From ESPN.com
Good news for Poker fans! From USAToday.com:
Poker’s biggest tournament and ESPN have cut a new deal.
The World Series of Poker and the cable TV network will formally announce Tuesday they have a new seven-year broadcast agreement through the 2017 World Series.
ESPN has aired the WSOP since 2003. The current contract runs through next year. The new deal begins in 2011. ESPN will pay a rights fee. Terms were not disclosed.
Taped coverage of the World Series airs on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN International and more.
“This long-term agreement ensures that our content will continue to reach sports fans around the world through a wide variety of platforms,” says Jeffrey Pollack, president and commissioner of the World Series.
This year’s WSOP was a series of 57 poker tournaments begun May 26 in Las Vegas. The final tournament, the Main Event, is being held in two stages.
In stage one, played July 3 through July 15, the field of 6,494 players was reduced to the final nine. On Nov. 7-10, the final table (the “November Nine”) will be played. Top prize is $8.5 million.
ESPN’s 32 hours of coverage is running on Tuesday nights. It began July 28 and goes through Nov. 10 (same-day coverage of the end of the final table).
After devoting earlier coverage this year to other events in the WSOP, the ESPN programming will be pegged to Main Event coverage this Tuesday night through the rest of the TV schedule. There will be an all-time high 24 hours of Main Event coverage
This Tuesday night’s coverage will focus on the first day of the Main Event and feature such pros as Phil Laak, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and Johnny Chan, as well as poker-playing actor Jason Alexander from the TV show Seinfeld.
Norman Chad and Lon McEachern call the action. “It’s an event that lends itself to early-round coverage, and I think that’s where a lot of the memorable moments come,” says McEachern.
From PokerNewsDaily.com:
With only scant days remaining until the start of the $10,000 Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the race for the remaining bracelets is heating up in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
The final table of the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, Event #50 on the WSOP schedule, played out deep into the evening on Sunday. A total of 571 players started the event on Friday, with the final eight survivors having won their way to the final table by winning two sit and gos over the previous two days. As with the shootout format, the players all started with the same number of chips (450,000 at the final table) and there were plenty of strong players in the mix.
Bodog’s David Williams, who famously finished second to Greg Raymer in the 2004 Main Event and has since captured his own WSOP bracelet, was joined by two other bracelet winners from this year’s play. Marc Naalden, who won only the second bracelet in WSOP for his home country of the Netherlands, and Full Tilt Poker’s Greg “FBT” Mueller, the former Canadian hockey player who picked up his first bracelet this year, led a contingent of players from around the world. Millie Shue, who was the runner-up in the Ladies’ event in 2004, the Netherlands’ Joep Van Den Bijgaart, Argentina’s Jose Barbero, Italy’s Flaminio Malaguti, and the United States’ Matt Sterling rounded out what was truly an international table.
The three bracelet winners got off to fast starts and, within two hours, had separated themselves from the pack. Mueller pulled into the chip lead when he drew the first blood at the table with the elimination of Barbero in eighth place. Prior to the table taking the dinner break, the two Scandinavians battled it out, as Naalden took out Van Den Bijgaart in seventh place.
After the dinner hiatus, Williams tried to mount an attack on Mueller’s chip lead. He vanquished Malaguti in sixth when he turned a five to match his A-5 against the Italian’s Big Slick, but couldn’t seem to find any traction after that point. He slowly slid down the leaderboard and was eventually eliminated by Shue in fourth place. Even with the knockout, Shue, who played conservatively through the final table, was eventually ousted in third place.
Heads-up play began between Mueller (who had dismissed Sterling from the tournament in fifth place) and Naalden, with the Canadian holding a 4:1 lead over the Scandinavian. With the two men reaching heads-up, it also guaranteed the fourth double bracelet winner of this year’s WSOP, setting a new record for most multiple bracelet winners.
Naalden attacked Mueller from the start of heads-up action and, through skillful play, was able to pull to even within 30 minutes of play. Over the next hour and a half, Mueller and Naalden, who both won their bracelets in Limit events this year, would swap the lead approximately a half dozen times before Mueller was able to go on a run. That run enabled Mueller, once his five kicker played over Naalden’s deuce after both paired a King on the final hand, to capture his second WSOP bracelet and the $194,854 top prize.
Most of the attention of the crowd at the Rio was focused on play in the Players’ Championship, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament. A total of 53 players came back to attempt to work down to the cashout level (the final 16 players), but were unable to do that as 19 remained by the time play ended for the day.
Vitaly Lunkin, who captured the title in the $40,000 Anniversary Event, leads the field with 1.5 million in chips. He is joined by internet legend Erik “Erik123” Sagstrom, 2007 H.O.R.S.E. champion Freddy Deeb, and David Bach as players who have all eclipsed the million chip mark. Lurking just under that level is Ville Wahlbeck, who captured his first bracelet earlier this month in the World Championship Mixed event. They are joined by such professionals as eight-time WSOP champion Erik Seidel, former World Champion and current National Heads-Up Champion Huck Seed, 2009 Pot Limit Hold’em World Champion John Kabbaj, and Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen, who has no WSOP jewelry in his career. The 19 remaining players returning for Day 4 will play through to a final table tonight and a champion determined tomorrow.
A championship will be determined tonight in Event #51, another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament. Thirty-five players remain from the 2,781 who started the tournament, with newcomer Durand Thibaud holding the chip lead. He is joined by Owen Crowe as the only players over the million chip mark, with Josh Schlein on the verge of cracking that mark.
Two tournaments enter into Day 2 action today, the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #52) and the $1,500 Seven Card Stud High-Low tournament (Event #53). Jeffrey Lisandro, who has already captured three WSOP bracelets this year, is looking for an unprecedented fourth in the Triple Chance event, although there are still 149 players left. Currently Lisandro holds a healthy stack of 113,800 and is in pursuit of Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, who has 127, 900. In the Seven Card tournament, Marcel Luske, Daniel Negreanu and Annie Duke are a few of the top names that have survived to play Day 2, with Allie Prescott holding the lead over the 143 runners remaining.
Two events will kick off action with their Day 1s that begin at Noon today. Event #54, another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, should draw a sizeable crowd and Event #55, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Triple Draw Lowball tournament, should be stocked with top professionals. Poker News Daily will be on top of this and all of the rest of the action at the Rio as the poker world prepares for the start of the Main Event later this week.
From PokerListings.com:
The 33-year-old professional poker player topped a field of 125 to take the $300,000 first prize in the three-day, $10,000 buy-in event at the Paiute Golf Resort.
“I’ve played in a lot of high-stakes poker games, but this was a whole different kind of pressure,” Garaventa said. “There were times out there when I missed shots because my hands or knees were shaking, but it’s an unbelievable rush.”
Poker personalities Daniel Negreanu, Gavin Smith, David Benyamine, Chris Ferguson and David Oppenheim joined Ray Romano, former MLB pitcher Greg Maddux and footballer Jorge Campos in teeing off in this unique event.
Negreanu, Benyamine and Oppenheim would all cash for the minimum $10,000 after winning their first round, but none of the three would survive the second day of play.
Campos took fifth place for $30,000 after busting out early on Day 3.
The World Series of Golf is open to any amateur golfer with $10,000 to spend and adds a No Limit Hold’em-style betting element to the game.
Players are given a 10,000 bank of chips and post ante at each hole. A random draw is made to determine the shooting order, with the button being given to the first player to act.
After the first round of shooting, the button can either check or bet and each successive player must match his wager (or raise) in order to stay in contention for the hole.
Following the betting round, each player still in contention hits another shot and another betting round commences.
Action continues until one player has won the hole, either by stroke count or by forcing his rivals to fold. The last player standing in his group of five wins the round and advances.
Previous champions include Mark Ewing (2007) and A.J. Johnson (2008), both of whom took $250,000 for their efforts.
Read more from Pokernewsdaily.com:
Steve Schirripa, an actor on the popular “Sopranos” television series on HBO, will host “Face the Ace” on NBC. The grand prize on the poker meets reality television program is $1 million and airing begins on August 1st. The show represents NBC’s first venture into prime time poker programming.
Qualifiers for “Face the Ace” are currently running on Full Tilt Poker for one of seven episodes that will hit the airwaves on August 1st and occupy the 9:00pm ET time slot. The following Saturday, “Face the Ace” will air during the same time period; follow up shows will be beamed into households around the country on a schedule to be determined. The show’s concept is simple: A player will choose from among four doors. Behind each of them is a different professional poker player, appropriately dubbed an “ace.” They will then battle “mano a mano” on the green felts. If the contestant can beat the pro, according to a press release distributed by NBC officials this week, “They will have the opportunity to take the money they have won and leave or risk it all and choose another door and battle a different pro for a significantly larger sum of money.”
Successfully besting three of the game’s top pros in a row will earn a contestant the top prize of $1 million. Losing a match along the way means they’ll leave empty-handed. As the show is primarily sponsored by Full Tilt, the site’s pros make up the “aces.” They include Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Allen Cunningham, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, and Patrik Antonius. The show’s official website states that winners will be put up at the Golden Nugget, which was also home to the first and fifth seasons of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.”
Qualifying for the show involves winning a series of freerolls. The winner of each Round 1 freeroll (which take place constantly on Full Tilt Poker) moves onto Round 2. The second installment of freerolls occurs every Wednesday and Sunday at 9:15pm ET. Each winner earns entry into one of three “Face the Ace” Final Qualifiers. These take place at 9:15pm ET on May 25th, 9:15pm ET on June 8th, and 9:15pm ET on June 22nd. The top 10 in each of these tournaments takes home a prize package to head to Las Vegas to potentially compete “Face the Ace.” Each “Face the Ace” tournament is color-coded tan in the Full Tilt lobby. The prize package includes round trip airfare for two to Sin City, $500 in cash, accommodations for two at the Golden Nugget, and a chance to audition for “Face the Ace.”
Jon Miller, Executive Vice-President of NBC Sports, told Poker News Daily, “’Face the Ace’ gives us a chance to continue our great relationship with Poker Productions and provide people at home with an exciting opportunity to get in the game. We are thrilled to have Steve Schirripa on board as the host - with his fun personality we knew he was the perfect guy for the job.” The first Las Vegas filming is scheduled to take place on July 9th and contestants must be at least 21 years old to play.
Full Tilt Poker also serves as the official sponsor for the seventh season of the World Poker Tour (WPT), which is in the midst of airing on Fox Sports Net. Full Tilt received an on-felt presence as part of its package with the WPT. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas is fronted by Everest Poker, whereas its London version is sponsored by Betfair. Visit Full Tilt Poker for more information on qualifying for “Face the Ace.”
Ylon Schwartz is one of the November Nine, the most hyped final table in poker history. He’s about to play on poker’s biggest stage for the championship of the world and more money than even he could burn off in a few years. The eyes of the world will be upon him and the other eight remaining players in the main event, looking on as poker’s next world champion is determined. However, one senses that he’s not interested in the accompaniment of fame.
From CappersMall.com:
Poker betting is one thing but wagering on poker betting is quite another. And yet that’s the challenge gamblers will face when they match cash to conviction on the 39th World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, beginning May 30.
Although some books have prices for which poker players will win each of the 53 preliminary card games, it is Event #54, the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of No-Limit Texas Hold ‘em, known as the Main Event, that not only attracts the most poker players but the most action from bettors, as well.
That competition gets underway July 3 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel with the Final Table determined on July 14. The nine players who advance to the Final Table will return to the Rio on November 9 where the outcome will be decided on the evening of November 10.
Poker exploded as a TV and gambling essential a half-decade ago when new technology allowed viewers watching at home to see each player’s hole cards. Bookmakers, who tried to keep pace with the phenomena, have been swamped of late as the number of entries to the Main Event swelled to a record 8,773 in 2006. Try making a future book involving that many names!
So, given the huge fields and the fact that an established professional poker player has not won the Main Event since 2001, books have taken to offering prices on players merely making it to the Final Table. (Odds on winning the top prize will follow after that).
The lowest odds on any individual reaching the Final Table is 100/1, a price afforded to 1987 and 1988 Main Event champion Johnny Chan, 1989 winner Phil Hellmuth and 2001 champ Carlos Mortensen, as well as such highly regarded poker players a Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu and Allen Cunningham.
Scotty Nguyen, the champion in 1998, and Chris Ferguson, the winner in 2000, each are offered at odds of 125/1 to reach the Final Table, the same price as the colorfully named Huck Seed, who captured the Main Event title in 1996.
Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson, who competed in the first World Series of Poker Main Event back in 1970 and a two-time champion (1976-77) in his own right, is 150/1 to be one of the last nine players left standing, er, sitting at the Final Table.
Last year’s Main Event winner, Jerry Yang, is 300/1 to make a second straight Final Table while the 2006 champion, Jamie Gold, who pocketed a record $12 million, is held at odds of 200/1. Joe Hachem, the winner in 2005, and Greg Raymer, who it won it all a year earlier, each are listed at 150/1 while the aptly named Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 title holder, opened at 200/1.
At odds of 150/1, Jennifer Harmon has the lowest odds to make the Final Table of any woman while Gabe Kaplan, 200/1, of “Welcome Back, Kotter” fame, is among the celebrities who have made a successful switch from entertainment to poker.
In addition to straight Final Table wagering, many bookmakers also are offering a series of proposition bets on the Main Event. One of the more interesting asks bettors to predict the size of the field. A record field of more than 9,000 is rated at 7/2, the same price as a field of 6,500-6,999. You get 4/1 on 7,000-7,499 entries and 5/1 on either 6,000-6,499 (the range for last year’s Main Event) or 7,500-7999.
If you think the bottom is about to fall out on poker, you can get 250/1 that the field numbers a paltry 2,000-2,499.
With 87 countries represented at last year’s World Series of Poker, there also are prices on various nationalities reaching the Final Table. For example, you can get 2/1 that a Swede is among the last nine players and 9/2 that a player from Norway reaches the Final Table. Denmark (6/1), Russia (7/1), Spain (10/1), Germany (10/1) and Italy (12/1) also are on the international list. Sorry, no price on the obvious, an American player making it to the Final Table.
Given that the World Series of poker is about the only game where you can bet on people betting, most sports betting fans probably will want to play a hand or two.
From CasinoCityTimes:
Two popular poker rooms are making it possible for you to compete in a World Series of Poker-type of atmosphere without flying to Las Vegas.
Coinciding with the start of the 2008 WSOP on Friday in Las Vegas, Bodog and Full Tilt Poker are both offering Mini-SOPs, mimicking the schedule of the real World Series by offering the same events (with lower buy-ins) each day online.
The Bodog Poker Mini-SOP runs from May 30-July 3, with each tournament held on the same date as its counterpart in Las Vegas, but with buy-ins equal to just one percent of the actual buy-in of the WSOP Event.
Bodog will be running a Tournament Leader Board throughout the series that will be used to determine who will compete in a final 27-player tournament held on July 10 where the top three finishers will each be awarded a $12,000 prize package to the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Places four through nine will receive $109 to buy into online poker tournaments in the Bodog Poker room.
“We’re happy to offer those not able to attend the 2008 WSOP in person an affordable and exciting online alternative,” says Alwyn Morris, CEO of the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which runs Bodog in North America. “For only one percent of the standard WSOP Main Event buy-in cost, Bodog online poker players can have a shot at the Mini-SOP crown and three $12,000 prize packages including entry into the 2009 WSOP Main Event.”
Players can earn a spot at the Mini-SOP Final on July 10 in several ways. The top four players on the TLB automatically qualify, while places five through 100 on the TLB will compete for one of 18 seats awarded in a semifinal qualifier held two days before the final. The remaining five seats to the final will be picked from a random “wild card” drawing of players who have entered at least three Mini-SOP events.
Meanwhile at Full Tilt, more than $700,000 in guaranteed prize money will be spread over more than 50 events, beginning with Friday’s $100+$9 Pot Limit Hold’em Tournament that carries a guaranteed prize pool of $20,000. While most of the event in Full Tilt’s MSOP will feature buy-ins from anywhere to $10 to $500, there will also be satellites starting for as little as $2 + $.25 or 50 Full Tilt Points.
The player who accumulates the most money during the MSOP will earn a $10,000 seat at the 2009 Main Event in Las Vegas. Also, each event winner will be rewarded with a limited edition Full Tilt Poker Champion’s Watch in addition to their first-place prize money.
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