The 40th Annual World Series of Poker is underway and for the last six weeks BluffMagazine.com has been presenting the 40 Greatest Champions in WSOP history exclusively on WorldSeriesofPoker.com. Today we wrap up the series

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Doyle Brunson is found at the top of the list. Brunson and poker today cannot be separated; he is poker’s most precious icon. He was the first to truly win back-to-back Main Event titles in 1976 and 1977. While at the top of his game he decided to unveil all of his poker secrets when he wrote Super/System.  It became the bible to poker players, influencing a generation. He released Super System 2 in 2005 influencing an entire new generation.

Born in 1933 in Longworth, Texas Brunson became a star athlete in his teens; playing basketball and running track. He attended Hardin-Simmons University on a basketball scholarship. He gained attention from the NBA and had the Minneapolis Lakers interested in him. His athletic career came to an end when he suffered a horrific break in two places in his leg. He was loading sheetrock in an off-season job when the load shifted and he tried to stop it. His leg remained in a cast for two years.

No longer able to play sports Brunson shifted his focus to his academic work. He finished his bachelor’s degree and went on to earn a master’s in education. Once out of school he got a sales job, but when invited to the company poker game he won a months pay. It didn’t take long for him to figure where his real talents lay.

Following the tradition of Texas road gamblers Brunson hit every game he could find. He developed friendships with Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts and the three of them went on to be the most successful of the road gamblers. In the 50s and 60s they only people that could afford to play with the trio were drug dealers, mobsters, and politicians. He openly admits that they had to carry guns with them for protection.

The foundations of the knowledge and theory that found it’s way into Super/System was pulled from endless hours of conversation that Slim, Roberts, and Brunson had while traveling. Eventually the three of them would find Las Vegas and reshape the town in their image.

Brunson was one of the original invitees to Benny Binion’s first World Series of Poker in 1970. He would win his first bracelet in 1976 in the Main Event. The next year he would win three bracelets; Deuce to Seven, Seven Card Stud HiLo, and the Main Event. He would close out the 70s with two more bracelets, one in 1978 in Seven Card Stud and another in 1979 in a Mixed Doubles event.

Brunson would go without a bracelet in 80s but came back to win his seventh bracelet in a 1991 No Limit Hold’em event. He won a 1998 Razz event, a 2003 H.O.R.S.E. event, and a 2005 No Limit Hold’em event.  He is currently tied with Johnny Chan with ten career bracelets, one shy of Phil Hellmuth’s eleven.  Brunson was the first person to win a WPT event and a WSOP Main Event.

Brunson’s achievements go deeper than ten bracelets.  In January 2006 BLUFF magazine voted him the #1 most influential force in poker in the world. His contributions to the game, his ever-present smile, and his friendly country drawl have made him a favorite for all media.

Brett Jungblut picks up another pot in Event 4.

The World Series of Poker isn’t all serious stuff. Here at BluffMagazine.com we’re well aware of the personalities that make this game so interesting and we wanted to find a way to deliver that to you. That’s why we’re bringing you the “An Orbit With” interview series. Nine questions, one to represent each hand played in a single orbit; asked of some of the biggest names in the game. Look for new Orbits each day.

Sunday we talked with  poker pro Brett “Gank” Jungblut.

How did you prepare for this year’s WSOP?

Actually the whole week before the WSOP I barely played any poker, I was out by the pool about three hours a day. I’ve been playing 60 to 70 hours a week, so I just wanted to take a little break so that I’m on top of my game… before a month and a half of pressure and fun. 

Who would you most like to arm wrestle?

Allen Kessler because I know for a fact I could beat his ass, and I suck at arm wrestling. I’d like to pit myself against someone weak. I know I’d have the leverage advantage, and he’s got those skinny little arms. I feel like I could beat him in three seconds.

What is your can’t miss TV show?

I really like Lost, I like Survivor too. There’s a couple others I watch a lot, and Entourage - but that’s winding down now.

What’s the creepiest question you’ve been asked this year?

It’s always creepy when random people come up to me ask for money. I always find that weird. I had a couple come up to me and the lady asked me to sign her breast. It was a weird, awkward moment. I’m looking at the guy to see if it’s cool and wondering, “What’s going on here?” He’s like, “Yeah, yeah.” So I went ahead and inked it. 

How high of a bet would you take for beer pong with your partner Todd Brunson?

I’m pretty sure we’re open to any offers. I think the world is scared of me and Todd Brunson in beer pong. Wretchy (Dan Martin) and his team got real lucky in the finals of the Doyle Brunson Beer Pong Challenge. That was just a fluke - it was a long day.

What did your mom think about your dreads?

My mom didn’t really know what the dreadlocks represent. If she didn’t, when she read the Rolling Stone article I was in she definitely knew after that. She definitely knows I use marijuana. She know’s me, she knows that I’m a good person and so she doesn’t think anything is inherently wrong with it. It’s just part of who I am. 

What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

The worst job I’ve ever had was my first job. I was a dishwasher in this general store which was so crowded and I was the only person there to wash dishes. I remember the owner, Steve, he was such a dick! He would pull out this huge wad of cash and make a snide comment like, “Maybe someday you can get here.”  I always despised jobs after that, which probably set me on my poker path of freedom.

In hindsight, what’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever bought?

It’s not even going to seem that dumb. For my company, ProPokerSchool.com, I dropped $100,000 on this teleconferencing system that I honestly used for like two weeks and never used it again. That’s got to be the dumbest thing I’ve spent money on. It pisses me off to this day, I’m still on tilt.

If you could choose one player to beat heads up for a bracelet, who would it be?

Phil Hellmuth, no doubt. I would want to bury him heads up in No Limit Hold’em and block him from winning his 12th bracelet. And just let him sit there and talk shit about how bad I am while wrap that big bracelet around my wrist. That’s what I would like.

Winning a World Series of Poker bracelet in an Omaha Hi-Lo event is a huge accomplishment in itself, but if you’re Thang Luu, another big win might rewrite the WSOP record books once and for all.

Not many players have won a bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo and have come back strong the next year to cash in the same event, but that’s what Luu has done so far and he’s not done yet.

With the start of Day 2 of Event #3 (Omaha Hi-Lo) Luu came into the day as the chip leader with 77,000 in chips and cruised slowly until he made a lightning bolt  run at the end of the night to bring his stack to 410,000 going into Day 3, second only to Ed Smith’s 433,000.

He was all ready to go before the cards even hit the air, only this time his comfort zone had been expanded for a more relaxed style of play which suits Omaha poker to the tee.

“It’s different because last year I was down to 5,000 in chips. This year I got more chips and I’m more comfortable playing”, said Luu. “I can play everything. It doesn’t matter what I have. It all just depends on the blinds and antes”, said Luu.

Halfway through Day 2 came a hand where Luu found himself holding the wheel for the Hi-Lo pot. Frustrated, a player in seat 6 mucked his hand and told Luu he was donkey for being lucky all the time. Luu responded by saying, “That’s a donkey, yeah. Holding the wheel is a donkey alright.”

As the field of players wound down one could sense the tension building over the slow style of Omaha poker, leaving dealers to make floor calls to settle down the frustrated and impatient players.

One such call included a busted muck attempt by Andy Bloch who made a forward motion with his cards, but when the dealer reached for them, Bloch pulled them back, causing nothing but confusion. After some deliberation, Bloch was allowed to play his hand since he was the big blind and had nothing to gain from it.

If the day seemed to be waning on the players, about an hour later, an announcement was made that players must play down to the final table or 3 am. The news received an audible groan from the field, but on the bright side, they were all in the money by this point including Eli Elezra, Annie Duke, Freddy Deeb, Erick Lindgren, and Flack.

But in the end, it was Luu who was the story of the WSOP today. Asked if he was he predicting another WSOP bracelet tomorrow, one word said it all, “Yes”.

WSOP Event #3 ($1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo) Top 10 Chip Counts

1. Ed Smith - 433,000
2. Thang Luu - 410,000
3. Robert Price - 387,000
4. Lee Mougous - 337,000
5. Jim Geary - 300,000
6. Richard Toth - 292,000
7. Senovio Ramirez - 270,000
8. Freddy Deeb - 266,000
9. Micah Brooks - 233,000
10. Sebastian Ruthenberg - 185,000

Amateur Kevin Volk, from Wisconsin, tries to navigate his way through the massive Day 1a field of the $1,000 buy-in Stimulus Special event.

Harrah’s predicted there would be a large turn out for Event #4 ($1,000 No Limit Hold’em) of the 2009 World Series of Poker and they were right.

Day 1a of the tournament dubbed the “Stimulus Special” began with 2,992 hopefuls, amateur and pro alike, who were looking to  claim their share of an almost $6 million prize pool. The field was so large that the Rio’s Amazon Room couldn’t hold all the action; both the Brasilia and Miranda Rooms were used to house the overflow.

Some of the bigger poker names attracted to the event included Chris Ferguson, Shaun Deeb, Kevin Saul, Billy Baxter, Eric Froelich, Barry Greenstein, Teddy “Iceman” Monroe, Dewey Tomko and Vanessa Rousso. Along with all the big guns, another recognizable name showed-up to play, R & B sensation Nelly.

Although some big name pros turned out for the event, the cheap buy-in made for a minefield of amateurs who came from far and wide for their affordable shot at poker immortality. One such player was Kevin “Smoker” Volk from Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Volk was attracted by the modest buy-in and made the trip with some friends.

“I’ve always wanted to do it and this is the event we picked. I would have went $1,500 at the most, but its something I definitely want to do every year [now].” Although he is clearly excited to be playing the WSOP, Volk is also realistic when it comes to his chances of winning. “Everybody says, ‘You’re gonna win,’ but you don’t even think that. I did set a goal, I did want to make the second day. After today if I make it to Monday, I’ll be happy. ”

Ruffling chips and shouts of “Seat Open” permeated throughout the room during the first few levels as players were constantly exiting the tournament. Amateur players were sent to the rail by the dozens with nothing more than a story to tell. Many of the big name pros also made their exits early. Greenstein had to autograph a copy of Ace on the River, his custom when busting out of a tournament, when his K-8 failed to improve against his opponent’s pocket threes. Likewise, Rousso was sent packing when her pocket tens failed to hold up against A-2. 

By the time Level 6 rolled around, putting the blinds at 100-200 with a 25 ante, things started to thin down. The Miranda room contained a mere fraction of the tables it did at the start of the day. It seemed as though the remaining players continued to play aggressively. It was at this time that the music star Nelly found himself all-in with K-K against his opponent’s K-Q and was in great position to double-up; however, the board ran out 8 T J 9 3 and the celebrity made his exit with bodyguard in tow. By the dinner break, the Day 1A field had been narrowed to 1,100 players or so with two-thirds of those registered eliminated in the first six hours of play. Players continued to bust throughout the next four levels of play at a much higher rate than anticipated; in fact, the numbers speak for themselves.

There were 10 hours of play and a total of 2,616 players eliminated for an average of 4.36 people sent home per minute throughout play Saturday.

Toward the end of the night a few fan favorites were sent to the rail. Marco Traniello, husband of Jennifer Harman, was all-in with A Q against his opponent’s J J and failed to improve when the board ran out T T 6 3 J. David Williams was eliminated 40 minutes from the day’s end when his Ax-10x couldn’t win a race against the 9 9. Shortly thereafter, Jeff Williams was sent packing when his pocket fours lost to a river flush.

Day 1a of the Stimulus Special was long and arduous where more than 2,600 players who started met their demise. Volk, the amateur from Wisconsin who had high hopes of making it to Day 2, failed to do so. On the other hand, some players were fortunate to survive the day including Tom Franklin, Dan Heimiller and Billy Baxter. While the end came for many, the tournament hasn’t even started for some. The other half of the field will return tomorrow for Day 1b and will play through ten levels of their own.

Despite an original 201-player field featuring veteran players and former World Series of Poker bracelet winners, it is the internet young guns who make up most of the final table of the 2009 WSOP Special 40th Annual $40,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament with seven of the nine players left 34 years old or younger.

Isaac Haxton, 23, leads the final nine of Event 2 with 5,955,000 in chips, almost 1.5 million more than Vitaly Lunkin, in second with 4,565,000. Greg “Fossil-man” Raymer, the 2004 WSOP Main Event champion, is in fourth and “Big Game” regular Ted Forrest is the short stack at 560,000.

Play resumes Sunday at 2 p.m. at the featured table in the Amazon Room in the Rio Hotel. Follow the final table live here.

The day began with 23 players, with Justin Bonomo and Forrest holding the largest stacks and finished with those two at the final table, but in the bottom half of the chip count. Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis, Alec Torelli, Dani “Ansky451″ Stern and Noah Schwartz will also continue to play on Sunday at the televised table.

“A lot of these players are real good online players. They’ve possibly seen more hands than Greg (Raymer) and myself,” Forrest told BluffMagazine.com after the final table was set. “Everyone at the table is a pretty good player.”

Tony G busted the final table bubble.

At the end of the night Gouga was being anted and blinded down until he finally moved all in with 75,000 after Torelli raised to 130,000 from early position. Lunkin called Torelli’s bet and the two checked the 7 9 T flop, 5 turn and 6 river. Lunkin’s top pair with J T eliminated Gouga’s A 7 in 10th place. He left with $172,120.

“It was the best hand I had, K-9 and that hand, that was it,” Gouga said after the hand. “That’s part of poker.”

The entire day, crowds gathered to watch the players as they tried to stay alive to reach the final table and a chance for the $1,891,012 first place prize.

When play began Saturday behind the ESPN feature table stage, crowds were lined up four and five deep with some climbing on the elevated platform for a chance to get a look at the game. With 10 players left, former WSOP Main Event champions Amarillo Slim and Joe Hachem were in the gallery.

The day began very fast as six players were eliminated within the first six hands of play.

On the first hand dealt, short-stack Andrew “good2cu” Robl moved all in. He pushed his 105,000 in with 6 3 in the small blind, hoping the big blind, Raymer, would fold and Robl could pick up the blinds and antes and stay alive a little longer. Raymer called, however, with A 4 and paired his ace on the turn.

Throughout the whole day, chips were passing across the tables with players making big moves, jockeying for position.

Before the last two tables broke to one 10-player table, Forrest lost most of his chips in a hand to Haxton with a big call on the river.

After the action was folded around to Forrest in the small blind, he raised into Haxton for 120,000, who called. A 6 A flopped and Forrest led out and Haxton called the 100,000 bet. Forrest bet 200,000 when the 8 turned and Haxton again called. When the 9 fell on the river, Forrest checked and Haxton became the aggressor, betting out 425,000. Taking his time and ignoring the all in at the table next to him, Forrest thought the hand over and eventually called.

“Straight,” Haxton said as he flipped over T 7, which hit runner-runner for the gut-shot.

“You have a straight?” a perplexed Forrest asked him.

Forrest said he thought Haxton was frustrated about Forrest stealing his blinds and Haxton was determined to win that hand and crippled Forrest right before Keith Lehr was eliminated in 11th place.

With the short stack going to the final table Forrest has a simple strategy — win early.

“I pretty much have to win my first hand.”

Going into the final table, the chip counts look like this:

1. Isaac Haxton - 5,955,000
2. Vitaly Lunkin - 4,565,000
3. Lex Veldhuis - 3,805,000
4. Greg Raymer - 3,345,000
5. Alec Torelli - 2,340,000
6. Justin Bonomo - 1,685,000
7. Dani Stern - 1,300,000
8. Noah Schwartz - 660,000
9. Ted Forrest - 560,000

There were high hopes in South Carolina for many months, as two poker-related bills began to move through the state’s legislative process. But after hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee and a positive vote to push the bills forward to the Senate floor, opponents put a stop to any progress and kept the bills from coming up for a vote in the current session. Thus, any further votes will be postponed until 2010.

The two bills in question consisted of SB 535, which would legalize poker games in private residences as long as no house odds or bank are being used, and SB 560, which would allow charity events and fundraisers for non-profit organizations, religious groups, or fraternal organizations to use casino-type games like poker. Republican State Senator Glenn McConnell introduced the two pieces of legislation in March of 2009, at which point they went before the Senate Judiciary Committee and underwent some scrutiny but more support amidst public hearings.

McConnell felt strongly that the bills were necessary to overturn an antiquated law that has been used in recent months and years to dictate current gaming precedent. The 1802 law notes that “any game with cards or dice” is illegal, which makes it difficult for judges and law enforcement officials to distinguish between a legal game of Monopoly and an otherwise illegal gambling incident.

Despite a legitimate base of support for the bills, opponents were relentless in preventing them from being put up for a vote before the end of the current Senate session. One of the opposing organizations, the Palmetto Family Council, spoke out about the current session defeat of the two bills. Oran Smith spoke for the group and explained, “There’s an opportunity for it to become a slippery slope. Once you open up and allow poker in homes, a group could come back and say poker in homes is not safe, it’s not regulated. Then the next step would be, well we need a safe, regulated place. And then you get poker halls, and you get outside groups that would run the poker halls.”

While the premise of that argument may not reflect that of most, its core rings true with many who fought against the bills on the basis that poker in homes would lead to rampant and uncontrolled gambling, something that many residents of the state continue to contest.

Despite the opposition, though McConnell has not given up on his two pieces of legislation that he feels are necessary to update the laws and allow the game of poker to be shared in certain situations that do not infringe upon others.

Teddy Monroe flashes his smile and bling.

The World Series of Poker isn’t all serious stuff. Here at BluffMagazine.com we’re well aware of the personalities that make this game so interesting and we wanted to find a way to deliver that to you. That’s why we’re bringing you the “An Orbit With” interview series. Nine questions, one to represent each hand played in a single orbit; asked of some of the biggest names in the game. Look for new Orbits each day.

Saturday we talked with blinged out poker pro Teddy “The Iceman” Monroe.

What does it take to become the Iceman?

It takes a lot. Everyday you have to be happy. The ups and downs, the arguments at home, if you forgot to take the trash cans out, but if I know I’m leaving to go play poker, that’s the most exciting thing in the world to me. That’s being the Iceman. Oh yeah, and you have to look good too.

How would you train students?

First of all, I would show them how to set a goal. Then it depends if they were already playing. I would stop them and take a sheet of paper and make a chart for each day. When they come home they’d have to stop by the Icebox and put a check for a winning day and an X for a losing day. If they had a losing day they would have to explain to me why they lost so they can narrow down why they’re playing bad. That right there will help be you better your game.

Any chance of us seeing a Teddy Monroe signature series of headphones?

Yeah, of course. You know the Iceman is going to come out with some new headphones. I’m gonna keep it different every year. My fans out there love me so I gotta keep changing it up. I’ve got an Iceman fan and I haven’t shown it yet. It’s all blinged out - it hasn’t been the right time to bring it out yet. I’m playing in $1,000 event and I’m going to bring it out. It’s all iced out and has blue and red diamonds in it. Y’all gotta come out and see it.

What odds do you give yourself on winning a bracelet this year?

The odds I’m giving myself are…like from one to ten, I would say like an eight.  I’ve been there, I’ve been there done that. I know the little things. I know how to get to the final table. I know how to survive if you’re not getting cards. I don’t look at how big the field is or how tough the player is, I just focus on the table that I’m on and I beat those players. A lot of the players know me and they know when they’re in a hand with me they have to get lucky because I’m not going to be in there without a hand.

Where’s the best place in Vegas to grab a meal?

Believe me, I eat everywhere. But the best place is at my house. My wife cooks every Sunday and the problem is I can’t stop her. When I first came to Vegas I weighed like 198 lbs. She’s always cooking two meats; baked chicken, barbecued chicken, roast, turkey wings. That’s the best place to eat. The second best place is the Venetian. They have a variety of luxurious  food, they cook it really good.

What’s the most outrageous prop bet you’ve ever made?

Actually, I haven’t really made a prop bet. Guys have came to me and want to make one, but the only real prop bet I’ve made was shooting balls of paper into a trash can with Phil Ivey in 2006. We were betting $1,000 on the best of five shots. We both missed all five.

If you could pick one person to be heads up with at a final table, who is the one person you would want to bust out the most?

I would like to bust out David Williams because he thinks he can play better than me. I’ve been out here much longer than David; he’s much younger than me. It’s their turn, I’ve had a great life, and I’ve got nothing against the kids. They make me feel young again. He’s always talking smack because he got lucky as a young kid. I look at him and think I’ve been through more than you’ve been through. Every time I play against him he plays real aggressive and somehow ends up losing. So if I can just get him at a final table I know he’s going to act like “Oh yeah, I’ve been here before. The Iceman isn’t comfortable, he can’t beat me.” But I’ve been there before too. I’m going to put on a show and beat him.

What’s the most balla thing you’ve bought?

I jsut bought a hundred inch flat screen. It’s sitting in my living room. I’ve been watching the Lakers and Nuggets play and it’s like sitting next to Jack Nicholson.

Ok, so you’re stranded on a desert island and you can only bring one piece of bling with you. Which one is it and why?

I would bring my cross because it’s going to be so hot that I’m going to have to hang it up and pray to God to get me off this island before I pass out.

With the 2009 World Series of Poker under way in its first week, there’s already been a record broken. Friday’s Day 1 of Event #3($1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo/8-or-better) topped out at 918 players, almost 100 more than in 2008 - which makes it the biggest Omaha Hi-Low event in WSOP history with a nice $1,253,070 prize pool and a sleek $230,930 for the first place finisher.

The common player today might not be familiar with this style of Omaha, but from seeing the enthusiasm today from the truest of poker players who ponied up the $1,500 to play, they absolutely love this event.

A day after the start of the big $40,000 buy-in extravaganza, the $1,500 event offered a lower buy-in, but at the same time it created a long and sometimes complicated day of split pots for many, but of course with the complexity of this style of Omaha, the split pots that did occur were much to the liking of the field that came out in droves to play.

One player who fits the mold of the kind of  player Omaha Hi-Lo brings in was Randy Kaas. He’s been coming to the WSOP since 2006 and only plays Omaha Hi-Lo events.

“It’s different. I like it because it’s more intricate than other games out there. I’ll be coming to the WSOP every weekend this year just for these type of events”, explained Kaas.

And it wasn’t hard to notice Kass either. He started his event by showing up wearing a giant white chef’s hat with his kitchen utensils company represented on the front of it. “I get a lot of questions about my hat”, exclaimed Kaas. And he was right, because after a seat opened up next to Kaas, none other than Chad Brown found his new home at table 87 and the very second he sat next to Kaas, he just stared in amazement at his giant chef’s hat and began to laugh - in a nice way of course.

Now with the low buy-in, the recreational players came out of the woodwork for this event, but what was surprising were the number of huge poker stars that showed up to play.

“It sucks to go from a $40,000 no-limit game to a $1,500 Fixed Limit game, but you can’t think of it like that. You have to show up and play”, explained Shannon Shorr.

As play started,  the faces became more evident amongst the tables. The bracelet winner from this event in 2008, Thang Luu, was spotted, along with currnet Bluff Magazine Player of the Year, John Phan. Then once Level 2 hit, the biggest names in the game began their Omaha hopes and dreams for 2009. The likes of Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Daniel Negreanu, Hoyt Corkins, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson were among the many big name pros who also ventured out to the Rio for the low-buy in event.

After a lengthy, but interesting day of Omaha, the 918 players got wittled down to 197. Those select few who split-potted their way to Day 2 will be back tomorrow for another long, slow, but entertaining day of crazy Omaha Hi-Lo action.

Follow all the Live Updates for this event via WorldSeriesofPoker.com.

Justin Bonomo had a Friday to remember and now finds himself in position for a run at his first WSOP bracelet.

Day 2 of Event #2 ($40,000 No Limit Hold ‘em) concluded with Justin Bonomo and Ted Forrest  in position to win the bracelet and the $1.9 million first place prize.  Bonomo was able to stay in the top 5 for almost the entire day.

“I gained chips with almost every hand,” he said. “I like my chances going into tomorrow.”

Greg Raymer dominated most of the evening taking down pots and eleminating Huck Seed, Chad “lilholdem954” Batista, Humberto Brenes and Steve Zolotow, in that order. By Level 17 Raymer was the only player with more than 2,000,000 in chips. His stack was 2,600,000,  1,000,000 more than Bonomo  who was in second with 1,525,000. Bonomo was able to take down a pot with K [10c] against Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson’s A Q  just before the final break of night. Bonomo hit a king on the flop,  raised his chip stack to 2,200,000 and eliminated Johnson at the same time. It was the end of the line in the first open tournament of the 2009 World Series of Poker for Doyle Brunson, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Hoyt Corkins, Phil Ivey, Bill Chen,  Seed, Michael DeMichele, Antonio Esfandiari and Bruno Fitoussi.

Corkins and Chen were both eliminated within the first 45 minutes of play. Brunson made a fairly early exit as well when his K Q did not hold up against his opponents pocket tens. The turn gave Brunson an open ended straight draw and his opponent a set. The river was of no help to the legendary Poker Hall of Famer and he was out.

Matusow started early in his usual fashion by telling another player at his table “all these guys are online guys. They don’t know how to play on the green felt,” in reference to online superstars Amit “amak316″ Makhija and James “Mig.com”  Mackey who were also at his table. Matusow busted before Mackey.

Two of the leaders from Day 1, DeMichele and Fitoussi, both were unable to last. Fitoussi began the day as the chip leader with 812,500. DeMichele started with 519,500 in chips but was eliminated when his A A turned out not to be the best hand. After a board of T 8 5 8 5 DeMichele got all in against Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis who happened to be holding pocket eights. Veldhuis took down a pot of over 600,000 and DeMichele was done for.  

At the dinner break 52 players exited the Amazon Room but an hour and a half later only 51 came back. Forrest was missing in action for about two hours, his chip stack being slowly but methodically blinded down. He returned in level 16 saying he had fallen asleep in his room during the break.  

Chris Moneymaker, who had been in the top 10 chip counts throughout Day 1 and Day 2, busted in Level 16. Moneymaker raised pre-flop with [10s] [10c], Forrest reraised with K K and Moneymaker pushed all-in. The flop came K J [10h]. The 7 on the turn and J on the river were no help Moneymaker. He was out 10 away from the money.

In level 18 Neil Chriss became the bubble boy. Then, in the last nine minutes of play, Vanessa Rousso, J.C. Tran, Sorel Mizzi and David Pham made their way to rail with $71, 858. Action for Day 3 gets underway at 2 pm PT follow and WorldSeriesofPoker.com has all the Live Updates and Chip Counts throughout the day.

Top 10 Chip Counts thru Day 2 of Event #2

1. Justin Bonomo - 2,678,000
2. Ted Forrest - 2,586,000
3. David “whooookidd” Baker - 2,367,000
4. Greg Raymer - 2,287,000
5. Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis - 2,103,000
6. Keith Lehr - 1,257,000
7. Vitaly Lunkin - 1,080,000
8. Alec Torelli - 1,025,000
9. Matthew “adz124″ Marafioti - 1,003,000
10. Brian “tsarrast” Rast - 912,000

Six years after setting off a boom in the poker world, Chris Moneymaker is off to an excellent start to the 2009 World Series of Poker. Moneymaker played strong for 10 levels during day one of Event #2 ($40,000 No Limit Hold ‘em), finishing the day with a chip stack of 805,000.

A bracelet for Moneymaker in this event could spark a whole new wave of the ”Moneymaker Effect”, the surge of people who began playing poker online and in card rooms after his storybook win in the Main Event of the WSOP 2003, but Moneymaker himself does not think so. “The poker world is pretty strong right now, I don’t know if me winning would do anything to it. It may help, it may not,” he said.

While the rest of the world may have been inspred by the story of an accountant from Tennessee turning $39 into $2.5 million, Moneymaker is pretty modest when it comes to discussing the effect he has had on the game. “I was at the right place at the right time,” he said. He does not think much about terms like “Moneymaker Effect,” “if you think about it to much, crazy thoughts get in your head.” Moneymaker also said he has not noticed a change in the poker world since his one of a kind win, “I wasn’t really around when poker was dying off, so to me it just seems normal,” he said.

Moneymaker started off day two at a table with Doyle Brunson, Alex Jacob, Ted Forrest and Antonio Esfandiari and focused on collecting as many chips as he could rather than what a win in the event would mean for amateur poker players all over the world. “I’m at a pretty tough table, well all tables in a 40k are tough,” he said. Moneymaker is not concerned with bringing more players to live and online poker rooms. “Winning would be great for me and certainly great for my family,” he said.

Moneymaker said he felt great and played great during day one but had trouble getting in the zone during day two. But in the zone or not, he managed to stay strong during the early levels of the day. He kept his chip stack larger than average and found himself in the position of chip leader at one point. “I’m not seeing the cards I want today,” he said. “I lost queens versus kings, but overall I’ve been able to keep my losses to a minmum.” Moneymaker’s plan was to coast through, concentrate on getting into the money and work his way up the ladder from there. “First things first,” he said.

Moneymaker is planning to play four events during the 2009 WSOP. And no matter the outcome of Event #2 or any other event he plays in this year, the story of Chris Moneymaker will continue. “I love playing poker and I envision myself playing in the future,” he said. The accountant and father of two turned professional poker player with a story straight out of a movie has no plans to leave the felt anytime soon. “You’ll see me here 20 years from now.”

At 6-feet 7-inches tall, armed with a quiet confidence, Huck Seed is one of the most intimidating players to have at the poker table.

In March, Seed won the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship title to add to his four World Series of Poker bracelets, including the Main Event in 1996.

During a break in Day 2 of the 2009 WSOP’s Special 40th Annual No-Limit Hold’em $40,000 buy-in tournament, Seed sat down with BluffMagazine.com to talk about his play this year.

What are your goals for this year’s World Series?

My goals for this year’s World Series is to not play too much, not burn myself out. I guess I have negative goals. To put it in a positive way: to pace myself, just play a nice balanced amount so I can stay intense and focus and have fun while I’m playing.

How does your performance in the $40,000 tournament set the tone for the rest of the WSOP?

It has no affect at all. I try not to be too results oriented, so my results don’t usually affect me. I kind of analyze my play or what happened. I might have won a tournament, but I might have thought that I played terrible or I might have gotten knocked out pretty early but I was very happy with how I played, so the result doesn’t matter too much to me.

How are you looking at your play right now after Day 1 and about halfway through Day 2?

I was pretty happy with my play yesterday, it was pretty good. I made a bad call against Doyle (Brunson), but he made a really good bet that looked kind of bluffy. I can’t say it was my bad play or his great play or whatever, but I made one wrong decision there with a big call on the river. I made a lot of really nice plays. I feel pretty good today.

Talk about winning the NBC Heads-Up tournament and how you carry momentum from that into the WSOP.

I felt a little momentum for a couple weeks after the heads-up tournament, but it kind of fizzled out after that point, after two or three weeks. No momentum from that really.

Does being a Main Event champion give you an extra edge or more confidence when you come back and play here year after year in the WSOP?

Not really for me because it was so long ago. It was 13 years ago. I’m a totally different person now. I was 26 then, I’m 40 now. It’s like a whole other lifetime almost.

How has your play changed in the last 13 years?

You can write 10 books on that. I try and stay with the times, adjust to the players. The play is a lot different now, so my play is obviously going to be different.

In the $40k, you’re playing against a lot of the biggest names in the poker world. How does playing in the “Big Game” and the heads-up tournament where you have a lot of the same players, how does that . . .

A lot of the better players in this tournament play high stakes cash games, so that’s a really good way to prepare for this kind of a tournament. Whenever you’re at a very tough table with a lot of high level players, that’s the kind of experience you need.

The way to prepare for a tougher tournament is to just seek out tougher opponents, practice against tougher opponents. The best way to prepare for tough opponents is to play against tough opponents.

You have four WSOP bracelets — Pot Limit Omaha, No Limit Hold’em and two in Razz. What is the key to being a great all-around poker player and not just a specialist?

I think playing all the games makes it fun and different, it just kind of keeps it fresh. There are so many different forms of poker, it’s great that the World Series has every different event. And now they have the mixed games and I’m happy that they’re keeping alive the (No Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball). I think that if you play all the games it can add something to your one game. You can always learn a little something in one game and apply it to the other even though they’re different.

BluffMagazine.com had a chance to catch-up with the first bracelet winner of the 2009 World Series of Poker, Andrew Cohen. Cohen outlasted 866 players to take down Event #1 ($500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em) and the $83,778 first-place prize.

You’re obviously excited, how’s it feel?

I got the one thing I always wanted.  For any poker player this is it and I got it.

The bracelet versus the money?

Bracelet, bracelet . . . I’m a bartender, I don’t care about the money, you always get money.

With that said, what do you plan to do with the money?

I don’t know, it’s not, honestly its about winning the bracelet. I mean when I first started playing this event, it wasn’t a bracelet event (a bracelet wasn’t awarded for the event until 2003). . . and now its the first one of the year and I have the rest of the World Series. I just had a baby in December, so life doesn’t get much better than today.

Were you calling your wife?

She was crying. She knows how much this bracelet means to me.

Does this mean you’re going to play in a lot more bracelet events this year?

Yeah, well, I’m going to try and play like five more events.

So you came into the World Series with a gameplan?

Yeah. I had $5,000 and I was gonna play this one and three $1,500’s. And I’m still gonna do that, probably, and then play the Main Event now.

I’ve got a two-part question, we obviously know the high point of this but at the final table, you pretty much dominated this from start to finish, I don’t think there was even a point where you were in jeopordy . . .

Even if I was chip leader, everyone else had a lot of chips at the table . . . I had one hand, I had pocket Kings and I raised . . . the guy to my left who had 900,000 in chips, 950,000 in chips reraised me and I reraised him. He pushed all-in and I called and he had pocket tens I think. That changed [everything].

Was there any point real early where you were all-in?

I was down to like 1,200 in chips really, really early on but I didn’t get shaken by it because I just played my game.  The entire tournament I only went all-in when I had the nuts . . . I wasn’t all in the entire tournament, maybe like four times.

When you entered heads-up you had a 5-1 chip lead, did you have a specific strategy?

Keep the pots small and until I had a big hand . . . He was pushing all-in all the time. I saw everytime I raised he was pushing all-in and I didn’t want to call with a weak hand and take a coin flip . . . so I started limping in on the button, trying to mix it up. Then when I had the hands and he didn’t know what to do, and then, finally, I raised like four pots in a row and I had pocket sixes and he pushed all-in like he was doing, and I knew it was a race . . . and I got lucky that I won the race. But I’m on a great roll right now, its crazy. I just feel great, I can’t feel any better.

In a field packed with nearly 200 of the biggest names in the poker world, one table at the 2009 World Series of Poker’s first open event highlighted Day 1 of the $40,000 buy-in tournament on Thursday.

At least three of the best players in the world sat at Table 70 at the same time on the first day of the Special 40th Annual No-Limit Hold’em tournament, to honor the 40th anniversary of the WSOP.

Scotty Nguyen, Phil Hellmuth, David “The Dragon” Pham and Phil Ivey stood out at the star-studded table, while other top-players like Brett Richey, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Corwin Cole, Steve “MrSmokey1″ Billirakis, Alec Torelli, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Scott Seiver and Frank Kasela played there throughout the day.

It was Alan “TheUsher” Sass, however, who finished at the table with the most chips at the end of Day 1 with 491,000,  good enough for ninth overall.

Bruno Fitoussi and 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker lead the field of 89, which began the day at 201, with 812,500 and 805,000, respectively.

Moneymaker said it is good for him to have a high chip count doing into Day 2, but the tournament, scheduled for four days, is clearly not over.

“It’s only (the end of) Day 1 and there is a long way to go,” Moneymaker said. “(With my chip stack) I can be patient and I don’t have to do anything stupid.

“Some of these guys are under the gun. I can pick my spots (and) hopefully continue to grow,” he said.

Top professionals Erick Lindgren, Kathy Liebert, Andy Bloch and recent Main Event Champions Joe Hachem and Peter Eastgate lead the list of the 112 to be felted on Day 1.

Nguyen was one of the last to lose his chips early Friday morning, when with less than 10 minutes to play in Level 10, he was the big blind and said, “Whoever wants to go broke, raise my big blind.”

Billirakis, who was on the button, riased and the two moved all in before the flop. Billirakis showed A 4 and Nguyen flipped over J J. The flop - 6 A 3 gave Billirakis a better pair and a flush draw, which hit on the river with the Q.

Michael DeMichele is in seventh with 519,500 and said if it were not for a cold deck for the last three hours of the day, could have more, but is excited about the big buy-in event.

“For the last 3 hours or so I couldn’t even win a pot,” he said. “This was the second biggest event of my career, I was stoked to be able to play this event. I drew a table with so many recognized and great players, and I feel like I played great.”

But it was Table 70 that drew the biggest flock of railbirds and attention from other players.

“It was a fun table to play because everyone was good,” Sass said. “On the surface it looked tough, and it was and it wasn’t. Sometimes these tables are easier to play than against other unknowns.”

Sass was able to build his chip lead over the table when he and Hellmuth were in a major hand together.

After a 4x-5-x6x flop, a Kx fell on the turn. Sass checked to Hellmuth, who bet, and Sass called. With a river Qx, Sass again checked to Hellmuth who continued his aggressive play from fourth street and led out with a bet that left him with only a few thousand in chips. Sass called and showed Kx-9x. Hellmuth mucked and had a mini-blow up.

He told BluffMagazine.com, “The most horrible players in the world beat me.”

Hellmuth also posted on his Twitter account, “The worst player at the table:, Alan (Sass), just almost busted me!  sick hand!  but i give him credit as he made a great call on river…”

Hellmuth busted out of the tournament later when his A-J lost to Ivey’s A-K.

Sass said at the end of the day he was able to irritate Hellmuth and get a read on him.

“Phil and I played a couple pots, I won five of six of them and he was getting mad at me,” Sass said. “The river bet was a good one, I almost folded, (but) I got a tell on Phil.”

With his stack, Sass is most likely set to be the big stack at his new table on Friday.

“(Friday’s table) should be easier than (Thursday’s),” he said.

Day 2 play resumes Friday at 2 p.m. in the Amazon Room of the Rio Hotel. Live updates can be read at WSOP Live Updates.

Top 10 chip counts after Day 1:

1. Bruno Fituossi - 812,500
2. Chris Moneymaker - 805,500
3. Justin Bonomo - 738,000
4. Alexander Veldhuis - 646,500
5. Kyle “krisqueen” Wilson - 611,500
6. Brian Townsend - 609,000
7. Michael DeMichele - 519,500
8. Emil “whitelime” Patel - 494,500
9. Alan “TheUsher” Sass - 491,000
10. Andrew Black - 449,500

The party at N9NE Steakhouse is bound to last a little longer this weekend as bartender Andrew Cohen took down Event #1 ($500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em) at the 2009 WSOP.

Event #1 ($500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em) resumed play Thursday with the remaining 81 players of a 867-player field. When the day was done the first bracelet of the 2009 World Series of Poker had been awarded with N9NE Steakhouse bartender Andrew Cohen taking home the jewelry and the $83,778 first place prize.

The day’s action started loose and fast as 20 players, many who had entered the day with stacks approximately 10x the big blind, were eliminated within the first 38 minutes of the tournament. As players busted, tables broke and new seating assignments were given. When five tables remained, table #3 became the center of attention with some of the largest chips stacks in the room. Ivas Abrahim, a cashier at the Palomar Club in San Diego, was also at the table as one of the short stacks. Luckily for him, he managed to get his stack all-in with pocket aces against his opponent’s K-Q.The Aces held up and Abrahim managed to hang on. Things didn’t go so well for Ramy Zakaria, Abrahim’s friend and co-worker, who was among the chip leaders throughout day one. Zakaria found himself in a pot with Casey Kuhn and another player. Both Kuhn and Zakaria called the all-in bet of the third player as the flop came 7 Q 4. Kuhn, who had the most chips of the three, pushed all-in and Zakaria quickly made the call. Kuhn showed 7 7 for middle set, Zakaria 4 4 for bottom set, and the third player was way behind with Ax Kx. The 7on the river gave Kuhn quads and left both his opponents drawing dead; however, to add insult to injury the river brought the 4, sendingZakaria home with losing quads!

Play continued for the next couple hours as more and more players were eliminated. Abrahim joined his friend on the rail in 26th place; similarly, the last woman remaining, Stephanie Donahue, met her end finishing in 19th place. After the dinner break, a string of eliminations occurred that ultimately lead up to the final table:

• Tuni Rafaele (18th- $3,153)
• Alan Adler (17th- $3,153)
• Jesse Duangrudeesawat (16th- $3,153)
• Felix Karli (15th- $4,088)
• Aaron Medrano (14th- $4,088)
• Jeffrey Von Alst (13th- $4,088)
• Osmel Fernandez (12th- $5,503)
• Cesar Chavez (11th- $5,503)
• Jon Williams (10th- $5,503)

The final table, which was surrounded by spectators eager to watch the action for the first bracelet of the series, got underway with the following seat assignments and chip counts:

1. Paul Peterson (Las Vegas, Nevada; 26) - 126,000
2. Bobby Rooney (Oakland, California; 39) - 360,000
3. Ferdinand Boleski (Las Vegas, Nevada; 42) - 175,000
4. Jun Dulay (Las Vegas, Neveada; 43) - 297,000
5. Andrew Cohen (Las Vegas, Nevada; 39) - 408,000
6. Sammy Porter (Bullhead City, Arizona; 55) - 303,000
7. John McAvoy (Chandler, Arizona; 40) - 227,000
8. Casey Kuhn (Bettendorf, Iowa; 24) 392,000
9. Grant Yasui (Waipahu, Hawaii; 25) - 205,000

The first elimination of the final table came when Porter, who had lost most of his chips, moved all-in for his remaining 46,000 with [Ah[ 8. McAvoy called with A Q only to have Rooney push all-in over the top for 68,000 more with pocket Jacks. McAvoy made the call and the board ran out 3 2 9 J 4, giving Rooney the pot and making Poter the 9th place finisher for $7,782. A big hand developed when Boleski pushed all-in with the A J and was called by Matvoy's Q Q. The board ran out [10c] 7 5 5 3 and Boleski, the table games dealer from Las Vegas, was eliminated in 8th place for $8,866.  Matvoy’s fans, who seem to be lined along the rail, cheered as their man became the new chip leader. Unfortunately, the celebration was short lived as McAvoy doubled-up a few opponents and lost the chip lead. This lead to a hand where he was all-in with A 7 and behind Dulay’s Q Q. The board provided no help for McAvoy and just as quickly as he became chip leader, he was sent packing in 7th place for $10,545.

Rooney, a casino floorman, left himself short stacked when he doubled-up Peterson; as such, he decided to push all-in when action was folded to him in the small blind. Dulay made the call from the big blind with K 8 and was ahead of Rooney’s 6 5.  The board came A Q 7 J [10d] and Rooney became the 6th place finisher, earning $13,125. Action stalled for a couple hours before Dulay called a Cohen all-in with 8 8. Cohen was in the lead with J J and took down the sizeable pot when the board came [10h] 5 9 K K. Dulay took home $17,127 for his 5th place finish. A few hands later, Cohen raised to 45,000 from the cutoff and was reraised by Yasui to 145,000. Cohen made the call as the flop came Q 6 6, causing Yasui to move all-in only to have Cohen snap call with 5 5.  Yasui turned over A 9 as both the turn and river blanked. Yasui finished the tournament in 4th place for $23,483. The next elimination came when when Cohen raised the pot to 48,000 and was called by Kuhn.  Cohen bet out 75,000 on the 3 K 5 flop only to have Kuhn push all-in. Cohen made the call and revealed the 5 2 for middle pair but was behind Kuhn’s K 4. The turn changed everything when the 5 fell, giving Cohen three-of-a-kind. The 4 blanked on the river and Kuhn became the 3rd place finisher, which was accompanied by a $33,923 payday.

Heads-up play began with Cohen holding an approximately 5-1 chip lead over Peterson. Things didn’t last long when Peterson found himself all-in with A Q against Cohen’s 6 6.  The board ran out [10d] J 4 [10h] 7 allowing the sixes to hold up and giving Cohen, a bartender at the N9ne in Las Vegas, the victory. Peterson finished in 2nd place for $51,787. Cohen’s friends, including poker pro Alex Outhred, burst into cheers on the rail. The 39 year-old Cohen, who has a wife and daughter, became the first bracelt winner of the 2009 WSOP by outlasting 866 players and taking down the Casino Employees $500 No-Limit Hold’em event and took home the $83,778 first-place prize.

Justin Bonomo is looking to score big at this year's WSOP, possibly at the expense of his neighbors.

Just over one month ago Justin Bonomo beat Michael Mizrachi after four hours of heads-up play to win the World Series of Poker Circuit Championship event at Caesars Palace. Bonomo is off to a good start in his third World Series of Poker Thursday, Day 1 of Event #2 ($40,000 No Limit Hold’em).

He’s managed to keep his chip stack in the top ten most of the day. While he said he would love to make the final table of the event, he does not get too attached to results. “I’m not going to lie and say it is all about winning the bracelet,” he said. “I play poker for a living.”

Bonomo said he is going to play in as many WSOP events has he can, anything event that is not Pot Limit Omaha. “The World Series is the only chance of the entire year to play in big buy-in events against amateurs. WSOP is the best time for everything,” said Bonomo. The win of the Circuit event aside, Bonomo has been happy with his live game play recently, having cashed in a high percentage of tournaments he has sat down in.

Having recently moved to Panorama Towers, the luxury condominiums that seems to be home for the young guns of poker, Bonomo is hoping to add to his bankroll with the skills of his neighbors. He has started some prop bets with anyone that will take them, for 7-1 odds that someone residing in Panorama Towers will win a bracelet this year.

“If you do the math we are favored about 50 to one to win,” he said. Players residing at Panorama include David Williams, Michael Binger and Barry Greenstein to name a few. When asked why he started the bets Bonomo responded, “I did this one flat out to make money.” However, if all the residents of Panorama Towers have a bad WSOP, Bonomo claims he will lose “a large portion of my bankroll.”