP vlog on the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event

You Can't Take the H.O. Out of H.O.R.S.E.

Gus Hansen's lap girl returned for Day 2 of the H.O.R.S.E. championship at the 2008 WSOP.

While "trying" to take photos of Greg "FBT" Mueller (above), Tim Phan and Layne Flack (both below) during Day 2 of the H.O.R.S.E. World Championship at the 2008 WSOP, our photog focused in on everyone's favorite table-side call girl along the rail.

Get up to speed on the girl above here. Click thumbnails below to enlarge photo. Click here to sign up for the new WCP forum.

Doyle Brunson Dropped From DoylesRoom?

But seriously, why isn't Doyle Brunson wearing any DoylesRoom.net logos for the second day in the row during the $50k buy-in World Championship H.O.R.S.E. event at the 2008 WSOP. Did he get Gowen-ed?

FWIW, we didn't see Todd Brunson patched up either.

Anyone?

Relatedly, Doyle is second in chips late tonight with 301k. Patrick Bueno is living up to his name with a good lead as chipleader, stacked at 416k. James Mackey, a ginger, is third and soulless with 288k.

Chip counts here.

Unrelatedly and ironically, one of the Entities played a tournament today and was seated immediately to the left of this guy. And is still alive.

Caption This: Patrik Antonius Playing the H.O.R.S.E. Event at 2008 WSOP

Every 2+2 members' dream.

Give it your own caption in the Wicked Chops Poker forum here. Caption other photos from the 2008 WSOP here.

UPDATE: Actually this photo may be better.

If you swipe this photo for your site or another forum, please give a link back to WCP. Thanks.

2008 WSOP Update: James Mackey, A Ginger, Leads $50k H.O.R.S.E; Erik Seidel Goes for 9th Bracelet Again

David Benyamine (above right), continues his assault on 2008 WSOP POY honors as he's among the chip leaders in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event.

After a few days of downtime, the hype/action/buzz returned to the 2008 WSOP yesterday with the start of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. The Rio Amazon Room was packed with newly arrived so-called poker "media,"
railbirds, fanboys, and industry types. Action for the H.O.R.S.E. event picks up again today at 3pm.

:: Event #42 ($1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold'em) - Whatever.

:: Event #43 ($1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo) - The big story here is that Erik Seidel is making his second run at bracelet #9 this year. Seidel is stacked second overall with 340,000. He only trails Jon Maren (377,000), who you've likely discerned then must be the chip leader. Also in contention is Casey Kastle (188,000), who joins Shannon Shorr as the two dudes on the circuit with the best hot porn star sounding names. Let's just say if we saw a DVD called "Girl-Girl-Guy Threesomes Galore! (43)" starring Casey Kastle, Shannon Shorr, and Brock Parker, we probably wouldn't even do a double-take. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #44 ($1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/ Rebuys) - 115 remain of the original 879, and with all the rebuys, first place with pay $693,444. Jamel Maistriaux ended Day 1 as chip leader, stacked at 169,300. Big name big stacks remaining include Mark Seif (133,000), Joe Tehan, whose name sounds too much like "Tehran" for our liking (108,200), and the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (54,900). Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #45 ($50,000 H.O.R.S.E) - The big one. The event everyone was waiting for and the title the pros most want to claim. Each table is stacked with a who's who of poker greats. Surely the event will continue the trend this year that we exclusively trademarked as The Year of the Pro^TM. Frightening the competition with fearlessness that could only be accomplished by someone lacking a soul is James "mig dot com" Mackey, a ginger, with 214,000. With 140 of the initial 148 remaining, and with virtually every person in the field someone that you've heard of, it'd be, as Dr. Pauly would say, "redunkulous" to list all the notables. But we will mention that Phil Hellmuth, seen here talking about the bad WSOP he's having right before the event began, was one of the eight eliminated on Day 1. Also, the four pros most likely to claim 2008 WSOP POY honors (and solidify this year as the Year of the Pro), Erick Lindgren, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, and David Benyamine, are all above averaged stacked going into Day 2. Get full chip counts here.

After the jump, a photo of the fantastically stacked and looking-better-than-ever Isabelle Mercier next to Dario Minieri. Mercier seriously looks like that hot teacher everyone wanted to bang in 9th grade and Dario like the student who gets a little too nervous around her. Also after the jump is possibly the best photo we've ever taken of Tom Schneider.

You Can't Spell HORSE Without H-0

We snapped our new stock photo for Gus Hansen tonight during the HORSE event.

We haven't a clue who the hooker girl is above. We just know that she walked out onto the floor of the World Championship HORSE event at the 2008 WSOP earlier tonight without a care in the world, and started to chum and chat it up with Daniel Negreanu at his table for awhile.

After she walked away, Daniel said he had no idea who the girl was.

The big-boobed buttaface then found Gus Hansen at his table across the room, and as you'd expect, the self-proclaimed ladies' man was more open to having a conversation than Daniel was, and by conversation we mean having her sit on his lap while he played, getting David Williams to snap photos of the two, getting her phone number and generally enjoying her huge breasts in his face before she was more or less escorted away.

And of course our photog was right there to capture all of the above.

Click away to see her in action below . . .

Guess Who's Busting Out at the 2008 WSOP (And We Think She's OK We Noticed)

She's one of only a few women poker players who was silly enough to throw $50k away on the Horse Event because they don't have a snowball in hell's chance to win this thing and if a woman did win, it was nice knowing you world are playing in the $50,000 buy-in World Championship HORSE Event at the 2008 WSOP.

Yeh the PS patch gives it away but if you're still guessing or want to see more photos of her busting out of her top go here.

Phil Hellmuth Not Making Any Excuses

Poker pro Phil Hellmuth is back to making video blogs, and we forgot how much we liked them. Good honest stuff.

While he's cashed twice at the 2008 WSOP and made one final table, he's still not happy with his overall performance, but he's not making any excuses for about it either. For now at least.

Phil Hellmuth 2008 WSOP vlog

2008 WSOP Update: $50K Buy-In HORSE Event Underway

Chad Brown (above, headphones) at the tail end of the first level of the $50k HORSE event.

Saddle up!

The HORSE event at the 2008 World Series of Poker got out of the gate off to a galloping quick start tonight with a stable field of 146 players who ponied up paid the $50k buy-in to compete for what is now the most coveted title in poker.

Poker stallion great Gus Hansen has grabbed the reins taken charge early to amass the chip lead.

Last year's champ, the Shetland-sized half-man, half-amazing Freddy Deeb is currently second in chips.

Also doing well just after the first break are a few young foals guns, including James Mackey, a ginger, and Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond.

Filly Female player Isabelle Mercier is among the top twenty, while Annie Duke, a mare woman, was off to a good start as well but has fallen back to 100k in chips.

Surprisingly a no show is a lame stud not-feeling-well Patrik Antonius.

Get current chip counts here.

UPDATE: PA showed up during second level.

2008 WSOP Update: John Phan Ruining It for The Rest of Us; New Davidson Matthew Club Member Wins Bracelet

John Phan (above) captured his second bracelet of the 2008 WSOP.

The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship at the 2008 WSOP starts today, and sitting on the toilet typing this post looking out about the Rio Amazon Room in Las Vegas the anticipation is palpable. Plays starts at 5pm PST, so come back for updates and pics, as super hot "working women" railbirds will be out in full force.

On with the recaps:

:: Event #40 ($2,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball) - Well, looks like The Year of the Pro^(TM) at the 2008 WSOP continues. John Phan becomes the 2008 WSOP's first multiple bracelet winner by capturing Event #40. For the win, Phan banks $151,911 and moves up to third in the POY race. Inexplicably, Phan, who already is considered one of the nicest guys on the circuit, has reportedly decided to give the winnings to charities in Vietnam. By doing so, Phan further makes guys like us who have completely disavowed the concept of "charity" and "philanthropy" look like bigger assholes than we already are. Thanks Phan. Mr. Nice Charity Guy defeated Shun Uchida heads-up for the title. Get full payouts here.

:: Event #41 ($1,500 Mixed Hold'em) - Newly elected Davidson Matthew Club member Frank Gary takes this one down, banking $219,508 and his first bracelet. Nick Binger, brother of WSOP cashing machine Michael, held the chip lead for much of the event but bowed out in third. Get full payouts here.

:: Event #42 ($1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold'em) - Whatever.

:: Event #43 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo) - The last tournament of the day had 720 entrants and will pay out $216,249 to first. Ed Smith ended the day as chip leader stacked at 119,500. The guy with the hot girl's name, Shannon Shorr, is second with 86,900. Read our previous and more detailed recap of the event here and get full chip counts here.

2008 WSOP Update: Shorr, Seidel and Hachem Among Leaders on Day 1 of Event No. 43

Shannon Shorr (above photo, on right) is among the Day 1 leaders in the $1,500 buy-in Omaha Hi-Low event at the 2008 WSOP.

A total of 720 runners entered Event No. 43, the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better event, today, bringing the prize pool to just under a mil with first getting $216,249, or about $70k less than what you could fetch Phil Ivey's old SLR for on eBay.

Last we looked there were 82 players remaining and one good-from-afar-but-far-from-good girl on the rail. Really, photo-worthy railbirds have been slim to none the past few days. Let's step it up ladies. We have a site to run.

Current chip leaders just before midnight include Erik Seidel, who's gunning for his first bracelet of this year's WSOP, Joe Hachem, who just might be the next Joe Hachem, compulsive WSOP casher Berry Johnston, and the guy with the girl's name Shannon Shorr. Layne Flack and his teeth are also making a move up the leader board late tonight just got eliminated.

Stacked the most right now is the generically-named Ed Smith, who has quietly amassed around $270k in WSOP earnings over the years.

Keep track of chip counts here.

Check out WSOP daily video recaps over at PokerListings.

Hot girls in the WCP forum here.

* Despite the overall lack of talent along the rail lately, the girl below was seen over the weekend and from all accounts is one of the hottest yet. Hopefully she returns because our photog was drunker than a peach orchard boar, whatever that means, when he snapped the shots below.

Joe Hachem Could Be the Next Joe Hachem

We don't know Australian that well, but our friends who speak it say the below video of 2005 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Hachem includes a pretty funny anecdote about a cab ride he had over to the WSOP today. Watch it below or over on RawVegas.tv here.

Liv Boeree Deserves More of Our Attention

Heavy metal poker hottie Liv Boeree playing at the 2008 WSOP.

We're big fans of 20-something year-old rocker chicks who can pull off the beater tee look, talk with British accents, know how to play cards and can do a chip trick or two with some style.

So putting 2+2 together, well, we suck at algebra. But the point is we're digging Brit pokerer Liv Boeree, who just returned to Vegas after a brief break back home in England and has already cashed twice at the 2008 WSOP (Events Nos. 38 and 41).

We think Liv deserves some greater consideration so expect to see more of her on WCP and RawVegas.tv in the coming days. For now, see more of our photos of Liv playing at the 2008 WSOP on her Poker Hotties thread here.

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

This may be the last of our 2008 WSOP Gingers of the Day. At least it will be if this guy ever sees his photo on our site. Because we're pretty sure he could/would kill us.

All In: The Poker Musical Announced, Told You We Weren't Making This Sh*t Up

When we first broke the news yesterday that Phil Hellmuth and the WSOP we're doing a poker musical called "All In: The Poker Musical," no one really believed it, with people on the WCP forum and other forums immediately calling it a level. Or at least hoping it was.

Well, like we said, you can't make shit like this up.

Just minutes ago, Harrahs and the WSOP officially sent out the press release for what is being billed as the world's first poker musical, which will debut during the WSOP Main Event on July 3, with shows open to the public on July 4 and 5 at the Rio.

Check out the full press release here.

Talk it up on the WCP forum here.

Read what Hellmuth actually said about it on his blog back in April here.

Read what we said about it yesterday here.

Daniel Negreanu On the Run in the Palms Parking Lot

Daniel Negreanu is taking a couple of days off from the 2008 WSOP, flying out to LA today. Or at least that's what he told us before the Palms security showed up.

VIDEO: Daniel Negreanu 2008 WSOP video blog

The Degenerate Update: Vanessa Selbst Takes on Neverwin; Phil Ivey's McLaren Up for Auction; Sklansky Banned from ESPN?

Kind of a slow week for "degenerosity," but the latest Degenerate Report from NWP covers the gamut of filthy gambling rumors floating around the Rio in Las Vegas. Joining Bryan Micon this week is Event #41 10th place finisher Todd "DanDruff" Witteles. The NWP guys are balling at the 2008 WSOP with 8 cashes between them.

VIDEO: Neverwinpoker.com's 2008 WSOP Degenerate Report

Captain Tom POB'ing Competition in WSOP Senior Tournament

The 2008 WSOP Seniors tournament had a record field today of 2,218, paying out $368,759 for first place. Best comment we heard by some old geezer right before the cards flew: "Anyone wanna make a live longer bet?"

The field contained lots of people who for whatever reason we didn't realize were even old enough to compete in this event, like Men "The Master" Nguyen, Johnny Chan (who is doing absolutely nothing funny in this photo), and the insufferably annoying Humberto Brenes.

Currently, Captain Tom Franklin is just POB'ing the competition, big stacked at 73,000, or approximately the number of days he's been alive. In related creepy old man news, David Sklansky final tabled Event #40 (chip counts here).

We're debating whether or not to keep updating this one, especially with the surprising lack of GILF railbirds, so get your chip counts here.

A photo example of the Senior Event railbird action today after the jump . . .

Breaking: Phil Hellmuth, Phil Hellmuth's Ego and WSOP Team Up for First Ever Poker Musical

After hearing some talk around the Rio about a Phil Hellmuth-themed poker musical and thinking there's absolutely no way it could be for real, an advanced draft of the press release confirming it just landed on our laps. And now there's a website up for it.

Yep, proving once again that nothing can out jump the shark quite like poker can, the World Series of Poker, along with Phil Hellmuth and Phil Hellmuth's Ego, have teamed up with Las Vegas show producer Tim Molyneux to present the first, and hopefully last, ever poker musical entitled "All In: The Poker Musical."

Seriously. We're not making this shit up.

A preview concert featuring songs from the musical will be held at the Rio on July 3, the first day of the Main Event, for poker "VIPs, luminaries and media." A limited engagement open to the public will be presented at the Masquerade Theatre at the Rio on July 4 and July 5. Tickets are going for $29.95 and up. Seriously.

Quoting directly from the release, and we're not making this shit up, the story of the musical "revolves around the final nine players at the Main Event of the World Series of Poker and, just like the real WSOP, these players come from all walks of life. These clearly identifiable characters sing songs that are interlaced with poker analogies, quotes, and situations that also apply to the game of life."

For example, and again we're not making this shit up, a source of ours says that one of the characters is based on Hellmuth and sings songs like:

"I can dodge bullets baby, but I can’t dodge you."

Really. You can't make this stuff up.

Some sweet press release quotes from Hellmuth and Pollack after the jump . . .

Talk it up on the new WCP poker forum on the Hellmuth poker musical thread (with link to musical's website).

Girl on Girl at the WSOP: There's Something About Amanda Leatherman

The below is WCP contributor Michele Lewis' latest interview in her "Girl on Girl" series at the WSOP. Stay tuned for more interviews with some of the coolest, hottest girls in poker. Check out Michele's blog at michelelewis.com.

Girl on Girl at the 2008 WSOP is a great way to start off Monday morning.  And who better than Amanda Leatherman of PokerRoad and PokerNews (photo above playing in the 2008 World Series of Poker Ladies Event).  Leatherman can easily be perceived as just a cute petite blonde; however, don't think for a second her strength is synonymous with her size.  She may be a tiny... but she walks tall, speaks her mind and has a sharp sense of humor.  Leatherman concocts her skills of wit, professionalism and girl-next-door appeal to create interviews that get to the point yet are fun and entertaining. For example, she managed to host Phil Hellmuth shotgunning a beer then ended the interview before a possible "Frank the Tank" streak.

Again, some might think it's just her beauty encouraging the constant double-takes, but I disagree.  I think she has a way of making one feel as though they already know her or ... they really want to get to know her (and I don't mean sexually).  Last week, Leatherman was sweet enough to answer some questions about who is hot and how she landed in Las Vegas to travel the world.  Thump to the jump to read something about Amanda...

2008 WSOP Update: We'll Keep This Brief

Only four tournaments to report on from Sunday, and we'll keep it short. For a more "thorough" look at the action, get  live World Series of Poker coverage and more in-depth WSOP blogs at Poker Listings. To get your week started off right, visit the Wicked Chops Poker Forum for threads on Breann McGregor and the spectacularly-breasted Yoko Matsugane.

:: Event #38 ($2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em) - Apparently the singular version of "David Kita," Davidi Kitai, brings home his first bracelet by defeating poker pro Chris Bell heads-up for the title. Davidi banks $244,583 for the win. Get full payouts here.

:: Event #39 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - The final nine come back at 2pm PST to play for the $631,656 first prize. 2005 WSOP bracelet winner and overly-consonanted Thom Werthmann has the chip lead. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #40 ($2,500 2-7 Limit) - Shun Uchida looks to make his third cash at the 2008 WSOP as he takes the chip lead to Day 2 of Event #40. Uchida is stacked at 79,200. Other big name big stacks include Greg Raymer (64,600) and Robert Mizrachi (54,200). Only 30 remain and first pays out $151,896. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #41 ($1,500 Mixed Hold'em) - Just 731 entered the final tourney of the day and 98 survived to Monday. Jonathan Tamayo is chip leader stacked at 98,100. Super hero/porn star Brock Parker remains (23,125), as does Todd "DanDruff" Witteles (13,750). Get full chip counts here.

Daniel Negreanu Had a Bad Day

Even poker superstar Daniel Negreanu has a bad day every now and then. A little beat down, Daniel sneaks out of the Rio where he'll now take a couple days off and hit the links before playing in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event.

Daniel Negreanu 2008 WSOP video blog

Learn how to play like Daniel at Poker VT.

2008 WSOP Update: David Benyamine Livin' Large, Wins First Bracelet

David Benyamine (above, front center) battled a stacked final table to win his first bracelet earlier today.

Working off some general fog from the Gnarls Barkley concert at Mandalay Bay beach so we're light on the preamble for this WSOP update. However, of note, the sitarist for opening act Thievery Corporation is a dead ringer for Dutch Boyd. Seriously could've been him. Dutch, do you have wicked sitar chops that we're unaware of?

::  Event #35 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Here's a final table that would've been infinitely more interesting if Bryan Micon out lasted another six eliminations to join the remaining nine (get Micon's latest Degenerate Report here). Aaron Kanter, he of 2005 WSOP final table fame, made a run from short-stack to finish third, which pretty much constitutes the "big story" on this one.  Jesper Hougaard started the day as chip leader and ended the day as chip leader, winning his first bracelet and banking $610,304. Get full results here.

:: Event #35 ($10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo) - David Benyamine is having a helluva month. Aside from waking up next to Erica Schoenberg every morning, Benyamine banked almost $1.5M on Full Tilt Poker last month. Today he added another $535,687 to his bankroll after taking down the World Championship of Omaha Hi/Lo. Benyamine defeated Greg Jamison heads-up for the title. The win vaults Benyamine to second overall in the 2008 World Series of Poker Player of the Year standings, trailing Jacobo Fernadez by two points. Toto Leonidas finished fourth, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow fifth. Get full payouts here.

:: Event #36 ($2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em) - Michael Binger will have to wait a little longer for his first WSOP bracelet. After holding the chip lead for most of Event #36, the cashing machine just missed another final table, bowing out in 11th. Instead the exceedingly pretentiously named Jan Christoph Von Halle will start final table play with the chip lead, stacked at 485,000. He's followed by 2007 WSOP Main Event final table-ist Lee Watkinson-Markholt with 357,000. Watkinson-Markholt is going for his second bracelet. In fourth overall is Ayaz Mahmood, who let's just say we'd watch his every move like a fucking hawk if he sat next to us on a flight. Why doesn't he have any carry-on luggage? Why only a book? He's been in the bathroom an awfully long time. Whew ok he sat back down and is now buckling his seat belt. First pays out $$244,583. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #37 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Another mega-field, with 2,720 entrants paying out a first place prize of $631,656. Only 218 survived to Day 2. Michael Polcari takes the chip lead into action today with 130,000. Making his own push for 2008 WSOP Player of the Year honors is Barry Greenstein, who started off strong and is stacked at 89,600. Get full chip counts here.

Get live World Series of Poker coverage and more in-depth WSOP blogs at Poker Listings.

2008 WSOP Update: Flack Attacks and Wins Sixth Bracelet; Is It Finally Time for Binger's First?

Before recapping the 47 tournaments going on concurrently right now, here's some suggested weekend browsing. Visit our favorite cougar for her interview with PokerRoad.com's Joe Sebok (here). Hilarious true story on Astroglide from Kid Dynamite (here). Great pics of 2008 WSOP winners at LasVegasVegas.com (here). Interesting read on the latest UIGEA news at Pokerati (here). And head over to PokerListings.com for their daily WSOP video recap.

:: Event #34 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys) - It's been five years since Layne Flack (at right, earlier at this year's WSOP) captured his fifth WSOP bracelet. Both Flack and Ted Forrest entered final table play with a shot to enter poker elite status by becoming only one of ten people to capture their sixth. While Forrest flourished early but faltered to fifth, Flack went on the attack to finish first. Flack appeared super focused, went hyper-aggressive after Forrest was eliminated, and defeated Daniel Makowsky heads-up for the title. Along with his sixth bracelet, Flack banked $577,725, more than making up for the 20+ rebuys he made in the event. Get full final table payouts here.

:: Event #35 (#1,500 Seven Card Stud) - Trust us, you really don't care. Results here.

:: Event #36 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - The mega-field of 2,447 made it down to a final table early this morning. Making his first final table at the 2008 WSOP as chip leader after two previous cashes is Jesper Hougaard with 1,582,000. Danny Wong is third overall with 1,105,000. And the 2005 WSOP final table-ist who made the donk move that knocked Greg Raymer out, Aaron Kanter, is short-stacked with 165,000. NWP's Bryan Micon had a strong showing, finishing 15th. Get full final table stacks here.

:: Event #37 ($10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo) - Of the 235 who started only 18 remain, and they'll play it down to a winner today. Ram Vaswani starts the day as big stack with 569,000. Last year Phil Hellmuth told us that Mike Matusow is the best Omaha Hi/Lo player in the world, and he's living up to that rep stacked second overall with 396,000. Other notable unmarketable big names remaining include Chau Giang (384,000), David Benyamine (378,000), David Chiu (372,000), and Berry Johnston (338,000). Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #38 ($2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em) - Not many people mention Michael Binger as a "Best Without a Bracelet" guy, but his run since making the 2006 WSOP final table is just sick. He cashed eight times at the WSOP in 2007. He already has three cashes and a final table this year. And he's currently the big stack in Event #38 with 146,100. He's followed by Ayaz Mahmood with 97,600. Get the full final 63 who will play down to the final table today (and a $244,583 first prize) here.

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WSOP Photo Dump: Pros Playing in the World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split Event

As we mentioned in this post, the big name pros came out yesterday for Day 1 of Event No. 37, the $10,000 buy-in World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split event at the 2008 WSOP.

We tasked our photog with shooting some of the poker pros competing, and we think he did a great job picking his subjects, including Mike Matusow (above), Katja Thater, Thor Hansen, Jen Harman and Michael Binger.

Click thumbnails below for full images.

If you liked the photos above, don't click here. Ruins everything.

If you swipe our pics, we appreciate the link back to www.wickedchopspoker.com. thanks.

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

Scientist have confirmed that male pattern baldness, like gingervitis, is a recessive gene.

They've also confirmed that gingers have no souls and are creepy, even when they lose their ginger hair.

Caption This

Click individual thumbnails below for full photos of Dewey Tomko, Eskimo Clark and Johnny Chan and to post your caption in the new WCP poker forum.

Actually don't click on the Johnny Chan one. Really, it's not funny. Not at all.

2008 WSOP Update: Ted Forrest Goes for Sixth Bracelet; Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Just Misses His

Jennifer Harman (above) is among the many big names going toe-to-toe in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo championship.

We're beginning to think that the goal goal of the 2008 WSOP is to punish the so-called poker "media." Just way too many events going on at once. Did we lose a war? A war we weren't even aware of?  You are sly ones, Harrah's officials, with your guerilla tactics.

:: Event #33 ($5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo) - Tough one for Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. Going for WSOP bracelet number six, Ferguson had the chip lead at times but eventually fell heads-up to Sebastian Ruthenberg. This is Ruthenberg's first bracelet. He banks $328,756 for the win. Ferguson adds another $202,406 to his fortunes. Marcel Luske finished fourth ($95,069) and Annie Duke, a woman, finished fifth ($73,602). Get full results here.

:: Event #34 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys) - While Ferguson just missed his sixth, Ted Forrest has a shot to nab his. Forrest already has a runner-up finish this year in Event #16 and is one of the many rumored to have bracelet prop bets on the side. Forrest is second overall in chips going into final table play with 757,000. Also in the mix is Layne Flack with 601,000. Jacobo Fernadez will take a crack at his first bracelet again this year, having now made three final tables. Fernadez is short-stacked with 240,000.

:: Event #35 ($1,500 Seven Card Stud) - A "friends and family" final table of eight. If you're related to Michael Rocco or Al Barbieri then get their chip counts here.

:: Event #36 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Of the 2,447 that entered, only 186 survived. Sounds dramatic. Day 2 play begins shortly with Owen Crowe as the chip leader, stacked at 170,000. NWP's Bryan Micon has 64,500 (watch his spectacular Degenerate Report here). And the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran is among the few other big names remaining with 54,400. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #37 ($10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo) - The final tourney of the day is led by Omaha Hi/Lo specialist Soheil Shamseddin (dude already made a Hi/Lo final table this year). Other big name chip leaders include 2008 WSOP POY co-leader Erick Lindgren (91,700), Chau Giang (84,700), and Annie Duke, a woman (83,700). Tons of other big names still remain. Get 'em all here.

Get live World Series of Poker coverage and more in-depth WSOP blogs at Poker Listings.

Bryan Micon Pwning Event #36, Degenerate Updating

NWP's Bryan Micon is currently one of the chip leaders in Event #36 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em). More on that later. For now, get the latest breakdown on the sickest prop bets, bracelet bets, and drunken stupors this week at the 2008 WSOP on the Degenerate Update.

VIDEO: Bryan Micon's latest 2008 WSOP Degenerate Update

Clonie Gowen Patched Up Today at the WSOP

. . . and about to cash in the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha W/ReBuys event.

Relatedly, Michael Binger has something to say about Clonie here.

Semi-relatedly, these photos show what 44 should look like.

Poker Player Jerry Buss Likes 'Em Young, Exotic

Grampa gets an eye-full of Jerry Buss' railbird late night at the 2008 WSOP.

A day after the Celtics hammered his Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals by more than five touchdowns, Jerry Buss, 74, was grinding it out in the $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud event at the 2008 WSOP while being railed by some exotic-looking youngin' we're guessing is a few years shy a third his age, if that in any way adds up to about 21.

And by exotic we mean what is she? Indonesian? Peruvian? Native American/Filipino/Black/Mexican? Not that it really matters. Just curious.

Anyway, the girl above was with him all day along with another, way hotter, equally exotic-looking chick who looked sort of like Jeannena Flores, the Hawaiian Tropic model he was with when he got busted for his DUI. We're not sure where she went later in the night when it was just the girl above on the rail. Curfew perhaps.

Why are we writing about this shit? Oh yeh, we promised pics in this post. Click away below, including the crappy one a reader emailed us from his iPhone. See how Jerry's doing today on Day of Event No. 35 here.

2008 WSOP Update: Our Favorite Scarf-Wearing Euro Wins First Bracelet; Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Goes for His Sixth

While our photog was getting busted and Phil Ivey and Jerry Buss were chatting it up, there was actually some great poker going on at the Rio last night. Update time...

:: Event #31 ($2,500 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed) - Our favorite scarf-wearing Euro, Dario Minieri (photo), took this one down. He beat Seth Fischer heads-up for the title, winning his first bracelet and banking $528,418. In what probably contains no irony at all, Dario's winning heads-up hand was pocket Queens. Not that Dario goes that way, even though most Euros are definitely more sexually "open" than U.S. Americans. In fact, we'd wager that that little guy probably bags more chicks than KFC. Mostly because European girls are more sexually "open" than just about anywhere else in the world, and that includes girls who grew up in Florida. So actually why are we ripping on Euros? They hardly work, their money is worth more than ours, and they're doing it like all the time. Bastards. This is a poker blog, right? Get full chip counts here.

Rest of the update after the jump . . .

Not Sure What Phil Ivey and Jerry Buss Are Discussing

We have no idea what Phil Ivey, who is rumored to have bet a bundle of cash on the LA Lakers to win the NBA championship series (along with a bunch of other players), was saying to LA Lakers owner Jerry Buss in the above photo taken last night in the Amazon Room at the Rio Las Vegas.

However, their combined income probably exceeds the GDP of many small countries, so they could probably give two shits about any joke we'd make about it any way. Money is cool like that.

Look for another post on Jerry Buss and his hot railbird shortly...

Shannon Elizabeth Playing Poker Isn't Quite Like Shannon Elizabeth Dancing with the Stars

When Shannon Elizabeth of Dancing with the Stars fame was on Dancing with the Stars, we were killing it because people google'd the heck out of Shannon Elizabeth Dancing with the Stars and Dancing with the Stars Shannon Elizabeth. And either way you put it, we owned it, so Shannon Elizabeth on Dancing with the Stars was great for our traffic.

Shannon Elizabeth playing poker, however, not so much.

Not that we're not one of the top sites if you google "Shannon Elizabeth playing poker." Just seems no one is doing it.

Lacey Jones playing poker. Tons of hits.

Diane Nguyen playing poker. Ditto.

Layla Kayleigh nude playing poker. People want to see.

But Shannon Elizabeth playing poker. Again, just not something people are searching.

Not sure why, because if you click on our photos below of Shannon Elizabeth playing poker in the Stud/8 event at the 2008 WSOP (where she made it onto Day 2 with a healthy stack), you have to admit she looks pretty damn good. Maybe not Layla Kayleigh nude playing poker good, but still good enough.

Shannon Elizabeth Poker Photos Gallery

Busted!

She's on to us.

Btw, can you spot the poker player our photog was "supposed" to be shooting in the pic above? Answer here.

Click the first thumbnail image below (same girl) to see that we weren't the only ones who got busted . . .

2008 WSOP Update: Event No. 34, $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys

The insufferably annoying Humberto Brenes (foreground) playing in Event No. 34 as WSOP media guru Nolan Dolla (background) focuses on his work.

Event No. 34, the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha W/ReBuys event at the 2008 WSOP, lived up to its billing as a huge shove fest with 320 runners rebuying/adding-on a total of 1,350 times. That drove the prize purse up to $2.4 million with first place guaranteed a decent $577,725 payday.

Half a day after the start of action and they're down to just 58 players. Frank Vizza is the current chip leader with (351k) and big name pros like Ted Forrest (175k), Gavin Griffin (158k), Layne Flack (145k) and Thomas Wahlroos (122k) are among those remaining.

Also in the mix still is Clonie Gowen (120k), who we saw earlier sans any Full Tilt Poker patches. People were speculating that she's about to be dropped from Team Full Tilt and sources of ours close to FTP management have told us she's indeed on her way out, if not already.

Get current chip counts here.

Photos of the insufferably hot Grace Park here.

Fun w/ GIFs at the 2008 WSOP: Eskimo Clark

What a difference a year can make.

A year ago Eskimo Clark came close to dying several times, having multiple strokes while playing in tournaments at the WSOP. This year he's doing push-ups at his table during the break of the $1,500 buy-in 7CS event. The guy's a machine.

(give it a sec to load and animate)

Got a caption for the above or something to say, comment below or head to our new poker forum.

Eskimo cooling off after his work out below . . .

Daniel Negreanu Kinda Wants to Win POY, Badly

After slagging Yukon Brad Booth for not knowing jack about Stud/8, Daniel Negreanu talks about his WSOP Player of the Year strategy and how badly he wants to win it. Watch his latest video blog below or head over to RawVegas.tv.

Also, for those who speak Australian, check out Joe Hachem's latest video blog here.

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

Phil Hellmuth Records 65th WSOP Cash, Going for 12th Bracelet, That's Tom McEvoy in the Hat Below

It's late and that headline is all we got right now for the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2008 WSOP.

Perhaps more of an update in the a.m. For now, go here for chip counts.

Click thumbnail below for closer look. For something NOT FUNNY at all, go here.

John Phan Phinally Phetches Phirst WSOP Bracelet

John "Razor" Phan phinally did it.

After more than 10 hours of phinal table play and six-plus hours of heads-up action, Phan was phinally able to claim his phirst WSOP bracelet by winning the $3,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2008 World Series of Poker. Phan takes away $434,789 phor the win, the second biggest cash of his career.

Phinishing second was Johnny Neckar, who walks with $277,452.

Phan has runner-up'd twice at the WSOP, once last year and once the year bephore. He now has just under phour million dollars in career tournament winnings.

Read about Phan and Neckar going all-in three times, in the dark, prephlop, near the end of the tournament here.

Relatedly, we're phans of Phans' super cute girlphriend, and we mean that respectphully. Click thumbnail image below phor a closer look . . .

2008 WSOP Update: Event No. 33, World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better

Scott Fischman (above) decked out in his Full Tilt Poker gear in Event No. 33, the Stud/8 championship.

The World Championship Stud 8 or Better event was today's 5pm start at the 2008 WSOP. Lotta big names in the 261-player field battling it out for a share of a smallish prize pool of $1,226,700. That number though is up a tad from last year's championship won by Edwin James Olmos Eli Elezra

Early chipleaders include Barry Greenstein, who's coming off a bracelet win in the Razz event, Shawn "Sheiky" Sheikhan, who wins the award so far for drawing the hottest drunk railbirds to an event, Robert Mizrachi, Tex Barch, Todd Brunson, Alex Jacob, David Benyamine, 4-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu, Justin Bonomo, Jordan Rich, a ginger, and Huck Seed, who we're picking to win this event 'cause the guy is due.

Notable bust outs so far include Gavin Smith, Chad Brown, who is somewhere in this photo, not that you're looking, Jen Harman and Archie Karas.

Chip counts here.

Unrelatedly, Marissa Miller topless in Ralph here.

Click thumbnail image below . . .

Phil Ivey Might've Lost A Lot of Money Tonight

Phil Ivey (above) might've emptied his wallet when the Lakers lost tonight.

As we reported last week, Phil Ivey, who likes to gamble, had a vested interest in the LA Lakers vs. Boston Celtics NBA Championship series.

The rumor all over the Rio Amazon Room floor was that Ivey had $2 million dollars riding on the Lakers to defeat the Celtics (pictures of Ivey watching the game while playing poker here and actually courtside at a game here).

However today there is talk that it was a futures wager of $500,000 to win $2,000,000. Who knows. Ivey is to throwing cash around what the SEC is to college football. He's simply the best at it.

What we do know is that last time Ivey was supposedly down a lot of cash, he won the WPT LA Poker Classic. So watch what Ivey does in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event next week.

More photos of Ivey watching the game tonight during the Stud/8 World Championship after the jump.

Tony G, Gavin Smith and Others On How F'n Hot It Is In Las Vegas

Click play above or watch it on RawVegas.tv here

BREAKING: 60 Minutes Interviews Mark Seif, Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer on Online Poker Cheating Scandal; Feature Rumored to Be a "Hatchet Job" on the Industry

The long awaited 60 Minutes feature on the Absolute Poker online poker cheating scandal took a big step to hitting the small screen today. And Wicked Chops Poker is the only site with photos of the news event.

Anchor Steve Kroft, 62, interviewed Mark Seif (wearing an Absolute Poker jersey), Mike Sexton (not wearing a Party Poker one), Linda Johnson (why? was Shari Flanzer unavailable?), and Greg Raymer (wearing a Poker Stars shirt). The interviews took place in an empty Rio Amazon Room around 11am.

We overheard Raymer discussing the need for the U.S. American government to regulate online poker, and we can surmise because we're smart-like-that that the rest of the messaging from the group was on point with the PPA's platform. Raymer, a Libertarian, said he doesn't see why the government should regulate his actions if they cause no harm to others. Johnson (why her again?) and Sexton both agreed with the need for regulation and taxation.

The wild card in this mix is that 2+2 poster and founder of the AbsolutePokerCheats.com website (here), Michael Josem, was also interviewed. How the stories weaved by Seif and Josem regarding the Absolute scandal will surely be a focal point of the piece and may eventually influence (ever so slightly) how legislators decide to handle the legality of online poker moving forward.

Unfortunately, word from our sources indicate that this 60 Minutes feature will be an outright "hatchet job" on the online poker industry. Although that's really not much of a shocker. But it's certainly not good news either.

More photos from the interviews below. The one of Josem with Seif in the background (second from left) is particularly great.

View the full 60 Minutes online poker scandal photo gallery here. If you swipe photos we appreciate the link back to WCP. And definitely re-watch Mark Seif's interview on the Absolute scandal from last October here or view it in its entirety after the jump.

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

Sick

2008 WSOP Update: OMGClayAiken Grabs First Bracelet; J.C. Tran Goes for His Again

The spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (above) goes for his first WSOP bracelet today at 2pm PST.

It was an interesting day of 2008 World Series of Poker action, as Event #31 ($2,500 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed) left many happy to be there and this unfortunate photo was taken which just isn't funny at all. On with the updates.

:: Event #27 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Vitaly Lunkin won this "friends and family" final table, banking $628,417. If you just really love poker that much and gotta know the rest of what happened, get full results here.

:: Event #28 ($5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys) - In yet another star-studded final table, online poker superstar Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond took down the title, earning his first of what is sure to be a few WSOP bracelets and banking, as Dr. Pauly would say, a "redunkulous" $817,781. Galfond defeated another online specialist, Adam "the_houdini" Hourani, for the title, going 100 hands deep heads-up. David Benyamine took third earning three million five hundred thousand glazed doughnuts $316,307. Poker legend Johnny Chan, who has gone from oranges to bananas, missed out on his record-tying 11th bracelet, finishing fourth and earning $246,874. John Juanda came in sixth ($154,296), Daniel Negreanu, who has mad respect for OMGClayAiken's game, was seventh ($123,437), and the always impressive Phil Hellmuth was eighth ($100,292).

:: Event #29 ($3,000 No Limit Hold'em) - Matthew Vengrin, who you may not remember from the final table of last year's Event #3 final table, is chip leader stacked at 1,007,500. Also in the mix is unheralded Alex Bolotin, who has nearly $1M in WSOP earnings, with 534,000 in chips; David Singer, who is going for his second bracelet at this year's WSOP, with 515,000; and John "The Razor" Phan, who while he doesn't have a bracelet yet, his mom is still probably very proud of him, with 396,500.

:: Event #30 ($10,000 Limit Hold'em) - 218 entered this one, playing down to the final table last night. Aaron Katz, who won a bracelet in 2004 and was never heard from again, is heard from again as chip leader, stacked at 1,232,000. The real story here are two guys looking to shed the "Best Without a Bracelet" moniker, as both Andy Bloch (370,000), and the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (247,000), are in the mix. The short-stack is a guy named Brock Parker, who must either be a super-hero or a porn star. Get full chip counts here. Follow final table action at 2pm PST here.

2008 WSOP Band of Bloggers: Get full recaps and payouts from WorldSeriesofPoker.com here. Get Dr. Pauly's take on WSOP happenings here. Gary Wise has some thoughts here. Please please don't forget Pokerati here. And get Poker Prof's recap and more photos here.

* The photo above is of J.C. Tran masquerading by the name Tanya Robinson, super-sexy British model. Get the full sized pic after the jump and the full lingerie shoot here.

2008 WSOP Update: Event No. 31, No-Limit Hold'em - Six Handed

A smiling Anthony Roux of Team Winamax is well-stacked late on Day 1 of Event No. 31

Day 1 of the $2,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed event at the 2008 WSOP has drawn to a close, and among the notable chipleaders include our favorite scarf-wearing Euro Dario Minieri, Bill Chen, Scotty Nguyen, Anthony Roux, the guy with the girl's name Shannon Shorr, the awfully nicknamed Max "Italian Pirate" Pescatori and railbird-er Eric Liu.

A total of 1,012 runners entered to bring the prize pool to $2,327,600, with first cashing $528,418.

Play resumes tomorrow at 2pm PST. Chip counts updated before then here.

Click thumbnails below for photos of the aforementioned Anthony Roux (photo courtesy of Benjo), Shannon Shorr and Bill Chen.

Guess Who

Party foul on table Blue #9 in the $2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2008 WSOP.

Here are your picks:

(a) Eli Elezra
(b) Scotty Nguyen
(c) Men "The Master" Nguyen
(d) Minneapolis Jim Meehan
(e) Dario Minieri

Hellmuth Denied 12th WSOP Bracelet, Chan Closing In On 11

11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth (above) was out-stacked at the final table of Event No. 28.

There will be no 12th WSOP bracelet for Phil Hellmuth. At least not today.

Severely out-stacked when play began today, Hellmuth had his work cut out for him against a seriously stacked final nine in the $5,000 buy-in PLO w/ Rebuys event, which included pros Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, Kiril Gerasimov, David Benyamine, John Juanda, Johnny Chan and Daniel Negreanu. Doubling up during the first level of play, Hellmuth was able to hang in there early, but after just about three hours, his chance to further distance himself in the WSOP bracelet count came to an end.

Hellmuth's 8th place finish does add to his record-setting number of WSOP cashes, now at 64.

He also holds the record for number of WSOP final tables: 40.

Also eliminated from the final table so far: Brian "tsarrast" Rast - 9th place, Daniel Negreanu - 7th and John Juanda - 6th.

Still in and sitting with the second most chips last we checked is Johnny Chan (a ginger?), who is hoping to match Hellmuth's record 11 WSOP bracelets tonight. Chan is currently stacked at 2,125,000 while online poker phenom OMGClayAiken is the leader with 2.3 mil. Benyamine and Gerasimov (where's he been?) are fading away with 750k and 745k, respectively.

Keep track of chip counts here.

Hear what Daniel Negreanu has to say about OMGClayAiken here.

David Benyamine looking his best here.

UPDATE: Chan is choking, down to 330k. Some guy named Adam Hourani is apparently still in at the final table, with over 1.2 mil in chips.

UPDATE: Chan canned. OMGClayAiken, Benyamine and Adam Who?-rani remain.

Daniel Negreanu On OMGClayAiken, Online Poker Players In General

Daniel Negreanu is currently playing the stacked Event #28 final table (follow the action at WorldSeriesofPoker.com here).

In his latest vlog, Daniel talks about a sick move Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond made during the tourney and how pros dominating this year's bracelet tally shows that online poker players don't have quite the edge many used to think.

VIDEO: Daniel Negreanu 2008 WSOP vlog

Leilani Dowding Was Here at the 2008 WSOP

Remember our photo of the Perfect 10 girl who we said was an 8 (we were high at the time) from the Ladies Event at the 2008 WSOP? Probably not. She kind of blended in with the other 15 girls in the post that day.

Well, somehow we failed to make the connection then, but the girl is famous British top dropper Leilani Dowding.

If you're not familiar with Dowding, she's a former Miss Great Britain who went topless for Page 3 just like every other self-respecting hot British girl with a smoking hot body has done, then dated a bunch of soccer players (ditto) and has done the celeb-reality TV circuit (ditto again). She's now living in the U.S. and is engaged to some old dude who owns a famous pizza joint and was once married to the world's hottest GILF Raquel Welch.

Word we got from a friend is that the superbly hot, all natural Leilani Dowding is coming back to Vegas for the 2008 WSOP Main Event (not playing though), along with another famous British top dropper who we'll announce here soon. For now, click away below for some of her more modest photos, and for some NSFW pics go here, here, and here.

Click the thumbnails for larger images or visit the Leilani Dowding photo gallery:

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

Ahh yuck!

Girl on Girl at the 2008 WSOP: Tiffany Michelle & Michele Lewis

The below is WCP contributor Michele Lewis' first interview in her "Girl on Girl" series at the WSOP. Stay tuned for more interviews with some of the coolest, hottest girls in poker. Check out Michele's blog at michelelewis.com.

I finally had a chance to chat with Tiffany Michelle (above), known on WCP as the girl with two first names (guys, it’s her first and middle name, duuuuh). We hooked up in the quiet WSOP Poker Kitchen this week to discuss the little things in life. Tiffany Michelle is a sweet, friendly Gemini who enjoys singing, acting, music and loves animals… OK, I’ll stop with the Playboy-like description. Seriously though, she does have many talents, including playing the piano since she was six, a self-taught guitarist and a successful songwriter.

After finding success in the Hollywood cash games and live tournaments at the Hustler Casino she suddenly found herself on the Bombshell Poker Team for a week at the 2006 WSOP. A simple one week WSOP gig multiplied into six when she was approached by Nick Geber to interview for Bluff. Today, Tiffany Michelle spends less time playing live poker as she’s traveling the world interviewing pros for PokerNews; however, don’t be fooled as she’s often online playing under the name HotChipz. And even though she looks like just another pretty face, she is in fact, well spoken and takes pride in her work.

Interested in finding out what she thinks of the 2008 World Series of Poker, who is the sexpot of poker, what she looks for in a guy and how you may or may not get a date with her through MySpace? Then hump to the jump...

Patrik Antonius Has Some Interesting Prop Bet Offers

VIDEO: Patrik Antonius prop bet video

More RawVegas.tv 2008 WSOP Video Blogs:
Daniel Negreanu and Erick Lindgren during $5k rebuy break
Gavin Griffin at the $10k NLH Heads-Up Championship
Lacey Jones at the $1,500 Razz event

Poker Player Rocco Mediate Guns for U.S. Open Golf Title

When we first met poker player Rocco Mediate at the 2005 WSOP Main Event, we told him, "Son, you're a good poker player. But if you really put your mind to it, you could be a world champion golfer. Work on your game for a few years and then give 'em hell in 2008!"

Mediate, 45, apparently took our advice* and will play the Phil Ivey of golf, Tiger Woods, for the U.S. Open championship.

While a U.S. Open title isn't as tough as Erick Lindgren's golf prop bet last year or have the drama of Patrik Antonius and Daniel Negreanu's battle last week, we here it's still moderately prestigous.

The two will tee off at 9am PST. Get full chip counts here.

* And by "advice" we mean we said, "Hi, good to meet you..." which is closer to the real conversation we had.

2008 WSOP Update: Kenny Tran, Barry Greenstein, Max Pescatori Win Weekend Bracelets, Chan Goes for 11, Hellmuth for 12

 
Shannon Elizabeth (above) is among the millions of poker players not included in this WSOP update.

The Entities decided to take it a little easy this weekend, but only because we love you. As we've all learned through our respective marriages, the best way to make someone grow fonder of you is through a steady diet of ignoring them and neglect. And here you are thinking to yourself, "I thought it was through bringing them flowers, listening to their problems, and being a strong emotional rock of support." And that's why you're a pussy.

:: Event #24 ($2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/Hold'em) - Listen, we know sometimes people have no control over what their nicknames are, but there's nothing cool about being called "The Italian Pirate." However that didn't stop Max Pescatori from denying Allen Cunningham a WSOP bracelet for the 47th consecutive year. Pescatori banks his second bracelet and $246,471. Get full results here.

:: Event #25 ($10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up) - Many people consider Kenny Tran the best no limit hold'em cash player in the world. He doesn't play many WSOP events, but the ones he does, he does well. Tran won his first bracelet over the weekend by beating, as Dr. Pauly would say, a "redunkulous" field in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up World Championship at the WSOP. The win brings Tran $539,056. Vanessa Selbst, a woman, finished third. We've spotted Selbst at various cash games googling her name, and we think it might've been her confirming with this comment that she does have a hot girlfriend.

:: Event #26 ($1,500 Razz) - Barry Greenstein is the absolutely most perfect person in the world to win a Razz tournament. Razz is generally detested by most players and Greenstein often doesn't look like he's enjoying playing poker at all (even though it's quite the opposite). For the win, Greenstein banks $97,389 and his third bracelet. Archie Karas, yes this guy, came in seventh. Get full results here.

:: Event #27 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Over 2,700 entered and 17 remain. And it's an absolutely "friend and family" final 17. Get chip counts here.

:: Event #28 ($5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys) - Big name final table on this one. Online poker legend Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond is the chip leader stacked at 1,393,000. The final table also includes David Benyamine (1,041,000), John Juanda (694,000), going for a record tying 11th WSOP bracelet Johnny Chan (624,000), Daniel Negreanu (460,000), and going for a record 12th WSOP bracelet Phil Hellmuth (119,000). First pays $817,781 and final table play begins at 3pm PST.

The Brothers Hinkle are Good at Poker, Make WSOP History

Twelve days ago, 27-years-old Grant Hinkle of Kansas City won the first $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2008 WSOP, besting a massive field of nearly 4,000 players to win $831,462.

Last night, his better-known, younger brother, Blair Hinkle (above), who has been killing it lately on the tournament circuit (just scroll down here), won a WSOP bracelet of his own, taking down Event No. 23, the $2k buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event and bagging $507,563 for the win.

According to Nolan Dolla, this is the first time in the WSOP's 39-year history that siblings have won bracelets in the same year.

Semi-relatedly, sexy Spanish siblings Penelope and Monica Cruz recently made hot sisters history when they may or may not have made out in their brother's porn-themed music video (screen shot from video below, watch video here.

Get full payouts from the $2k NLHE event here.

2008 WSOP Update: Event No. 28, the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys event

Phil Ivey (on left) and Phil Laak (on right) are among the notable players in the $5k PLO w/ rebuys event.

As you'd expect with any $5,000 buy-in event with rebuys, the tables were loaded with big name pros tonight for Event No. 28, the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys event at the WSOP. A total of 152 players entered, up from last year's event, and there were 483 rebuys and add-ons by the end of the third level, bringing the prize pool up to $3,085,930. Early chipleaders include Jason Mercier, Andy Black, Gavin Smith, David Benyamine, Phil Galfond, Tony G, Johnny Chan and Jeff Williams. Others doing well on Day One and we'll just go with first/nick names 'cause we're getting lazy include Erick, Daniel, Dario, Joe, Durrr, Josh and Jesus. Head here to see a list of the players and their current chip counts.

Click away below for photos from Event No. 28 of Andy Bloch, Erik Seidel and a rare group shot of Chau Giang, Bill Gazes, Tony G and Phil Laak, all from Event No. 28.

 

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

Ahhhh!!!!!

Catching Up with Erick Lindgren at the 2008 WSOP

For the latest webisode of The Toke with Wicked Chops Poker, we caught up with poker pro Erick Lindgren while he was chilling in the Poker Royalty lounge. Listen to what he has to say about the WSOP so far, including Day 2 of the $10,000 World Championship Heads-Up Hold'em event.

Watch it on RawVegas.tv here.

Relatedly, we believe 6 is the highest number of pros/poker personalities someone has spotted in the Gavin Griffin video blog.

2008 WSOP Update: Blair Hinkle Looks to Be Second Hinkle to Win Bracelet; Allen Cunningham Goes for Sixth

While we already covered some of the current 2008 World Series of Poker events going on here and here, below are a few more recaps.

:: Event #23 ($2,000 NLH) - We own Blair Hinkle SEO, so hopefully he'll keep up the stellar 2008 he's having by joining his bro and capturing his first bracelet today. Hinkle is stacked second overall with 1,030,000. He slightly trails Andrew Jeffreys with 1,051,000. The most anonymous two-time-bracelet-winner-40-time-WSOP-casher ever Chris Bjorin is stacked seventh overall with 247,000. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #24 ($2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha) - Full Tilt Poker pro Allen Cunningham looks to make history by winning a bracelet in 47 consecutive years today (as Dr. Pauly would say, that's "redunkulous"). Cunningham is currently stacked second going into the Event #24 final table with 484,000. He's a blind behind Kyle Kloeckner (494,000). Also at the final table is Max "The Italian Pirate" Pescatori and Ming Ly. Get full final table chip counts here.

2008 WSOP Band of Bloggers: Get full recaps and payouts from WorldSeriesofPoker.com here. Get Dr. Pauly's take on WSOP happenings here. Gary Wise has some thoughts here. Please please don't forget Pokerati here. And get Poker Prof's recap and more photos here.

2008 WSOP Update: $10k World Championship Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em, Event No. 25

Chris "Genius28" Lee was among the pros who made it to the second round of the Heads-Up event today at the 2008 WSOP

The $10k buy-in World Championship Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship of the World at the World Series of Poker is down to 64 from its original 256. Players will play one more heads-up match tonight.

Chipleaders include everyone still in the tournament.

The favorite after two rounds has to be Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, who took down the National Heads-Up Championship in April and has the most wins of any pro in the televised tournament's four-year history.

Others to look out for include Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, the spectacularly breasted JC Tran, Erick Lindgren, Sammy Farha, Brandon Adams, Kenny Tran, Alex Jacob, Theo Tran and Nam Le.

Chip counts here.

More shots of what you're looking at above (and Eric Liu railbirding?) below . . .

Phil Gordon Has About-Face on Justin Bonomo, Loses Heads-Up to Him today at WSOP

Phil Gordon goes heads-up against Justin Bonomo today at the 2008 WSOP

Early in 2007, Phil Gordon publicly stated that he wanted nothing to do with Justin Bonomo, saying on his Poker Edge radio show:

'"I don't ever want to have him on the show...I don't want his name brought up on the show."

This week Bonomo's name did come up on Gordon's show, but this time the ridiculously tall poker pro (6'9" to all those people who strangely google it and end up on our site) had nothing but praise for the 22-year-old, saying he considers him "extremely bright," "a fantastic player," "respectful and nice," with "a very good attitude," and that he will be a force to reckon with for years to come.

He also said that Bonomo is a much better player than him, something Bonomo was able to prove today when the two ironically faced off during the second round of the World Heads-Up Hold'em Championship at the 2008 WSOP. After being down to under 3k in chips, Bonomo stormed back for the win and will move on to the third round tonight.

As for Gordon, we hear he's ready to have Bonomo on his show. Perhaps next week.

Relatedly, Gordon's wife gave birth to a baby boy a few weeks ago, and word is some of the Tilt Boys have a wager on the kid's eventual height. Over under set at 6'8".

Read our original post on Gordon not wanting anything to do with Bonomo here.

Listen to Gordon talking about Bonomo, among other things, on Poker Edge here.

See a photo of what we think Gordon would look like if he went life busto after the jump . . .

Fun with Gavin Griffin Video Blog

Name all of the notable poker players/industry types who walk by during Gavin Griffin's latest video blog. It's fun.

Or at least more fun than listening.

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

Ewww! [Shiver]

Poker Pro Daniel Negreanu Wins Fourth WSOP Bracelet

It's been quite a WSOP-winning dry spell for the man who many consider the best all-around tourney player in the game.

Daniel Negreanu captured 2004 WSOP Player of the Year honors when he won an event and made, to borrow a phrase from Dr. Pauly, a "redunkulous" five final tables.

Since then, he's made a few final tables but no bracelets.

That changed early morning when Negreanu took down Event #20 ($2,000 Limit Hold'em).

While Negreanu banked $207k for the win, the story many are talking about is the side bet he has with Phil Ivey and Ted Forrest. While we're still unclear on the terms with Forrest, Ivey, who likes to gamble, had a $200k-per-bracelet bet with Negreanu for the 2008 WSOP. We told you Negreanu was running hot.

A bunch of guys you never heard of finished 2-9. Get payouts here.

Relatedly:

- Learn how to play poker like Daniel Negreanu at Poker VT here.
- Watch Daniel's video blog before he took down the final table here.
- More pics of the win from the Poker Prof here.

Vanessa Selbst, A Wom--, A Woma--, Ugh, A Woman, Wins First WSOP Bracelet

Yesterday, we said it was inevitable. And while she almost blew it like that loser Big Brown, Vanessa Selbst, a woman, became the first woman poker player to ever win a WSOP bracelet ever in the history of woman at the World Series of Poker.

More or less.

Selbst took a Phil-Hellmuth-sweater's-breast-sized chip lead (in person they're bigger) to the final table, but was actually short-stacked for a time when it was down to three-handed. But Selbst, whose been steadily rising the ranks as a very respected tournament player and probably has a super hot girlfriend, buckled down and grinded out her first WSOP bracelet when she defeated Jamie Pickering heads-up.

For the win, Selbst banks $227,965. Get full payouts here.

2008 WSOP Update: Grinder Guns for 1st Bracelet in $5k No-Limit Hold'em Event

A week ago, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi final tabled the Omaha/7CS Hi-Lo event, only to fall short of his first WSOP bracelet by finishing 8th.

Tonight, we're down to 13 players in the $5k buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2008 WSOP, and he's in good position to make a run again, stacked third in chips with 850,000.

Scott Seiver, who already has two cashes this series, is the chipleader with just under 1.4 mil. Rajesh Vohra is second with just over a mil.

Speaking of Indian, if you're ever stuck at the Rio, the curiously named, not that we're curious, Gaylords is a must. Try the chicken tikka masala with a couple of orders of garlic naan bread. It's good eatin'.

What were we talking about again? Oh ... so yeh we saw this chick again. Damn.

Whaaaaaat? Grinder just busted while we were writing this post. So much for all of the above. They're down to 10 now. Jacobo Fernandez is now in third and Seiver's over the 2 mil mark. Also notable, Scott "SCTrojans" Freeman is still around, stacked at 465k.

Get another look at Grinder below . . .

2008 WSOP Update: Hellmuth Eyes 64th WSOP Cash

The $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event is done for the night, and 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth (above) is among the 180 or so players who will be returning to the tables tomorrow at 2pm.

Hellmuth is stacked at 47,500 (last report), and will be gunning for his ridiculous 64th WSOP cash and his 12th bracelet.

The chipleader at the end of the day may or may not be Dustin Dirksen, stacked at or around 172,000. Other pros still in include Barry Greenstein, Tim Phan, Allen Le, Jared "The Waco Kid" Hamby and the not very athletic Bill Gazes.

Our favorite Brazilian chica who doesn't model for Victoria's Secret Maridu is stacked just over $50,000.

Get updated chips counts while we're sleeping here.

Click thumbnails below for more hot photos of Hellmuth (and yes it's her again) below. . .

2008 WSOP Update: Event No. 23 - $2K Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em

Poker couple David Benyamine (top left photo) and Erica Schoenberg (top right photo) were among the pros who busted early in today's $2k buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event. The first tournament to kick off today at the 2008 WSOP was the $2K Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em event (Event No. 23). 1,344 runners entered--about 300 less than last year--bringing the total prize pool to $2,446,000. First place walks with $507,613. Players are currently on dinner break, and only 350 remain. It's Barry Greenstein who leads with 53,000. Swede Simon Lindqvist is close behind with 51,000. Other big names who are up early include Men Nguyen, Young Phan, and TJ Cloutier. 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth is still among the crowd, stacked at 13,000. He's been 'dodging some bullets' today, surviving an all in early with KK against AA when he spiked a set on the river. Our crazy Brazilian friend Maridu (photo at right) is up there near the top with 40,000 at the dinner break. Chip counts here. Guess whose boobs are whose here.

2008 WSOP Ginger of the Day

Ah!!!

Get Carrot Top's pubes off your face!