Montel Williams Is the Chip Leader

True story.

Back in college, Chops had a fraternity brother named "Nick da Bookie." He got that nickname because he was the youngest person to ever be admitted to Gambler's Anonymous in the state of New Jersey. He appeared on Sally Jesse Raphael with his face blurred (since he was a minor) with the fictitious name "Nick" next to him on the screen.

Gambler's Anonymous didn't work on Nick da Bookie. Nick da Bookie ended up being one of the biggest bookies at UGA from '94-97.

Anyway, over the summer of '95, Nick went to a taping of the Montel Williams Show. The show that day was "Men Who Think They Can Get Any Woman." Nick had front-row seats. One of the guys who was supposed to participate got cold-feet at the last minute, so one of the show's produces approached Nick. "Do you think you can get any woman?" "Sure." (he really did, good call by the producer) "Do you want to be on the show today?" "Sure."

So Nick da Bookie went on the show. His segment was a dating game spoof. The bachelorette was a Penthouse Pet made up to look like an ugly chick. Nick went up against two other guys. Unbeknownst to Nick and the bachelors, the Penthouse Pet continued to remove articles of clothing/make-up after each question, revealing her to be hotter and hotter, which is important, because looks mean absolutely everything, especially when it comes to girls.

Carrie Stroup Has An Amazing Smile, Breasts

In a room full of strippers, Carrie Stroup stands out as a total class act . . . with an amazing pair of tits.

She also has a very lovely smile.

But to be honest though, we had no idea it was the gorgeously sexy Gambling911.com reporter when we first ran into her at the Bluff party held at the Sapphire Gentlemen's Club last Thursday; in fact, one of us actually thought she may have been someone's extremely expensive "date" and an excellent choice for one. But since her business card didn't list any rates, we excluded that possibility.

Anyway, there's more to this story from our evening at the Sapphire but rumor is that one of our current/first wives is on to this whole "Wicked Chops Poker" thing so we'll just embed the latest Webisode of "The Toke with Wicked Chops Poker" below on RawVegas.tv and give you some choice photos of Carrie Stroup after the jump.

Raw Vegas Video

Day 1a Done - Man with No Documented Evidence of His Existence is Chip Leader

Who is Tinten Olivier (at right, maybe)?

Here's what we know: 1) he's definitely a new member of the Davidson Matthew Club, 2) he's reported to be the chip leader at the 2007 WSOP Main Event after Day 1a, stacked at 260,000.

But the information trail ends there. Tinten Olivier has lived a life that is mystery wrapped up in an enigma and cloaked in secrecy.

First, we did a "tinten olivier" search on google and yahoo. Nothing. Then we hit up the Poker Pages player database. Nothing. Then we did a similar search on the Hendon Mob. Nothing.

So we hit up a few sites to find out what the name "tinten" is all about, as we'd never heard of it before. We were shocked when the results came up with this.

Is Tinten Olivier completely fabricated? Is Tinten Olivier a myth, like Bigfoot, the Easter Bunny, and heterosexual AIDS?

We'll get to the bottom of this.

Other Day 1a survivors include but are not limited to Brandon Adams (100k), Joe Beevers (96k), Barry Greenstein (91k), Brad Garrett (87k), Brock "tsoprano" Parker (86k), Jeff Madsen (80k), Irv Gotti (47k), Huck Seed (45k), Dustin Woolf (42k), and Crispin "Dont' Call Me Bruce" Leyser (27k).

Get full chip counts here. Hit PokerListings.com for more 2007 WSOP info.

Ginnies, Jews Among Early Chip Leaders

Five hours into Day 1a play at the 2007 WSOP, the chip leader board is filled with people who like meatballs and matzah balls.

Among the big stacks is legendary online player Brock "tsoprano" Parker at over 90k. Other big stacks include Abe Mosseri (65k), Irv Gotti who for the purpose of this post may be Italian or Jewish (64k), Salomon Cohen (64k), Mike Epstein (43.5k), and Barry Greenstein (41.5k). Christopher Columbus, Moses, Abraham, Enrico Fermi, and a slice of pepperoni pizza are among other notable stacks.

For our readers who speak Canadian, head over to PokerListings.com for all your 2007 WSOP results and this year's WSOP schedule. For a video of a beaver go here.

Daniel Negreanu Feeling Salty at 2007 WSOP

In Daniel Negreanu's latest video blog, we learn that the PokerStar is feeling "salty", likes to watch Rocky movies to get pumped for the Main Event and that Mike Matusow is a gold diggin' nose picker who prefers to country Kleenex.

Anyone know if Joanna Krupa is here yet?

Vinnie Vinh's Chair Removed From Play

As first reported on thepokerbiz, Vinnie Vinh's chair has been removed from Day 1a play.

Vinh was registered for Day 1a action, but with rumors circulating that he is in the hospital, tournament director Jack Effel decided to remove his stack and refund Vinh's money.

Said Effel:

“I’d do it for any player in this situation. I don’t think it’s an angle, but I want to do what’s in his best interest of the player here.”

Read the full story here.

The 2007 WSOP Has Shuffled Up and Dealt

The 2007 WSOP Main Event is underway.

After a super introduction from Jeffrey Pollack where he emphasized that this year's WSOP was "the best ever," Las Vegas strip headliner George Wallace got action rolling by proclaiming it was time to "Shuffle up and deal."

Some pros we spotted while glancing around the Amazon Room included Mel Judah, Barry Greenstein, Josh Arieh, and at table 33, Richard Brodie and Shane Schlegler.

* The above photo is from last year's Day 1a, but trust us, it pretty much looks the same this year.

Erik Seidel Takes a Deuce (and 8th Bracelet)

Erik Seidel is kind of like the Paul Molitor of poker. He just plugs along, plugs along, always a star but not necessarily a superstar, and next thing you know you look up and he's got 3,000 hits and a sure-fire spot in the Hall of Fame. Or in this case, a ridiculously under-appreciated 8 WSOP bracelets.

Seidel captured bracelet #8 in one of our favorite tourneys, the $5,000 Duece-Seven Lowball w/ rebuys event. Not that we particularly like playing Deuce-Seven, but more so because "deuce" happens to be a synonym for "poo."

For the win, Seidel banks $538,835. He defeated reigning BLUFF Player of the Year, Lorenzo Lamas, heads-up for the title. Shawn Sheikhan finished third.

Get full results and payouts here.

WSOP Flashback Forward: Jamie Gold Predicts He'll Make Final Table at WSOP

With the start of the 2007 WSOP Main Event just hours away, we thought now would be a good time to look back at what Jamie Gold told us about his predictions for this year's WSOP in our exclusive interview with the soon-to-be former World Champion.

Actually it really isn't a good time for that, or at least not as good of a time as looking at photos of the ridiculously hot Amanda Braun (seen in pic).

But since we brought it up, Gold had the following to say when we asked him for his prediction for this year's WSOP:

"I know this is the thing you guys are going to kill me on, but I think I'll make the final table this year. I know you're gonna slam me on this, but that's what I believe. If you don't believe that, then why are you playing?"

Gold also said: "The Main Event is really important to me. My dream would be to stay in Vegas a month and play as much as possible. I'd like to try and win a little bit of money just to say I've accomplished something in my second year."

Gold has cashed twice this year so far for about $14,000.

Read the entire Jamie Gold interview here. Hear what Jamie Gold has to say about Wicked Chops Poker here. Learn more about Amanda Braun here.

Brandi Hawbaker Looking Hot, Wants to Be a Role Model

WCP fave Brandi Hawbaker is the subject of our latest webisode of The TOKE. After a brief hiatus from the circuit, Hawbaker is back, looking pretty damn hot, getting some advice from creepy-old-man David Sklansky, and wanting to be a positive role model for women in poker. Step 1 of that plan should be to stop hanging around creepy-old-men like David Sklansky.

Anyway, we had a similar desire to be a more positive role model for poker bloggers by being more serious in our reporting, less assholey in our commentary, and more focused on finding the good in people, but then we decided, "fuck it." It was a surprisingly easy decision.

Watch the Brandi Hawbaker video interview.

2007 WSOP Tournament Updates: Doyle Doesn't Win 11th Bracelet, Sheikan Leads 2-7 Lowball

Catching up on 2007 WSOP action from the 4th of July holiday...

:: Doyle Brunson did not win a record-tying 11th bracelet. Texas Dolly finished sixth in Event #50 ($10k PLO w/ rebuys), banking $123,967. The event was won by the Grinder's big bro, Robert Mizrachi. For the win, Mizrachi takes home his first bracelet and $768,889. Patrik Antonius finished third ($311,394), but still managed to steal first in the hearts of all the ladies.

:: Dao Bac (at right), who looks like he just smelled a fart, won Event #51 ($1,000 S.H.O.E.), banking $157,975.

:: Ram Vaswani, best known for his golf dispute with Phil Ivey, won Event #53 ($1,500 NLH Shootout). Victor Ramdin finished ninth. Hoyt Corkins was nowhere to be found.

:: And Shawn Sheikan leads Event #54 ($5,000 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ rebuys), stacked at 537,500. He's trailed by Chad Brown, Todd Brunson, and Erik Seidel. Get full chip counts here.

* Photo from Poker News.

Card Player TV Really Badly Steals Our Ideas

A few weeks ago, we did a post on the amazing run of Vinnie Vinh's chair at the 2007 WSOP. It was hard not to, as his chair cashed two times in two weeks.

Then last week, on our new show The TOKE on RawVegas.tv, we interviewed Vinnie Vinh's chair. It was hard not to, the idea was too funny, despite what rec.poker might think.

Now, as reported on thepokerbiz and pokerati, just a few days after our Vinnie Vinh chair interview, Card Player TV conducted a similiar, yet wildly less creative interview with (an imposter) chair.

Watch the Card Player TV vid here. And read more about this unbelievable coincidence here, here, and here.

Doyle Brunson Goes for 11th WSOP Bracelet Today

Doyle Brunson (at right, napping between hands) may just find that loving feeling for poker again. The poker legend has made his first final table of the 2007 World Series of Poker and is in position today to tie Phil Hellmuth's record 11 WSOP bracelets and possibly bring Hellmuth's ginormous ego down to at least stratospheric levels.

The event is the $10,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event, which if Brunson won would also give the 73-year-old poker legend his first WSOP bracelet ever in a Omaha or Pot Limit event.

Final table play starts up today at 2 pm and Brunson will sit down with 510,000 in chips. Standing in his way as he goes for bracelet number 11 are current big stacks at the table Tommy Ly (1,895,000) and Robert Mizrachi (1,090,000), a player who is more than due to capture his first WSOP bracelet this year after already cashing four times and making two final tables.

Or maybe winning WSOP bracelets just aren't a Brothers Mizrachi thing.

Also at the table are Patrik Antonius (650,000), who may or may not have alopecia, Marco Traniello (420,000), Rene Mouritsen (775,000), Steve Sung (175,000), Stephen Ladowski (360,000) and Jonas "What Kind of Last Name Is" Flug-Entin (445,000).

Keep track of the action today here or waste your day viewing two girls doing Kama Sutra poses here.

Guy With Made Up Name Wins Event #49

Chandrasekhar Billavara (at right), who obviously made up that name to avoid the IRS for tax purposes on his winnings or something, won Event #49 ($1,500 NLH) yesterday. It was Chandrasekhar's first bracelet (as far as we know). For the win, Chandrasekhar Billavara banks $722,914, which he'll likely get to keep every cent of since he changed his name for tax purposes.

Chandrasekhar defeated Matthew Davidson Club member Taylor Douglas ($467,101) heads-up for the title. Other final table payouts included Johnwillius Huntoblski ($292,476), Bolileandropolis Oppimentel ($189,249), Duwalane Felix-Hernandez ($131,184), Cortney Keebler-Melanby ($96,775), DuRay Spencerlot ($75,270), Gregggggggg Moollerstein ($55,914), and Lewis Titterton ($45,162).

* Photo from Poker News

2007 WSOP Tournament Updates: Weekend Recap

:: What a week for Erick Lindgren. First, he bagged nearly $300k (after buy-outs) by winning his golfing prop bet. Then stablemate Bill Edler banks $904,672 and a bracelet by winning Event #45 ($5,000 NLH short-handed).

:: The final table is set for Event #47 ($2,000 NLH), with WCP Joe Pelton (681,000), Anna Wroblewski, who is a woman (1,137,000), Roland de Wolfe (961,000), and Blair Rodman (712,000). Steve Crawford is the chip leader, stacked at 1,498,000.

:: And the highly anticipated Event #50 ($10k PLO w/ rebuys) is underway. Patrik Antonius and Phil Laak are among the early chip leaders.