world series of poker

Dennis Phillips, the current 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event chip leader, will donate 1 percent of his tournament winnings to Prevent Cancer Foundation's "Bad Beat on Cancer" fundraiser after the Final Table event in November. PokerStars.net will match Phillips' donation to the Foundation dollar-for-dollar. As the first place payout is $9,119,517, the donation could tally $182,000 if Dennis takes the Main Event.

If you play poker at any competitive level then you know the name Phil Hellmuth. A poker player extraordinaire, Phil was the youngest Main Event winner in 1989, holds 67 cashes, and holds the record for the most cashes, which incidentally, includes four from this year’s World Series of Poker. A true Master of the Bluff, Hellmuth walked up to the WSOP table escorted by eleven military clad models each of whom represented one of the 11 championship Texas Hold'em bracelets he currently holds.

GigaMedia Limited today announced that the World Series of Poker -- sponsored by GigaMedia's Everest Poker product -- has successfully completed the first portion of the main event and will begin showing this week on ESPN television broadcasts.

After taking the poker world by storm just a short while ago by making it through an enormous field at this year’s World Series of Poker main event to finish 17th, Tiffany Michelle is not the subject of controversy over loyalty to Pokernews, her employer and sponsor for the event.

Apparently the 24-year-old actress turn poker player from Los Angeles wore an Ultimate Bet logo, in addition to the Pokernews logo, during the WSOP main event, though she had an exclusive agreement with Pokernews.

Michelle believes she did nothing wrong because many other players at the event could be seen wearing multiple logos, and claims that Pokernews is slandering her.

LAS VEGAS -- Chris Gibbons and Scott Erickson are two of the best bowlers in the Madison area.

Gibbons is a former pro who won a title on the Pro Bowlers Association Regional circuit -- pro bowling's minor league. And he and Erickson are on the team that ended up third in the top event at the 2008 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.

That said, neither has much interest in putting up the entry fee of a few hundred dollars to compete in tournaments against top pros like Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Pete Weber in the few open PBA Tour events.

As the final cards were being dealt  at this year's World Series of Poker* in Las Vegas , three Bodog online poker players were already being dealt seats to the  2009 WSOP* Main Event. The three seats are the first to be awarded by any  online poker site and were won in the final tournament of the Bodog Poker Mini  Series, a 25-tournament series mirroring the Holdem events at the World Series  in Las Vegas but with buy-ins equal to just one percent of the actual buy-in of  the WSOP* Main Event. 

The nine finalists have been selected in the World Series of Poker at Rio. Now comes an extended break. The event's conclusion doesn't happen until November and will be broadcast on ESPN. In fact, the change in the game from a relatively straight marathon to this suspenseful bridge was created for ESPN, according to the Review-Journal, "so ESPN can televise the results in a two-hour prime time special on a same-day taped coverage basis." In other words, a  gambling tradition was changed because of the obscure demands of cable television. That is fine; the tradition was designed to promote gambling, and ESPN is helping the cause.

LAS VEGAS -- Chris Moneymaker is widely credited as the catalyst of the American poker boom, his rise from unknown amateur to unlikely World Series of Poker champion unleashing a flurry of interest in the game.

The former accountant from Nashville won his $10,000 buy-in to the 2003 Main Event by winning an online tournament with a $40 entry fee. He bested a field of 829 with a mix of bluffs, luck and unrefined skill, knocking out such poker luminaries as Phil Ivey and Dan Harrington at the final table on his way to the $2.5 million first-place prize and coveted bracelet.

ESPN cameras caught every moment of the drama.

A convicted child predator that the US Government wants to deport back to Iran; a man convicted of trying to sell cocaine to undercover cops - These are the individuals participating in the 2008 World Series of Poker, and either men could be heading to the final table.  Add to this reports that one of this year's spectators is a main "person of interest" in the gruesome double homicide of

LAS VEGAS—An influx of international players has helped the World Series of Poker increase its numbers this year even as general visitation and gambling numbers have declined in Las Vegas.

Tournament spokesman Seth Palansky said Wednesday that the series attracted more players from other countries than ever before, giving it a boost despite a weak U.S. economy.

Players from 118 countries the series' 55 events, up from 55 last year. Scattered throughout the 6,844 total participants in the $10,000 buy-in main event were players from 72 different countries besides all 50 U.S. states.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) just announced the official schedule for its 2008-2009 season of circuit events, which are played the year at casinos that Harrah's owns throughout the United States.

The high-stakes poker tournaments provide poker enthusiasts of all levels the opportunity to compete on a regional basis in a variety of events that include the opportunity to win a seat in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas.

It’s too late for you to cash in on the more than $180 million dollars in prize money handed out by this year’s World Series of Poker, but for anyone who wants to follow the action online or catch the ESPN coverage starting July 22, here’s a primer on the richest event in “sports”.

The World Series of Poker Main Event is underway, where players are already analyzing the action and dreaming of winning poker’s most prestigious tournament. First place for the WSOP Championship is 9.12 million with a field of 6,844 and a total prize pool of 64.3 million.

PokerTek Inc. has hired professional poker player David Sklansky as a consultant.

Sklansky, a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, will advise the Matthews-based software company on its casino products. He has also authored or co-authored 13 books on poker and gambling theory.

PokerTek (NASDAQ:PTEK) is a software-development company that markets electronic tables where up to 10 people can play Texas Hold ’Em. The company’s PokerPro system deals cards, displays them on private screens to the players and displays general information on a large screen in the center of the table. It also enables customers to set up accounts for betting and keeps statistical information on the games.

LAS VEGAS — Poker professional Scotty Nguyen won nearly US$2 million at the World Series of Poker on Monday, topping a field of 148 players and emerging from a marathon final table with his fifth gold bracelet.

Nguyen beat out 23-year-old Michael DeMichele in H.O.R.S.E., a rotating-game tournament that cost $50,000 to enter.

The various games and limited betting structure reward all around play and is said to truly reward the best players over the long haul. Along with the main event, many players consider H.O.R.S.E. the most important tournament in the World Series of Poker.

Joe Commisso won the biggest single cash prize awarded so far at the 2008 World Series of Poker in Event 46, $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed.

Commisso won $911,855 after out lasting a field of 805 players and the longest heads-up match so far this year at the WSOP.

Commiso is a day trader who turned to poker, and has only been playing the game for three years, which is not a long time in poker. He said winning the tournament and the WSOP bracelet was a big deal for him, but he wasn’t sure he’d be playing in any more tournaments.

John Phan, professional poker player, took home his second bracelet of 2008 after winning World Series of Poker Event 40, $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw.

The final table was full of poker elites, because of the game’s obscurity, which included David Sklansky, poker author, Robert Mizrachi and Ben Ponzio, who both won bracelets last year, Shun Uchida and Gioi Luong.

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

Team Bodog poker player Aaron Kanter is at the final table of Event No. 36 of the 2008 WSOP. (Bodog Beat Image)

After battling through a field 0f 2,447 players the final table for Event No. 36 - $1,500 No Limit Holdem - was set early this morning at the 2008 WSOP, and one of the nine who made it to that final table was Team Bodog poker player Aaron "Gotcha55″ Kanter.

Best known for his fourth-place finish at the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, in which he cashed for $2 million, Kanter has racked up four WSOP cashes since then, including two this year alone. He has also built a solid reputation online for his prowess in massive multi-table online poker tournaments.

The $10,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split World Championship (Event #37) attracted 235 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $2,209,000. The top 27 finishers collected prize money.

This was the largest Omaha High-Low Split prize pool in poker history. In fact, only one previous event had ever surpassed the million-dollar mark – the $5,000 buy-in championship held at the 2006 WSOP. This Omaha High-Low Split tournament ranks as the only $2 million-plus prize pool on poker history.

Joe Hachem was born in Lebanon in 1966 and moved to Australia in 1972. He is the first Australian to win the WSOP, having won the main event in 2005 and pocketing $7.5 million. He is only the 4th non-American to have won the World Series of Poker. A former chiropractor, Hachem started playing poker online and at live events in Melbourne; since winning the big one at the WSOP, he now plays poker worldwide and has amassed impressive record-setting statistics. For instance, he is one of only four poker players to have won both the WSOP and the WPT.

Second Ante Up for Africa scheduled for July 2
 
A slew of big name poker pros and poker playing celebs will be supporting this year's Ante Up for Africa tournament, which has been scheduled for the afternoon of July 2 at the Rio in Las Vegas, taking advantage of the attention that the World Series of Poker is receiving at that venue.
 
This is the second run of the charity event, which was conceived by actor Don Cheadle and poker ace Annie Duke to raise money for the victims and bolster public awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan. In its inaugural run, the event raised a praiseworthy $700 000 for the cause, thanks to a stellar turnout of players and Hollywood celebrities, who donated at least half their winnings.

Gary Rich owns his own business, so he knows what it's like to take a risk. But putting $10,000 down for a buy-in to the World Series of Poker competition in Las Vegas is something the 39-year-old father of three could only dream about.

Fortunately for Rich, the Jacksonville Poker Association is making this particular dream come true for him.

The Orange Park resident and medical supply distributor came out on top in three competitions last year to claim the group's top prize: a $10,000 buy-in to the poker series and $1,000 to help cover expenses in the gambling capital of America.

Online poker games are a fun and exciting way to spend your time.  If you enjoy the game of poker, then online poker games are a great way to get enjoyment out of your relaxation time from the comfort of your own home.  You can play a game of poker online before you go to bed, pick a quicker online poker game for a stretch of free time or play online poker to win your seat and a chance at immortality by winning the 2008 WSOP. You can even play poker online while you are watching television and kicking back. 

Online qualifiers for the latest tranche of WSOP seats have started
 
The giant online poker group Poker Stars.com continued to make good on its promises to make thousands of World Series of Poker Main Event seats available to players this weekend with the launch of online qualifier tourneys that will provide two hundred $12 500 WSOP Main Event seat packages to skilled and fortunate visitors to its promotions.
 
In this tranche alone, the poker site has invested $2.5 million. The satellite has a $350+$20 buy-in with prize packages worth $12 500 that include the $10 000 buy-in for the Main Event plus travel and accommodations allowances.
 

Making poker history at this year’s World Series of Poker, two brothers, Blair and Grant Hinkle, each won their own WSOP bracelet.

This historic feat was accomplished when Blair won Event 23, $2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold ‘em, just 11 days after his brother Grant won Event 2, $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold ’em.

Blair took home $507,563 after beating a sizable field of 1,344 players.

“The one player I was worried about the most coming into today was Dustin Dirksen and taking him out was a huge jump for me, I was able to really pick up my game after that,” Blair said.

After the win, Blair was presented with a WSOP gold bracelet to match his brother’s.

Australia's king of cards has confirmed what many may have already suspected — most of the cast of Ocean's 13 can't play poker.

Poker supremo Joe Hachem, who won US$7.5 million ($7.9 million) at the World Series of Poker in 2005, played Texas Hold 'Em against the film's stars at Cannes in 2007.

But while Matt Damon and Don Cheadle showed some aptitude for the game, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and other cast members were completely out of their depth, Hachem told ninemsn.

"These guys are supposed to be action hero types and suddenly I walk in the room and they're looking a little frightened. But I wasn't there to take anyone's money," he said.

He is, undeniably, one of the biggest poker stars ever. But a four-year bracelet drought at the World Series had some questioning whether the one they call "Kid Poker," Daniel Negreanu, had the drive - or the game - to ever win one again.

Daniel Negreanu entered the World Series of Poker Event 20 final table with the third largest chip stack. While it took 19 hours of Day Two play to reach the final table, it only took a little over five hours for 'Kid Poker' to capture his fourth career bracelet.

Members of PocketFives.com brought home two gold bracelets in the first five events of the 2008 World Series of Poker,. In Event #2, Grant "drossxyu" Hinkle scored a win in the $1,500 no limit tournament, outlasting the fourth largest WSOP tournament field in history. A few days later, Michael "worldsgrtest" Banducci took home his first World Series bracelet in the $1,000 rebuy tournament, Event #5. PocketFivers once again showed why they're widely considered the top tournament poker players in the world.

The World Poker Tour and GSN have agreed not to continue their broadcast partnership starting next season.  In essence, this means that the WPT is without a home.  Probably not for long though!  When the World Poker Tour first started airing on the Travel Channel a few years back, it became that cable network's