The Ten Most Wicked Stories of 2007 - Part III

Halfway through the list after these two. Come hell or high water we will (possibly) have the list wrapped by tonight.

6) Micon Gets Rolled, Unleashes the Fuck You Machine. Do not mess with Bryan Micon. Or at least don't try to con $12k from him. Back in September, a man named Justin Smith somehow convinced Micon he was a baller with a big bank account, and eventually got Micon to "lend" him $12k with the promise of returning $100k to Micon for the favor. Of course, that didn't happen. Over the course of the next few months, Micon went on the warpath, uncovering many others who Smith "allegedly" rolled, obtaining and posting Smith's SSN (which he released one digit at a time on Neverwinpoker until Smith paid his money back), posting Smith's phone number, recording and posting numerous hilarious phone calls with Smith, going on RawVegas.tv to skewer him (here), and hitting the radio airwaves to tell his story. While the social significance of this story doesn't rank up there with global warming or how to ease Middle East tensions, it was certainly a helluva lot more entertaining to watch unfold. Hats off to Micon, king of the degenerates, for the laughs. Revisit the topic thread here.

5) Goodbye Sabina, Hello Layla and Kimberly. While at the WPT Championship in April, Wicked Chops Poker learned (and later broke the story) that Sabina Gadecki was going to get the axe. At the time, we were a little bummed. By all accounts, Sabina is a sweetheart. And not bad looking either. However, had we known that Sabina's departure would usher in the fantastically attractive and talented tandem of Layla Kayleigh and Kimberly Lansing, we would've been like, "Dammit, we're running out of good veins to put this needle." Wait, were we talking about heroin? What happened. Where are we? Anyway, one step back, two steps forward on this one by the WPT. Watch interviews with Kimberly and Layla here and here. Some of their best work below.

The Ten Most Wicked Stories of 2007 - Part II

With Pamela paying off her poker debt and Hellmuth's car crash out of the way, on to numbers eight and seven.

8) Poker Player Prop Bets More Interesting Than The Poker. With a few exceptions, the action off the felt was much more interesting than the action on the felt this year. Thank God for booze and dudes with a lot of money who aren't afraid to gamble it. Some stand-out prop bets this year include Erick Lindgren's epic 72-hole golf marathon (below), Gavin Smith getting Joe Sebok's initials tat'd, Bill Gazes getting bonked with a football, and the WPT 12 hour, $15k pool bet in Turks and Caicos, an island whose capital city is named Cockburn Town, if we failed to mention that before.

7) Celebs Represent at WSOP Main Event. While the final table was far from star-studded at the 2007 WSOP Main Event, it certainly had tons of potential when the bubble broke. Lemur look-alike Tobey Maguire (right) went deep, as did Godsmack lead singer Sully Erna for the second year in a row, Old School director Todd Philips, and Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon.

Numbers six and five (much) later today...

The Ten Most Wicked Stories of 2007 - Part I

Recovering from a major post-Holiday binger, we're a little late getting to our semi-annual "Biggest Stories of the Year" post. We're taking a slightly different approach this year, and every subsequent every-other-year from here on out, as the stories won't necessarily be the "biggest" of the year as they will be the most "wicked." Or put another way, these are the stories that we liked the most, and from feedback from readers, link throughs, and overall traffic, others seemed to have liked the most. Very scientific.

We'll post the results two-at-a-time because it reminds us of how many girls we used to have sex with each night when we were single.

And for the record, some stories just missing the top 10 include Jamie Gold and Crispin "Don't Call Me Bruce" Leyser settling their lawsuit, the Brandi Hawbaker/David Sklansky relationship, Barney Frank introducing repeal of the UIGEA legislation (and other efforts to overturn the Act), David "The Dragon" Pham* winning Card Player's POY, and Annette Obrestad, a woman, winning the WSOPE Main Event.

10) Pamela Anderson Bangs, Marries Dude to Pay Off Poker Debt, Then Divorces Him. What would any Wicked Chops list be without a hot chick with big boobs? While Pam isn't our favorite poker playing cougar, she's certainly up there. Pam, who has been into poker for awhile, reportedly rang up a $250k poker debt while in Vegas co-headlining a magic act with Hans Klok. To pay it off, she did what any smart girl would do, she banged a dude. We had to dock Pam some points for having to resort to scumbag Rick Solomon to pay off said debt, but she gets a few extra points back for (possibly) mucking Solomon soon thereafter. This relationship was also a boon for sexually transmitted diseases everywhere. Hep, meet Herp. Herp, hep. Good times. Read our first post on it here, and some more news on it here and here.

9) Phil Hellmuth Crashes His Car, Face, Body, Ego Remain Unscathed. After winning his record-setting 11th bracelet at the 2007 WSOP, Phil Hellmuth crashed his race car into a barrier while filming a promotional bit for Ultimate Bet. The crash made headlines not only in the usual suspects of poker forums, but was even discussed on msnbc.com, ESPN News, totalfark, and other pop culture sites. Naturally, some thought it was a publicity stunt which, for the record, we know it was not, but can certainly see why it was viewed that way. Read more about it here and here, watch exclusive footage from RawVegas.tv of the crash below, and Hellmuth's thoughts on the post-crash aftermath here.

* Not a real dragon. 

Layla Kayleigh Doesn't Have Butt Implants, Won't Pose Nude, Wants to See Denise in Playboy and Can Talk While Walking Really Well

RawVegas.tv's hottie hostess Denise Pernula met up with World Poker Tour hostess Layla Kayleigh recently as the final table for the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic All-Star Spectacular (WPTDBFDWPCASS) was getting underway.

The two walked and talked outside the Bellagio about things such as what's in the headline above and about how Layla got her gig on the WPT. Check out the Layla Kayleigh video at RawVegas.tv or watch it below.

For a video of Layla alone in her hotel room, go here.

For a video of Denise talking dirty with Andrea Tiede, go here.

And speaking of great breasts...for how to make the sport of boob slapping boring, go here.

Jerry Yang, God to Play 2008 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship

NBC has announced its initial line-up for the (no longer?) Shana Hiatt-hosted 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, and while most of the field is the same old same old (Doyle, Ivey, Chan, Jesus, Greenstein, Hellmuth, Shannon Elizabeth), a few new players on the scene are set to compete including Mirage Poker Showdown winner Jonathan Little, high stakes cash player Brian Townsend and God-on-his-side 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang (seen at right), who besides his Chris McCandless-esque journey into the wilds of that cold ice mass north of America, we haven't seen much of since July.

Antonio Esfandiari, who hasn't done much on the poker circuit since Bush's first term, is also among the players set to play, for some reason. Or maybe he's just going to do table side magic or something.

The nationally televised single elimination tournament, which was won last year by Paul Wasicka, is set to take place February 29 - March 2 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas just as the LA Poker Classic wraps at the Commerce. The show will air on NBC in April and May.

For more on the NBC Heads-Up Championship go to the official site here.

For what 2006 WSOP Main Event champ Jamie Gold had to say about Wicked Chops Poker at last year's NBC Heads-Up championship go here.

For why you should go read a book, go here.

Eugene Katchalov Wins WPTDBFDWPCASS, But That's Not the Story

Lost in the hub-bub of the big names who went deep and didn't make the final table in the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic All-Star Spectacular (WPTDBFDWPCASS) is that Kimberly Lansing is even better looking in person than in her WPT Online web cam vids. That's the storyline that nobody is writing about. That's the storyline that you'll only get here at Wicked Chops Poker.

Sure, Eugene Katchalov won the tournament, banking $2,482,6052. And Jordan Rich, who is a ginger and thus creepy as fuck, but also our prediction to win it all, flamed out in fifth place ($289,706). But that's not the story. Let's keep our eye on the ball, people. Interview with Kimberly below.

Get full results and reporting here.

Video interview with Kimberly Lansing

WPTDBFDWPCASS Final Table Not As Good As It Could've Been

Even after Phil Ivey's Day 3 flame-out, the  World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic All-Star Spectacular (WPTDBFDWPCASS) was shaping up to be one of the more compelling final tables of the year.

Daniel Negreanu took the chip lead into play today, but busted in 14th place. Also falling just short was Todd Brunson (15th place) and Erick Lindgren (10th place).

Instead, taking the chip lead to the final table is Eugene Katchalov (8,360,000). He's followed by our prediction to win this, Jordan "Ginger" Rich (6,585,000).

The final table isn't void of all star power, as Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott is third overall, stacked at 1,900,000. Ryan Daut, who won a WPT earlier this year, is the short-stack at 330,000.

Get live reporting here.

Daniel Negreanu Playing Much Better Poker Since Divorce

A couple weeks ago, Daniel Negreanu wrote in his blog that he was getting divorced. While there's nothing "necessarily" funny about getting divorced, from what he wrote, it seemed like a decision he was more than OK with and was ready to move on.

Presently, all three of the Entities who comprise Wicked Chops Poker are married to our current/first wives. So we're no experts in what divorce can do to one's poker game (yet). But in a very unscientific survey involving Daniel Negreanu and no one else, we'd say that it seems like divorce can--in fact--improve one's poker game tremendously. Interesting...very...interesting.

With only 21 remaining, Negreanu is the new chip leader at the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic All-Star Spectacular (WPTDBFDWPCASS). Going into Day 5 play, he's stacked at 2,279,000. He's followed by Matthew Casterella (1,686,000), and Day 3 chip leader, Jordan "Ginger" Rich (1,640,000). Other notable bigs include: Dave Ulliott (1,579,000), Erick Lindgren (1,571,000), Ryan Daut (1,239,000), and Todd Brunson (1,105,000).

Gun Hansen was eliminated in 22nd place. Huck Seed was eliminated in 24th.

Video of Daniel Negreanu below discussing how he was a better player in 2004 and how the day was going for him.

Phil Ivey Does Not Win WPTDBFDWPCASS; Hansen, Negreanu, Lindgren Among Chip Leaders

After spending a couple of days crushing the  World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic All-Star Spectacular (WPTDBFDWPCASS), Phil Ivey flamed out on Day 2 just short of the money.

Ivey had been playing his typical aggressive style all day, putting his stack in jeopardy numerous time. But his stack started taking hits and dwindling down. His last hand of the tourney was against Hoyt Corkins, who in typical Hoyt-style, had been sucking out on people all day and built a big stack. Ivey pushed all-in after the flop with an open-ended straight draw. Hoyt held two Kings. The Kings held. Ivey busted in 103rd place...with 100 places paying.

The chip leader after Day 3 is Jordan Rich, a ginger. Rich, who like most gingers has no soul, is stacked at 1,238,000. He gained most of those chips by creeping the people at his table the fuck out as they stared into his soulless eyes.

Many notable big names are big stacked, including Gus Hansen (1,128,000), Daniel Negreanu (844,000), Erick Lindgren (497,000), Hoyt Corkins (453,000), Todd Brunson (393,000), Roy Winston (333,000), Marcel Luske (275,000), Ryan Daut (271,000), Dave Ulliott (240,000), and the guy we've been predicting a big win from for two years now, Huck Seed (127,000).

Phil Ivey Crushing WPTDBFDWPCASS

Quick update from the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic All-Star Spectacular (WPTDBFDWPCASS).

Phil Ivey continues to crush all-comers, ending Day 2 play stacked at 460,700. The only other person over 400k is Lee Markholt Jr. at 442,500. Other notable bigs include: Nenad Medic (330,500), Erick Lindgren (304,600), Daniel Negreanu (265,700), and Daniel Alaei (262,300).

Ivey interview with Kimberly Lansing below discussing how focused he is for the event.

The WPTDBFDWPCASS Is a Big Deal

The  World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic All-Star Spectacular (WPTDBFDWPCASS) is shaping up to be one of the biggest tournaments in poker history. The official field was announced at 664 players. With so many players in the field and a $15,000 buy-in, this year's WPTDBFDWPCASS ranks as the fourth largest prize pool in WPT history behind only the WPT Championship V, IV, III.

As the always excellent B.J. Nemeth reported on the WPT website:

The two biggest money tournaments of each year (by a long shot) are the WSOP Main Event and the WPT World Championship. Nothing even approaches those two tournaments in terms of prizepool.

If you remove those two events from consideration, the 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic has the biggest prizepool in history -- $9,661,200.

To give a little perspective, this tournament has more money at stake than the 2003 WSOP Main Event, when Chris Moneymaker won.

Day 1B is coming to a close, and some big names pepper the leaderboard, with John Phan leading them all stacked at 103,500. Also big stacked with 90 minutes remaining include Phil Ivey (97,800), Joe Sebok (92,000), Ted Forrest (87,000), Darrell "Deep" Dicken (82,700), Patrik Antonius (80,300), Robert Mizrachi (78,400), and Mike "The Mouth" Matusow (73,600).

Get full chip counts here.

In related news, where the hell are some YouTube vids of Kimberly Lansing? Did we lose a war?

END OF DAY UPDATE: Phil Ivey surged to a major chip lead in the last 90 minutes of play, ending Day 1B stack at 223,025. Joe Sebok closed Day 1B out with 125,025, and Darrell "Deep" Dicken finished with 114,125.

People Got Drunk at Phil Hellmuth's Holiday Party

This past Tuesday night, Phil Hellmuth threw a big birthday/holiday party in a Palms fantasy suite. If we were retarded, we'd say it looked "off the chain" or "off the hook" or "was the bomb." The dude with that thing on his chin from Anthrax played, and apparently, plenty of booze was available.

Having some fun at the party included party tour guide Gavin Smith, recent Five-Diamond $5k runner-up finisher Sully Erna, Roland de Wolfe, and Jamie Gold (who provides one of the night's best lines about 3:45 in). Watch below or here.

Johnny "World" Hennigan Leads Day 1A of WPT Tournament With Long Name

The poker world has converged on the Bellagio for the last major event of 2007, the highly-anticipated World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic All-Star Spectacular (WPTDBFDWPCASS).

The tournament has lots on the line, including the Card Player POY award. The spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (at right, posing with a bottle of RGX body spray) vaulted right back into contention the day before the tournament began with a win in a Five-Diamond $5k buy-in prelim event. Tran bested Godsmack lead singer Sully Erna, who continues to post impressive results, proving he deserves a sponsorship. The win moved Tran into second place in the standings.

On to Day 1A of the WPTDBFDWPCASS, where the man Tran is chasing, David "The Dragon" Pham*, was eliminated, giving J.C. and the man in third, Jonathan Little, a shot at the POY title.

Johnny "World" Hennigan, who won a WPT event earlier this year, ended Day 1A play as the big stack, with 188,700. He's trailed by a field that includes but is not limited to: John Gale (126,100), Hoyt Corkins (114,000), Erik Seidel (108,475), Ralph Perry (102,000), Greg Mueller (98,625), Amir Vahedi (89,625), Liz Lieu (80,125), Todd Brunson (74,225), Roy Winston (72,575), Ted Lawson (70,600), the on-a-roll Josh Arieh (69,325), Dewey Tomko (68,150), Steve Billirakis (64,975), the aforementioned Jonathan Little (61,675), Huck Seed (61,200), and Peter "Nordberg" Feldman (58,625).

As always, great tournament reporting and vlogs on the WPT Online site here.

* Not a real dragon.

Daniel Negreanu Playing Lots of Online Poker, Remembers Chip Reese

In his latest vlog, Daniel Negreanu takes a break from filming his poker virtual training project to talk about the amount of online poker he's been playing lately (lots) and the passing of Chip Reese. Chip's funeral was last Friday, and aside from being one of the best poker players of all-time, Daniel said he really remembers Chip as being an "awesome father." Watch below.

Bluff Magazine Releases Chris "BluffMagCV" Vaughn

Last week, Chris Vaughn and Sorel Mizzi came clean about their account-selling victory in the October 21st Full Tilt Poker $1M Guarantee. Facing fall-out from that admission, Bluff Magazine decided to terminate Chris Vaughn's employment today.

Bluff statement:

Bluff Media, publisher of Bluff Magazine, has made the decision to terminate Chris Vaughn as Managing Editor. In light of Chris’ involvement, recently admitted facts and the feedback obtained from industry professionals, it became apparent that the credibility required to perform the job functions of Managing Editor of Bluff Magazine at our company’s level of standards have become severely diminished. While we regret having to make this decision, we believe that it is the best alternative for all parties involved, including Chris, Bluff Media and the poker playing community at large. We wish Chris the best of luck.

Poker Tops Lycos' Most Searched Terms for 2007

For the second straight year, poker has topped Lycos' most searched terms on the Internet, beating out myspace (who the fuck doesn't know the URL for myspace? retards...), Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and golf.

Poker did so because the Entities went to lycos.com and searched the term "poker" like 15 times. Seriously, does anyone even use lycos anymore?

Much to our surprise, the top searched females were Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Pamela Andeson (is lycos pulling from their 1997 data, when people actually used lycos???), and Anna Nicole Smith (see previous comment). Not making the list were Keeley Hazell (image at right pulled from lycos image search) OR Joanna Krupa.

Read the Lycos Top 50 here.

Brandi Hawbaker To Start Lighting the Menorah?

For most people in poker, the following would not qualify as news, but Brandi Hawbaker is not most people in poker, because she's hot. Shit, if we found out that Brandi got a paper cut, we'd have some headline like, "BREAKING: Brandi Hawbaker, A Woman, Is Smoking Hot, Has a Paper Cut," so what the hell, here goes.

A reader forwarded us an email supposedly from Brandi where she explains where she's been lately and what she's been up to (cause it ain't been on the poker circuit).

And according to the email, Brandi has kicked all of her "bad" habits (drugs, booze) and "made the choice to convert to Judaism."

In a scientific poll where we interviewed all three of us Entities (margin of error 0%), we decided that Jewish girls are particularly hot, so this conversion to Judaism, if true, qualifies as the sexiest conversion of the year.

We'd post the entire email but that's not cool, plus we have no way of confirming if it's real or not. However, we'll note that if the email is a fraud, someone has way to much fucking time on their hands, because it's a few pages long.

In related news, watch this for the 1,000th time.

Allen Cunningham and David Singer's Epic NPL Vegas Open Final Table

In what can best be described as "excruciating," Allen Cunningham bested David Singer in a two-day, 147 hour (or so) final table at the NPL Las Vegas Open.

The final table was "epic." Not necessarily because it was the greatest final table ever, but because the Iliad and the Odyssey were also described as "epic," which means they were excruciatingly long and difficult to read. Fuck Homer. That's why we always bought Cliff Notes. That and because we're lazy.

Anyway, Cunningham won, banking $325,105. Get more information here, since we're the only outlet covering it.

In related news, this.

UPDATE: Aha! Las Vegas Vegas has lots more information on the tourney here.

Chris Vaughn and Sorel Mizzi Have More To Say

Poker News has put up Part II of their interview with Chris Vaughn and Sorel Mizzi. In it, they briefly discuss Vaughn's victory in the Poker Stars $1M Guaranteed the week after his now DQ'd FTP win.

Interestingly, the Poker Stars win will stand, as an investigation showed that Vaughn did play the entire tournament from one IP (whether or not Mizzi also played at that IP cannot be proven). So as far as Stars can tell, no cheating occurred in that one.

They both expressed remorse for the controversey and black-eye this has caused for online poker.

Finally, Bluff Magazine, Vaughn's employer, issued a statement on the incident, which you can read after the jump.

Read Part II here, Part I here, and read about past participles here.

Josh Arieh Does Not Win WSOPC New Orleans

Atlantan and Team Bodog member Josh Arieh fell just short of going wire-to-wire at the WSOPC Main Event at Harrah's in New Orleans.

Arieh, who held the chip lead at the end of each day and throughout most of the final table, ended up in second, losing heads-up to Andy Philachack. This is Philachack's second major cash of the year, as he finished second in WSOP Event #15 to Phil Hellmuth when the Poker Brat won bracelet #11.

For the win, Philachack banks $247,860. Arieh takes home $130,050 for second.

Get full final table payouts here.

* Philachack image from Poker News.

Don't Tase Me, Bro! Phil Hellmuth at Beauty and the Bet Charity Fundraiser

Some thing are just funny. Like Phil Hellmuth interviewing the CEO of Taser International on his charity poker tournament at the Palms. The event, called Beauty and the Bet, was held to benefit fallen police officers. And if we can editorialize for a moment, it's one of the best kind of charity fund-raisers imaginable, as it incorporated two things which should be required by law to be part of any philanthropic endeavor: poker and hot girls with big boobs.

Watch the video below or here. Watch Phil Hellmuth vlogs here. Read the USA Today article Hellmuth references in the video here.

Vinnie Vinh Still Alive, Has Non-Chair Cash at Five Diamond

If we did shit like have polls for "Best Story of the Year," we'd be willing to bet that Vinnie Vinh's chair cashing twice at the 2007 WSOP would win that award, along with "Funniest Story of the Year," and "Best Story Involving Crack-Cocaine of the Year," which would slightly edge out any story about Elix Powers if there were any.

So we were very, very happy to see Vinnie Vinh not "account selling" to his chair and actually cashing in his own right at the Bellagio Five-Diamond Classic early this morning.

Vinh finished 15th in Event #7, banking $6,770. Also cashing include Ryan Daut, "Miami" John Cernuto, Joe Sebok, and Men Nguyen. The final table is today, and includes chip leader Roy Winston, Dan Alspach, Jared Hamby, and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.

More on Vinh from the 2007 WSOP here, here, here (the infamous "chair" interview), here and here.

View full Five-Diamond results here.

Allen Cunningham Takes Chip Lead to NPL Las Vegas Open Final Table

The $15,000 NPL Las Vegas Open is down to its final six, with Allen Cunningham big stacked at 540,500.

Two-time WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. final table-ist David Singer is second overall with 332,500. The final table also includes (in no particular order) Toto Leonidas (186,000), Mikael Thoritz (180,100), Antonio Salorio (249,700), and Nikolah Evdakov (221,100).

Total prize pool is $812,763, and first place will take down $325,105.

Read more here, since we're apparently the only media outlet reporting on it.

In related news, this.

Josh Arieh Looks to Go Wire-to-Wire at WSOPC New Orleans

Atlantan and Team Bodog player Josh Arieh (at 2006 WSOP, top left), who consequently was probably the only person you'd have heard of in the entire field at the WSOP Circuit event at Harrah's in New Orleans, remains the only person you've ever heard of heading into final table play.

Arieh has led wire-to-wire, and takes the big stack to the final table today with 510,000. He is followed by David Fox at 324,000.

Get full chip counts here and live blogging when final table play begins at 2pm EST here.

Photos of Josh Arieh and Joanna Krupa at the 2006 WSOP

Chris 'BluffMagCV' Vaughn and Sorel 'Imper1um' Mizzi Admit to Account Selling

Poker News landed an exclusive interview with Chris Vaughn and Sorel Mizzi (at right) where the two come clean about their joint victory in the Full Tilt $1M Guaranteed tournament, a victory FTP has since taken away and awarded to second place finisher Soren Kongsgaard.

In Part I of the interview, Vaughn describes how his FTP account began freezing up when there was around 24 players remaining in the tournament. He was on instant messenger with Mizzi, and asked him to log in to his account while Vaughn, a Bluff Magazine employee, drove to work for a better connection. The conversation quickly turned to selling the account. Mizzi then took over and won the event.

However, Mizzi then emphatically denies he regularly cheats, account sells, or ghosts:

"...I'm not a – I'm not a cheater; I'm not a multi-accounter. I acted fast without malice and didn't intend to hurt Chris and myself, opponents, or the entire poker community. This is something that was a one-time – it was a one-time thing and I clearly didn't give it much thought, which is exactly why I got caught, because… because of actually logging into his account which would be traced. But, I want to make it clear that this is something that was an isolated incident and it's, it's not something that I've done in the past."

Vaughn later admits he "lied" in an interview on thepokerroad.com with Harbabalosis Voulgabalosisisis and Scott Huff when he denied selling the account.

Read Part I in full here and look for Part II later today.

Chip Reese: Tributes from Doyle, Todd and Gus

Adulation for Chip Reese, who died in his sleep at the age of 56 after succumbing to a sudden case of pneumonia, continues to pour in from the poker community.

Doyle and Todd Brunson (through Lara Miller, PR for Card Player) and Gus Hansen have all weighed in.

Said Doyle Brunson:

“I have lost one of my oldest and dearest friends today. He was one of the most unique individuals I have ever known and poker has lost one of the greats today.”

Said Todd Brunson:

“I have lost a mentor and friend today. He was like a family member to me.”

Read Gus Hansen's poignant tribute after the jump below. Or read their statements on 2+2 here and here.

Finally, read Chip's high school alumni website (Centerville, class of '69), where Chip's sister confirms he died from pneumonia, here.

T.J. Cloutier: Chip Reese Was The Greatest

At a WPT Boot Camp in the Bahamas earlier today, T.J. Cloutier broke the news of Chip Reese's death to the attendees. Cloutier said that Chip "never said a bad word about anybody" and that Reese was the "greatest poker player that ever lived."

Watch the clip below or here.

BREAKING NEWS: Chip Reese Dead

Rumors are circulating among pros and people in the industry that poker legend Chip Reese passed away this morning.

Reese, 56, was regarded as the best all-around player in the game since he broke into the poker scene in the mid-70's. A noted high-stakes player, Reese also won three WSOP bracelets, including the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the 2006 WSOP. Reese was the youngest living player to be admitted to the Poker Hall of Fame.

UPDATE 1: Receiving more and more confirmations from insiders that Reese passed away in his sleep. Chip had not been feeling well lately, (supposedly with flu symptoms or pneumonia) but had not been able to pin-point the exact reason why. The story also just made 2+2 and Full Contact Poker.

Tony G New Robin Hood of Poker, Makes Life Better For Future Hot Orphans

Listen, just because we disavowed the concept of "charity" years ago/never avowed it in the first place, that doesn't mean that "charity" and its less attractive sister, "philanthropy," aren't good things for the world. Especially when charities involve helping Russian orphanages.

Everyone knows Russia is home to some of the world's hottest models and mail-order brides. So anything we can do to provide a better life for these future hotties is of critical importance, right up there with fighting global warming and eradicating starvation.

Enter emerging health nut Tony G.

Taking a (much sexier) page from the Barry Greenstein philanthropy book, G has decided to donate all of his winnings from the first ever Moscow Millions poker tournament to Russian orphanages picked by poker professionals. In our opinion, this puts G past Keeley Hazell on any potential Nobel Prize awards list, because what G is doing could help produce many, many Keeley Hazells. Bravo.

In related news, Tony G won the first Moscow Millions poker tournament. Read more here. In further related news, more pictures of Russian model Adriana Sklenarikova (i.e. Exhibit A on why we need to donate to Russian orphanages) here.

Drew Carey Speaks Out Against Dallas Poker Raids

"Price is Right" host, comedian and libertarian Drew Carey is a regular contributor to Reason.tv, the online video channel for the popular libertarian magazine, and in his latest video he reports on how Dallas SWAT carried out a paramilitary-style raid on a poker game at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1837. Because the VFW post relied on the rake from the games to pay their rent and utilities, as well as for something called "charity," it has now been forced to close its doors.

World Poker Congress Convenes in Malta, Signs Non-Aggression Treaty with Germany

The World Poker Congress, which ranks somewhere between the U.S. American Congress and Parliament-Funkadelic on the scale of important governing bodies, converged and convened in Malta today*.

The sessions began with keynote speeches from WPT head honcho Steve Lipscomb and world renown poker blogger Jeffrey Pollack.

According to the World Poker Congress website, exciting breakout sessions include: "Tournaments: Logistics for Weekly and Major Events," "Tools of the Game: New Technology in Cards, Chairs, Tables, Recognition," "Rakeback Programs - Do They Work?," "Super Synergy: The Online Partner," and "Has Anyone Seen the Guys from Absolute Poker Yet So We Can Punch Them in the Face?"

Other important stuff concerning poker will be discussed. Tune into WPC-Span to watch it live!

Read more (although not much more) here.

* And by today we mean last Thursday and Friday.