Sunday’s $750,000 Guarantee tournament on FullTiltPoker.com attracted a field of 3,566 and generated a prize pool of $713,200. First place was worth $132,787.50 and “phatchoy888″ came out on top for the nice payday. Here’s how the final table played out:

Eliminated in 9th Place: vandAAgnog
Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 antes)

Only five minutes into the final table the first player was knocked out. GBecks raised to 102,500, and vandAAgnog moved all-in for 1,182,628 with As Kc. GBecks called instantly with Jh Jd and the flop came 6s 5c 4h. The turn brought the 7s and the river was a 5d. GBecks’ hand held and he picked up a nice pot.

Eliminated in 8th Place: herdgolf86
Blinds: 25,500/50,000 (6,000 antes)

Four hands later Roekiks raised it to 110,000, herdgolf86, on the button, jammed for 739,936. GBecks called the 719,936, and Roekiks also called for 629,936. The flop came Ad 4c 3s. GBecks lead out for 400,000 and Roekiks folded. herdgolf86 showed 5s5c. Neither the turn nor the river brought a 5 or 2 for herdgolf86. The turn came a 6c and the river was a Qh and GBecks picked up another big pot.
Eliminated in 7th Place: Bashful101

Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (6,000 antes)

Bashful101 tried to pick up the blinds on the button, and shoved for 523,566 with Ad 6c. TheMasterJ33 woke up with 8c 8h in the big blind and called for 473,556. The flop came 7h 3s 10s. The turn was the 9d and the river was the 3c. TheMasterJ33 avoided the ace, and won the pot for 1,114,112.
Eliminated in 6th Place: adamoos

Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (7,500 antes)

adamoos shoved all-in for 593,400 with 7d 9h in the small blind, hoping to pick up the blinds and phatchoy888 called with 4s 4c. The flop came 6d As Ah. The turn was the 2c and the river was Kh. With two pair phatchoy888 eliminated adamoos.
Eliminated in 5th Place: TheMasterJ33
Blinds: 40,000/80,000 (10k antes)

GBecks was on the button with Ac Jc and raised it to 200,000. TheMasterJ33, in the small blind, moved all-in for 1,366,421 with Qh Js. Gbecks called for 1,166,421. The flop was 10s 8s 6d. The turn was the 10c and the river was a 10h. Gbecks picked up another huge pot and eliminated TheMasterJ33.
Eliminated in 4th Place: Doc Sands
Blinds: 40,000/80000 (10k antes)

Doc Sands, in the cutoff, moved all-in for 328,920 with Ks 2h. Roekiks raised to 685,055 and was all-in with Ah Qs. Gbecks called the 605,000 with 6c 6d. The flop came down As 5d 3c, and Roekiks connected for a pair of aces. The 5s on the turn brought nothing for Gbecks and the river was the 2s. Roekiks won the side and main pot for a total of 1,812,220 and Doc Sands was sent to the rail.
Eliminated in 3rd Place: Roekiks
Blinds: 40,000/80000 (10k antes)

Roekiks limped for 80,000 on the button with Ks Kc. phatchoy888 completed the small blind by calling for 40,000 more with Js 2c. The flop came Jd 2s 3c. Roekiks bet 222,222, and phatchoy888 flat called it. The turn was the 4s and Roekiks moved all-in for 1,689,030. phatchoy888 called instantly with two pair on the flop. The river brought the Qs, which doesn’t help Roekiks. phatchoy888 collected a big pot for 4,092,504. Play was now heads up.
Eliminated in 2nd Place: GBecks

Blinds: 80,000/160,000 (20k antes)

GBecks was on the button and moved all-in for 1,704,321 with Qh 5h. phatchoy888 called the all-in with Kh 10h. The flop came 4c 4d As. The turn was the 8d. The river was no help to Gbecks and he was eliminated in second place.

Sunday Million Winner: phatchoy888

For a complete breakdown of the $750k Guarantee on Full Tilt final table payouts check out The Sunday Report.

When the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event was added to the World Series of Poker schedule in 2006, players instantly dubbed it the “player’s championship”. The steepest buy-in in WSOP history combined with the skill requirement of being able to play five games well meant the tournament was special. The initial event was won by Chip Reese, a man many consider to be the best player of all time.

When Reese passed away in December of 2007, the poker community looked for a way to honor him. To that end, the WSOP and the WSOP Players Advisory Committee decided to award the winner of the H.O.R.S.E. event the bracelet, the money and a trophy named in Reese’s honor. It only served to up the prestige of the tournament and make the world’s best players, many of whom considered Reese a friend, play even harder.

And the performance put on early Monday morning by two of poker’s biggest superstars - and a player who may be destined for that same accolade - honored both Reese and the game. But long before Scotty Nguyen, Erick Lindgren and upstart Michael DeMichele played three-handed poker for the title, five other well-rounded players had to be sent packing.

The table started with only a little bit of international flavor, but lost it on the 10th hand when Frenchman Patrick Bueno was eliminated by Lindgren. On the third hand of Razz Bueno completed Lyle Berman’s bring-in and then called Lindgren’s raise. But making two pair on sixth street with had Bueno drawing dead with a king-high. Lindgren took down the pot and increased his chip lead.

It took a while for the next elimination to come about. Former World Champion Huck Seed fell victim to a DeMichele scoop in a Stud Eight-or-better hand. It was Seed’s first final table appearance since 2004 and his second largest cash after his $1 million take from winning the 1996 Main Event championship.

Coming into the day, Barry Greenstein was third in chips but remained mostly inactive during the first three hours of play. During a rotation of Stud Eight-or-better Greenstein ran his pair of aces into the rolled up sevens of Nguyen. Greenstein’s sixth cash of the 2008 WSOP pocketed him $355,200 and temporarily moved him into first place in the pursuit of the Milwaukee’s Best Light Player-of the-Year award.

Following the dinner break the five players returned to action, but the return was short-lived for Berman. DeMichele claimed his second victim, Berman, during a Razz hand in a three-way pot with Nguyen also involved. When seventh street hit both Nguyen and Berman mucked and Berman hit the rail $444,000 richer.

Having already made a final table this year in Event #8 ($10,000 Mixed Game), Matt Glantz had proven that he’s capable of playing various forms of poker. And after arriving at the final table fourth in chips that’s exactly where he finished - this time a victim of Nguyen, who had clearly gained momentum. After a flop of Qd-6c-5h on a round of Omaha Eight-or-better, the last of Glantz’s chips went into the middle and Nguyen called. Glantz held Kd-Jd-10d-10h while Nguyen was on a draw with Ah-2c-7d-Kc

The Ac on the turn put Nguyen ahead and allowed him to scoop the pot and send Glantz to the rail. Only weeks after his $184,992 score and 3rd place finish in Event #8, Glantz banked $568,320 for his fourth place performance.

That’s when the marathon portion of poker’s pentathlon took over. The first five players were eliminated in a little less than six hours - the final two eliminations didn’t come for another five hours and 45 minutes. In that time the three players combined to play 178 hands.

During those 178 hands a number of storylines developed. When three-handed play began Nguyen held 7 million chips, DeMichele held 6.8 million and Lindgren brought up the rear with only 1 million. But Lindgren, who had been amongst the shortest throughout much of Day 3, battled back to 1.56 million and then 4.4 million at a time in the tournament when stacks had begun to even out.

But it wasn’t meant to be for Lindgren. Moments after finally winning his first bracelet in Event #4 ($10,000 Mixed Hold’em) Lindgren talked about how having a good WSOP was his way of honoring his hero, Chip Reese. But the chance to honor the man he called his poker hero, was snuffed out by Nguyen in a Stud hand. The third place finish was worth $781,440 and while he was certainly disappointed to not win the event, Lindgren will wake up sometime Monday afternoon and find his name atop the Player-of-the-Year standings, ahead of Greenstein’s.

If the H.O.R.S.E. event has any sort of legend built around it after only three years of play, it’s that it’s known for epic heads-up matches. And after six hours of three-handed play, it appeared as though a long heads-up session was in order. That wasn’t the case this time as DeMichele was the final cast-off in Nguyen’s nearly $2 million victory.

After his win the father of eight was presented with his fifth WSOP bracelet and the Chip Reese trophy.

“Thank you Chip Reese,” said Nguyen after Pollack had presented him with the trophy, causing tears to flow. “This was my dream, to win this tournament.” Nguyen’s victory was worth $1,989,120 while DeMichele took home$1,243,200 as the runner-up. For a complete breakdown of all payouts for this event visit the WSOP results page.

“I started in just friendly games, started playing online, and I loved the game,” Gomes said. “The results came up and that’s it, it was my decision to become a poker player.”

Gomes had no live tournament results to speak of before entering Event #48, but he outlasted 2,309 players and arrived at the final table with a healthy stack of just over 1 million chips, good for 4th place on the leaderboard.

The chip leader coming into the final table was Marco Johnson, a 22-year-old prolific online pro with over $350,000 in live tournament earnings, including two cashes at the 2008 WSOP. Also sitting in the top half of the leaderboard were Gabe Costner and Russian pro Kirill Gerasimov, making his second final table appearance of the 2008 WSOP. Both had a rough first few levels at the final table and Costner and Gerasimov were eliminated in 8th and 6th place, respectively.

Gomes got his first lucky break of the day when play was five-handed. Facing a pre-flop raise from chip leader Alan Cutler, Gomes moved all-in over the top and Cutler called with A-Q. Gomes turned over 7-6 and the flop of A-Q-J had Gomes with one foot out the door. Gomes needed running spades or running sixes or sevens to stay alive, and his large crowd of Brazilian supporters erupted when the turn and river came 6-6 to double up Gomes and rob Cutler of the elimination.

Cutler was eliminated the next hand on another bad beat, this time at the hands of Johnson. Cutler got his money in good with Q-Q against Johnson’s pocket fives, but a five spiked on the flop and Cutler headed to the cage to collect his $223,497 fifth place prize.

As play continued 22-year-old poker pro Ryan D’Angelo emerged as a force at the final table. D’Angelo began the day as one of the short stacks but won a few big pots early and went on to bust four players on his way to three-handed play with Johnson and Gomes.

Gomes won a big pot off D’Angelo after calling all the way on a 2-2-Q-2-A board and then calling an all-in bet on the river. Gomes turned over A-10 for deuces full of aces and D”Angelo let him know he’d gotten lucky on the river. Gomes took the chip lead with that hand and later busted D’Angelo when his pair held up against two overcards in a pre-flop race.

Gomes had 6.7 million chips to Johnson’s 2.5 million when heads-up play commenced, but the Brazilian said that after playing against Johnson on both Day 1 and 2, he was not looking forward to the heads-up match.

“I was very worried about [Johnson],” Gomes said.

True to his aggressive reputation, Johnson was very active and grinded back before doubling up with pocket jacks vs. A-Q to take the lead. Johnson was overpowering Gomes during most of the heads-up match and just when it looked like Johnson was poised to claim the bracelet, the deck bailed out Gomes when he cracked pocket aces with A-10 after getting all-in before the flop.

The first ten came on the flop and a second ten on the turn sent the Brazilian contingent into hysterics that could be heard throughout the Amazon Room.The match ended shortly after when Johnson bet it all with Q-J and Gomes called with A-K. The board offered no help to Johnson and he was eliminated in second place for a $491,273 payday.

Gomes becomes the first World Series of Poker bracelet winner from Brazil and pockets $770,540.

Surrounded by his friends and supporters, draped in a Brazilian flag, Gomes said of the bracelet and the money, “It’s very good. I don’t know how to explain it.” Gomes said he plans to throw a big party when he gets back to Brazil.

Event #48 results can be viewed at the WSOP results page.

Joe Commisso had one helluva Saturday. Not only did he win a World Series of Poker bracelet but he also took home the largest single cash prize of the 2008 WSOP to date after triumphing in the longest final table heads-up match of the year.

Commisso, 28, claimed a whopping $911,855 as the last player standing out of a field of 805 in Event #46 ($5,000 No Limit Hold ‘em Six Handed). A former day trader turned poker pro, he plays mostly cash games online and this was his first year at the WSOP.

Rich Lyndaker and Commisso started as the two big stacks at the six-handed final table that included Event #38 bracelet winner Davidi Kitai. Lyndaker, a 22-year-old from Chaumont, NY, made short work of much of the final table, eliminating Kitai in 6th place and busting two more over the next 2.5 hours.

Although Lyndaker did most of the dirty work, Commisso maintained the chip lead throughout most of the final table through pre-flop aggression and a few big pots taken from Lyndaker and third place finisher, Edward Ochana.

After Ochana was eliminated in third and the heads-up match was set, Commisso was enjoying a 2:1 lead over Lyndaker and used his chip lead to control the match. Over the first hour he increased the lead to more than 4:1 before taking his first shot at knocking out Lyndaker.

Commisso made a pre-flop call with K-4 after Lyndaker moved all-in before the flop with A-7. However, the board brought no help for Commisso and Lyndaker stayed alive, though still trailing by a wide margin.

From there the two embarked on an epic heads-up match in which the lead swapped hands numerous times and Lyndaker survived eight pre-flop all-in confrontations, including four as the underdog.

The decisive pot of the heads-up match occurred more than six hours after it started, with Lyndaker holding the chip lead. From the official WSOP updates:

“Richard Lyndaker raised to 240,000. Joe Commisso made the call from the big blind. The flop came down Kd-8h-6s. Commisso checked and Lyndaker bet 300,000. Commisso announced raise and made the bet one million. Lyndaker moved all in and Commisso didn’t look too happy, but called.

Commisso: 9s-7c

Lyndaker: Kc-4c

 

Lyndaker needed his hand to hold, but that didn’t last long when the turn hit the 5d. That would do it and give Commisso the pot. The river was a meaningless 5c and Commisso doubled back up and took the chip lead.”

Moments later, after 209 hands of heads-up play, Commisso finally closed the deal when he called Lyndaker’s all-in raise with A-Q and watched as it held up against 9-7.

Lyndaker was drawing dead by the turn and Commisso’s supporters, including online pro Dave “Raptor” Benefield and Event #44 champion Max Greenwood, rushed the stage to embrace the winner.

The heads-up match was the longest of any at a final table of the 2008 WSOP and it took Commisso nine all-in races before he finally had the last of Lyndaker’s chips.

“It was ridiculous,” Commisso said. “I just couldn’t put him away.”

But in the end, it was Commisso lucky catch that made his straight and crippled his opponent for the last time.

“I got it in bad, so I won. That’s all I had to do. I should have figured that out the first 10 times when I got in ahead.”

Commisso, who has only been playing poker for three years, said he was happy to win the bracelet and that the money is a huge deal for him, but he wasn’t very optimistic about his future in tournament poker.

“I pretty much detest tournaments. I don’t know if I ever want to play one again . . . It’s like someone sucking soul out. I just want to sit in my boxer shorts and play online. I might retire on top. I got my bracelet, I might not play any tournaments ever again.”

But when asked if he’ll be returning for the Main Event on July 3rd, Commisso laughed and replied, “alright, you might see me at the Main Event.”

For full results from Event #46, check the WSOP results page.

Ryan Hughes has made World Series of Poker history, becoming the only player in 39 years to capture two bracelets in Seven Card Stud Eight-or-better.

Last year Hughes won a bracelet in the $2,000 Seven Card Stud Eight-or-better event and on Saturday claimed his second bracelet and $182,997 in Event #47 ($1,500 Seven Card Stud Eight-or-better).

Hughes, a 27-year-old poker pro from Phoenix, won the bracelet in convincing fashion, beginning the final table with the chip lead and going wire-to-wire to claim the title and the cash.

The final table featured several experienced players, including Botswana-born Thomas Hunt III at his third WSOP final table, Alessio Isaia at his second Seven Stud Eight-or-better final table of the 2008 WSOP, poker pro and author David Sklansky looking for third WSOP bracelet and Ron Long, who won a bracelet in Seven Stud Eight-or-Better in 1999.

Sklansky was knocked out early in 8th place and Isaia and Hunt III found the rail in 4th and 3rd, respectively, leaving Hughes and Long to play heads-up for the bracelet.

Long began the heads-up match severely out-chipped and despite winning several pots early was never able to counter Hughes’ aggression.

“Heads-up play is actually my specialty so I was really confident coming in,” said Hughes, who won the 75-minute match after making a full house with 7-7-3-K-4-3-7 to beat Long’s pair of kings.

Remarkably, Hughes is not an experienced Seven Stud Eight-or-better player and said that he entered the tournament last year on a whim after a hot streak in the single table satellite room. He’s only played once since winning the bracelet last year and said he wasn’t even planning on playing Event #47 but changed his mind after being encouraged by a friend.

“I think the second bracelet means a little more because it’s a lot tougher crowd to get into,” Hughes said. “A lot of people get the first bracelet but the second one means it’s not quite a fluke.”

After winning the tournament Ryan found a package under his chair sent from his mother, who was at her home in Florida. Attached was a written congratulations and the package contained Hughes favorite childhood meal, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

For full results from Event #47 see the WSOP results page.

John Bonetti, a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, has died. He was 80 years old.

Bonetti earned his first bracelet in the $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw event in 1990. His second came in 1993 in the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event. Then, in 1995, he again took home the title in the $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw event. The bracelets are significant but he also had over $4 million in earnings in his career.

Bonetti was known as much for his achievements at the table as he was for table behavior. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1928 Bonetti was every bit the proud Italian, complete with staple “fuggedaboutit”. He was also known to use blue language at the table and, as legend has it, is the only player to ever incur the F-bomb penalty while away from the table.

“From the outside eyes he was a very misunderstood guy. He had no problem telling his feelings or sharing his thoughts,” said Al Barbieri, who Bonetti had taken under his tutelage in 1998 following a chance encounter at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. “Sometimes he’d out of line, with the f-word and stuff, but when he got away from the table, this was a man who was very generous. He had a heart as big as this room. He was like a real teddy bear.

“I can’t tell you how many times people would come to a tournament, and if he had a pocket full of money, and you were a gentleman and a fellow poker player, who was broke, if you asked him to put you in a satellite, he’d put you in a satellite,” said Barbieri. “He was that way with me. He helped me all my ten years I’ve been winning. He was a great poker and made me a great poker player.”

“I owe all my success to him.”

In 1993, Bonetti finished third in the Main Event only to be diagnosed months later with both spinal and prostate cancer. While the diagnosis hit him hard, it didn’t slow him down at all. Between November 1993 and February 1994 Bonetti cashed four times - all wins. Two wins at the LA Poker Open at the Normandie Casino in Omaha Hi/Lo and Limit Hold’em were followed up by a win at the $10,000 Main Event at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods and then two wins at the Queens Poker Classic in Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo.

Max Greenwood, a 23-year-old recent university graduate from Toronto, won Event #44 ($1,000 No Limit Hold ‘em w/rebuys) on Friday to claim a World Series of Poker bracelet and $693,444 after one of the loudest, rowdiest and most entertaining heads-up matches of the 2008 WSOP.

Poker pros, celebrities and athletes will be returning to the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino on July 2nd for the 2nd annual Ante Up For Africa tournament, created by Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and poker pro Annie Duke.

Proceeds from the tournament  will go to two charities: ENOUGH, which works to end crimes against humanity in Sudan, Chad, eastern Congo, northern Uganda, and Somalia and Not On Our Watch, founded by actors Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt, which focuses global attention and resources toward putting an end to mass atrocities around the world.

Among those expected to participate are Hollywood stars Cheadle, Damon, Ben Affleck, Adam Sandler, Ray Romano, Charles Barkley, Jason Kidd, Kevin Pollack, Cheryl Hines, George Lopez, and Joe Trohman (Fall Out Boy), with many more expressing their interest to play. Poker pros expected to play include Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Laak, Erik Seidel, Phil Gordon, Rafe Furst and Barry Greenstein.

Last year’’s Ante Up For Africa event raised more than $700,000 after the final two players, Dan Shak and Brandon Moran, donated every cent of their winnings to the charities supported by the tournament.

“After the success of last year’s tournament, we are looking forward to another exciting year while raising awareness for an ongoing crisis,” Duke said. “It is exciting to bring the world of poker and entertainment together and we are once again asking players who win prize money to donate half of their winnings to our charities.”

The $5,000 buy-in tournament will feature a fast-paced structure designed to complete the competition within five hours. Seating for the tournament is limited and anyone who wants to participate can pre-register at www.worldseriesofpoker.com/pdfs/prereg2008/Ante-Up-for-Africa.pdf

Musical creator Tim Molyneux has teamed up with Phil Hellmuth and the World Series of Poker to create “All In: The Poker Musical”, scheduled to run July 4th and 5th at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino during the beginning of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Tickets start at $29.95 and are available at the Rio Box Office or by calling 702-777-7776. They are available on the Web at www.riolasvegas.com or www.pokermusical.com.

Dan Lacourse outlasted a field of 2,217 other players including some of the most legendary poker players to ever hit the felt to claim the title in Event 42 ($1,000 No Limit Hold ‘em Seniors World Championship)  to capture his first World Series of Poker bracelet.

Lacourse spent 27 years as a member of the Lucas County Deputy Sherrif ’s Department in Toledo, OH. Five of those years were spent as a polygraph examiner.

“Having that experience as a polygraph examiner certainly helped in winning this event. As a polygraph examiner you learn about timing, speed and reactions. At this tournament you can watch players as they get tired, their reactions start changing, they think too much in the beginning of the game, but as they get tired they tend not to think as much,” said Lacourse. “You learn that an initial reaction occurs within the first three seconds and that is what I gauged a player by”.  Lacourse’s sharp eye allowed him to best a field that included such legends as Amarillo Slim and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

Prior to the action in the final table getting under both players and railbirds were treated to a special performance by Bruce Atkinson, a 71-year-old professional Elvis impersonator, brought the seniors and fans to their feet with his rendition of “Johnny Be Good”. Aktinson, who has performed for decades in front of WSOP audiences, also serves as the president of the European Poker Players Hall of Fame. Once Atkinson gave the okay to “Shuffle Up and Deal” play was underway with Dale Eberle, a 55-year-old retired firefighter from Akron, Ohio holding a slim chip lead.

Hello Per!  Per we all know you as a big time agent for poker players, tell us about Poker Icons for people who don’t know about you.

Hi Ryan! I don’t know about being a “big time agent,” but our agency PokerIcons started up approximately two years ago.  The purpose of PokerIcons is to sign up & coming online players that we believe will make it on the live scene as well. Our first signing was Annette Obrestad with Betfair, and I think it’s safe to say that she has certainly earned it. We also have some strictly live players, but our focus is online.

So basically you sign up players and help them get sponsorships through poker sites.

Yes, we sign the talents and together we set goals and put together a branding package for the player. We are very careful about who we sign, since we know it’s not easy to get a sponsor for them. There are so many things that must match.  We also do a lot of post-contract work for the talents, making sure everything runs smoothly with their sponsor and vice versa.

Give us some details on the post contract work please.

Blogging is an example. For some players this is new, but every sponsor wants their players to blog, so sometimes we have to give the player a little gentle push to get started.  We also get offers for sponsored players from non-poker related sponsors, and then we have to negotiate with the poker site to see if we can make that happen.  We also monitor that nobody else can use the sponsor or the player in their marketing.

How many clients do you have right now?

At the moment we have 24 players.  Like I said, we are very careful about whom we sign, and we do turn down players that want us to represent them on a weekly basis.  It’s not because we want to, but there is no point in us taking on a player if we know he will not get a sponsor.  PokerIcons most recent signings were William Thorson who joined team PokerStars, and John Tabatabai joined team Betfair.

Basically you look for quality and not quantity.  Do you play a lot of poker?

Yes, you are correct. 

Do you play a lot of poker?

Not really, there is never time.  I play maybe 20 SNG’s a week.

When you are not working, what do you do in your free time?

I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question. What is this “free time” you talk about? LOL.  To be serious, I am married and have an 8 year old daughter.  There is not much free time around here. We are based in Oslo, Norway, so we work over many time zones, which kills all possibility of ever taking a day off.

I have two off the topic questions for you, first, what is your favorite sport?

Soccer is my favorite; I’m a huge Man Utd fan!

I’m assuming you liked the outcome of the Man Utd and Chelsea game

Phew! That game (and the one against Barcelona) was brutal!

If you were stranded on a desert island, but were allowed to have one hottie with you, who would it be?

Well, at some point I would want to get back to the wifey, so I’m going to pick Dolly Parton strictly for her floating devices.

You’re the first person to mention the wife, well played sir.  Per it was good speaking with you, and we wish you the best of luck in the future with Poker Icons.

Cheers Ryan, and keep up the great work! Really enjoy reading your stuff.

Today’s action began with 29-year-old Mats Gavatin as the chip leader with 405,000 chips. Gavatin’s lead was short lived and after the first couple of hands Nick Binger, younger brother of Michael Binger took over the chip lead. Over the next three hours of play Binger would go on to single-handedly eliminate the first six players at the final table including Gavatin. Through his incredible efforts in steamrolling the table, Binger found himself holding 1.4 million of the 2.2 million chips on play.

Once the table was down to three the play changed drastically and this tournament that once looked like it was all but Binger’s to win became the tournament that no one wanted to win. Joining Binger in three-handed action were 22-year-old Jonathan “Tex” Tamyo and Gary. With none of the three players remaining ever experiencing final table glory, each player had difficulty mustering up a knockout punch when they found themselves with the chip lead. Binger had an enormous lead of over 1 million chips. Little by little however, Tamayo won small hand after small hand and cut the lead to only 250,000 after only one hour. The next hour of play saw Binger’s lead evaporate completely   with Tamayo taking the lead and Gary waking up to take second spot away from Binger, which is where they stood as play headed into the dinner break.

After dinner, the lead would swap hands on several occasions which each of the three players getting a taste of the lead on multiple occasions, while at the same time each player also found themselves holding down the cellar on the same number of occasions. Tamayo was finally able to give Binger a decisive blow on this following hand from the official WSOP updates:

“Limit Hold’em: Frank Gary has the button and folds. Nick Binger raises from the small blind and Jonathan Tamayo re-raises out of the big blind. Binger re-raises, making it four bets. Tamayo caps the action and Binger calls. The flop is 2h-10d-7h and Binger and Tamayo get all in for Binger’s last 69,000. Binger: 3s-3d Tamayo: Qs-Qc. The turn is the 10C and Binger will need a three on the river to stay alive. As the railbirds cheer for a three to pop off, the river is the Js and Binger is eliminated in third place.”

This time last year John Phan had the reputation of being a guy who couldn’t close a tournament down. But his 2008 World Series of Poker performance has changed that perception forever. With a dominating performance in Event #40 ($2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball) Phan bagged his second bracelet in a week and buried any previous perception poker fans and players may have had of him.

“Going into a World Series, I don’t expect to win a bracelet, but it would be nice to win one,” said Phan. “The first (bracelet), I didn’t really care that much. But (winning) the second one is so difficult.”

That difficulty that Phan spoke of was in part due to the field he beat. The final table of six players included noted poker author David Sklansky, two bracelet winners from 2007 in Robert Mizrachi and Ben Ponzio, Shun Uchida, who has cashed twice already this year in $10,000 buy-in events, and Gioi Luong, who was looking for his first bracelet.

The first to go was Sklansky who had entered the day as the short stack. He was eliminated only 40 minutes into play by Mizrachi after he couldn’t beat the 8-7-5-3-2 of the 2007 Pot Limit Omaha World Champion. His 6th place finish was good enough for $20,528.

Almost one hour later it was Ponzio hitting the rail in 5th place. He started the final table barely ahead of Sklansky in chips and was unable to duplicate his bracelet-winning performance from last year. The advertising sales manager from Chicago earned $28,739.

By the time that Mizrachi was eliminated in fourth place it almost seemed inevitable. After fighting to stay alive for just over three hours Mizrachi was finally eliminated at the hands of Luong’s 10-6-5-4-2. Drawing one and needing a nine, seven, five or three Mizrachi found himself a jack and was sent to the cashier’s cage to cash out his $41,055 in winnings.

Once three-handed play began the real fireworks started and a new rivalry was born. After Luong attempted to retrieve one of his discarded cards during a hand Phan, who had folded and was no longer in the hand, jumped out of his chair and called for the floor. Phan felt Luong was angle shooting, attempting to either change one of his discards or change the number of cards he had discarded.

“That guy takes so many shots. It doesn’t matter if he’s playing against me, I will protect any player at the table.” said Phan, who was happy with the floor’s ruling that the original three cards needed to be discarded. “In poker, it’s all about karma.”

That karma would eventually come back to haunt Luong as he busted in third place on a hand that gave Phan the chip lead he never relinquished. Once heads-up play began, Phan and Uchida engaged in some trash talk before even a single card was dealt. But it didn’t matter. By this point Phan was on his game and refused to give Uchida an inch.

After 45 minutes of the aggressive play from Phan the tournament was over and the railbirds there to support Phan were feasting on the 20 Coronas he had ordered. Uchida’s second place finish, his third cash of 2008, pocketed the cash game player $95,795.

Phan earned $151,896 for his win, pushing his 2008 WSOP winnings to $605,999. He also moves into third place in the Player-of-the-Year race behind Jacobo Fernandez and David Benyamine.

For complete results from this event check out the WSOP results page.

Just shy of the one year anniversary of the record setting bad beat jackpot at Absolute Poker, the online poker room shattered their own record for the largest jackpot ever awarded.

“We’re hitting milestones, breaking records and making ordinary poker players extraordinarily rich,” stated an Absolute Poker spokesperson. “Bad Beat Jackpot continues to attract an enormous number of poker players to Absolute Poker and we can’t wait to beat the industry record we just set once again.”

Sunday night RIVERMAN1969 lost a hand with quad tens against the quad queens of BFOXY. His misfortune gave him the loser’s share, 32.5%, of the $996,115.28 total jackpot amount which worked out to $325,212.40. For laying the bad beat BFOXY earned 16.25% ($163,343.67) while the other players at the table each received $1,000.

The remaining money, minus the house fee of 10%, was divided among the 88 players playing the same game type and limit at the time.

For more information on the Bad Beat Jackpot or to sign up for an account visit AbsolutePoker.com.

The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event is only nine days but online poker room Bodog is offering players three more chances to win their way into poker’s biggest event.

The first $270 semifinal goes Tuesday night at 9:15 pm ET, with another this Thursday at 9:15 pm ET. The final semifinal, which all guarantee at least one WSOP package, goes Saturday at 3:15 pm ET. For every additional $12,000 in the prize pool another WSOP package will be awarded.

But not only do winners get the $10,000 buy-in and $2,000 for travel expenses, but each winner will get to choose from one of three VIP packages that include some of Las Vegas’ most exciting adventures. The following packages are available for winners to choose from:

VIP Day 1 (July 4)

Auto-x with team challenge.

Each participant will suit up and get behind the wheel of a high-power Corvette, tackling an exciting race course one at a time. Each WSOP Qualifier will get at least three runs on the track.

Hot Laps with a pro driver

Sit alongside a professional driver in a 505 horsepower ZO-6 Corvette and blast three laps around a 2.2 mile road racing circuit. The ultimate high-speed thrill ride.

High Power Go-karts

These aren’t your everyday go-karts; these are high performance racing machines capable of speeds of up to 80MPH driven on a 1.2 mile road racing circuit.

Lunch in the Members Clubhouse

After a day of racing, enjoy a relaxing light lunch at a first class facility with a pool, as well as poker and pool tables.

VIP Day 2 (July 5)

Heavy Firepower

Nothing lets off steam quite like squeezing off a few rounds, and VIP Day 2 is all about guns, guns and more guns as WSOP qualifiers will get to test out a veritable arsenal of firepower.

Weapon of Choice

Shoot four different machine guns with one magazine each, five rounds with a 12 gauge shotgun and 15 rounds with a 9mm handgun.

New Threads

Shoot up a Las Vegas Gun Range shirt and keep it for the wall at home.

Desert Eagle Competition

Compete with other Bodog WSOP qualifiers Dirty Harry style in a shooting competition with two rounds from a Desert Eagle and the winner receiving a Vegas Gun Range hat.

Paintball Carnage

Once qualifiers have had a chance to hone their skills on the range, they get to put their aim to the ultimate test with an all-out indoor paintball war!

VIP Day 3 (July 6)

A Birds Eye View

Fly over the Mojave desert and enjoy astounding aerial views of Lake Mead, the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. It’s a view like no other.

Canyon Snacking

The chopper will land on the floor of the Grand Canyon for half-an-hour for a light snack and drink.

A Whole New Way to Cruise the Strip

On the chopper ride back to Vegas, WSOP qualifiers will take in a whole new view by buzzing the famed Las Vegas strip.

For more information on how to qualify for the 2008 World Series of Poker visit poker.bodoglife.com.