Welcome to the BLUFF Daily Buzz, where we scour the entire internet for all the latest news in and around the world of poker. If it involves chips and cards, or people known to associate with chips and cards, we’re there.

Time Magazine profiles November Niner

Mainstream media coverage of poker is beginning to pick up with the finale of the WSOP Main Event right around the corner, and you don’t get any more mainstream than Time Magazine, who today published a profile of former Bear Stearns executive and November Niner Steve Begleiter.

Dan Kadlec, who plays in the same poker league as Begleiter in New York (and therefore has a piece of Begleiter’ action), penned the article. He characterizes Begleiter as “a different sort of recreational player that is taking to the game in increasing numbers; players with a mathematical mind, focus, drive and a keen sense of risk honed in professions like academia, the law or finance,” noting that Begleiter is far from the first person from the financial sector to do well at the WSOP. He also writes that Phil Hellmuth has called “Begs” a loose cannon and thinks his student, Jeff Shulman, will pilfer the former exec’s stack. Begleiter’s reaction to Hellmuth is priceless:

“Phil Hellmuth has forgotten more about poker than I will ever know,” says Begleiter. “So if he says I will make a big mistake I presume he is a heavy favorite to be right. But I guess I’ll still show up and see what happens.”

(Poker World Series: Will Wall Street’s Begleiter Win? - Time)

Maria Ho appears on CNN

Though she and fellow poker player Tiffany Michelle may be off the Amazing Race, Maria Ho has continued to get mainstream media exposure thanks to an appearance on last night’s episode of the CNN news program Anderson Cooper 360. The segment in which Ho appeared was called “Breaking Into The Boys’ Club” and featured three other women who have also been successful in male-dominated fields: television host Suze Orman, former Clinton White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, and neurosurgeon Katrina Firlik.

Next to the other women’s descriptions of their experiences, Ho’s statements made poker seem like a much better place for a woman than industry. “There are no inherent disadvantages to being female at the poker table,” she said. “And any stereotypes that men might bring when they see a woman walk through those doors and put down their money and sit down and play with them, that’s always something you can use to your advantage.”

It’s not a big stretch to imagine Ho’s words empowering more women who haven’t ever played much poker to check out the game. Now if we could just do something about the UIGEA to make it easier for more women to play the game, we’d be on to something!

A clip of the end of the segment is available here, while you can read the transcript of the show here.

PokerStars invades the British Isles

As if having conquered Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and a host of other emerging poker markets weren’t enough, PokerStars is getting ready to launch its eighth new land-based poker tour - but this time around they’re doing it in a developed market rather than a brand new one.

The first season of the UK & Ireland Poker Tour will feature nine stops across England, Ireland, and Scotland, with main event buy-ins ranging from £550 all the way up to £5,300 for the Grand Final in London, which will be held as part of the European Poker Tour London festival. Five of the tournaments sport guaranteed prize pools, and the winner of each main event will also earn a seat into the Grand Final in London. The UKIPT will also feature a leaderboard for the tour’s top performers, with the winner earning Main Event buy-ins and hotel accommodations for all the UKIPT Season 2 events.

The new tour kicks off in Galway, Ireland, on December 11th with a four-day, €2,000 buy-in event.

(PokerStars Announces UK & Ireland Poker Tour - PokerStars Blog)

Boeree, Brown on ESPN Inside Deal

If you just can’t wait for the final episodes of the WSOP Main Event to air tonight, stop in and check out ESPN Inside Deal. Liv Boeree and Chad Brown stop by the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., for today’s episode - the last one before the WSOP Main Event concludes. Hosts Laura Lane and Bernard Lee talk with Boeree about making the jump from complete amateur to poker pro, and later they chat with Brown about his hot streak this year and how it compares to his 2006 Bluff Player of the Year campaign.

You can watch the full episode here.

Ivey won’t have Dolly on his side

Finally, it looks like Doyle Brunson won’t be pulling for his good friend Phil Ivey when Main Event play resumes at the Rio this weekend. It should come as no surprise that Doyle’s lack of allegiance has nothing to do with a falling-out and everything to do with a wager.

In his latest blog here at Bluff, Brunson says he was planning to root for Ivey and Shulman at the final table until Daniel Negreanu made a bet with him that Ivey would win the final table over the incoming chip leader, Darvin Moon. “I had to take Moon who has 5 times the chips of Ivey,” wrote Brunson. “It is a must-win bet so probably we won’t have action. Sorry Phil, I won’t be rooting for you now. Business is business.”

(He who buries his talent is making a grave mistake - Doyle Brunson’s blog)

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