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.

Erica Schoenberg's Top 10 Fashion Mistakes Men Make at the Poker Table

Congrats guys! You made Erica's Top 10 Fashion Mistakes Men Make at the Poker Table List.

We're not ones to talk fashion here at Wicked Chops Poker but ridiculously gorgeous poker pro Erica Schoenberg was kind enough to share exclusively with us her top 10 fashion mistakes men make at the poker table, and as a public service to our readers who may have the fashion sensibilities of a Todd Brunson, or who went to the University of Florida, we thought we'd pass 'em on.

So what makes Erica an expert on the subject? Let's just say the girl knows fashion like her boyfriend David Benyamine knows his way around whatever the French word is for buffet. Whether she's out on the town in Las Vegas or seated amongst schlubs at the poker table, Erica is oozing with style, perhaps more than any other girl in poker. Except for maybe Lynette Chan. Hard to top Lynette Chan.

So, here are Erica Schoenberg's Top Ten Fashion Mistakes Men Make at the Poker Table:

10. When a man wears Birkenstocks or other “mandals” it’s generally a fashion don’t. The reason being most men don’t get regular pedicures or take good care of their feet; therefore they are just exposing gnarly, hairy and often crusty heels and toes. Ewwwwww.

9. Spandex. Unless you are in the Tour de France there is never a reason for this material to ever touch a man’s body.

8. Jeans that are either way too big or painfully too tight. Can’t you guys find a happy medium between wanna be rapper and “I got these jeans really tight so you could see my package”???

7. Denim shorts. NEVER. EVER.

6. This seems fairly obvious, but I do tend to see this amazingly bad look on older gentlemen – black socks and white tennis shoes. I usually just assume that the offender’s wife has just given up by this point.

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.

Prop Betting Makes The New York Times

If you're like us and not too much into reading anything that doesn't have a NSFW picture of some hot chick next to it, then you've probably forgotten to renew your New York Times subscription.

Fortunately, people like Kid Dynamite still reads stuff with more text than "Measurements" and "Favorite Hobby." He sent along this article on prop betting, featuring many of the wagers that are much talked about around the Rio in Las Vegas this year.

Read the full article here. Watch Gavin Smith and Joe Sebok's show on prop betting, appropriately titled Prop Bets, here. Rewatch the Cap Gun Russian Roulette prop bet from the 2008 WSOP below.

VIDEO: Cap gun Russian Roulette prop bet

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

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

Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey Meet Barack Obama

As alluded to in his previous video blog, Daniel Negreanu jetted off to LA yesterday with Phil Ivey for a fundraiser dinner with Barack "Bam" Obama.

Obama, who is on the record saying he does play poker, recognized the two, but they didn't get into a convo about the UIGEA. As Negreanu put it, he probably has "bigger fish to fry."

Then, Phil Ivey, who likes to gamble, laid 10-1 odds to Daniel that Obama would pick Hillary Clinton to be his VP. Negreanu gets the field. If we were Daniel, we'd be feeling pretty good about our chances on this one.

VIDEO: Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey meet Barack Obama

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.

Poker News Made Better with Hot Foreigny Chicks at Euro Cup 2008

• We'd take a day in hell, aka McFadden's Dueling Piano Bar at the Rio, over a few hours of electronic poker at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic Shitty with a bunch of cheap bastards. [link]

• Tao of Poker wants to save the Eskimo. [link]

• Native Americans red-faced over New Mexico authorities investigation of poker tournaments. [link]

• Guess which U.S. facing online poker site has a not-so-secret lounge just outside the Amazon Room at the WSOP? [link]

• Gambling911 continues its moral crusade against Shawn "Sheiky" Sheikhan. [link]

• US of America leads, UK a distant second in WSOP earnings so far, Spain and Panama sucking it up at the bottom. [link]

• Add former world boxing champ Jeff Fenech to the list of aging sports pros who will play this year's WSOP Main Event. [link]

• The Official WSOP THO Girl, aka Miss Nips, was spotted walking around the Rio late last night, or maybe it was a yeti looking hot in a dress. Not sure. [link]

Foreign chicks love anal to go all out and somewhat naked to support their country's soccer team. Check out some of our faves from the Euro Cup 2008 below and see more here.

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.

Playboy Cyber Girl Jo Garcia Wii Snowboarding Makes for a Good Post

Wii-ly hot Playboy Cyber Girl of the Year 2008 Jo Garcia (from this post) is back at it with another Wii video in her next-to-nothings. Check it out above or here.

We think the couch would have been a great seat to cheer her on from.

Check out other hot top droppers and videos in the WCP poker forum.

Daniel Negreanu Off to LA for Private Dinner with . . . ?

Before getting the shake down from The Palms security while filming his latest video blog, Daniel Negreanu said he was taking some time off from the 2008 WSOP and was flying off to Los Angeles today with a friend, who we'll refer to as Phil Ivey in this post, for a "very special din din." For some reason, he said he can't talk about it right now but said it was with the one person he'd want to meet and have dinner with the most.

Hmmm, wonder who it could be?

Not at all related, we read today that poker-playing, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, a Muslim, is hosting two big celebrity-filled events in LA today including a $2,300-per-person reception and a VIP dinner for donors giving $28,500 per couple to the DNC Victory fund.


Sign up today for the new Wicked Chops Poker Forum. It's 100% creepy old dudes free.

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.

Patrik Antonius Wants to Play Really High Stakes Online Poker

Patrik Antonius, who just signed with Full Tilt Poker (view press conference here), was given a sick number of tables on the site. As expected, the tables are big limits and he's said he'll play anyone in the world at these levels.

The tables include:

• $200/400 PLO ($40k minimum and $200k max)
• $500/1000 NL (6 max 50k min and 200k max)
• $2000/4000 H.O.R.S.E.
• $2000/4000 Omaha H/L (this is now the highest table at this level)

View Patrik Antonius' 2008 WSOP video blog

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).

Poker News Made Better with Natalie Martinez Bikini Pics

• Phil Ivey's old SLR McLaren is up for sale on eBay for a cool $285k. [link]

• Charles Barkley, who gave up gambling recently, is back to gambling. [link]

• There has to be at least one hot-ish Scandi poker chick for BetFair to sign. We're talking Scandinavia here. You could throw a Danish into a crowd at Ikea and hit a smorgasbord of hot Scandi chicks. [link]

• A poker app you'd have to be dumb to download is spreading an Apple Trojan. [link]

• RawVegas.tv's groundbreaking new web series "How F'in Hot It Is" apparently translates well with the Scandi poker audience. [link, link]

• Speaking of, it's still f'in hot in Vegas. [link]

• Shaniac gives his WSOP report card so far, if you care. [link]

• LRVJ's Corey Levitan, aka "Phil Helmet," fools his way to a WSOP satellite win with some help from Daniel Negreanu. [link]

• Michele Lewis, a cougar, chats it up with PokerRoad's Amanda Leatherman. [link]

Natalie Martinez is a 24-year-old Cuban-American actress who's famous south of her for some Latin Soap she did and is starring in the new Jason Statham flick Death Race. Click thumbnails below for full pics. Got a girl you dig that we haven't featured. Post her over in the new WCP poker forum.

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.

A "How F'in Hot It Is" at the 2008 WSOP Update

In case you were wondering how f'in hot it is in Las Vegas now, let Dario Minieri, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Erick Lindgren tell you.

VIDEO: How F'in hot it is in Las Vegas

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.

Also visit: Top ranked online poker rooms | Highest sign-up bonuses guaranteed | Exclusive PokerListings.com bonuses and freerolls | Best online poker room reviews

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.