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With the 2009 WSOP if full swing, Daniel Negreanu is back to vlogging. In his first WSOP vlog, Negreanu discusses the big prop bet(s) he and Erick Lindgren have with a number of pros, his bad beat by Doug "Toolbox" Lee in Event #2, and why Omaha Hi/Lo is just like high school.
View all of Negreanu's vlogs here and learn more about his Big Swing charity event here.
If there's one thing we've learned from the Celebrity Apprentice, it's that Annie Duke gives good head Annie Duke is a whore pit viper Annie Duke is Hitler Joan Rivers' face is about to fall off being married to Joan Rivers would deduct about 20 years off your life Melissa Rivers is a 40 year-old baby Clint Black is creepy with squinty beedy little eyes Herschal Walker still fucking rules go DAWGS fuck yeah Jesse James reminds us of Sling Blade poker players are an extremely philanthropic bunch.
One of the biggest givers (no jokes please) is Daniel Negreanu, who yesterday announced his first annual Big Swing a charity golf event to be held at Rio Secco Golf Club on June 25th, 2009.
The tournament benefits the Lili Claire Foundation and is what Daniel was planning for when he was vlogging from a secret location here (note that 1/3 of the Entities' progen pops into frame around the :58 second mark).
The event will feature 30 amateur teams, each of whom will be paired with one professional poker player. Poker Stars is running qualifiers for team buy-ins, so try to play your way in there.
Get more information on this great cause here.
When we heard that Daniel Negreanu was in the new Katy Perry video, we were like, "You mean the non-Jill Sobule 'I Kissed a Girl' girl? Or is that Lily Allen?"
Turns out our first guest was right. It's the non-Jill Sobule "I Kissed a Girl" girl, which is pretty girl, because any girl who kisses girls and likes it is OK in our book.
Go about 1:15 in for the clip of Negreanu in "Waking Up in Vegas."
With a (uber uber uber) brief cameo in the new X-Men: Origins movie, Daniel Negreanu is Mr. Cameo this month. Word up.
Daniel Negreanu has been a semi-hot topic lately in poker news/forums, but mostly for how people think his bankroll is busted and he's broke, which isn't remotely true. Regardless, it's been awhile since his last vlog, so here's what he's been up to recently.
Is the 2009 World Series of Poker really just five weeks away? Really? It seems like it was just last week that we were snapping these photos of hot girls on the rail. What do we have in store this year? Among the many new things, let's just say one involves Somali pirates. Leave it at that.
Anyway, or as the girl that Danny Gokey is trying to get with now would say, "anyhoozer," Daniel Negreanu is getting ready for the 2009 WSOP by playing as little poker as possible.
About a year ago we learned that Daniel Negreanu may have a brief cameo in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Looks like Daniel's footage made it off the cutting room floor and into the movie. Not sure if this is all there is, but hey, if that was any one of us Entities, we'd have it on imdb.com faster than Jason Biggs blew a load on Shannon Elizabeth in American Pie.
Our perennial pick to win it all, Huck Seed, has become the first/only person to cash in all five NBC National Heads Up Poker Championships by...cashing at the 2009 NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship.
Seed will face last minute scratch entry David Oppenheim in the quarterfinals. Oppenheim replaced Layne Flack and has made the most of it by registering his first quarterfinals appearance.
Also making his first quarterfinals appearance is Daniel Negreanu. In a lock to be the featured table, he'll take on Vanessa Rousso, a woman, who went to Duke.
Phil Hellmuth got a measure of revenge for last year's loss to Tom "Durrrr" Dwan by pretty much pwning him this go around. Hellmuth will face arguably the hottest guy on the circuit right now (performance-wise), Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier.
And in the final quarterfinals match, David Williams will face Sam Farha.
Below is an interview with Huck Seed from the draw party Thursday night. It seems like Huck might have cracked the code on how to be successful at HU poker. Maybe Seth Rogan was right in Pineapple Express. Weed does make everything better.
Right before we interviewed Daniel Negreanu, we just wrapped a good five minutes with our perennial pick to win it all, Huck Seed. While we're not going to post the Huck Seed interview, let's just say that Daniel was definitely NOT smoking whatever Huck was...
The LAPC Main Event got underway yesterday with 695 entrants, making the total prize pool just shy of the $7M Jamie Gold decided to skip out on to play his charity tourney (fyi, seats are still available, go here to sign up).
Lots of big name big stack among the 412 survivors. Not included among them is overall chip leader Kasey Nam with 141,000. He's followed though by Daniel Negreanu (128,000, more on him in a moment), Jeff Madsen (112,500), and Bertrand Grospellier (86,000). Nick Schulman (79,000) and defending champ Phil Ivey (75,000) are also among the people you probably have heard of and care about with fairly large stacks.
There are about 407 other people we haven't listed still alive, so get their chip counts here.
Wait wait wait wait. We thought we had the market cornered on cheap shots.
In a new blog post called The Poker Gossip, Poker News reports a couple of times that Daniel Negreanu's "bankroll is running low." This actually isn't remotely true. The article says the same thing about Barry Greenstein too (no idea on that one, but given his Poker Stars deal, doubtful).
Now we're all for posting of rumors on the so-called "Internet." Along with email and porn, rumor posting is the sole reason why the Internet exists. But suffice to say, we're pretty sure this post wouldn't have run if John Caldwell was still running things.
Read the full Poker Gossip post here.
Wrapping up Daniel Negreanu day here, as a guy who knows both dudes pretty well, see who Kid Poker (can you still call a 34 year-old that?) is picking for the highly-anticipated Gus Hansen vs. Theo Jorgensen boxing match.
There seems to be two general consensuses (consensi?) forming on the Michael Phelps monster bong hit photo: 1) Who cares? He's a 23 year-old kid give me a break, or 2) If you had $100M in endorsements lined up, why risk it by smoking weed? Really?
Daniel Negreanu opts for #1, which isn't really shocking, but he is at least the first poker pro we've heard speak out about it.
After a long hiatus, Daniel Negreanu is back with another (few) vlogs. In this first one we catch him grinding it out at the .02-.05 tables, where he's padded his bankroll $9 today. Which means he's about $3,530,009 better this month than durrrr.
He also gives his out his thoughts on the 2009 WSOP schedule.
Watch for his thoughts on Michael Phelps and the Gus Hansen vs. Theo Jorgensen boxing match shortly.
All right, Poker Stars. If you're gonna do these athlete celeb sponsors, let's lay down a couple rules: 1) no gingers (ah-hem), and 2) at least kind of sort of educate them on some poker basics.
Now we all know Canadians basic passions in life go something in order like ice fishing-->curling-->socialism-->Bare Naked Ladies-->hockey. So the entire nation of Canada then probably saw Mats Sundin on Hockey Night in Canada After Hours not able to answer a basic poker question from special call-in guest, Daniel Negreanu.
Go to about 2:30 in the vid. Guess Mats needs to spend more time on PokerVT.
The 2009 World Series of Poker may send rebuy events to the rail, according to Communications Director Seth Palanksy.
In an article on Card Player, Palansky says:
"There is a movement to not have any rebuy events...There is the growing concern that a pro can buy a bracelet in a rebuy event."
Surprisingly even guys like Daniel Negreanu, who once rebought 43 times in an event (which he eventually finished 3rd in), agree with this decision.
One guy who doesn't, however, is Layne Flack. "That's bullshit," Flack told Card Player. Flack won the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Rebuy event at this year's WSOP. He continued his rant with possibly our favorite quote of the year, cracking on poker's all-time legend:
"You want to talk about buying a bracelet? Let’s talk about Doyle’s bracelet when there were eight people in the tournament...The critics should look back in history and see where a bracelet has been bought."
We've always held a similar opinion, but you rarely hear a pro say it.
In other 2009 WSOP news, Palansky said that they are considering adding a winner-take-all event to the roster. While Palansky told Card Player that they will "likely" keep the Main Event final table delay, we've heard speculation that it will be moved earlier than November next year. While a delay will still occur, most WSOP officials we've learned believe that four months is too long. Look for a final table perhaps in September or October next year. So much for all the work we spent trademarking the clever "November NineTM."
We caught up with Daniel Negreanu while he was filming some new segments for PokerVT. During the vlog, somebody "meat spun" him, which sounds like either a Meatloaf version of the Rick Roll or something involving anal, which is probably what Meatloaf was actually talking about when he said he'd do anything for love but he won't do that.
Anyway, Daniel waxes on Hereos, his BC Poker win, and more...
With the full Entity West Coast migration complete and recovery from Thanksgiving underway, let's catch up on some not just poker news from around the so-called "Internet." Back to full strength on Monday...
:: Can't forget we're just a day away from the 60 Minutes online poker hatchet job. [link]
:: With that in mind, here's Nat Arem's hierarchy of poker cheating. [link]
:: Players are criticizing the WSOP final table broadcast, but ratings were up 47% from last year. [link]
:: Phil Hellmuth's clothing line probably won't sell well in Northern Europe. [link]
:: Daniel Negreanu continues his big year, besting 690 to win the BC Poker Championship. [link]
And a final "thankful for..." before we become ingrateful for the next 360 days or so: Stripper 101 classes to teach girlfriends/fiances/wives how to swing from a pole.
Day 3 ended at the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals with 33 players remaining and some big names atop the leaderboard.
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, whose nickname we're retiring with this post because in order to have a nickname people outside of the media actually have to call you that on occasion, closed strong ending up second overall in chips with 1,076,000. He only slightly trails yesterday's chip leader Jonathan Jaffe, who is stacked at 1,100,000.
A couple of other strong closers yesterday were Jonathan Little (477,000) and the still sober Gavin Smith (375,000). Both sit with above average chip stacks.
Other notables remaining include the vastly underrated/Marxist-Lenonist-looking Alex Bolotin (435,500), Phil Ivey (225,500), Bill Gazes (214,500), David "The Dragon" Pham* ** (192,000), half-man, half-amazing Freddy Deeb (154,500), and Kevin Saul (93,000).
Daniel Negreanu just missed making it to Day 4, finishing in 35th, but with this cash, ties the record for most all-time WPT-in-the-monies at 17. He now shares the record with Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, and Lee Markholt-Watkinson.
Follow the action today (if you're not following WSOP Main Event final table play) here.
* Not a real dragon.
** Never retiring that nickname. Ever.
Play has just gotten underway for Day 3 of the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals.
Currently, 90 of the starting 412 remain. Jonathan Jaffe holds the chip lead, stacked at 491,000.
Other notables still in the field include a bunch of bolded names such as half-man, half-amazing Freddy Deeb (258,400), Chris "Jesus" Ferguson (239,800), Toto Leonidas (214,200), Kevin Saul (199,700), Phil Ivey (187,900), Gavin Smith (187,800), David "The Dragon" Pham* (123,200), Glum Girl Svetlana Gromenkova (120,700), pwner of Foxwoods tourneys Raj Patel (119,300), Erik Seidel (114,000), Bill Gazes (101,400), Daniel Negreanu (98,000), Jason Potter (90,000), Jonathan Little (85,900), Michael Binger (84,500), and what the hell why not Jason Mercier (51,000).
Follow the action here.
In unrelated news, this.
Daniel Negreanu is taking a little time off after his recent tournament successes (highlighted by capturing the coveted Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day) and is back in Las Vegas. In his latest vlog, he talks about The Real Deal, politics (surprise), and an invite to go out and party with Antonio Esfandiari.
Daniel Negreanu has won just about every possible accolade one can win in poker...except...the Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day.
Until now.
Because now he's won the Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day. And he's actually the first person truly stoked about it, since he likes almonds (explained below). Blue Diamond Almonds, hook Negreanu up with a sponsorship or something. Make it happen, Blue Diamond Almonds.
Hook us up with one too, while you're at it. We even just gave you a new content category.
Negreanu ended Day 2 at the WPT Festa al Lago as the overwhelming chip leader stacked at 515,000. Speaking of overwhelming chip leaders, yesterday's overwhelming chip leader, Antonio Esfandiari, failed to make it to Day 3. So there's that. Anyway Negreanu is followed by (unofficial but close counts) Justin Bonomo (345,000), Jennifer Tilly, a woman (330,800), Joe Sebok (320,000), Isaac Haxton (320,000), Dutch Boyd (317,000), and the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (285,000).
104 of the initial 368 remain. Get full chip counts here.
On the heels of winning the WSOPE Main Event, John Juanda, who if he was of Latin decent would be named Juan Johanda, placed second in the £20,000 EPT High Roller Event, banking an additional £327,000 to the £868,800 he claimed last week.
Juanda lost heads-up to Jason Mercier, who is actually running even better than he is. Mercier banks £516,000 for the High Rollers win. Mercier final tabled WSOPE event number three last week and won the EPT San Remo earlier this year. Dude is running so good, we're even giving him his own Category tag. Welcome to the big time, kid.
Others in the money included Scotty Nguyen (fifth, £137,000), Isaac Haxton (sixth, £103,000), David Benyamine (eighth, £69,000), and Isabelle Mercier, a woman who according to some so-called "Internet" forums is still dating Dario Minieri wtf (£51,000). We'd do the U.S. American conversions for you but that would require math.
November NineTM hostage Dennis Phillips was eliminated on the bubble.
In not really related news, below is Daniel Negreanu talking about the High Rollers event. Watch out for Boris Becker, a ginger, at the end of the vid.
He was knocked out in fifth. 17 hours after it started, the final table is still going on.
The WSOPE Main Event final table is stacked. Sort of. Better than most final tables recently at least.
Kicking it 2004 old school style, John Juanda, who if he was Spanish would be named Juan Johanda, is big stacked at 1,349,000. Continuing his huge year, Daniel Negreanu is third overall with 1,002,000. And in the middle of the pack is ex-Crew member Scott Fischman with 732,000.
Negreanu will be going for his fifth bracelet overall and second this year. Juanda is gunning for his fourth overall and first since 2003.
A victory would put Negreanu just shy of Jamie Gold as poker's all-time tournament money winner.
Bunch of friends and family (from other countries) round out the rest.
Get full final table chip counts here.
Learn all of Daniel Negreanu's poker secrets here.
EARLY MORNING UPDATE: November NineTM hostage Ivan Demidov, released by his WSOP captors for this one event, has surged to the chip lead in early play. Follow the action here.
What is this, 2004?
The WSOPE Main Event Day 4 is just underway, and in the top five in chips are overall big stack John Juanda (875,000), Daniel Negreanu (766,000), and Scott Fischman (400,000).
As of post time 20 remain from the initial starting field of 362. Still grinding it out are Justin "BoostedJ" Smith (310,000), Brandon Adams (255,000), Brian "sbrugby" Townsend (215,000), Mike Matusow (127,000), and Erik Seidel (28,000).
Follow the action live here.
Day 1B of the WSOPE Main Event ended with one of poker's biggest names as the chip leader.
Daniel Negreanu ended the day stacked at 154,050. Jamie Rosen trailed him in second with 139,225.
Some other big named big stacks include Marco Traniello (96,750), Yuval Bronshtein (85,675), Roland de Wolfe (84,000), Brian Townsend (71,950), Nenad Medic (67,650), and Jennifer Tilly, a woman ( 64,975).
Day 2 is currently underway with November NineTM hostage Scott Montgomery an early mover, chipping up to 131,500.
Get live updates here.
British model Keeley Hazell (seen above in one of few non-topless moments) has been surprisingly absent from the WSOPE...thus far.
The consolidated Day 2 is underway for the 2008 WSOPE Event #1 (£1,500 No Limit Hold'em).
Day 1B chip leader Adam Junglen retains the overall big stack with 140,000. Daniel Negreanu is third overall with 108,000.
Other big names still alive include Andy Bloch (44,000), Juan Juanda (42,000), Neil Channing (24,000), Erik Seidel (19,000), and Surinder (French?) Sunar (16,000).
Get live updates throughout the day here.
This first WSOPE event of 2008 is shaping up to be a good one.
Daniel Negreanu ended Day 1A of WSOPE Event #1 (£1,500 No Limit Hold'em) as the chip leader, stacked at 74,900. He's followed by Jason Gray with 72,800. Brandon Cantu is not far behind with 54,200. Among the other 42 who survived to Day 2 include John Juanda (27,000), Surinder (French?) Sunar (14,200), and Erik Seidel (7,000).
Day 1B has started and lots of big names are among the early chip leaders. The awesomely named Azzy Asghar is current chip leader with 15,000. He's followed by Howard Stern's love-child Isaac Haxton (14,975), Jean-Robert Bellande (14,100), Allen Cunningham (12,600), and the absolutely positively must be Britishly named Simon Higgins (12,500).
Daniel Negreanu covers a ton of topics (charity, travel, politics, WCOOP, etc.) in his latest vlog, including the 6-8 inches of water on his home floor when he returned from Sweden. We'll just let him explain.
While John Phan may be on a sick run this summer, Erick Lindgren has been on a filthy streak for 31 years.
Fucking Erick Lindgren.
And since it's not human nature to actually be happy for someone else's good fortune (what fun is that?), a bunch of pro poker players and celebs got together to sing about that fucking Erick Lindgren guy's good run.
Maybe the vocals aren't as "in tune" as "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" or "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck," but it's not like Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler is going to go to choir practice or anything. Dudes like him are too busy on Facebook for shit like that.
In Part I of our latest webisode of The Toke, we followed the $5k buy-in Rounders Magazine FFL draft with Gavin Smith, Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, Brandon Cantu, and Peter "Nordberg" Feldman, or as Edog calls him, "Feldberg."
The auction draft was mostly just shit talking, with Gavin summing it up pretty well: "These guys have been spending money like a bunch of fucking retards."
Part II--the after-party in Gavin's Palms Kingpin fantasy suite--coming soon. That one will be the Dark Knight to this video's Batman Begins.
Time is running out for Wicked Chops Poker readers to take advantage of our special offer of $1500 off the cost of A Weekend with Daniel Negreanu. We're not so good at math but we think that's a whopping 10% discount off the regular cost.
The weekend takes place on August 8-10, 2008 and is geared towards providing poker players with intimate, one-on-one poker training with Daniel as well as an exclusive Las Vegas experience. The weekend is limited to only 18 players, ensuring a highly personalized experience.
Find out more at the link below and be sure to mention you're a Friend of Wicked Chops Poker when you call to register.
A Weekend with Daniel Negreanu Special Offer
Watch Daniel's video pitch below . . .
The below is Michele Lewis' latest interview in her "Girl on Girl" series at the WSOP featuring interviews with some of the coolest, hottest girls in poker. Check out Michele's blog at michelelewis.com.
Maria Ho is looking to prove that last year wasn't a fluke at the 2008 WSOP Main Event.
Maria Ho will forever be known as the "Last Woman Standing" at the 2007 WSOP Main Event after she outlasted all other woman hopefuls to finish 38th and cash $237,865. Ho's beeing playing poker professionally for the past few years and her success has landed her major coverage as well as a spot on Team Bodog.
Also impressive... she holds a communications degree from the University of California and likes to slow dance with Tiffany Michelle. But you can read all about that stuff after you hump to the jump.
Continue reading "Girl on Girl at the 2008 WSOP: Maria Ho" »
Brutal way to go out, although it's probably better than some runner-runner donk suck-out.
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 ProTM a last gasp shot at still being The Year of the ProTM.
Get full chip counts here.
Isabelle Mercier, a woman pro, is one of the many pros still fighting to ensure that the 2008 WSOP remains The Year of the ProTM.
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 ProTM.* 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 ProTM. 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 ProTM 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.
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
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 ProTM. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After slagging Yukon Brad Booth for not knowing jack about Stud/8, Daniel Negreanu talks about his WSOP Player of the Year strategy and how badly he wants to win it. Watch his latest video blog below or head over to RawVegas.tv.
Also, for those who speak Australian, check out Joe Hachem's latest video blog here.
The spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (above) goes for his first WSOP bracelet today at 2pm PST.
It was an interesting day of 2008 World Series of Poker action, as Event #31 ($2,500 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed) left many happy to be there and this unfortunate photo was taken which just isn't funny at all. On with the updates.
:: Event #27 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Vitaly Lunkin won this "friends and family" final table, banking $628,417. If you just really love poker that much and gotta know the rest of what happened, get full results here.
:: Event #28 ($5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys) - In yet another star-studded final table, online poker superstar Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond took down the title, earning his first of what is sure to be a few WSOP bracelets and banking, as Dr. Pauly would say, a "redunkulous" $817,781. Galfond defeated another online specialist, Adam "the_houdini" Hourani, for the title, going 100 hands deep heads-up. David Benyamine took third earning three million five hundred thousand glazed doughnuts $316,307. Poker legend Johnny Chan, who has gone from oranges to bananas, missed out on his record-tying 11th bracelet, finishing fourth and earning $246,874. John Juanda came in sixth ($154,296), Daniel Negreanu, who has mad respect for OMGClayAiken's game, was seventh ($123,437), and the always impressive Phil Hellmuth was eighth ($100,292).
:: Event #29 ($3,000 No Limit Hold'em) - Matthew Vengrin, who you may not remember from the final table of last year's Event #3 final table, is chip leader stacked at 1,007,500. Also in the mix is unheralded Alex Bolotin, who has nearly $1M in WSOP earnings, with 534,000 in chips; David Singer, who is going for his second bracelet at this year's WSOP, with 515,000; and John "The Razor" Phan, who while he doesn't have a bracelet yet, his mom is still probably very proud of him, with 396,500.
:: Event #30 ($10,000 Limit Hold'em) - 218 entered this one, playing down to the final table last night. Aaron Katz, who won a bracelet in 2004 and was never heard from again, is heard from again as chip leader, stacked at 1,232,000. The real story here are two guys looking to shed the "Best Without a Bracelet" moniker, as both Andy Bloch (370,000), and the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (247,000), are in the mix. The short-stack is a guy named Brock Parker, who must either be a super-hero or a porn star. Get full chip counts here. Follow final table action at 2pm PST here.
2008 WSOP Band of Bloggers: Get full recaps and payouts from WorldSeriesofPoker.com here. Get Dr. Pauly's take on WSOP happenings here. Gary Wise has some thoughts here. Please please don't forget Pokerati here. And get Poker Prof's recap and more photos here.
* The photo above is of J.C. Tran masquerading by the name Tanya Robinson, super-sexy British model. Get the full sized pic after the jump and the full lingerie shoot here.
Daniel Negreanu is currently playing the stacked Event #28 final table (follow the action at WorldSeriesofPoker.com here).
In his latest vlog, Daniel talks about a sick move Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond made during the tourney and how pros dominating this year's bracelet tally shows that online poker players don't have quite the edge many used to think.
Shannon Elizabeth (above) is among the millions of poker players not included in this WSOP update.
The Entities decided to take it a little easy this weekend, but only because we love you. As we've all learned through our respective marriages, the best way to make someone grow fonder of you is through a steady diet of ignoring them and neglect. And here you are thinking to yourself, "I thought it was through bringing them flowers, listening to their problems, and being a strong emotional rock of support." And that's why you're a pussy.
:: Event #24 ($2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/Hold'em) - Listen, we know sometimes people have no control over what their nicknames are, but there's nothing cool about being called "The Italian Pirate." However that didn't stop Max Pescatori from denying Allen Cunningham a WSOP bracelet for the 47th consecutive year. Pescatori banks his second bracelet and $246,471. Get full results here.
:: Event #25 ($10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up) - Many people consider Kenny Tran the best no limit hold'em cash player in the world. He doesn't play many WSOP events, but the ones he does, he does well. Tran won his first bracelet over the weekend by beating, as Dr. Pauly would say, a "redunkulous" field in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up World Championship at the WSOP. The win brings Tran $539,056. Vanessa Selbst, a woman, finished third. We've spotted Selbst at various cash games googling her name, and we think it might've been her confirming with this comment that she does have a hot girlfriend.
:: Event #26 ($1,500 Razz) - Barry Greenstein is the absolutely most perfect person in the world to win a Razz tournament. Razz is generally detested by most players and Greenstein often doesn't look like he's enjoying playing poker at all (even though it's quite the opposite). For the win, Greenstein banks $97,389 and his third bracelet. Archie Karas, yes this guy, came in seventh. Get full results here.
:: Event #27 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Over 2,700 entered and 17 remain. And it's an absolutely "friend and family" final 17. Get chip counts here.
:: Event #28 ($5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys) - Big name final table on this one. Online poker legend Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond is the chip leader stacked at 1,393,000. The final table also includes David Benyamine (1,041,000), John Juanda (694,000), going for a record tying 11th WSOP bracelet Johnny Chan (624,000), Daniel Negreanu (460,000), and going for a record 12th WSOP bracelet Phil Hellmuth (119,000). First pays $817,781 and final table play begins at 3pm PST.
VIDEO: Daniel Negreanu vlogs about his four WSOP bracelets
Relatedly, have fun with Gavin Griffin's video blog here.
It's been quite a WSOP-winning dry spell for the man who many consider the best all-around tourney player in the game.
Daniel Negreanu captured 2004 WSOP Player of the Year honors when he won an event and made, to borrow a phrase from Dr. Pauly, a "redunkulous" five final tables.
Since then, he's made a few final tables but no bracelets.
That changed early morning when Negreanu took down Event #20 ($2,000 Limit Hold'em).
While Negreanu banked $207k for the win, the story many are talking about is the side bet he has with Phil Ivey and Ted Forrest. While we're still unclear on the terms with Forrest, Ivey, who likes to gamble, had a $200k-per-bracelet bet with Negreanu for the 2008 WSOP. We told you Negreanu was running hot.
A bunch of guys you never heard of finished 2-9. Get payouts here.
Relatedly:
- Learn how to play poker like Daniel Negreanu at Poker VT here.
- Watch Daniel's video blog before he took down the final table here.
- More pics of the win from the Poker Prof here.
Finally got the video of Daniel Negreanu and Patrik Antonius' high stakes golf match. After going down large early, Negreanu stormed back, scooping many of the back 9 holes en route to banking some $160k or so from Antonius (and a side bet with Phil Ivey, who likes to gamble).
VIDEO: Daniel Negreanu vs. Patrik Antonius high stakes golf
In somewhat related news, cyber-sweat Daniel in the Event #20 final table, where he's currently the chip leader, here.
Because you can only talk about poker so much . . . Click Here
We sort of have this thing for Keeley Hazell and ...
We're kind of digging the snorgtees girls. You should buy their shirts. Check 'em out.
