Archive for WSOP
Tournament of Champions Announced for 2010 WSOP
Опубликовал | КомментарииSeveral years had passed since the last Tournament of Champions was held at a World Series of Poker, and while fans requested that it be reinstated, the freeroll was a costly venture and left off the schedules in lieu of other big buy-in events.
Reveal a link→
TOC Voters Flock to WSOP Site
Опубликовал | Комментарии“In just 24 hours the poker community has spoken loud and clearly and they should be applauded for their passion,” said Harrah’s VP Ty Stewart.
“We really love the idea of turning the fans into Executive Producers and they are taking the challenge head-on and making sure their voices are heard.”
Shelved since 2006, the WSOP announced Monday it will be bringing the Tournament of Champions back this summer, putting up $1 million in a freeroll for the top 20 WSOP bracelet holders as voted by fans of the game.
All 521 living WSOP bracelet holders are eligible to receive votes for entry through a selection process on WSOP.com that began Monday and will remain open through June 15.
A total of 40,722 votes were cast in the first 24 hours since the announcement, an average of 1,697 an hour or more than 28 every minute.
The WSOP says early results indicate it will be a very close and hotly-contested race.
The top 50 vote-getters are listed on the site and updated instantaneously as votes are cast.
In addition to the top 20 vote getters, five entries into the tournament will be automatic, including previous Tournament of Champions winners Annie Duke, Mike Matusow and Mike Sexton, reigning WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and WSOP Europe main event winner Barry Shulman.
Finally, two sponsor exemptions will be awarded by the WSOP, with details still forthcoming on how those seats can be won.
The event will go off Sunday June 27 at the Rio, playing down to a final table of nine that will reconvene on Sunday, July 4 to play for a share of $1 million.
It will be filmed for broadcast on ESPN.
WSOP Circuit: Roland Isra Wins Caesars Atlantic City Event
Опубликовал | КомментарииFifty-two year old Roland Isra overcame a massive chip disadvantage to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event at Caesars Palace Atlantic City early Monday morning. The New York City pro bested a field of 174 total players to capture the $264,715 top prize, a $10,000 seat in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
Isra entered the final table seventh in chips with 210,000, as chip leader Chris Mitchell had control with nearly one-third of the chips in play (1.8 million). Others in contention when the day began were Philadelphia pro Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki (1.1 million), Grayson Ramage (627,000), Jesse Chinni (427,000), Dan Witcher (411,000), Feming Chan (292,000), Richard Austin (178,000), and Konstantino Dimitroulakos (104,000).
After the short stacks – Austin, Dimitroulakos, and Chan – were eliminated, Ramage was the victim of a cooler, as his pocket Queens were outmatched by Mitchell’s pocket Aces. Ramage collected $40,851 for his fifth place finish. He was followed shortly after by Chinni, whose pair of fives couldn’t hold up against Witcher’s A-J.
Klodnicki was attempting to win back-to-back WSOP Circuit championships, but his quest was denied after taking a dreadful beat at the hands of Witcher. Klodnicki, who won the WSOP Circuit championship event at Harrah’s Atlantic City in December for $215,915, moved all-in with pocket nines and was called by Witcher, who had eights. An eight on the river gave Witcher a full house and sent Klodnicki home in fourth place.
After four hours of three-handed play, Witcher was the next to hit the rail, as his pocket tens ran into Mitchell’s pocket Aces. Witcher’s third-place finish was the biggest cash of his career; he took home $81,702.
Mitchell and Isra entered heads-up play nearly even in chips, but Isra was able to chip away at the South Carolina poker pro and take control of the match. On the final hand of the tournament, with the board reading 10-9-6-A, Mitchell was all in with Q-J and needing help against Isra’s A-9. Mitchell’s straight draw failed to improve against Isra’s two pair and Isra claimed the title.
“I’ve been trying very long to get this gold ring and finally this makes me very happy,” said Isra, who was a jeweler for 25 years before becoming a poker pro in 2002. “I really don’t like to wear any jewelry because I was handling it for a long time, but this one is going to stay with me.”
Mitchell dominated the tournament from the start. He led the field in chips at the end of Day 1 and Day 2, but suffered a series of bad beats and went card dead at the final table to allow Isra to climb back into it. On coming from behind at the final table to defeat Mitchell, Isra simply stated, “When it’s your day, it’s your day.”
The top 18 players collected prize money at Caesars Atlantic City. Among those who cashed, but missed the final table were 2006 WSOP Main Event runner-up Paul Wasicka (12th), Jacobo Fernandez (14th), and Las Vegas pro Nick Bringer (17th). Here’s a look at the final table results of the WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars Atlantic City:
1. Roland Isra – $264,715
2. Christopher Mitchell – $138,894
3. Dan Witcher – $81,702
4. Chris Klodnicki – $65,362
5. Jesse Chinni – $49,021
6. Grayson Ramage – $40,851
7. Feming Chan – $32,681
8. Konstantino Dimitroulakos – $24,511
9. Richard Austin – $16,340
Cake Launches No-Strings WSOP Satellites
Опубликовал | КомментарииThe site kicked off a series of no-strings-attached World Series of Poker satellites today.
While many online poker sites require their satellite winners to wear logo-covered gear, stay at certain hotels and use their winnings for certain events, Cake Poker’s winners have no strings attached.
In fact, Cake is offering players the chance to win $2,500 and $12,500 packages for the 2010 WSOP in Las Vegas that are completely flexible.
“We are excited about this year’s World Series and are delighted to offer satellites to our players,” said Cake Poker cardroom manager Lee Jones. “Our players get to concentrate and focus on their game, instead of worrying about wearing the proper shirt to keep their free hotel room.
“We will show our appreciation and reward players who choose to wear our gear, but we’re certainly not going to police it. We think our players will appreciate that we want to send them to the WSOP for the love of the game, not our corporate objectives.”
Cake Poker’s 2010 World Series of Poker offerings include a five-step Sit & Go series starting at $1 and a $350+$24 multi-table tournament Sundays at 4 p.m. ET with satellites starting at $3.
For more on Cake Poker and its WSOP satellite program, click the banner below.
Tournament of Champions Returns at 2010 WSOP
Опубликовал | КомментарииThe World Series of Poker are always coming up with new ideas and formats to keep the yearly poker mecca fresh and exciting. Alongside a raft of new features for the 2010 WSOP, an old favorite is set to re-take the stage. The WSOP Tournament of Champions will have it’s very own 2010 edition, with increased TV coverage, big-money players, and unprecedented fan interaction. The popular tournament debuted in 2004 and ran for three years until 2006. It has long been a leading candidate for revival, and the WSOP team felt that 2010 was the right time to dust off this invitational centerpiece and return it to pride of place on the World Series schedule.
The new Tournament of Champions will pit 27 former bracelet winners against each other in a $1 million freeroll. Two of these spots are reserved for sponsors, who may use them to draft in stars who are yet to win a bracelet. Also confirmed is the 2009 WSOP Champion Joe Cada, who will still be the reigning world champion when the tournament begins. Alongside him will be the WSOP Europe Main Event winner Barry Shulman and the three previous winners of the Tournament of Champions: Mike Sexton (2006), Mike Matusow (2005), and Annie Duke (2004). The remaining 20 places are open to any of the 512 living bracelet winners.
The decision on who gets to play is being left to the poker-loving public. Head over to the WSOP website to register and pick your own dream 20. So long as there’s still breath in their body, anyone who has won a bracelet in the WSOP’s 40-year history is up consideration. Letting the fans choose who they want to see at the table may result in some worthy players missing out on a seat, but it should make for one of the most entertaining tournaments in recent memory. Voting has already begun and concludes at midnight on June 15th.
You can take a look at the current Top 50, less than half of whom will eventually make it into the event. At the time of going to press, there are plenty of big names on the list, many of whom must be shoe-ins for a seat. A selection of the high-profile players currently leading the race includes: Johnny Chan, Peter Eastgate, Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Dario Minieri, Erick Lindgren, Huck Seed, Jeff Lisandro, Phil Ivey, Joe Hachem, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Phill Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker, Allen Cunningham, Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, and Annette Obrestad. There are few more obscure characters on the list, including the legendary Amarillo Slim, who has been largely absent from the poker scene in recent years. Costa Rican Humberto Brenes undoubtedly has the skill to qualify, but given his lack of TV exposure, it’s a surprise to see him up with these well known superstars. Other outside bets who have snuck into the Top 50 include 27-year-old double bracelet winner Daniel Alaei, 2008 Limit Hold ‘em Championship winner Rob Hollink, and veteran Chinese grinder Chau Giang.
“Winning the ToC marks one of the most memorable events in my poker career and I’m ecstatic that the WSOP is hosting this prestigious event,” announced Annie Duke. She’ll have another shot at taking down that title on June 27th, when the 27 entrants will play down to a final table. There will then be a mini – November Nine style – delay until Jun 4th, when the tournament will conclude, the day before the Main Event gets underway. The Tournament of Champions will be filmed by ESPN and turned into a two-hour dedicated broadcast, due to air on August 3rd. The tournament has no buy-in and will not award a bracelet, but it does carry a hefty $1,000,000 prize pool. The winner will pick up $500,000, with $250,000 and $100,000 for 2nd and 3rd respectively. The remaining prize money will be split into $25,000 chunks from 4th down to 9th.
FeltStars.com to give away a WSOP Main Event package
Опубликовал | КомментарииTop Merge Network site Feltstars.com is giving players the chance to freeroll their way to this year’s World Series Main Event.
Reveal a link→
WSOP Tournament of Champions Returns as Poker All-Star Game
Опубликовал | КомментарииThe National Basketball Association (NBA) has one. So does the National Football League (NFL). Now, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) will introduce an All-Star Game featuring 27 players in a made-for-television Tournament of Champions.
The event has been scheduled to take place over two days during the 2010 WSOP, beginning on June 27th with a final table taking place on July 4th. No new WSOP tournaments begin on either day, meaning that attending the soon-to-be prestigious event won’t take away from other festivities at the Rio. ESPN will air the All-Star Game, being dubbed the $1 Million 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions Freeroll, on August 3rd.
Five entries into poker’s version of an All-Star Game are automatic and are awarded to the three prior WSOP Tournament of Champions winners and the reigning WSOP and WSOP Europe Main Event champs. The first Tournament of Champions took place in 2004, when UB.com and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke earned a $2 million winner-take-all prize after besting Phil Hellmuth heads-up to become the series’ first winner.
In 2005, Mike Matusow defeated DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins to earn gold. Others at the final table included Hellmuth and Steve Dannenmann. Matusow won $1 million for his efforts and a total of 117 players entered. In 2006, World Poker Tour (WPT) Host and Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton came out on top, outlasting PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu. Matusow finished third that year in an impressive showing and Sexton banked $1 million for the win. Also gaining automatic entry to the 2010 Tournament of Champions are Joe Cada and Barry Shulman, who took down the 2009 WSOP and WSOP Europe Main Events, respectively.
Two slots in the 27-player field will be sponsor exemptions. WSOP officials will award both seats, although details on how they would be dished out were not available at press time. The general public will determine the final 20 seats in a fan vote. Balloting opened today at Noon ET on WSOP.com and will close on June 15th at Midnight ET on WSOP.com. The top 20 vote-getters will gain entry into the newly-forged $1 million freeroll.
The only requirement for voting by the general public is that a player must be a WSOP bracelet holder, eliminating the likes of Tom “durrrr” Dwan from contention. Open voting for the 2009 class of the Poker Hall of Fame led to Dwan being included as one of the final ten nominees; a committee later struck him of his bid, charging that he did not stand the test of time, one of several criteria needed for enshrinement. There are 521 living WSOP bracelet holders. Click here and vote now!
The top nine players in the Poker All-Star Game will finish in the money, with the tournament’s winner pocketing $500,000. The runner-up will bank $250,000, while the third place finisher will score $100,000. All other players in the top nine will see their bank accounts grow by $25,000. In case you’re wondering who is in the running to vie for the half-million dollar top prize, the WSOP will provide a list of the top 50 vote-getters after every ballot is cast on its website.
With a considerable amount of money at stake in poker’s version of an All-Star Game, Harrah’s officials will take steps against players artificially inflating vote counts. A press release distributed by the WSOP on Monday explains, “In an effort to avoid ballot-stuffing, the tally of individual votes won’t be divulged during the open voting period and balloters will be required to complete an authentication process to ensure one vote per e-mail address.”
WSOP officials expect the Tournament of Champions Freeroll to become an annual staple of the extravaganza in Las Vegas. Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment Vice President Ty Stewart noted in the same press release, “The Tournament of Champions brand has heritage in delivering the big moments. We’re thrilled to reinvent it around a model that should elevate the game by engaging millions of poker fans. We have received a lot of input from players and their affinity for the TOC and we are excited for them and the fans and hope its here to stay.”
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the WSOP All-Star Game, this year’s version of the Tournament of Champions.
WSOP: 2010 Tournament of Champions Will Be All-Star Game
Опубликовал | КомментарииThe World Series of Poker has announced that they will be bringing back the Tournament of Champions (TOC) in 2010 with one major change. The tournament will be an All-Star game with the majority of the participants being voted in by fans.
In a move that Ty Stewart, Vice President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, called “An [...]
Reveal a link→
Roland Isra Overcomes Huge Chip Disadvantage at Final Table and Wins WSOP Circuit Championship
Опубликовал | Комментарии
Atlantic City, NJ – To win, all poker players must pay a price. More often than not, the price of victory is not measured by the size of the entry fee or the expenses of entering a poker tournament. For many poker players, the much greater sacrifice is the accompanying disappointment that comes with playing tournament poker full time. In between extraordinary moments of fulfillment manifested in tournament triumphs are torturous moments of defeat, disappointment, and despair.
Roland Isra, a 52 year old professional poker player from New York City, knows the perils of poker all too well. He has come to the threshold of a major tournament victory numerous times. But each and every prior occasion when it seemed that Isra might finally win big tournament, he suffered a bad bet or was the victim of some cruel misfortune. Nevertheless, Isra endured over the years and to his credit, finally earned a major breakthrough victory at the most recent World Series of Poker C… Continue reading Roland Isra Overcomes Huge Chip Disadvantage at Final Table and Wins WSOP Circuit Championship
WSOP Circuit — Roland Isra Wins Caesars Atlantic City Main Event
Опубликовал | КомментарииThe $5,000 no-limit hold’em championship event at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop at the Caesars Palace in Atlantic City attracted 174 players and created a prize pool worth …