BLUFF Staff Blog

BLUFF Magazine will partner with The V Foundation to host The V Foundation Charity Poker Tournament in an effort to raise money in the fight against cancer. The Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, NV will host the event on Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

The eventual champion will have a grant to The V Foundation made in their name along with the majority of the prizepool going to benefit the charity. The No Limit Hold’em event is a $230 buy-in with $100 rebuys. Poker pros like Joe Sebok, BLUFF columnist Antonio Esfandiari and Liv Boeree will be in attendance playing with celebrities like Mekhi Phifer and Jose Canseco.

The event will also feature a silent auction with BLUFF provided some of the prizes.

Then on Thursday, March 25, 2010 The V Foundation is holding a private dinner at Grand Sierra’s Briscola restaurant. Their dinner will take place in the comforts of their private wine cellar room and will feature notable wines and Italian cuisine. The best chefs in Reno will serve signature dishes, as well as, serve them with complimentary wine.

The V Foundation is in its 18th year of existence and has raised over $90 million to combat cancer. The foundation has provided grants for 38 states and the District of Columbia.

To register for this event or for more information please visit www.sportsidentity.com or call (617) 268-0001.

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The following article appears in the February issue of BLUFF - on newsstands now.

Each year BLUFF Magazine seeks the opinion and input of the poker industry in hopes of putting together a comprehensive list for our readers of the most influential and powerful people in the poker industry. In years past the Power 20 has included both individuals and companies or organizations. For 2010 we’ve switched things up. In an effort to give you, the reader, a more accurate and relevant account of the movers and shakers in the game today, we asked our voters to forego listing companies and fill their ballot only with individuals.

What follows is the result of over 100 ballots from members of players, agents, the poker media and those working within the industry. Hopefully the 20 individuals here have heeded the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson and acquired the wisdom to use their power well.

20. Per Hagen - Through his poker player managment company , PokerIcons, Per Hagen rpresents a number of the top online players outside of North America.  With the gambling age lower in Europe Hagen’s ability to work with players under 21 -and secure sponsorship deals for those players - has him ahead of the curve on the other side of the Atlantic.

Included on his current roster are EPT Prague champion Arnaud Mattern, online superstar and member of the Brunson 10 Chris “Moorman1″ Moorman and double WSOP bracelet winner Jesper Hougaar.  PokerIcons is also the agency of record for the WSOP Europe Main Event winner Annette “Annette_15″ Obrestad, whom many believe is destined to become  a huge star in North America .  Hagen also claims to work with the elusive “Isildur1″.

19. Matt Savage – Most of the poker circuit’s top players will tell you how much they respect Savage. Hired by the Commerce Casino prior to the 2009 LA Poker Classic to revamp their tournament offering, he’s turned the Commerce into a West Coast Mecca for poker. This past November the LA Poker Open featured an opening event with 3,293 runners – the largest field outside of the WSOP Main Event in 2009.
On top of player-friendly structures Savage is also responsible for creating some of the more unique tournament offerings including the Ironman Tournament which ran at the LAPC. With no scheduled breaks, players played for nearly 20 hours straight to determine a champion. Only two $10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour events saw growth in 2009, the LAPC and the Bay 101 Shooting Stars, and Savage was at the helm for both.

18. Barry Shulman – As the CEO of Card Player magazine, Shulman has been prominent in the poker industry for over 10 years now. With a stable of writers that includes Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu, Card Player has carved out a niche as a poker strategy resource. Running the day-to-day operations of Card Player, Shulman is in constant contact with nearly everybody on this list.

Apparently he’s been reading his own magazine and taking the advice to heart. In October 2009 he found success at the table with his stunning come-from-behind heads-up victory over Negreanu in the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. Walking away with $1.3 million Shulman left London and returned to Las Vegas to cheer on his son, Jeff, at the World Series of Poker Main Event final table in November.

17. Joe Sebok – With $1.8 million in lifetime earnings Joe Sebok has taken that success and found a way to mirror it in the business world. As President of PokerRoad.com, he’s responsible for the day-to-day operations and he’s also managed to amass a Twitter following unmatched in the poker world: 1.1 million followers.

In 2009 he had a monster year. In July he ran deep in the WSOP Main Event, finishing 56th and earning $108,000. He followed that up by announcing the he was joining UltimateBet.com, not just as a sponsored pro, but as media and operations consultant. The move shocked many industry observers, given that the superuser scandal still held a dark cloud over the company. Sebok took the opportunity to bring some clarity and transparency to the controversy. He’s promised to work hard with the company to give the players what they want – the names of all players associated with the superuser scandal.

16. Lance Bradley – When BLUFF needed a new Editor in Chief, they turned to one of the industry’s most respected voices. Bradley has worked on all sides of the poker industry and found his way to BLUFF, first as a contributor, then Managing Editor and now as its top editorial resource. Since stepping up to his new role, Bradley has changed the editorial direction of the magazine for the better while maintaining quality online content.

Never afraid of a challenge, Bradley often collaborates with people in all facets of the industry to generate the best content possible. His work ethic during the WSOP is second to none, spending every waking minute watching the action, taking notes and establishing positive relationships with the players. Bradley has enabled BLUFF to retain its spot at the top of the poker magazine world and continues to innovate in order to keep that position.

15. Brian Balsbaugh – As the founder of the first formal poker agency, Poker Royalty, LLC, Balsbaugh represents most of the big names in the industry. He’s negotiated sponsorship deals on behalf of Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen and Patrik Antonius. Most of the agencies that have sprung up in the past three or four years have all stolen a page from the Poker Royalty playbook.

Over the past 12 months Poker Royalty, led by Balsbaugh and president James Sullivan, added Doyle Brunson and Tom “durrrr” Dwan to the roster. Along with getting poker pros aligned with online poker rooms, Balsbaugh is also responsible for putting his players in front of Corporate America with speaking engagements and appearances. Those interactions could lead to the day when the game’s top players have mainstream sponsors.

14. Mori Eskandani – The president of television production company POKER PROductions oversees the development and casting of some of the most successful poker programming on TV today. Whether it’s Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker or NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship that you’re tuned into, they are all products of Eskandani and his partner Eric Drache.

Having been around the game of poker for over 20 years, Eskandani continues to have strong working relationships with the biggest names in the game. Those relationships, combined with his years of experience, enable him to ensure that each show he produces is filled with not only strong poker play, but great characters as well. By putting the likes of Brian Townsend, Andrew Robl and Ilari Sahamies on TV, he’s kept the hardcore poker fans happy while introducing the average fan to some of the best players in the world.

13. Mike Sexton – When the WSOP Main Event stopping accepting registrations on Day 1d this past summer, and hundreds of players were left out in the cold, it was Sexton who stepped in and spoke to the then-WSOP commissioner, Jeffrey Pollack. He’d already played in the event but when those that were shut out saw him walking the hallways, they unilaterally elected him as their voice. That’s no surprise.

He’s the man largely responsible for getting PartyPoker.com off the ground and helping it become a global giant before the UIGEA forced them out of the US market. He’s also been the play-by-play man for the World Poker Tour since its inception. This past summer he was elected into the Poker Hall of Fame as the lone inductee as much for his success away from the felt as at it.

12. John Pappas – The Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance, Pappas, is responsible for the overall direction of the organization, leading the charge to have online poker regulated and/or the UIGEA repealed. An experience Washington insider, there could be literally hundreds of thousands of players and potentially billions of dollars resting on his ability to manage the online poker lobby.

Under Pappas’ watch, the PPA brought on board former US senator Alfonse D’Amato as Chairman and spearheaded the National Poker Week, allowing a number of poker heavyweights in Washington DC to spread word of the fight to regulate the game. He’s also made numerous mainstream media appearances to provide the industry’s side of the story.

11. Phil Ivey – With already one of the most recognizable faces in the game, Ivey finally opened up to the media during his run at the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Taking an ESPN The Magazine reporter on an around the world private plane excursion, Ivey showed he’s ready to be more than just the most feared player on the planet.

Working with his personal manager and Creative Artists Agency (clients include Will Smith, Julia Roberts and LeBron James), Ivey could become the most marketable – and marketed – names in poker. He’s already featured in a bulk of Full Tilt Poker’s marketing collateral. But his persona, combined with his success at the table, had Fortune magazine’s November Issue examining his potential to take over Madison Avenue.

10. Joe Cada – Winning the WSOP Main Event and becoming World Champion brings with it the responsibility of being an ambassador for the game of poker. While players in the past have failed to live up to that expectation, Cada embraced it the second that he eliminated Darvin Moon to win it all.

Cada did his best to grab as much media attention as possible in the days and weeks following his win. Appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman, CNN and even Monday Night Raw, the youngest Main Event champion in history was front and center, putting poker back in the mainstream. How he handles the multitude of media requests during the 2010 WSOP, while he’s trying to defend his title, will say a lot about Cada.

9. Tony G – The entertaining, boisterous poker pro that fans either love or hate also happens to be the man responsible for PokerNews.com. While former BLUFF Editor in Chief Matthew Parvis runs the editorial product, the business vision comes straight from the mind of the man whose birth name is Antanas Guoga. The PokerNews empire also includes ChipMeUp.com, PokerWorks.com and, until recently, the smarky gossip poker forum, NeverWinPoker.com.

Live update teams covering every major poker tournament on five continents and the availability of PokerNews in 30 languages, puts PokerNews in front of a worldwide audience. Those eyeballs turn into dollars with the advertising and affiliate deals that Guoga negotiates. For the past two years PokerNews has provided the official live updates and chip counts for WorldSeriesofPoker.com.

8. Daniel Negreanu – Not many poker pros have a game show built around their personality. Actually, only one does – Negreanu. Making him the most media friendly and media savvy player on the planet, Negreanu’s charm and personality alone have allowed him to build an empire, as he’s in front of the camera more than almost every other poker pro. But of course, he’s no slouch at the table either.

In 2009 he scored a runner-up finish at the WSOP Europe Main Event, which made him the winningest player in poker history, with $12,432,267 in earnings - $170,000 ahead of Ivey. Along with his PokerStars endorsement – rumoured to be the largest in history – he also has his own online training site, PokerVT.com. Simply put, there isn’t a more successful poker pro that takes advantage of his playing ability by parlaying it into dollars even off the felt.

7. Barney Frank – If online poker is going to be regulated in the United States, it will be largely due to the efforts of Frank, the Democratic congressman from Massachusetts. While the effort to bring the game into the 21st Century is being cheered on from the sidelines, Frank is inside the huddle calling the plays.

As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank has heavyweight clout in Washington. In May 2009, just months after he boldly predicted that the UIGEA would be defeated in 2009, he took the first step in making that a reality by revealing a bill that would regulate the iGaming industry. HR 2267 (The Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009) would see online poker operators subjected to background checks similar to what land-based operators do.

6. Doyle Brunson – How many other 77-year-olds have over 300,000 followers on Twitter? Right, not many. Doyle is the name and face of his own online poker room, DoylesRoom.com, but many consider him the face of the entire industry. Brunson comes from the old guard of poker but clearly understands the new generation of players that are taking over the poker world.

Proof of that comes from the “Brunson 10” concept that Doyle is using for DoylesRoom.com. Rather than throw his logo on just any of the available free agents, Brunson is handpicking 10 players under the age of 25, to represent DoylesRoom moving forward. He’s also just released his long awaited autobiography. On top of all that, he’s a guiding force behind The Big Game.

5. Ty Stewart – When Jeffrey Pollack left his post as WSOP Commissioner in November, many industry insiders weren’t surprised. The addition of Mitch Garber (see No. 3) to the WSOP hierarchy was one reason but Stewart, who was originally hired as the Director of Partnership Marketing and is now the Vice President of Harrahs Interactive Entertainment, was ready to take a step up the corporate ladder.

Working alongside Pollack since 2005, Stewart was the driving force behind the numerous corporate sponsors and marketing opportunities that the WSOP managed to attract. Milwaukee’s Best and Jack’s Link both came aboard as presenting sponsors, thanks to Stewart’s efforts. As the brand continues to expand beyond North America and Europe, the opportunity for additional major sponsors continues to grow with Stewart front and center.

4. Howard Lederer – Regardless of whether or not a relationship exists between him and the Full Tilt Poker empire, it’s obvious that Lederer is a decision maker. The former Mayfair Club regular is thought highly upon within the industry for his business acumen as well as his playing ability – a rare combination. With red pro status since Full Tilt was launched, Lederer is also one of the faces of the world’s second largest online poker room.

As a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, the past 14 months away from the table haven’t been without hassle for Lederer. Facing two lawsuits related to his involvement with Full Tilt, Lederer managed to navigate through them relatively unscathed. Lederer did, however, find success at the table in 2009. A win at the Festa al Lago in October came only a month after his two final tables at WSOP Europe, which included his runner-up finish in the £5,000 Limit Omaha event.

3. Mitch Garber – Imagine if WSOP.com was an online poker site? That same thought propelled Garber from off this list to top of this list. The former CEO of PartyGaming took a hop, skip and a jump across the Atlantic, from London to Montreal, when he accepted the job as CEO of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment. The world’s most prestigious poker tournament is entering a new phase and Garber is top dog now that Jeffrey Pollack has left.

Harrah’s transformation of WSOP.com from a news site to a revenue generating online poker site will rely heavily on the world of experience that Garber gained while at the top of PartyPoker—the world’s largest online poker site at the time. Depending on which rumour you want to believe, Garber may have helped finance the operations as well. While they are currently unable to accept American players, legislation is looming and the European and Asian markets are wide open for player acquisition.

Editor’s Note: Given the murky legality involved in owning an online poker site, the top two names on the “2010 Power 20” both asked to have their names removed from this list and BLUFF accommodated that request.

2. Full Tilt Poker – With a stable full of stars that include some of the biggest names in the world - Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen – Full Tilt Poker is a marketing machine. That, and the fact that the site is seen as the home for nosebleed cash game action, leave weekend warriors and grinders alike drooling. The 18,000 players averaged to be online makes Full Tilt nearly three times as large as the third place room, Party Poker.
Television shows on both sides of the Atlantic (financed by Full Tilt) help further the brand, and being in good graces with them, even if not a member of Team Full Tilt, can mean extra TV time. Sued twice in the last 14 months – first by Clonie Gowen, who claims she was owed an ownership stake, and then by Jason Newitt, who claims he was unjustly dismissed from his job within the company – the machine never missed a beat. The recent high-stakes battle staged by “Isildur1” reportedly drew 300,000 railbirds.

1. PokerStars – Nobody is in control of more poker players at any given minute than the family that owns the PokerStars empire. Through the first week of January 2010, the site was averaging 34,000 online players at any given time and the annual PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Championship Event has the largest field outside of the WSOP Main Event.
With no stockholders to answer to, the company is able to manoeuvre quickly and tackle projects without having to jump through too many hoops. The recent launch of the North American Poker is a perfect example. Taking on live poker tournaments in North America is the last frontier for a company that also sponsors tours in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America.

There appears to be no limit as to how much bigger PokerStars can become. With US regulation looming, it’s not outside the realm of possibility to see a PokerStars branded, land-based casino in Vegas sooner rather than later.

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The people of the poker world have spoken. After nearly six weeks of voting the 5th Annual BLUFF Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards results are in.

The 14 categories included Favorite Poker Personality, won by 2009 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Mike Sexton, and Favorite Poker Twitterer, won by the oldest nominee Doyle Brunson. Phil Ivey, who won multiple bracelets at the 2009 World Series of Poker, also won multiple RCA’s by taking home Favorite Player of 2009 and Top Story of 2009 for his Main Event final table appearance.

“The Reader’s Choice Awards give poker fans the chance to speak their minds a little bit,” said BLUFF Editor in Chief Lance Bradley. “We think our readers are passionate about the game and the votes certainly reflect that. Some of the races were extremely close.”

Here is the complete list of winners from the RCA’s. Full results for all nominees are available in the February issue of BLUFF, on newsstands this week.

• Favorite Poker Personality: Mike Sexton
• Top TV Poker Show for 2009: High Stakes Poker
• Favorite Poker Podcast: The Poker Beat on PokerRoad.com
• Top Poker Blog for 2009: WickedChopsPoker.com
• Favorite Poker Forum: TwoPlusTwo.com
• Best Poker Twitterer: Doyle Brunson
• Favorite Las Vegas Poker Room: The Bellagio
• Favorite Poker Room Outside of Las Vegas: The Commerce
• Favorite Online Poker Site: Full Tilt Poker
• Favorite Online Poker Resource: CardRunners.com
• Top Story of 2009: Phil Ivey Makes WSOP Main Event Final Table
• Best Online Poker Player: Tom “durrr” Dwan
• Favorite Poker Villain: Phil Hellmuth
• Favorite Player of 2009: Phil Ivey

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BLUFF Magazine has added another young up and coming superstar to its list of exclusive bloggers. Justin “BoostedJ” Smith,  a 22 year old pro from Florida, is the latest poker pro to join the ranks of writers at BluffMagazine.com.

Smith’s reputation in the poker world has been building since he started playing online at 18 years old. Since that time he’s earned a reputation for playing high stakes mixed games with the best in the world. Not long after his 21st birthday - last January - Smith made his way to Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio to play the Big Game.

“We’re excited to add Justin to our list of bloggers and writers,” said Lance Bradley, Editor in Chief of BLUFF. “He’s clearly set on becoming one of the best players in the world and we think our readers are going to enjoy reading about his exploits in pursuit of that.”

The blog will run alongside other BLUFF blogs including Brad Booth, Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh, David “TheMaven” Chicotsky and Adam Junglen. For Smith joining forces with BLUFF was an easy choice.

“Looking for somewhere to call home for my blog the obvious choice was BLUFF,” said Smith, a red Full Tilt pro who also is a part of the group of instructors at Deep Stacks University. ”Working with BLUFF to give readers a glimpse into my day-to-day life is an opportunity I’m looking forward to.”

Last summer Smith enjoyed the start to his World Series of Poker career that most players only dream of. Cashing in five events, including making the final table of the $10,000 Seven-card Stud Eight-or-better event, Smith finished the WSOP with nearly $130,000 in winnings. Rather than leave Las Vegas with that cash in hand he played the $15,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup Main Event and finished third for $464,870.

Justin Smith’s blog can be found at blog.bluffmagazine.com.

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Poker fans around the world have been voting in droves for the 2009 BLUFF Readers Choice Awards but don’t worry if you haven’t voted yet, there’s still time to vote and get in on the $1,000 freeroll for all voters.

The voting for RCA close Friday, January 8 at Midnight and just by voting you’ll be eligible for the freeroll being held at online poker room GR88.com on Monday, January 11.

The categories this year are: Favorite Player of 2009, Top Poker Blog for 2009, Top TV Poker Show for 2009, Favorite Online Poker Site, Favorite Poker Forum, Favorite Las Vegas Poker Room, Favorite Poker Twitterer, Favorite Poker Podcast/Radio Show, Best Online Poker Player, Favorite Poker Villain, Favorite Poker Personality, Favorite Poker Room Outside of Las Vegas, Favorite Online Poker Resource, Top Story of 2009.

“We’ve offered a wide range of voting options this year and apparently that has poker fans excited,” said Lance Bradley, BLUFF Editor in Chief. “The number of voters is up over last year. Of course, ponying up a $1,000 freeroll probably has something to do with that.”

To vote on the 2009 BLUFF Magazine Readers Choice Awards click here. Winners will be announced on BluffMagazine.com on January 28 and in the February issue of BLUFF.

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Readers of BLUFF Magazine are about to have their say on 2009 and will get the chance to earn a little bit of cold hard cash just for doing so.

The 2009 BLUFF Magazine Readers Choice Awards give poker fans the chance to vote on a total of 14 categories including Favorite Player of 2009, Favorite Poker Villain and the Top Story of 2009. Simply by voting readers will earn a ticket to a $1,000 freeroll on GR88.com on Monday, January 11.

Voting is open now and polls will close on Friday, January 8 at midnight.

“There are some new categories this year that our readers and poker fans around the world will like,” said Lance Bradley, BLUFF Editor in Chief. “There are some that are sure to spark debate and probably some heated campaigns from some of the nominees.”

Nominated for Favorite Player of 2009 are Phil Ivey, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu and Bertrand Grospellier. All four players had outstanding years and with only one event remaining on the docket Mercier appears to have a stranglehold on BLUFF Magazine Player of the Year but winning the RCA isn’t a guarantee.

“Poker players emerge each year and develop a loyal fan base. When you combine the look at the success these four players enjoyed in 2009, it’s no surprise that they ended up as nominees,” said Bradley. “We’ve got 13 other awards to hand out which are all up for grabs.”

The other categories and nominees are:

Top Poker Blog for 2009

• WickedChopsPoker.com
• PokerNewsDaily.com
• TAO of Poker
• Pokerati.com

Top TV Poker Show for 2009

• World Series of Poker
• High Stakes Poker
• Poker After Dark
• World Poker Tour

Favorite Online Poker Site

• PokerStars.com
• CakePoker.com
• FullTiltPoker.com
• AbsolutePoker.com/UB.com

Favorite Poker Forum

• PocketFives
• TwoPlusTwo
• BluffMagazine
• Full Contact Poker

Favorite Las Vegas Poker Room

• Bellagio
• Venetian
• Wynn
• Caesars Palace

Favorite Poker Twitterer

• Joe Sebok
• Erik Seidel
• Doyle Brunson
• Barry Greenstein

Favorite Poker Podcast/Radio Show

• The Poker Edge on ESPN
• Poker Road - The Poker Beat
• TwoPlusTwo Pokercast
• Hardcore Poker Radio

Best Online Poker Player

• Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies
• Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond
• Tom “durrrr” Dwan
• Isildur1

Favorite Poker Villain

• Mike Matusow
• Phil Hellmuth
• Mark Vos
• Luke “__FullFlush1__” Schwartz

Favorite Poker Personality

• Jeffrey Pollack
• Mike Sexton
• Gabe Kaplan
• Norman Chad

Favorite Poker Room Outside of Las Vegas

• The Borgata, Atlantic City
• The Commerce, Los Angeles
• The Bike, Los Angeles
• Foxwoods, Ledyard, Conn.

Favorite Online Poker Resource

• SharkScope
• thepokerDB
• CardRunners
• DeucesCracked

Top Story of 2009

• The Durrrr Challenge
• Phil Hellmuth Arrives at WSOP/WSOP Europe Dressed as Caesar
• Five Players Win Multiple Bracelets at 2009 WSOP
• Phil Ivey Makes WSOP Main Event Final Table

To vote on the 2009 BLUFF Magazine Readers Choice Awards click here. Winners will be announced on BluffMagazine.com on January 28 and in the February issue of BLUFF.

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There are five weeks between now and the Main Event of the AbsolutePoker College Challenge and that should give college students plenty of time to get in and take a shot at making $10,000 for their college tuition.

The APCC daily qualifying tournaments have three buy-in levels: freeroll, $0.25 and $5.00. Finish in the top nine of any of those events and players are automatically entered into a freeroll the next day that will award nine seats to the Weekly Main Event Qualifier which runs Sunday at 9 pm ET.

Players in the Weekly Main Event Qualifier compete for a $200 prizepool as well as the chance to play in the Main Event. The top six players from the Main Event, held on November 30, will be flown to Los Angeles to compete live for the $10,000 top prize. The final table will be streamed live on BluffMagazine.com.

In its second year the APCC is growing stronger with more and more college kids using their poker abilities to develop real world life skills - all while making some money for tuition, books or bad ass beer pong tables. 

“(The) concept that playing poker teaches students other life skills is on the money. Poker has taught me how to deal with a lot of different aspects of my life from business to my personal relationships,” said Absolute Poker Pro Matt Vengrin. “My life is where it is today due to learning what it takes to be a professional poker player.”

The  APCC continues through November 29th. For more information check out AbsolutePoker.com.

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The 2009 November Nine

Tuesday night’s episodes of the World Series of Poker Main Event on ESPN will continue to introduce poker fans to the November Nine.

Tuesday’s first one hour episode begins with 27 players left in the tournament including BLUFF contributor Antonio Esfandiari and Maryland logger Darvin Moon. Also featured in this episode is the last woman standing Leo Margets who hopes to continue her run at becoming only the second woman to ever make the final table.

The second hour will begin with 23 players left in the tournament including Phil Ivey and Jeff Shulman as well as Billy Kopp and Steven Begleiter.

ESPN’s coverage of the 2009 WSOP Main Event continues each Tuesday until November 10 when the two episodes from the November Nine will air and a new world champion will be crowned.

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BluffMagazine.com is helping poker fans get excited for the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event final table with the launch of a new video player and exclusive content from the 2009 WSOP.

The video player, which is sponsored by UltimateBet, will give fans the chance to see the 24 final tables which were broadcast by BLUFF Media in an edited format complete with all bustouts and heads-up battles.

“Between now and November 7 we’ll add a new final table each day,” said Eric Morris, BLUFF Magazine publisher. “On top of that we’ll be adding all the interviews from the 2009 WSOP as well.”

Fans will be able to see the final table of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, the $10,000 Heads Up World Championship and both of Phil Ivey’s bracelet wins. Also available will be a Phil Hellmuth channel featuring the footage from his historic 11th bracelet win in 2007.

On the day Ivey and the rest of the November Nine regroup to determine a new world champion fans will be able to tune into BLUFF’s live audio broadcast from tableside. Fans will also be given live chip counts and graphics throughout the final table.

“Our radio coverage of the November Nine will give hardcore poker fans the chance to step inside the ropes for poker’s biggest event,” said Morris.

To check out the new video player for yourself visit http://www.bluffmagazine.com/videoplayer.asp

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If you’re a college kid looking for a way to put together some money for tuition then put down the Beer Pong for Dummies and pay attention. AbsolutePoker.com is giving away $30,000 for tuition.

The 2009 Absolute Poker College Challenge is off and running with three qualifying tournaments each day; a freeroll, a $0.25 buy-in and a $5 buy-in event. Finish in the top nine in any of those events and you’ll be automatically entered into a freeroll the following day. Make the top 15 of that freeroll and you’re in the Weekly Main Event Qualifier which not only advances players to the Main Event but has a $200 prizepool as well.

“This tournament is a fun and easy way for college students to compete for an alternative way to pay for tuition, and we believe that this program is one of the best ways to create real added value for college students,” said Absolute Poker Pro and APCC consultant, Matt Vengrin.

The top six finishers in the Main Event will play in a live final table to be broadcast by BLUFF. The winner receives $10,000 for tuition as well as a championship ring. The sixth place finisher receives $2,000.

The College Challenge runs until November 29th. For more information visit http://www.absolutepoker.com/promotions/college-challenge/.

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Eric Morris, co-founder and publisher of Bluff Magazine formally announced Lance Bradley as the new Editor in Chief of the magazine Tuesday. Bradley, who has held the title of Managing Editor since February 2008, takes over for the departing Matthew Parvis.

“We’re excited about having Lance as our Editor in Chief. He’s worked hard the past 18 months at turning our web site into a strong poker news portal and he was an obvious choice for the big chair,” said Morris. “We wish Matthew all the best in his new endeavour and can’t thank him enough for his efforts with Bluff.”

Parvis, who has taken an editorial position with PokerNews, had been Editor In Chief for two years following a two year stint as Managing Editor. Bradley begins his new role immediately and is looking forward to the challenge of the new responsibilities.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity. For five years now Bluff has been at the forefront of the poker industry and I hope to continue that tradition and deliver a magazine and website that poker fans recognize as the leader,” said Bradley.

Bradley has been working in the poker industry for five and a half years. From 2004 until 2006 he was the Poker Room Manager for online poker room Bodog.com. From there he developed and edited ThePokerBiz.com before joining Bluff as the Managing Editor in February 2008. His previous responsibilities with Bluff included overseeing the news content of BluffMagazine.com and WorldSeriesofPoker.com.

“Lance has a real passion for journalism and the game of poker and the industry,” said Morris. “That combination is what we think best align him with Bluff as a magazine and as a brand.”

Lance Bradley can be contacted via email at lance@bluffmedia.com.

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Every year there are a number parties at the World Series of Poker. But there’s only one that qualifies as a “must see” event. Tuesday Bluff Magazine announced the details behind the 2009 Official Bluff Party, being held again at Sapphire Las Vegas.

The party is scheduled for July 2nd and will run from 9pm until 1am. Free transportation, which includes free cover, is available from the Rio Hotel & Casino beginning at 8:45 pm. To get into the party free guests must arrive via the Sapphire shuttle. Guests arriving by any other means will be required to pay the cover charge.

Sapphire Las Vegas is the world’s largest gentlemen’s club with over 70,000 square feet of topless entertainment. The party includes an open bar and free desserts from 9pm - 11pm. There will also be a special performance by rock band The Skeletones.

The party is sponsored by SBG Global and PokerHost.com.

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During the 2009 World Series of Poker BluffMagazine.com is asking poker fans around the world to Show Us Your Tweets. Using social media phenomenon Twitter poker enthusiasts can submit a tweet about the WSOP, their favorite poker players or the previous day’s events to @bluffmagazine.

“It seems everybody is on Twitter these days and poker fans are no exception,” said Jeff Markley, Vice President of Online Operations for Bluff Media. “We’ve even heard that Joan Rivers occasionally crawls out from underneath her rock to send a tweet or two.”

Each day Bluff staff will choose the single best submitted tweet from the previous day and award that poker fan a one year subscription to Bluff Magazine and the tweet will be featured on BluffMagazine.com, WorldSeriesofPoker.com the big screen displays inside the Amazon Room at the Rio All Suite Hotel in Las Vegas while the game’s biggest names chase down WSOP gold bracelets.

“Poker fans and players are some very creative and funny individuals,” said Markley. “We think that over the next seven weeks we’ll see that come shining through on our Twitter feed.”

On Tuesday Bluff Media, publishers of BluffMagazine.com and the official digital media partner of the World Series of Poker, announced that both BluffMagazine.com and WorldSeriesofPoker.com would feature twitter updates from poker players at the WSOP.

EDITOR’S EDIT: Send @bluffmagazine a direct message within Twitter to claim your free subscription. To do this, click on the top navigation menu’s “Home” link. Then click on “Direct Messages” on the right menu. Then simply send us a message with your address so that we can get you set up. Direct Messages are Twitter’s way of sending a private message only viewable by the two parties involved.

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Bluff Media, the publishers of Bluff Magazine and BluffMagazine.com, announced Tuesday a myriad of improvements to its coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker. Included amongst this is a dedicated Twitter portal and live streaming of final tables on BluffMagazine.com.

The Twitter portal, found here, allows poker fans to follow all the action of their favorite professional poker pros during the 2009 WSOP. Readers will be able to select to read all available Twitter feeds or narrow it down by a particular event or player.

“We wanted to give the fan sitting at home the feeling that he was right there inside the Amazon Room railing his favorite player,” said Jeff Markley, Vice President of Online Operations for Bluff Media. “We feel we’re giving our readers unparalleled coverage by getting them right into the players’ minds during poker’s biggest event.”

Through the seven weeks of action poker fans will also be able to tune into 12 final tables being streamed live exclusively on BluffMagazine. Included in the schedule is the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em World Championship event on June 25, an event that had a final table last year including Andy Bloch, Patrik Antonius, Mike Sexton, Kathy Liebert, Phil Laak, Chris Bell, Amit Makhija and eventual winner Nenad Medic.

“Poker fans should be very excited about being able to see these final tables live,” said Eric Morris, publisher of Bluff Magazine. “We’re very proud to be the official digital media partner of the WSOP and look forward to showing the world some of the world’s best poker players chasing those highly coveted gold bracelets.”

The complete schedule of events streaming live on BluffMagazine.com is as follows:

• June 3 - Event #5 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha)
• June 4 - Event #7 ($1,500 No Limit Hold’em)
• June 5 - Event #10 ($2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/Pot Limit Hold’em)
• June 9 - Event #17 ($1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em)
• June 11 - Event #20 ($1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em)
• June 13 - Event #24 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)
• June 16 - Event #30 ($2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha)
• June 18 - Event #34 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)
• June 20 - Event #36 ($2,000 No-Limit Hold’em)
• June 25 - Event #45 ($10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em World Championship)
• June 29 - Event #51 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)
• July 1 - Event #54 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)

With the start of the 40th annual WSOP now only hours away Morris promises there’s even more in store as the action heats up.

“We’ve got a couple of other enhancements to our coverage that we’ll be showcasing once the cards are in the air,” said Morris. “Everything we’ve done on BluffMagazine.com and WorldSeriesofPoker.com is done to improve things for the fan following at home.”

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The 40 Greatest Champions is down to the final ten WSOP champions.

Six weeks ago BluffMagazine.com began counting down the 40 Greatest Champions campaign on WorldSeriesofPoker.com to help commemerate the 40th Annual World Series of Poker kicking off on May 27. As the Series nears closer the list is now down to the 10 Greatest Champions.

“The final ten players are all names that are very familiar to poker fans,” said Lance Bradley, Managing Editor of BLUFF Magazine and WorldSeriesofPoker.com. “The ranking however is likely to be the source of great debate.”

The final 10 WSOP champions will be announced each day between Friday and the day before the Series begins. The criteria for the ranking includes bracelets won, Main Event performances, overall contributions to the WSOP and historical importance.

“As the World Series of Poker turns 40, we will use this milestone to celebrate the history, heritage and tradition of the great game of poker,” said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.  “We look forward to a very special 2009 WSOP, and will use it as a platform to commemorate the great champions and characters of the game who made the WSOP what it is today.”

Profiles of each member of the 40 Greatest Champions have been running exclusively on WorldSeriesofPoker.com and will continue to do so until the list reaches #1 - the greatest champion in WSOP history. To follow the list to the conclusion check WorldSeriesofPoker.com daily.

Here are the champions ranked #11 thru #40

WSOP 40 Greatest Champions #11 - 20

11. Berry Johnston, 12. Tom McEvoy, 13. Jay Heimowitz, 14. Scotty Nguyen, 15. Gary Berland, 16. Ted Forrest, 17. Bobby Baldwin, 18. Dan Harrington, 19. Men Nguyen, 20. Barbara Enright

WSOP 40 Greatest Champions #21 - 30

21. Allen Cunningham, 22. Layne Flack, 23. Annette Obrestad, 24. Phil Ivey, 25. Mike Sexton, 26. Daniel Negreanu, 27. Mike Matusow, 28. John Juanda, 29. Sailor Roberts, 30. Peter Eastgate

WSOP 40 Greatest Champions #31 - 40

31. Chris Ferguson, 32. Susie Isaacs, 33. Mickey Appelman, 34. Jack Strauss, 35. Amarillo Slim, 36. Nani Dollison, 37. Puggy Pearson, 38. O’Neill Longson, 39. Carolyn Gardner, 40. Jamie Gold.

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