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Dr. Pauly at the 2008 WSOP: Almost Famous

2008-07-04T02:15:06+00:00

Over 50 poker players will go down in history as bracelet winners at the 2008 WSOP. No matter what happens to them in life, the fact that they won a bracelet is a major accomplishment. In fact, winning a WSOP event might be one of the many...

2008 WSOP Event #53, $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout: Graham Overtakes Bellande for Bracelet

2008-07-04T01:00:00+00:00

The final preliminary preceding the WSOP Main Event, Event #53, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, began its second day with 72 players still vying for the $278,180 first prize. At the start of the day, Matt Graham had already secured his third...

WSOP Day 35: Lights, camera, action

2008-07-04T00:12:32+00:00

This is only one of four first days for the $10,0000 World Championship No-Limit Hold'em event, so there's no official head count or prize pool to announce for the entire event yet. However, rumor has it that more than 1,300 players have shown up for Day 1a so far, topping the 1,258 who played Day 1a in 2007.

Poker fans will have to stay tuned for the official count though, since players have until the end of Level 2 to register and get into the event on its first day.

Who, you might ask, has put up their $10k already to brave the Main Event?

Svetlana Gromenkova, Thomas Wahlroos, Kido Pham, Tuan Lam, Jon "PearlJammer" Turner, Raymond Rahme, Noah Boeken, Mark Vos, Joe Beevers, Joe Sebok, Vince Van Patten, Paul Wasicka, Toto Leonidas, Matt Stout, Young Phan, Shannon Shorr, Billy Baxter, Susie Isaacs and more are taking their shot today.

Jason Alexander and Ray Romano are some of the celebrities who have been spotted in the mix today as well.

Susie Isaacs took her shot at another bracelet win today as well, though she's just barely clinging to life with a couple thousand left in chips at the moment. Some other players looking a little low in the chips are Freddy Deeb, Eli Elezra, Josh Arieh and J.J. Liu.

They're still better off than the players who've already hit the bricks today. Tom "durrrr" Dwan won't be winning a 2008 WSOP Main Event bracelet, and neither will James Mackey, David Benyamine, John Gale, David Pham or David "Devilfish" Ulliott.

Dwan hit the rail after a series of hands against Jean Claude Moussa. He'd already lost $8k or $9k on a previous hand with Moussa and went at him again.

After they saw a flop of #4h#8h#7s, Dwan bet out $550 and then called Moussa's minimum reraise to $1,100. The turn brought the #Ts, and Dwan checked and saw a $2,500 bet from Moussa.

Dwan responded by moving all-in and Moussa called. Dwan showed #8s#Tc for top two pair, but Moussa tabled #9h#Th for top pair and a lot of outs to win the hand. All it took was a #2h on the river, and Moussa had a flush to eliminate Dwan.

There's plenty more action where this came from as well. Check out the Main Event live updates for the latest busts and triumphs as Day 1a continues.

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Poker run is a good bet for weekend fun

2008-07-04T00:10:02+00:00

Midland Town Harbour will be a flurry of activity as close to 30 high-performance boats take to the waters for the Performance Boat Club of Canada's inaugural Charity Poker Run in the Town of Midland.

Titan Poker welcomes players with freerolls

2008-07-03T21:38:53+00:00

Titan Poker is now giving new players a chance to win thousands of dollars in exclusive freerolls six times each month. The freerolls will give away up to $3,000 at a time, and all it takes to qualify is for players to accumulate Titan Poker Points.

Titan Poker Points can be earned by playing in ring games and tournaments at the poker site. And with the six freerolls available each month, new players have plenty of chances to qualify.

New players are also eligible to enter another freeroll at the poker site as soon as they make their first deposit. The freeroll gives out digital prizes with a value of up to $600 including items such as an iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iMV712 Mini Home Theater System or a Canon 8.0 megapixel digital camera.

This is on top of the bonuses and exciting opportunities already offered to players at Titan Poker, not to mention the great deal players get by signing up at the poker site through PokerListings.com.

Players who sign up through PokerListings get an exclusive $600 sign-up bonus at 200% match, plus $50 up front for deposits of more than $100.

Once they're signed up, PokerListings players also have access to exclusive $5,000 monthly freerolls at Titan Poker. The first Sunday of every month at 6 p.m., players who've made a deposit on the poker site and have earned at least one poker point between the first and last day of the preceding month earn a spot in the freeroll.

For more information on this and other promotions at the poker site, visit Titan Poker.

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PokerStars doubles up on promotions in July

2008-07-03T20:20:00+00:00

Throughout the entire month of July, PokerStars plans to double just about everything on the site, from double VPPs to double the chances to win and even double the size of the pot in cash games.

To kick off the promotion, the poker site is offering players double VPPs in all of PokerStars' cash games and sit-and-go tournaments (except heads-up tournaments) through July 6.

Double the VPPs means moving up the VIP Club ladder just that much faster without having to change the games or stakes you would normally play.

Players who make their first-ever deposit at the poker site from July 1-30 using the code FIRST2x when they make the deposit will also gain entry into the poker site's special 2X First Depositor Freerolls.

There are two $2,222 freerolls running every day from July 8-30 at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET. Players who cash in the freerolls will also gain entry to the $22,222 grand final on July 31.

In addition to the freeroll entry, players making their first deposits on PokerStars will also receive a deposit bonus.

The freeroll and bonus is only open to PokerStars players who have not yet made their first real-money deposit.

A third offer up for grabs during the 2X promotion is that PokerStars is running daily 2X multi-table tournaments that give players a chance to make one rebuy if they're eliminated. Buy-ins start at $2.22 and each tournament begins at 22 minutes past the hour.

PokerStars will have even more perks for players throughout the month for the 2X promotion, but poker players will need to check in at the poker site to keep up with what's being offered.

For more information or to get signed up at the poker site, visit PokerStars.

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2008 WSOP Day 35: Daneshgar, Graham grab wins

2008-07-03T19:03:59+00:00

When all was said and done, though, David Daneshgar had finished off the final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event of the 2008 World Series of Poker for his first bracelet win, and Matt Graham had defeated Jean-Robert Bellande to win the $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout.

That means the deck is all clear for the start of the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em World Championship Main Event today, but before that event gets rolling, let's take a look at how the final two preliminary events played out.

Event 52

David Daneshgar has a day job as a venture capitalist and investor, but his part-time poker career on the side has been quite lucrative for him despite the distractions. He's cashed in seven previous WSOP events, including two others this year alone, and has gone deep in European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour events.

The seventh $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event of the 2008 WSOP was finally his time to strap on a shiny gold bracelet win as well.

Daneshgar topped a field of 2,693 players after three days of play to come up with the win. In the end it came down to him versus Scott Sitron in heads-up play.

When the two began play, Daneshgar was at a chip disadvantage, but his experience helped him pull ahead.

"I just wanted to play small pots and chip away. I won some small pots, won a pretty big pot then a couple more small pots and I got to the point where I was in my comfort zone," Daneshgar said in his post-game interview.

On the final hand, Sitron limped in from the button and Daneshgar made it $400,000 from the big blind. Sitron ended up moving all-in, and Daneshgar was right behind him making the call.

With pocket tens, Daneshgar had to avoid Sitron picking up an ace on the board to add to his #Ah#8c. However, the board came #6h#6d#4h#9c#Jh to give Daneshgar the win.

The final table played out as follows:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	David Daneshgar	$625,443
2nd	Scott Sitron	$385,974
3rd	Dan Heimiller	$275,695
4th	Farzad Rouhani	$231,584
5th	Corwin Cole	$189,311
6th	Matt Matros	$148,875
7th	Andrey Zaichenko	$112,116
8th	Jeff Courtney	$84,546
9th	Voitto Rintala	$57,712

For more details on how it all went down at the final table or through the entire tournament, visit the Event 52 live updates.

Event 53

Confidence was key for Matt Graham when it came to winning the $1,500 Limit Shootout event. He admitted that he's more of a No-Limit Hold'em player in his online poker career, but when the final table got down to just a few players, Graham was confidently gunning for first place despite being the underdog.

"I even told [Jean-Robert Bellande] when we were three-handed and we were getting run over a little bit, 'Keep playing like that. The difference between first and second is $70,000, but the difference between third and first is $180,000 so I think I'll go for that,'" Graham said in his interview after the game.

After being down to his last $300,000 at one point against Bellande, Graham clawed his way back up to eventually take the chip lead.

After taking a break early this morning, Belland got off to a bad start by blowing off a large chunk of his chip stack on a jack-high rainbow board. Graham had J-9 for top pair, and Bellande mucked.

Then a couple minutes after that, it was finally all over. Bellande got all-in pre-flop and turned up 9-7 offsuit to Graham's A-J. The board crapped out for both of them, making Graham's ace-high good for the win.

The final table played out as follows:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Matt Graham	$278,180
2nd	Jean-Robert Bellande	$173,564
3rd	Joe Deniro	$107,845
4th	Brandon Wong	$69,088
5th	Danny Wong	$33,701
6th	Spencer Lawrence	$20,221
7th	John Kranyak	$13,480
8th	Andrew Prock	$10,355
9th	Mike Kachan	$7,526

For more details, visit the Event 53 live updates.

Event 54

The day is finally here - the 2008 WSOP Main Event gets started with its first Day 1 today at noon, and there's plenty of days of poker to follow that one.

This year the Main Event is scheduled to play four Day 1's, then take a day off before starting in on two Day 2's. It'll take five more days after that to get down to a final table of nine.

Normally that final table would take place right away, but things are going to be a little different this year. The play will end and not resume again until November when the final table will play out over two days, allowing ESPN to tape and edit it and then broadcast it the evening after the winner is found.

Catch it all in the 2008 WSOP Live Tournaments section where our tournament reporting team will be busy getting all the details to bring direct to your computer with videos, live updates, photos, interviews and more.

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Exclusive: Abi Titmuss Talks Poker to UK PokerNews

2008-07-03T18:15:00+00:00

These days you are much more likely to see a Big Brother contestant endorsing the logo of a poker room at the tables than a WSOP bracelet winner. A few years ago I would have been bragging to my poker mates about sharing a chat with Phil Hellmuth

2008 WSOP Event #52, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em: David Daneshgar Takes Gold

2008-07-03T17:14:00+00:00

David Daneshgar outlasted a field of 2,693 to win the second-to-last no-limit event of the 2008 World Series of Poker, Event #52, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em. With lifetime earnings in excess of $1.6 million, over 50 tournament cashes...

Event #52 Final Results 2008 World Series of Poker

2008-07-03T17:00:00+00:00

The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #52) attracted 2,693 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $3,675,945. The top 270 finishers collected prize money.

This is the final of seven $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournaments on this year's schedule. More than 18,000 players played in these events alone.

With this event included, the WSOP set a new record. More countries have now cashed this year than any time previously at any major tournament held anywhere in the world. A total of 104 different countries have now sent players to the WSOP who have finished in-the-money. Last year, this number was 87 nations. However, the Main Event is yet to be played in 2008, which could add even more countries to the list. For the first time ever, many nations in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have discovered the WSOP which now reflects the international flavor of the tournament series.

The tournament was played over three consecutive ... Continue reading Event #52 Final Results 2008 World Series of Poker

Scotty Nguyen Wins $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event; The Year of The Pro(TM) Off Life Support

2008-07-03T15:59:15+00:00

In what all "pros" as well as "years" at the 2008 WSOP considered a "must-win" situation, Scotty Nguyen , a pro, won the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event early this morning, giving The Year of The ProTM what could best ...

Women's Poker Spotlight: Who to Watch in the WSOP Main Event

2008-07-03T14:08:00+00:00

This year more women have streamed into the events at the 2008 World Series of Poker than in any previous year. Many would attribute this to the ever-growing popularity poker has received through television, while others would credit...

World Series of Poker 'Evening Edition' Daily Summary for July 1st, 2008

2008-07-03T11:53:00+00:00

A special evening's 'daily summary' for 2008 WSOP action comes your way to account for today's extended action in Event #53, $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout. Originally conceived as a two-day event, the second round of the opening day's...

Affleck, Damon, Cheadle Ante Up for Darfur

2008-07-03T07:47:16+00:00

Everyone was all in for a good cause. Ben Affleck , Matt Damon and Don Cheadle were among the Hollywood types who gathered Wednesday at the Rio Pavilion in Las Vegas for a no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament ...

WSOP Europe 2008 Schedule, ESPN Deal Announced

2008-07-03T03:42:00+00:00

Harrah's Entertainment has announced the schedule for the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), to be held September 19th to October 2nd, 2008 in London, England. The series is expanded slightly over the inaugural 2007 version...

Poker machines confiscated after shooting

2008-07-03T03:12:52+00:00

Charleston County Sheriff's deputies said they confiscated nine arcade-style poker machines from a home where a man was shot with a rifle this weekend.

Last $20,000 Ladbrokes Poker Freeroll!

2008-07-03T00:38:00+00:00

Ladbrokes Poker's last 20k Freeroll runs as scheduled on Thursday 31 July at 19:00 GMT. Read on for minor changes to the requirements as well as how to get involved in this awesome promotion!

2008 WSOP Event #51, $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Day 3: Hellmuth Denied 12th, James Schaaf Takes Gold

2008-07-03T00:37:00+00:00

20 players returned to the Amazon Room for Day 3 of Event #51, $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., including Day 2 chip leader Phil Hellmuth, going for his record 12th World Series of Poker bracelet. With a limit format and two split-pot games in the mix...

2008 WSOP Day 34: Short day for some

2008-07-03T00:16:14+00:00

Event 52

The $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event got under way again at 2 p.m. today with a final table of nine. For Voitto Rintala it turned out to be a short day as he headed to the rail only four hands into play.

Rintala was down to his last $46,000 after posting his ante, and moved all-in from middle position. Jeff Courtney called behind him, and Farzad Rouhani also called from the big blind.

The flop came #5d#9d#5h, and Courtney and Rouhani both checked. After a #Qc came on the turn, Rouhani bet $40,000 and Courtney called. The river brought a #5c, and Rouhani moved all-in for $114,000 total.

Courtney folded it, and Rouhani turned over #Qh#5s for quad fives while Rintala showed pocket sixes for a full house that just wasn't good enough to win the hand this time. Rintala claims ninth place in the event.

The eight players still playing are Courtney, Rouhani, Corwin Cole, Matt Matros, Scott Sitron, Andrey Zaichenko, David Daneshgar and Dan Heimiller.

To see how the final table is playing with reports straight from the floor of the Rio, visit the Event 52 live updates section.

Event 53

It's going to be a long day to finding the winner of the $1,500 Limit Hold'em event, which must go from 72 down to one by the end of the day. However, there are more than a handful of players who have busted already to end their day early.

Jimmy Fricke, Rhett Butler, Kenna James, Hoyt Corkins and David Bach all got sent to the rail already today.

Some of the names to watch out for that are still in it are Jean-Robert Bellande, Jonathan Tamayo and Fred Berger.

See all the action in the Event 53 live updates.

The only other event going on at the Rio today is the Ante Up for Africa charity event to raise money for Darfur relief. Otherwise, players who aren't in the events get a much-needed rest before the start of Day 1a of the Main Event on Thursday.

As always, we've got your back when it comes to keeping you in the loop on all the WSOP action. Head to the Live Tournaments section for just about all the information a poker fan can handle.

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2008 WSOP Event #53 $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout: Round 2 in Progress

2008-07-02T22:54:00+00:00

The $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout, Event #53, is the last scheduled open event of the WSOP prior to the Main Event. And that may be just one reason why this event drew such a large field. Initially planned to be capped at 720 players...

California online gaming bill moves forward

2008-07-02T22:13:57+00:00

On Tuesday the California Senate Assembly Governmental Organization Committee voted to pass the latest amended version of the bill and re-refer it to the Committee on Appropriations.

The bill has now been back and forth in committees a few times since its introduction in February by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine.

If passed, the bill would direct the California Gambling Control Commission to work with the state Department of Justice to determine whether online gambling for California residents would be illegal under federal laws.

What Levine wants to know is if the states have a right to legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling according to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

When he introduced the bill, Levine told media that the UIGEA seems to leave room for states to legalize online gambling as long as the player and the server hosting the online poker or casino or betting are both located in the state. His bill will have the government find out if that is true.

If the bill is approved by the California legislature, the study it initiates could lead to the state setting up intrastate online poker and gambling for its residents.

Levine said in the past that the hope would be to have regulated online gambling in the state. He believes regulated online gambling in the state will ensure consumer protection for online gamblers.

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WSOPE solidifies 2008 schedule

2008-07-02T19:53:50+00:00

The 2008 WSOPE will feature four bracelet tournaments, including a new £1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event to kick off the series this year.

The official bracelet events will be:

Sept. 19: Event 1 £1,500 No-Limit Hold'em (three-day event with two Day 1's)
Sept. 22: Event 2 £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. (three-day event)
Sept. 24: Event 3 £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (three-day event)
Sept. 27: Event 4 £10,000 World Championship No-Limit Hold'em (five-day event with two Day 1's)

Along with the bracelet tournaments, the series will also have five non-bracelet events scheduled during the tournament.

"We have enhanced the schedule to build on our initial success and provide a richer experience for players," said World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

"If this year's World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas is any indication, the level of tournament play is increasing worldwide and we expect the second annual WSOPE to be hotly contested."

The WSOPE takes place in London and is hosted by London Clubs International locations.

"London Clubs offers five unique casino experiences in the heart of London including The Rendezvous, The Casino at the Empire (in world famous Leicester Square), The Sportsman, Fifty and the Golden Nugget, "said Michael Silberling, COO, London Clubs International. "We look forward to hosting the second annual WSOP Europe."

Players can preregister for events at any LCI venue in the U.K. and all Harrah's venues in Las Vegas.

Players in Las Vegas for the 2008 WSOP can preregister for the WSOPE at the tournament cage in the Rio, and can also lock in poker-player hotel rates via worldseriesofpoker.com. The Rio will also host $1,570 Mega Satellites for the WSOPE Main Event July 10 and 11.

According to Harrah's, ESPN is also planning to air eight original hours of coverage of the WSOPE in the United States this year and distribute the tournament globally. Harrah's will distribute the WSOPE programming in non-ESPN markets.

The event is once again sponsored by Betfair Poker as well.

"We are extremely excited to be working alongside Harrah's and the World Series of Poker brand for a second year, said Betfair.com CEO David Yu. "Betfair Poker is now the only place players can qualify online for the tournament - this exclusivity shows how confident we are that WSOPE 2008 will be even bigger and better than before."

For your shot at winning a prize package to the WSOP, visit Betfair Poker.

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2008 WSOP Event #50, $10,000 PLO Championship: Marty Smyth Wins Gold

2008-07-02T19:45:00+00:00

Marty Smyth has plenty of cashes outside of the WSOP, including his 2007 Irish Open and 2008 PartyPoker World Open victories. But going into the final table of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship, Smyth had only one other...

2008 WSOP Day 34: Hellmuth gets Schaaf-ted

2008-07-02T19:25:53+00:00

The final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event also played down to a final table on Tuesday, and the $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout got under way.

The only event on tap to begin today is the Ante Up for Africa charity event. As that tournament unrolls, a final two events will wrap up before the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event gets started on Thursday.

Event 50

The final $10,000 World Championship event before the Main Event found a winner on Tuesday with a Pot-Limit Omaha event. With 381 players giving it a shot, there was more than $3.5 million in the prize pool for the event.

There were a lot of famous pros hoping for a piece of that money, but it was a lesser-known Irish pro named Martin Smyth who took down the event and its $859,549 top prize.

He defeated a final table that included Kido Pham and Michael Mizrachi, whose brother Robert Mizrachi won this event in 2007.

In the end it came down to Smyth versus Canadian Peter Jetten. On the final hand, the players ended up all-in after seeing a flop of #Qc#Tc#9h. Jetten revealed #Ks#Jd#3d#2c for a king-high nut straight. However, Smyth turned up #Kc#Jc#Js#Qd to also have a nut straight in addition to an open-ended straight flush draw.

The #7d on the turn didn't help anyone, but then the #6c came on the river and Smyth had the win.

The final table played out as follows:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Martin Smyth	$859,549
2nd	Peter Jetten	$528,256
3rd	Michael Mizrachi	$331,279
4th	Billy Argyros	$268,605
5th	Richard Harroch	$214,884
6th	Kido Pham	$170,116
7th	Tom Hanlon	$134,302
8th	Brandon Moran	$107,442
9th	Greg Hurst	$80,581

For more information about how the tournament played out, visit the Event 50 live updates.

Event 51

A bracelet win has so far not been in the cards for Phil Hellmuth in the 2008 WSOP. He managed to get close again in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, but he hit the rail in third place on Tuesday. Instead it was amateur player James Schaaf who picked up a new bracelet after never having cashed in a WSOP event before.

Schaaf is a 36-year-old software engineer from Torrance, Calif. He plays very few tournaments, and almost didn't make it past the first day of this one.

All the players started out with $3,000 in chips in this event, and at one point, Schaaf was down to just $200. He was all-in a few times to get his stack to around $500, which he hovered at for several hands before going all-in again with J-T-8 in a Razz round.

Normally that would be a terrible starting hand in a lowball game like Razz, but it worked out for Schaaf and he tripled up and made it through the day.

In the end it came down to Schaaf versus Tommy Hang. The final hand came during a round of Stud Eight-or-Better.

Schaaf raised with #6h and Hang called with #Jc. On fourth street, Hang bet his #2h, and Schaaf called with #8c. Schaaf took the lead on fifth street, betting out with his #9h, and Hang called with the #7h. When sixth street came along, Schaaf bet his #8h, Hang raised all-in with #7s, and Schaaf made the call.

Hang had trip sevens for a powerful heads-up hand, but Schaaf's run of good cards continued and he turned up an eight in the hole for trip eights.

The final table played out as follows:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	James Schaaf	$256,412
2nd	Tommy Hang	$158,933
3rd	Phil Hellmuth	$93,168
4th	Esther Rossi	$68,505
5th	Jason Dollinger	$54,804
6th	Sam Silverman	$42,966
7th	Victor Ramdin	$32,992
8th	Matt Grapenthien	$27,511

Some of the other pros who cashed in this event include Joe Hachem, Chad Brown, Allen Cunningham, Alex Jacob, John Juanda, Michael Binger, Mike Matusow and Svetlana Gromenkova.

Nikolay Evdakov also cashed once again to further break the record for most WSOP cashes in a single year. The previous record was eight cashes, and with this latest cash, Evdakov has now cashed in 10 events in 2008.

Evdakov could still increase that record by cashing in the Main Event or in the upcoming World Series of Poker Europe events taking place in London in September.

For more information about the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, visit the Event 51 live updates.

Event 52

The seventh and final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event of the 2008 WSOP will come to a conclusion today as the top nine players return to play.

Poker fans may recognize a name or two on the list of players at the final table. They are:

Name	Chip Count
Corwin Cole	1,668,000
Matt Matros	1,472,000
Jeff Courtney	1,443,000
David Daneshgar	1,178,000
Voitto Rintala	553,000
Dan Heimiller	544,000
Andrey Zaichenko	521,000
Scott Sitron	504,000
Farzad Rouhani	212,000

Some of the pros who made the money but fell short of the final table include Mimi Tran, Vanessa Rousso and more.

The final table will resume play at 2 p.m. today with live coverage provided by our crack tournament reporting team.

Event 53

It's going to be a long day of play for those in the $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout that began on Tuesday. The event is scheduled for two days' play, but 823 players showed up to play on Tuesday, and 72 will return to play again down to a winner today.

Leading the way into the second day of play is Dave Orvis with $88,000 in chips, but he is closely followed by Danny Wong with $83,000 and Jonathan Tamayo with $80,000. Also among the living are Hoyt Corkins, Kenna James, Jimmy Fricke and Rhett Butler.

The players, all of whom are at least in the money after Day 1, will return to play again at 2 p.m. today. Stay tuned to PokerListings for all the live updates, videos, photos, reports and more from the 2008 WSOP.

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James Schaaf Wins 2008 WSOP Event #51

2008-07-02T18:57:23+00:00

James Schaaf will be heading back to Torrance, California with a WSOP gold bracelet and $256,412 in cash for his first ever venture into big-time World Series of Poker poker.

2008 WSOP Event #52, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em: Corwin Cole Heads Final

2008-07-02T18:26:00+00:00

The 228 players who started Day 2 of Event #52, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, were already in the money, so their focus was on making the final table in one of the last tournaments of the 2008 World Series of Poker. The chip leader going...

WSOP-E Schedule is Announced

2008-07-02T17:17:00+00:00

Just as we are gearing up for the World Series of Poker Main Event, Betfair Poker have announced details of the World Series of Poker Europe Schedule. The schedule is an extended version of the one we saw last year in London

Marty Smyth Wins the $10k Pot Limit Omaha Champs at the WSOP

2008-07-02T17:09:00+00:00

Marty Smyth has saved the UK's blushes by being the first player this year to capture a WSOP bracelet. The man from Northern Ireland has once again proven he is one of the top players in the UK

Event #51 Final Results 2008 World Series of Poker

2008-07-02T17:00:00+00:00

The $1,500 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. championship (Event #51) attracted 803 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $1,096,095. The top 80 finishers collected prize money.

This is believed to be the largest major live H.O.R.S.E. tournament in history.

H.O.R.S.E. is an acronym for the five most popular poker games played inside most poker rooms. H.O.R.S.E. tournaments include a rotation of the following games -- Texas Hold'em, Omaha High-Low Split, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, and Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split (also called Eight-or-Better). Many purists consider H.O.R.S.E. to be the ultimate test of poker skill, since it requires that players play all games well in order to win.

The tournament was played over three consecutive days. The final table was played on the secondary stage. The main stage was used by ESPN for its broadcast of the Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship (Event #50) which took place at the same time. Due to the potential historic ... Continue reading Event #51 Final Results 2008 World Series of Poker

2008 World Series of Poker: Event #50 Final Results

2008-07-02T17:00:00+00:00

The $10,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship (Event #50) attracted 381 entries, creating a record prize pool totaling $3,581,400. The top 36 finishers collected prize money.

This was the largest Pot-Limit Omaha tournament prize pool in poker history.

Entries in 2008 increased by 21 percent over last year.

While all 55 WSOP tournaments on the 2008 schedule are categorized as gold bracelet events, this is also known as a 'world championship' event. This means the winner of this event is the Pot-Limit Omaha world champion. Beginning this year, all $10,000+ buy-in tournaments are designated as official world championships. This means a total of ten WSOP tournaments are world championships. This includes eight gold bracelet tournaments with $10,000 buy-ins, the $50,000 buy-in HORSE event, and the Main Event.

The tournament was played over three consecutive days. The final table was played on the main stage and was fi... Continue reading 2008 World Series of Poker: Event #50 Final Results

The Unseen Series: Off Hours at the 2008 WSOP

2008-07-02T13:40:00+00:00

There's never truly a down time at the World Series of Poker, once festivities begin. It's essentially a poker festival running for well over 1,200 consecutive hours, from the opening of the registration booths and satellite...

Gerry Ryan gives evidence in murder conspiracy trial

2008-07-02T13:06:03+00:00

RTE broadcaster Gerry Ryan has been giving evidence for the defence in the trial of a Clare woman and an Egyptian poker dealer accused of conspiring to murder her partner and his two sons.

UK Players Wins Titan Poker SNG Jackpot

2008-07-02T12:54:00+00:00

Titan Poker, the busiest skin on the massive iPoker network, have given away $36,000 to a player from the United Kingdom, just for winning a few sit and goes. Douglas Simmons scooped the prize

Bill would ban video-poker-style contests in North Carolina

2008-07-02T08:36:58+00:00

RALEIGH A House committee approved a bill Tuesday that would apply North Carolina's new video poker ban to an online sweepstakes that allows participants to play games resembling slot machines.

McAllen assistant principal faces charges for running home gambling ring

2008-07-02T04:05:22+00:00

A McAllen assistant principal who allegedly ran a gambling ring from his home was arraigned on criminal charges Monday.

2008 WSOP Event #51, $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Day 2: Hellmuth Retains Lead

2008-07-01T23:45:00+00:00

Phil Hellmuth is known as a hold'em specialist, perhaps the greatest hold'em player in the world. He has an astounding 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, all of them in various forms of hold'em. So it was considered a little unusual...

House bill bars sweepstakes-style video games

2008-07-01T23:32:18+00:00

Comments on Topix forums : RALEIGH House members say there's a loophole in the state's ban on video poker that needs to be closed.

2008 WSOP Event #50 $10,000 PLO Championship: Mizrachi Heads Final

2008-07-01T23:15:00+00:00

Day 2 of the $10,000 PLO Championship promised to be a long affair, and it delivered on that promise; it would take more than fourteen hours to reach a final table. Michael Mizrachi surged late in the session to take the lead...

2008 WSOP Event #52, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Day 1: Carberry, Zeidenfeld, Feming Chan Lead

2008-07-01T20:34:00+00:00

The last $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament of the 2008 World Series of Poker drew 2,693 players, each hoping to grab one of the few bracelets left to be won. After ten rounds of play, the field was slashed to just 228, all well inside...

2008 WSOP Day 33: Limited shootout action

2008-07-01T20:19:52+00:00

Scheduled as a two-day event, Event 53 will wrap on Wednesday, giving players plenty of time before the start of the first Day 1 of the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

Last year this event drew in 720 players to create a $983,800 prize pool. The lion's share of that money went to Ram Vaswani, giving him his first WSOP bracelet win.

The London pro has several final tables at events around the world on his poker resume, including European Poker Tour events and cashes in World Poker Tour events. However, the WSOP bracelet win was his first major tournament win.

Vaswani has also already made some waves at the 2008 WSOP by making the final table of the $10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight-or-Better event. He ended up in seventh place, and may be looking for redemption and another bracelet win in the Limit Hold'em Shootout.

The event may not draw as many participants this year, though. Last year the final event just before the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event only drew 78 players. It was, however, an event with less popularity than Hold'em - a 2-7 Draw Lowball World Championship.

One who might make the effort to play one last event before the Main Event because it is a Limit event is Daniel Negreanu.

Negreanu already won a bracelet in a Limit event this year, plus two of his other three bracelets are in Limit Hold'em events as well. He commented after his win this year that he's found that Limit Hold'em is a strong game for him.

"My track record, historically, is incredible in Limit Hold'em. I don't get to play them a lot because the other events outside of here are not Limit," Negreanu said.

"There's something special about Limit Hold'em tournaments in that people can't move in on me. [Laughs.] They got to see a flop; even if they three-bet me, every hand I play there's going to be a flop and that's really going to play into my strengths. That's basically what the whole small-ball concept is based on - Limit Hold'em principles. That's the core of the way that I think about poker: Limit Hold'em."

Stay tuned to the 2008 WSOP Live Tournaments section for all the action in this event and others that will be counting down to a winner before the Main Event gets started on Thursday.

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Poker Tour of the Americas announces six stops

2008-07-01T19:43:11+00:00

These cities include Vancouver, Canada, Tunica, Mississippi, San Jose, Costa Rica, Cartagena, Columbia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Quito, Ecuador.

Vega CEO Michael Herron says he is not concerned about the growing number of tournaments around the world and feels that his product will not only compete with other tournaments, but will stand out by featuring the largely unknown talent of South America.

"We've all seen the success that other tours like the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour have enjoyed and we feel that we can produce a first class tournament," Herron said.

"With the popularity that poker has achieved the past few years, this type of tour makes a lot of sense. There are some very good poker players in South America and we look forward to finding the next big name. Our timing couldn't be better. Poker is exploding in South America and Canada and combined with [its] popularity in the U.S., we feel the PTA will be a hit from day one."

These invitational events will welcome players from all over the world and offer the chance to win seats via online and live satellite tournaments. Herron is optimistic that the results will allow the tour to expand to eight events during its second season.

One of the ways the PTA's business models differs from other major poker tours is that Vega is not going to attempt to sell the program rights for the events. Rather, Vega will maintain ownership in order to benefit from advertising opportunities. According to Herron this will allow for maximum profitability.

"We will own the programming and will contract for the necessary time slots to air the one-hour shows," Herron said. "This will allow Vega to profit from the advertising, sponsorships, replays of the programming, and the tournament itself."

Early word is that the PTA has Bob "The Butcher" Clark lined up to do on-air commentary of the events.

"We are very fortunate and excited to have Bob involved in the Tour. We've worked with Bob for quite a while now and he was the obvious choice to provide commentary during the tournaments," Herron said.

"Not only is he one of the most colorful poker personalities in the world, he's a top-notch poker player himself and will add a very unique style of commentary. Bob also has many professional poker playing friends and plans to have a few of those friends make cameo appearances during the tournaments."

Related Article: Vega LAPT rebranded Poker Tour of the Americas

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Ho-Chunk Nation owes nearly $100 million, state says: Another fiscal...

2008-07-01T19:02:38+00:00

Ho-Chunk Nation owes nearly $100 million, state says: Another fiscal year passes without payment for casino operations Jul.

2008 WSOP Event #49, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em: J.C. Tran Wins First Bracelet

2008-07-01T18:56:00+00:00

J.C. Tran came into the finals of Event #49 with an impressive poker resume, including one WPT title, five WPT final tables, a second place in a WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event, and a PokerStars WCOOP Main Event title. Now he can...

2008 WSOP Day 33: Do you have the energy?

2008-07-01T18:11:00+00:00

However, today's action will also include a special tournament - the All-In Energy Tournament - featuring players who won an invitation to the event from the All-In Energy drink company.

There were three ways for players to qualify for the invitational event at the WSOP:

Poker fans could create an account at the All-In Energy drink site and receive an invitation to the tournament after purchasing at least 16 cases of All-In Energy drink through their accounts. The first 779 people to do so received an invitation.
The energy drink also hosted a contest for the top 1,000 All-In Energy drink customers to win a spot in the tournament. Every registered purchase of an All-In Energy drink earned customers "chips" in the contest, and the top 1,000 people with the most chips won an invite to the tournament.
The people with the top 20 chips in the contest also won VIP travel and accommodations for the tournament.
The final way to win an invitation was through the Wild Card Sweepstakes. The energy drink company awarded 200 invitations through a sweepstakes drawing.

The tournament will start at 11 a.m. at the Rio Las Vegas today. There is a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool, plus players can earn a $1,000 bounty for knocking out All-In Energy pros.

Some of the pros sponsored by All-In Energy include Bodog Poker pro David Williams, Team PokerStars member Chris Moneymaker, Full Tilt Poker's David Singer, plus Scotty Nguyen, Freddy Deeb, Phil Gordan and more. Who knows who will be there to play with the average Joes invited for the tournament.

There will also be plenty of pros to watch in the $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha and $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. events which will both play down to a winner today, as well as in the final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament for the 2008 WSOP.

For all the action and star-gazing you can handle, visit the 2008 WSOP Live Tournaments section.

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GoMukYaSelf wins PokerStars Sunday Million

2008-07-01T17:20:57+00:00

Not only did 6,521 players partake in the Sunday million this week, there was also plenty of action in the other special Sunday tournaments as well as in the latest $1 million Turbo Takedown.

Shaun Deeb also made the final table of the Sunday Second Chance event where he ended up in ninth place.

Here are the winners for each of the events:

Sunday Million

Based on finishing order and three-way deal.

Place	Name	Country	Prize
1st	GoMukYaSelf	United States	$135,334.75
2nd	supadphat	United States	$105,334.75
3rd	jalla79	Sweden	$105,334.75
4th	central106	Canada	$60,645.30
5th	PokerED	United States	$47,603.30
6th	aaaaaaaa	United States	$15,650.40
7th	KtheKing	Brazil	$23,475.60
8th	Patrolman35	United States	$15,650.40
9th	DumpingKGB	United States	$10,172.76

Sunday Warm-Up

Place	Name	Country	Prize
1st	nutshot2	United States	$79,950
2nd	Sir_winalot9	Norway	$57,500
3rd	mAAdScientst	United States	$41,500
4th	farfalla7	France	$28,000
5th	Sveden House	United States	$23,000
6th	LoneHixx	United States	$18,000
7th	JONAS 08	France	$13,000
8th	obywatel_g	Poland	$9,000
9th	spank01	United States	$5,500

Sunday Hundred Grand

Place	Name	Country	Prize
1st	redone611	United States	$18,640
2nd	winwin2	United States	$13,048
3rd	ykastu	Spain	$9,320
4th	Muggur9	Iceland	$7,456
5th	Spike1177	United States	$5,592
6th	TRiSTAN80	Netherlands	$3,728
7th	jr_status	United States	$2,796
8th	luvbambi	United States	$1,864
9th	trobling	United States	$1,398

Sunday Second Chance

Place	Name	Country	Prize
1st	LoneHixx	United States	$49,537.62
2nd	florian69	France	$36,322
3rd	Castro	Sweden	$27,940
4th	leafsstanley	Canada	$20,955
5th	gbecks	United States	$14,668.50
6th	Believer82	United States	$11,874.50
7th	ryanghall	Canada	$9,080.50
8th	potatopolice	United States	$6,286.50
9th	shaundeeb	United States	$3,911.60

$1 Million Turbo Takedown

Place	Name	Country	Prize
1st	dickson007	United Kingdom	$100,000
2nd	Chaesi	Switzerland	$60,000
3rd	Bratcat	United States	$40,000
4th	cRRusher	United States	$32,500
5th	Hustler730	United States	$25,000
6th	2 irmaos	Brazil	$20,000
7th	iupeli	Australia	$15,000
8th	YWEplay	United States	$10,000
9th	storty	Norway	$5,500

For more information about these and other events at the poker site, visit PokerStars.

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Final Results: 2008 World Series of Poker Event #49

2008-07-01T17:00:00+00:00

The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #49) attracted another huge field as 2,718 entries created a prize pool totaling $3,710,070. The top 270 finishers collected prize money.

There are 25 No-Limit Hold'em events on this year's schedule. This was the sixth of seven $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments on the schedule.

The tournament was played over three consecutive days. The final table was played on the main stage and was covered by Bluff Media for live broadcast on ESPN360.com.

Last year's champion for the event on the corresponding date was Chandrasekhar Billavara, from San Francisco, CA. He entered this event but did not cash. So far, 48 of 49 defending champions at this year's WSOP have failed to cash in their respective events. Blair Rodman was the lone exception.

The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em champion is the experienced poker tournament veteran J.C. Tran. He is a full-time profession... Continue reading Final Results: 2008 World Series of Poker Event #49

About the David Chip Reese $50K H.O.R.S.E. WSOP Trophy

2008-07-01T17:00:00+00:00

Awarded annually to the winner of the World Series of Poker $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. tournament.

Named after the inaugural event's winner David 'Chip' Reese, who won it in 2006, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest all-around poker players in history.

Soon after Mr. Reese's untimely death in December, 2007, the World Series of Poker announced that the $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. event will be played in Chip's honor and memory.

The trophy, debuting at the 2008 World Series of Poker, features five playing cards commemorating Chip's winning hand from the first H.O.R.S.E. championship. (4-4-7-7-A)

The five cards also represent the five disciplines making up H.O.R.S.E.

The trophy is engraved with: 'Standing the test of time' which is the remark 'Chip' made after his victory in this event when asked if he was the best player in the world. He answered in his typical humble fashion, 'No, I... Continue reading About the David Chip Reese $50K H.O.R.S.E. WSOP Trophy

Todays word is... Decorum

2008-07-01T17:00:00+00:00

I caution my students and those who follow my advice to be aware of how they present themselves at the poker table. Good ethics and proper decorum not only enhance the public image of poker but your profit, too.

Today, let's continue this series of columns in which I get to interview myself, asking and answering my own questions. If you're ready, I'm going to focus on how you should present yourself at the poker table.

Today's word is 'decorum,' and it is an aspect of poker too often misunderstood and overlooked as a method for making money.

Question 64: What's the wrong way to present yourself at the poker table?

The worst way to present yourself is as an unfriendly foe. When you ridicule opponents or complain, you make the game less fun for opponents. You might be thinking, 'Who cares if my opponents have fun?' Well, you should care. When opponents are having fun, they venture into more pots with weaker hands and you ... Continue reading Todays word is... Decorum

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2008-07-01T17:00:00+00:00

The good news is that Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota just announced that it will host the first annual Twin Cities Poker Open, a $1,500 buyin + $120 entry fee no-limit hold'em tournament, on Sunday, August 10th. Players can either buy their way into the finals, or earn their way in through one of the qualifying heats taking place on Wednesday August 6 through Saturday August 9. The top 20 percent of each qualifying heat-$300 buy-in + $40 entry fee-will earn a nontransferable seat into the finals with no additional entry fee. One-table satellites for both the heats and the finals will begin on August 4.

In March, Canterbury Park hosted the Minnesota State Poker Championship. The event featured a similar structure and drew 188 entrants for the championship with a $271,212 total prize pool.

'We are the Twin Cities poker leader, and are excited to offer our players this new tournament,' said Canterbury Park President Randy Sampson. Canterbury Park is h... Continue reading The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Surviving WSOP Fever

2008-07-01T17:00:00+00:00

It starts as restlessness when I pick up the latest issue of Poker Player Newspaper and see all the ads for tournaments in June and July. It grows to a rumbling in my brain as I read my many emails from poker rooms urging me to enter satellites for the main event. It then crescendos into a wave of uncontrollable desire to bask in poker glory by winning a championship bracelet. It's World Series of Poker fever. And I've caught it!

It happens to me every year, and I've been giving into it for the last half-dozen years or so. And now I've figured out how to do so in an affordable and even remunerative way. Here are the first steps I recommend you take, so you'll enjoy rather than suffer from this seasonal poker malady. First, determine the duration of your trip that's right for you. Poker eyes tend to be bigger than poker stomachs. Much as I think I'd like to join the folks who go for six weeks, I've learned that the combination of 24/7 poker action and sleeping in a strang... Continue reading Surviving WSOP Fever

Internet Statistics for Online Poker

2008-07-01T17:00:00+00:00

Do you play poker on the internet? Yeah, I thought so. Do you pull your personal playing statistics to review them on a regular basis?

Yeah, I didn't think so. Do you ever look at your playing stats and attempt to evaluate them? Jeez, I hope so and if you don't maybe you should start. It's a free service the poker sites offer, and something that isn't available to you in your live playing sessions.

If you're willing to spend a few bucks, you can even purchase a service that collects all your playing stats from multiple sites. These services offer much more depth and detail, but you should at least be reviewing the free poker site offerings. That being said, let's take a look at how your internet playing statistics can be useful and help you improve your game. The format differs from site to site but basically they all provide pretty much the same information.

First, I would like to state that what you glean from these statistics needs to be ... Continue reading Internet Statistics for Online Poker

World Series of Poker Daily Summary for June 30th, 2008

2008-07-01T16:00:00+00:00

Action continued in several events on Monday as the preliminary phase of the 2008 World Series of Poker moved closer to concluding, on the day first full day of action following Scotty Nguyen's popular triumph in Event #45, the #50,000...

Poker Musical Makes It's Debut at WSOP

2008-07-01T14:29:29+00:00

On July 3rd, the first day of the World Series of Poker Main Event, the Rio will be hosting a preview of a new musical.

Dr. Pauly at the 2008 WSOP: Scotty's Brother

2008-07-01T13:33:00+00:00

I stood about twenty feet away from the action when Scotty Nguyen busted out of the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event. Deep down, I was rooting for Scotty Nguyen. I think we all were. When Nguyen finished in 11th place...

Prosecution case in 'hitman' trial nears end

2008-07-01T10:07:01+00:00

A witness in the trial of a Clare woman and a Las Vegas poker dealer accused of conspiring to kill her partner and his two sons has said he felt intimidated and in shock when being interviewed by gardai, a jury ...

Man wins shot at World Series of Poker pot

2008-07-01T05:32:53+00:00

For most, the prospect of drawing a paycheque of nearly $10 million for pursuing a passion is a pipe dream.

2008 WSOP Day 32: Danish domination

2008-07-01T01:27:07+00:00

However, that's not all that's going on at the 2008 World Series of Poker at the Rio today. Two more events will play down to a final table today while the final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event gets under way.

Event 49

Players are dropping like flies in the sixth installment of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em events. The final table began play today at 2 p.m. with the top nine players and already four have had to bow out.

Rasmus Nielsen started the day with a fairly commanding chip lead of nearly $3 million to his nearest competitor's $1.4 million. He has since built that chip stack to about $5 million, and he hasn't gotten there by just sitting on his chip stack.

Nielsen, from Denmark, is showing the rest of the table that Danes know how to handle a big stack at a final table, bullying and pushing players around with his chips.

Meanwhile Christoph Kohnen, Robert Kalb, Jesper Hoog and Chad Siu have all been sent to collect payments for ninth through sixth places respectively.

That just leaves Peter Nguyen, J.C. Tran and Joe Pelton representing the United States and John Conroy from Ireland to try to defeat the Dane.

All the action can be found in the Event 49 live updates.

Event 50

Eighty-six came to play today and 36 will get paid as the $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha event continues its second day of play. They will continue to play down to the final table of nine, but at the moment, the battle is to just stay in it to make it into the money.

Some of the pros who just couldn't make it that far are Leif Force, Robert Williamson III, Humberto Brenes, Noah Boeken, Scott Clements, Ross Boatman, Bill Chen and more.

Josh Arieh is still enjoying being the chip leader for the time being, and other pros among the 50-plus still alive include David Singer, Kido Pham, Michael Mizrachi, Eddy Scharf, Johnny Chan, David Williams and Jeffrey Lisandro.

See for yourself who will make it through the day and who will inevitably have to just collect some cash as consolation for missing out on a bracelet win again. There will be plenty of coverage in the Event 50 live updates.

Event 51

There's never too much H.O.R.S.E.ing around at the WSOP. The $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. continues for its second day of play today.

It could be a long day, as 179 of the initial 803 players returned today, and after a couple hours of play, there are still more than 120 players battling. They need to get down to a final table of eight sometime today, and the money starts paying out at 80th place.

At the moment, Victor Ramdin seems to be at the top of the leaderboard. Phil Hellmuth started the day with the lead, but has slipped a bit to ninth place, while Ramdin moved up to his spot and now Chad Brown is settled into second place on the leaderboard as well.

Some of the players not lucky enough to still be in contention include Mary Jones, Chip Jett, Bryan Devonshire and Shannon Shorr.

Check out the action in the Event 51 live updates.

Event 52

The numbers are in for the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event that got started today and 2,694 brave souls were willing to take another crack at the event.

That field has already been narrowed to less than half with a few pros to report among the casualties. Justin Bonomo, Antonio Esfandiari, J.C. Alvarado, Chris Moneymaker, Marco Traniello, Isaac Haxton, Jennifer Tilly, Chad Batista, Max Pescatori, Sarah Bilney, Erik Seidel, Shannon Shorr and Roland De Wolfe are all out of the running.

Vanessa Rousso is off to a good start on Day 1, however, as she's already run her starting stack up to about $190,000 according to the worldseriesofpoker.com.

Some other pros to keep an eye out for are Erica Schoenberg, Phil Laak, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, David Pham, Mimi Tran, David "Devilfish" Ulliott, Humberto Brenes, Alex Jacob, Kathy Liebert, T.J. Cloutier, Erick Lindgren and others.

Catch all the action in the Event 52 live updates.

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