Archive for the ‘WSOP’ Category WSOP Main Event Runner-Up Receives Third DUI Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 John Racener’s knack for making good decisions at the poker table seems to elude him in other areas of life. The 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up was arrested last weekend and given his third Driving Under the Influence (DUI) citation according to the St. Petersburg Times. The article states that Racener was arrested in 2005 and again in 2007 for DUI offenses. Last year, he was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge. Last month, Racener masterfully nursed a short stack through the Main Event final table before losing heads-up to Canadian Jonathan Duhamel. Racener’s $5.5 million payday should be more than sufficient for getting him out of his recent trouble with the law. Posted in Poker World Commentary, WSOP | No Comments » Another WSOP, Another Multiple Bracelet Winner Thursday, June 24th, 2010 As we reported in our poker news section, Frank Kassela recently won his second WSOP bracelet of 2010. How is it that despite just 57 tournaments on the schedule and an average field size that must be in the high three-figures if not four-figures that at least one player manages to win multiple bracelets every year? You have to go all the way back to 1999 to find a year where no individual was able to win two bracelets in a single WSOP. That’s a streak of 11 consecutive years of a multiple bracelet winner at the WSOP! Here are the players responsible for keeping this streak alive: 2000 – Chris Ferguson 2001 – Scotty Nguyen, Nani Dollison 2002 – Phil Ivey (3), Layne Flack 2003 – Men Nguyen, Layne Flack, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan 2004 – Ted Forrest, Scott Fischman 2005 – Mark Seif 2006 – Bill Chen, Jeff Madsen 2007 – Tom Schneider 2008 – John Phan 2009 – Jeffrey Lisandro (3), Brock Parker, Greg Mueller, Phil Ivey 2010 – Frank Kassela This feat seems even more improbable when you consider the number of the 57 events that a player is capable of participating in. Since there’s usually two tournaments every day and each event needing at least three if not four or five days to complete, it’s pretty tough to play more than 20 or 25 events in a single WSOP. That means every year for eleven straight years, at least one person has managed to win at least two of the 20 or so WSOP tournaments they’ve played. Keep in mind that this is the World Series of Poker. Winning 2 out of 20 tournaments where the average field size is 100 clueless fish would be fairly impressive. Winning 2 out of 20 where the average field size goes well into the several hundreds most of which are world-class poker players is simply astounding. And every year someone manages to do it! One thing is for sure, the stage is set to get a pretty good price on a “will anyone win multiple-bracelets at the 2011 WSOP?” bet. Despite the 11 year streak, I’d still jump at the chance to bet “no” at even-money, but with the way things are going, I could probably get someone to lay some handsome odds! Posted in Poker World Commentary, WSOP | No Comments » Tom Dwan’s Close Call Monday, June 7th, 2010 Last night at the WSOP, Tom Dwan came ever so close to winning what might have been the largest single-day score in the history of poker. Dawn reached the final table of Event #11, a $1,500 no-limit tournament, and had most of the poker world’s attention while he chased his first career bracelet. It is rumored that the online cash game wunderkind stands to collect as much as $15 million in prop bets if he wins a WSOP bracelet this year. The high stakes poker community, many of whom have booked action against Dwan, were brought to their knees last night while they faded Dwan’s attempt to seize a large portion of the poker economy. They had to sweat it to the very end: Dwan’s efforts came up just short when he lost heads-up to New Zealand’s Simon Witt. While Witt was playing for just more than $200,000 heads-up, Dwan was playing for countless millions. The high stakes regulars, who were seated nearby in the $10,000 Stud/8 event, breathed a collective sigh of relief when Witt’s pocket Nines held up against Dwan’s Queen-Six. Rumors have circulated regarding exactly how much Dwan stands to collect should he win a bracelet this year. Some say the Phil Ivey alone would be on the hook for $9 million which would make Dwan’s total figure upwards of maybe $15 million. If that is true, it means Dwan was playing for more money last night in his heads-up match against Witt than perhaps anyone has played for in the history of poker. Even Jamie Gold’s $12 million score in 2006 should have an asterisk beside it since much of that money went to Crispin Leyser. Will Dwan’s close call ruin his focus on winning a bracelet or make him even more motivated? Those betting against him are certainly hoping that it’s the former. For more on this story, check out Pauly’s fantastic write-up. Posted in Poker World Commentary, WSOP | No Comments » Old WSOP Documentary Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 A member (and self-styled ‘Godfather’) of our poker forums, ‘killcrazy’, linked me to this old WSOP documentary called The Million Dollar Deal. It’s about 45 minutes long and pretty worthwhile for any poker enthusiast. It’s pretty cool watching this while knowing what the Main Event eventually turned into. It’s like watching home movies of some pro athlete playing their sport when they were 7 years old. Some thoughts: 17:00 – Scotty Nguyen talking confidently “I always be #1 baby,” and this is before he even became a World Champion! 28:45 – Interesting that TD’s used to think it was okay to pester players by asking, “are you going to call? Are you going to call?” during a hand. 30:40 – LOL at Mike Magee thinking that the only hand that would call his M 3.5 shove was Ace-Ace. 32:00 – Someone tell this guy that Jesus doesn’t exist in Las Vegas. 34:33 – Haha… Scotty was still nursing the beers back then I see. 35:16 – It’s amazing to me that Scotty seemed as if he just knew he would win this event from the very start. 36:48 – Huh… didn’t realize TJ got third that year. 40:28 – Are those the most famous words ever uttered at a poker table? 43:17 – So true, Andy! Posted in WSOP | No Comments » Harrah’s Seeking Offers for WSOP Home Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 Harrah’s Entertainment, owners and operators of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), are said to be seeking a buyer for the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The property has been home to the WSOP for the past five years. Harrah’s is said to be asking for around $500 million for the property which is about a six times valuation on it’s profits of $85 million last year. While a six times valuation is generally considered cheap in the casino industry, the Rio’s value will likely fall if it no longer plays host to the WSOP. The property is located off of the Strip so events like the WSOP help keep the casino relevant since it does not get nearly as much organic traffic as other Vegas properties. If Harrah’s sells the Rio, it’s almost certain that the 2011 WSOP will be held at a new location. This potential sale does not affect the Rio’s role as host of the 2010 WSOP. The most likely place for a new WSOP venue would be Caesars Palace which is Harrah’s largest property. Discussions on moving the WSOP to the Roman-themed casino took place in 2008, but Harrah’s decided they could maximize room occupancy at their properties by keeping the poker festivities at the Rio. Posted in Poker World Commentary, WSOP | No Comments » Harrah’s Announces Changes to WSOP Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 Harrah’s announced some changes to expect at the 2010 WSOP with regards to food service, start times and Main Event day 2s. Main Event Day 2s This year, participants from Day 1A and Day 1C will play on Day 2A while survivors from Day 1B and 1D will play Day 2B. This move is aimed at helping balance the field sizes for each day two. In years past, Days 1A and 1B played Day 2A while Days 1C and 1D played Day 2B. This typically resulted in a much larger field showing up for Day 2B than Day 2A since Days 1C and 1D tend to draw more entrants than Days 1A and 1B. Harrah’s Communications Director Seth Palansky noted that more players have pre-registered for Day 1D than the other three starting days combined. The WSOP Main Event kicks off with Day 1A on Monday, July 5th. Food Service For the past few years, Harrah’s has maintained an outdoor grill located in a tent just outside of the Amazon Room where most WSOP action takes place. This year, they’re moving the food service indoors. The ‘Gutshot Grill’ will now be located in the Miranda Room which previously housed WSOP tournament action. The Rio Pavilion, which is across the hall from the Amazon Room and previously hosted the Gaming Life Expo, will absorb the game play tables that will no longer be found in the Miranda Room. Tournament Restart Times Those fortunate enough to make day two of a WSOP preliminary event will notice the restart time has been pushed back from last year. Day two restart times for noon events will be at 2:30 this year instead of 2:00. For 5:00 pm events, restart times will be at 3:00. This change was made to allow players the chance to get a little more rest after a long day of play.