The TOKE: Enough of Duff, TV Poker Still Splashes the Pot, World’s Largest Casino Gets Larger, Recapping the WSOP, and One Damn Funny Poll

:: Trick or Badbeat.  Haylie Duff, star of…being Hilary’s sister...is hosting her second annual Halloween poker charity tournament.  The least attractive of the less attractive celebrity sisters (a not necessarily unattractive group that includes the Simpsons, Spearses, and Olsens, all of whom have probably slept with Wilmer Valderrama) teamed up with igotpoker.com, the ugly sister of other poker sites, to sponsor the event.  No word if the more popular Bodog babes will show up and get all Mean Girlson the event.   Poker News
:: Poker Rakes Ratings.  As covered by OddJack last week, poker is still a ratings boon for stations, checking in now as the third most watched sport on TV (behind only the NFL and NASCAR…which isn’t a “sport” anyway, so poker is really second).  GSN begins filming its “High Stakes Poker,” pitting pros and biz execs in cash games, in November at the Nugget.  Yahoo!
:: Poker Not Fad-ing Away.  The poker boom also continues at the world’s largest casino—Foxwoods.  The resort and casino will be expanding to include more room for poker.  In total, Foxwoods will grow from 76 to 114 tables.  CardPlayer
:: Kick Ass Recap.  We’re about halfway through ESPN's WSOP ME coverage, and Atlanta’s biggest poker organization, Kick Ass Poker, posts their recap of key events so far.  If you need to catch up on the action, this covers it all.  Kick Ass Poker
:: “That’s a Great Mask!” “It’s not a mask.”  Although non-poker-related, some things are too funny to ignore.  For you FFL wonks (Chops), OddJack has one of the funniest polls you’ll find on the Internet: “Which Fantasy Football Writer Would Make The Scariest Halloween Mask?”  ESPN Insider’s Scott Engel and Eric Karabel currently lead.  OddJack

For One Day, Forget Poker. Time to Hunker Down.

Chops here.

DAWGS.

Two weeks ago, Snake had his big rivalry weekend.  This week, it’s my team—the DAWGS—as we engage in the world’s biggest annual cocktail party. 

That’s right.  Tomorrow, all thoughts of pot odds, pressure bets, and position will be put aside as I watch my DAWGS hunker down against those cheesy-ass Florida Gators.

I could sit here and make obvious gator-hater jokes.  But we all know Gators wear jean shorts.  And why keep piling on a University that offers airbrushed diplomas.  Like girls who go to UF, it’d be just too easy. 

Oh, there are people who doubt the DAWGS.  No doubt that after Shockley went down, those mulletheads at UF started getting their hopes up.  I can just see it…there's Terry and Ricky driving in their Mustang, cracking open a Natty Light, discussing how the Gators would surely defeat a depleted DAWGS squad.  So to Terry, Ricky, and all of you other Gator fans, DAWGS nation only has one thing to say to you:

So Amateur: Introducing Steve Dannenmann, aka, The Weaz

Those who watched ESPN's WSOP coverage on Tuesday surely noticed a weasely looking fellow named Steve Dannenmann.  Which one was he?  Dannenenenmannenenman (the eventual WSOP ME runner-up) was the redheaded stepchild giving Lederer the stink eye.  You know, the guy who instantly stood up after bluffing Lederer (one of the all-time class acts) out of a hand, slithered away from the table, called his buddy, and said it looked like, "somebody shot his dog...6-8...I pop him for 30! (weasely laughter)." 

And for his blatant weaselness and misplaced bravado, we will now refer to Steve Dannenmann from here on out as…(drumroll…cymbal): The Weaz.  As you can tell by the above side-by-side graphic representation, the similarities go far beyond The Weaz simply having weasely personality traits.

Deuce of Spades is Uranus...and Other Revelations

:: snake

Based on the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, it's clear that in 2008 Phil Gordon will need to reach out to Red State voters in his bid to become the leader of the Free(roll) World. And as such, it would certainly be helpful for Phil to find some connection between his love of poker and the Eternal Chip Leader High Above; other than, of course, the Hail Marys people offer up to the Queen of Cards when attempting a poorly timed bluff.

Well, apparently one of Phil's fans has found a connection. On Gordon's website, the Next President of the United States of America shares an email from a constituent who asks:

"Have you ever investigated the Bible sir? In it, is a description of the playing cards. The Bible as a guide, to why we play Poker, is why we write."

The devoted Phil fan goes on to explain how playing cards relates to the Book of Revelations, which I understand is at the end of the Bible and talks about the end of the world and apparently, from what this guy says, Uranus.

The Blogfiles: Double A's

Intro:  This dude can play. 

Of all the poker bloggers, few have a game more respected than Double A’s.  Hell, we even linked to one of his strategy articles, and as you’ve seen, strategy articles seldom give Wicked Chops Poker a chance to blatantly showcase hot girls.  So that says something.

In our continuing Blogfiles, Double A’s tells us about his book, common rookie mistakes to take advantage of, and what it feels like to be the Day 1 chip leader at a WSOP event…

Don't Like Poker? Welcome to Northern Marianas College – Earth’s Least Cool School

Are you a nerd?  Were you a hall monitor in high school?  Are you one of those kids that wouldn’t let us cheat off of you in Algebra?  Do you still think that gambling, poker, smokes and booze are tools of the devil?

If you answered “yes” to more than one of the above questions (particularly the last one), then we’ve found the perfect school for you!  Introducing: Northern Marianas College! 

According to the Saipan Tribune—which is the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) leading local newspaper—students at Northern Marianas College are “circulating a petition in support of a House bill that would impose stricter regulations on the poker industry.” 

Editor’s Note: Saipan, one of three nerdy islands that make up the CNMI, is about 120 miles south of the much cooler American territory, Guam. 

Students petitioned for passage of the poker bill, which has been held up in limbo in the CNMI Senate for months.  This dreadful bill, “seeks to impose higher poker fees, prohibit poker establishments from the villages, and increase the distance of poker rooms from schools and churches.” 

And in a bit of truth that is too funny for us to even make up, the students hope to obtain “at least 5,000 signatures” for the bill.  So far…12 students have signed it.  Only 4,988 to go! 

Death Metal Poker is All the Rage in Sweden

:: snake

Other than Charlotte Church and Celine Dion (her early stuff), it's no secret that my favorite kind of music is Scandinavian death metal. I mean, when it comes to demons and decibels, nothing quite does the trick for me like the hard stuff from places like Gothenburg and Roskilde. So while surfing around the website of my favorite Scandi-metalheads, Dark Tranquillity, I came across some exciting news: Dark Tranquillity's Martin Brändström, who we all know for his wicked chops on "electronics" and seen in the pic here (the black + white one), has gotten a gig as a poker writer for Sweden's Poker Magazine.

Here's what he told all us "metallers":

Breaking News - Bluff/ESPN Sign Partnership

In an unprecedented legit poker news day for Wicked Chops Poker, we just got word that Bluff Media has signed a strategic partnership with ESPN.  Deal highlights include Bluff providing ESPN.com with exclusive poker content and Poker Player Rankings, and Bluff's Fantasy Poker Challenge will be re-branded as the Bluff Magazine/ESPN Fantasy Poker Challenge.  Read more on the Bluff Forum and later in the week when the press release drops.

BlackSpy’s Worst Ever iPod Playlist Invitational

Wicked Chops Poker weekly game regular BlackSpy (seen left) has set up a tournament on PokerStars this Sunday at 8:20 (PM, EST).  It’s a $20+2 buy-in freeze-out NLH game, and cause he’s such a swell guy, he’s invited any Wicked Chops Poker reader with a spare virtual Andrew Jackson in their account to join in. 

As we detailed last week, BlackSpy (Col B) is known for rocking some interesting song selections in his iPod when we play poker.  And since BlackSpy wasn’t able to play in our live game this past week, the online tournament gives him the opportunity to unwind as he sits (naked) in his swanky Midtown Atlanta condo, blasting a shuffle that goes from Miles Davis to Sheena Easton to Pearl Jam to Dionne Warwick. 

Feel free to join BlackSpy’s Worst Ever iPod Playlist Invitational and provide BlackSpy suggestions on better songs to upload in his iPod. 

Here are the details:

10/30/05 - 8:20pm Eastern
PokerStars Tournament # 14246492
BlackSpy's Tourney
Password:  SheenaEaston
Buy-in:  $20+2
Game:  No Limit Hold'em

WSOP Main Event Day 2 Coverage Tonight

Day 2 of the WSOP ME was one of the most entertaining and interesting days of the tournament, as pros made their moves and built their stacks as amateurs white-knuckle-clung to their tournament life, hoping to cash.  In fact, when the day ended, only six or seven players needed to bust before everyone made the money.

When the day started, rounders were dropping like flies, or some other metaphor indicating that many players were getting eliminated quickly.  Among them were Gus Hansen (maybe he needed to skip town again to avoid paying off his debt) and Chris Moneymaker (drunk).

The first featured table of the day included Layne Flack and Paul Darden. Later, things really picked up when Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi moved to the featured table with Flack.  As we all know, the Grinder, who before playing poker was the WWF's Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake, is a machine, and he was taking his maniacal game to Layne Flack, who took it right back to him.  Should make for good TV. 

Chip Reese showed us why he’s one of the best ever, and Minneapolis Meehan consistently spewed comedic verbal poetry.  And Barry Paskin.  Oh Barry Paskin.  Paskin was in full stink/theatrics mode early on, and eventually had to change shirts because he smelled so damn bad.  We couldn’t get within 10 feet of the guy.

We also saw  Shannon Elizabeth go down in a four-way. Former world champ Greg Raymer started his “Is this the most impressive run in WSOP history?”, while another former champ, Dan Harrington, ended his.   And of course, we’re sure you’ll see Johnny Rockets from Daytona hopping up on his chair and begging for his tournament life…and 15 minutes of fame. 

Read all of our day 2 coverage, and then tune into ESPN at 8 (PM, EST) tonight for their take.

Breaking News - Wicked Chops Poker Covers Actual Breaking News - 2K6 WSOP Schedule Released

Harrah's Entertainment has released the 2006 WSOP schedule.  The event is pushed to a later start date again next year, with Harrah's ultimate goal to have the 2007 WSOP actually start in 2008*. 

Some highlights:

:: Satellites and live action begins June 25, with the first event ($500 casino employee NLH) beginning on the 26th. 
:: Harrah's expects the rise in entries to the Main Event to continue, as they are planning for four total Day 1's.
:: There are 44 total events.
:: The Main Event will remain at a $10,000 buy-in and begins on July 28.

Read the press release and view the entire schedule here.

*Not actually one of Harrah's goals, as far as we know.

The TOKE: PartyGaming Up, A.J. Soprano Down, and Some Hacking Around

:: News Flash--Online Poker Sites Make Money.  PartyGaming (PRTY) had a great third quarter, further validating that online poker sites apparently are money making machines after all.  Bloomberg

:: That Annoying Kid You Hate on the Sopranos Busted Again.  Robert Iler, aka A.J. Soprano, managed to suck the life out of yet another scene.  Except this time, it wasn’t on the set of HBO’s killer mob drama.  Cops busted the Ace Point Backgammon and Chess Studio just as Iler and his friends showed up.  Iler, who can spoil a mood worse than Sofia Coppola in GF3, somehow managed to get off scot-free.  Poker News

:: Only You Can Prevent a Poker Hacker.  A recent InfoWorld article picked up by Pokerati and expanded on by OddJack details a possible rise in the sophistication of poker hacking.  The article discusses how one kid had a Trojan on his computer which, "alerted other online players when [he was] was online. It then recorded his cards during the different hands of poker and sent that information to the monitoring users.  [The kid] said that early on he was winning all the time, but lately he consistently lost his biggest hands — not that it stopped him from playing, unfortunately.”  Is this just another excuse from some donkey that can't accept he's a bad player?  Obviously the kid is a moron if he's consistently losing AND STILL PLAYS.  But OddJack does break-down good some points on the credibility of the threat.    OddJack & InfoWorld