Benyamine wins $180k pot from Hansen

David Benyamine has had a slow year to say the least.

The French Pot-Limit Omaha specialist has raked in millions at the high-stakes online games in the past, so it’s a bit of surprise that he’s down nearly $800,000 in 2009, especially considering PLO is played almost exclusively at the nosebleed stakes these days.

But by taking on all comers last night on Full Tilt, including Gus Hansen, Rafi “howitfellslike” Amit, luckexpress10, Phil Ivey and HarrisMP, Benyamine did his best to try and erase some of his losses.

In the biggest pot of the session, Benyamine and Hansen got it all-in on a Q 6 5 flop with straight draws and flush draws. Both players ended up making a straight, but Mr. B’s was bigger.

It’s unknown what exactly Benyamine left the tables with, but he did take at least two more pots worth over $50,000 from Hansen as The Great Dane’s disastrous downswing continues.

The Danish pro is now down nearly $900,000 after being up as much as $2 million in 2009.

One might think it’s been a bad year for Team Full Tilt Pros, but although he still finds himself down in the durrrr Challenge, Patrik Antonius is doing his best for the team, having already amassed approximately $4.5 million in profits online in 2009.

Check below to see videos of some of the best Hansen vs. Benyamine hands:

Nice hand, Mr. B.

Hansen gets one back.

More Benyamine.

Challenge the Sports Legends in The Bahamas with Absolute Poker

Are you a sports buff? If you are, then you will want to get to the Sports Legends Challenge!

Can you see yourself hitting the links with the super hitter Reggie Jackson? How about battling on the green felt with the likes of poker pro Annie Duke? Well thanks to Absolute Poker you could do both – on the same day!

Absolute Poker is running satellites right now where you can win a prize package to the PokerNews Sports Legend Challenge. This amazing event will be held at the luxurious Atlantis Paradise Island resort and casino in the Bahamas from September 14th through the 17th and you won’t want to miss it!

This inaugural history making event will see 25 legends from the professional sports arenas of Football, baseball, basketball, golf, mixed martial arts, hockey, boxing and skateboarding meet up in the sun drenched Bahamas. But they are not going just to have fun soaking up the sun – they are going to engage in the ultimate Sports Legends Challenge!

The PokerNews Sports Legends Challenge will be the thrill of a lifetime for poker playing sports fans and PokerNews is proud to be the sponsor for this incredible event. Tony G   showed his excitement for the upcoming event by saying, “This concept, allowing for anyone to be able to go play all kinds of great games with some of the most incredible names in sports and poker, only comes around once in a lifetime. PokerNews is ecstatic to be part of such a great event.”

But this event is not just for Legends, it is also for all future Legends, or those who are just Legends in their own minds – because anyone can attend!

Win a trip to the Sports Legends Challenge on Absolute Poker and you will be there on Paradise Island to do battle in a wide range of poker, blackjack, slots and golf tournaments with a total of up to $10 million dollars in prizes at stake! And in case you feel your poker game needs help, poker stars including Men “The Master” Nguyen, Layne Flack, Annie Duke, Mike Sexton, Jamie Gold, Johnny Chan and Antonio Esfandiari will all be on hand to coach you with valuable poker strategy tips.

The list of sports legends who are on board to attend include; Reggie Jackson, Joe Namath, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Tony Hawk, Randy Couture, Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, Ultimate Fighting Champion Chuck Liddell, Emmet Smith, Sugar Ray Leonard, Richard Petty and many more!

The Main Event in the Bahamas will be the PokerNews Sports Legends All-Star Poker Challenge, where sports legends, poker pros and everyday Joes will team up for an action packed winner-takes-all Grand Finale. And in true Sporting Event tradition, the Grand Finale will be filmed and then broadcast on the Fox Sports Network on the biggest sports day of the year – Thanksgiving Day.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the PokerNews Sports Legends Challenge Bruce Bibbero stated, “The PokerNews Sports Legends Challenge is one of the most elite and exclusive sporting events in the world, there has never been an event where sports fans can cross the line from spectator to competitor in a multi-day gaming and golf experience with 25 of the biggest names in U.S. sports history. It’s simply unprecedented.”

Poker and Sports fans who want to make sure they attend the PokerNews Sports Legends Challenge can visit www.sportslegendschallenge.com or call 404-869-5000 for more information. Prices for a ticket to this fabulous event start at $3,799 per person based on double occupancy, but play Absolute Poker and you could win your trip for just a few dollars! Just go to the Absolute Poker Lobby and look in the tournament section in the ‘Special’ tab for ‘Absolute Poker Sports Legends Special Giveaway’ for all of the satellite events.

Then win a prize package to the PokerNews Sports Legends Challenge for as little as a dime that will include:

•    Round trip air fare to and from the Bahamas.
•    Five night’s accommodation at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas.
•    $500 in spending money
•    Daily Golf Tournaments
•    Free Sit n’ Go tournaments awarding sports memorabilia prizes
•    FreeRoll tournaments
•    Sit n’ Go tournaments where you will play with all of the sports legends
•    Exclusive invitation to the opening draft party where you be assigned a Sports Legend team and meet your teams professional poker pro coach

Play today to win your PokerNews Sports Legends Challenge trip of a lifetime – only at Absolute Poker!

EPT Russia Stop Moves to Ukraine After Government Closes Casinos

The news was heard in gambling communities around the world, but it echoed in the poker community as PokerStars.com prepared to take its European Poker Tour into Moscow for its first ever EPT Russia stop. Russia was shutting down its casinos via orders from the Kremlin, and the harsh news was met by surprise as the gaming industry, specifically poker, had been growing at a phenomenal rate over the past few years.

When the news came of the shutdown, PokerStars released no statement right away, as tour organizers attempted to assess the seriousness of the situation and the original decision to host its first tournament of Season 6 in Moscow. Ultimately, weeks after the July 1 deadline for Russia’s casinos to close their doors, PokerStars released a statement to acknowledge that the EPT event was moved to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

The dates of the tournament changed little, as the original start date of August 17 was changed to the 18th, but the event will still run through August 23, and the buy-in will now be in Euros instead of Rubles – 5,000 Euros to be exact. Kiev Sports Palace will host the tournament, which is now called the EPT Kiev Sports Poker Championship, and it will be regulated by the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth, Family and Sport in coordination with the Ukrainian Poker Federation. The tournament looks to be the largest poker event ever held in the Ukraine.

A statement to players accompanied the announcement from PokerStars: “Euro Poker Tour Ltd. sincerely apologises to all players who were intending to attend the Moscow event, but unfortunately these circumstances were beyond our control. Players are encouraged to consider attending the Ukrainian event instead, and to participate in the opening of the EPT’s sixth season.”

In addition, players were advised that any awarded packages from the PokerStars website would be honored in Kiev, but players could also choose to accept a credit for another future EPT event or request the cash equivalent value of the package.

The crackdown on Russian casinos was not a complete surprise, as Vladimir Putin introduced plans in 2006 to shut down casinos around the country, though at the time it was thought to be somewhat of a rogue move, and Putin’s views were not shared by many in Russia. But Putin claimed that the industry was severely under regulated, and as opposed to pushing for more regulation, he felt the best option was to close them and revoke their licenses. Casinos have done their best to put off the closures, which worked until Russian President Dmitri Medvedev agreed with the decision and ordered the shutdown to be effective July 1, 2009. The only option offered to casino operators was to relocate their facilities to one of four remote regions of Russia, including Siberia.

In all, more than 40 casinos have been closed upon the government’s orders, and according to the gambling industry, more than 400,000 people have lost their jobs. While casino executives continue to discuss options with the government, such as the possible legality of poker-only clubs that will be privately owned, the vast majority of the casino industry has been put out of business indefinitely.

Accomplishments of the PPA During National Poker Week

The Poker Players Alliance announced it in June of 2009 and set out to accomplish quite a bit during National Poker Week. Not only was there to be an online poker petition delivered to President Barack Obama, but PPA state directors and poker pros planned to make a trip to Washington, D.C. between July 19 and 25 to lobby Congress for their support on pro-poker legislation. That week has now passed, and the PPA is calling it a rousing success.

The week started on a high note when PPA Chairman and former Senator Alfonse D’Amato went on the Howard Stern show on the morning of July 20, at which time Stern declared that he became a member of the PPA. D’Amato responded with a press release, which stated: “I can’t think of a more fitting way to kick off National Poker Week than having my friend, Howard Stern, become a member of the PPA. I think him for having me on his show this morning and for supporting the PPA’s efforts to protect the freedom of American citizens to play the great game of poker at the time and place of their choosing – a freedom Congress voted to take away… With Howard Stern as a member of the PPA, it shows Congress and the public that protecting internet poker is about more than just poker – it’s about protecting internet freedom and personal responsibility.”

Another highlight of the week came when the PPA hosted a charity tournament to benefit the USO on Tuesday, July 21. The event was held at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill and was attended by about 30 wounded armed service veterans, as well as members of Congress like Pete King of New York, Xavier Becerra of California, and Shelley Berkley of Nevada. Many poker pros were also in attendance, such as Greg Raymer, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Linda Johnson, and Dennis Phillips. Celebrity and poker player Montel Williams also contributed and took a seat in the tournament.

The PPA presented an initial check to the USO for $25,000, and as the night went on, an additional $10,000 was raised through donations and tournament rebuys. All of this went to benefit the Washington, D.C. Metro USO, which provides programs and services for wounded warriors and their families after they receive treatment at local medical centers.

PPA Executive Director John Pappas noted, “The Poker Players Alliance is proud to support USO-Metro and all they do for recovering servicemen and women and their families. It was our honor to host the wounded warriors, and we are grateful to the members of Congress and professional players who came out to the tournament to show their support.” USO-Metro President Elaine Rogers added, “We are thankful to the PPA for their generous donation and a great event.”

The majority of the week consisted of poker pros, 33 PPA state directors, more than 17 other PPA members, and lobbying firms working together to speak to members of Congress and/or their staffers about the current Barney Frank legislation and upcoming Senate bill to be introduced by Senator Menendez, the latter of which will be similar to his 2008 legislation that called specifically for the regulation of poker as a game of skill. According to the PPA, more than 100 such meetings were held. In addition, a briefing hosted in part by the PPA on Monday to discuss the benefits of such legislation was attended by 70 Congressional staffers and interested parties.

Outside of Washington, the poker community boasted of successes of its own. The Poker Petition delivered to President Obama contained 375,769 virtual signatures. And poker enthusiasts around the United States sent nearly 200,000 letters and e-mails to members of Congress during National Poker Week. Those activities complimented three print ads that the PPA pushed in an online and print advertising campaign to let Congress know that poker should be an American freedom, and the only politics involved should involve licensing and regulation. Despite Capitol Hill’s focus on extremely pressing issues like health care reform and America’s recession, members of Congress did receive a loud and clear message from their constituents: Poker is important, and the rights of players must be protected.

D’Amato commented on the week of poker-centric activities: “From the more than 100 meetings with members and staff to the charity tournament that raised $35,000 for our wounded warriors, I’d say National Poker Week was a rousing success. Congress is preparing for hearings this fall on the licensing and regulation of the game we love, so I urge all PPA members to continue this activism and enthusiasm so our elected officials can take their marching orders and fight to protect our game.”

It is not to late to make your voice heard, and as D’Amato mentioned, our message must remain strong as the weeks lead up to legislative hearings scheduled for September. Visit the PPA website to get in touch with members of Congress, the President of the United States, and local officials to send messages of support for pro-poker legislation.

Scott Ian’s Home Game – UltimateBet Promotion

Get ready to rock the UltimateBet poker tables in the encore performance of Scott Ian’s Home Game, an online poker tournament, on August 19th at 21:00ET. Swap your guitar chips for poker chips to win one of 11 exclusive seats in Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian’s Home Game where you could find yourself seated next to rock legends and poker pros, and shooting for the stars in the ultimate Rock ‘n’ Roll Sit-and-Go for a trip to the Aruba Poker Classic.

“UltimateBet players showed huge support for my first Home Game on UB back in March,” stated UltimateBet pro Scott Ian, who was reached for comment on a break from play during the 2009 WSOP Main Event. “With an Aruba Poker Classic package up for grabs this time, expect the competition to be fierce.”

The star-studded line up in Scott Ian’s Home Game is headlined by Scott Ian of Anthrax, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Vinnie Paul of Pantera, and rock legends Kirk Hammett and Greg Tribbett of Mudvayne, who are set to put their own unique metal edge on the UB Hold’em tables, where online poker players will be able to chat with the rock stars through the UltimateBet software’s chat feature.

Rounding out the list of poker legends featured in the Texas Hold’em tournament are 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and World Poker Champion Annie Duke.

Online poker players are invited to secure their spot in the Scott Ian Home Game Main Event Qualifier via daily satellites at 22:30 ET for as little as 1000 UltimatePoints, with each one paying out one seat for every ten players entered. Winners will receive automatic entry to the August 18th 10,000 UltimatePoints Main Event, where 10 seats in Scott Ian’s Home Game are at stake. One additional seat will be offered up to UB’s VIP players through a special invitation-only online poker freeroll.

The top five places in the Scott Ian Home Game will be awarded a range of prizes and tournament entries, including an $8,500 Aruba Poker Classic prize package to go to the Home Game champion, plus Scott Ian will have a $200 bounty on his head.

The 18-player Sit-n-Go is sure to fill even faster this time around, and with only 11 seats available exclusively at UltimateBet, players should be quick to get in on the action. A full rundown on the tournament schedule for Scott Ian’s Home Game can be found at UltimateBet.com.

Main Event Day 8: November Nine Set With Moon in Lead and Ivey in Spotlight

The last day of the World Series of Poker summer had arrived. It was Wednesday to everyone else in the world, but at the Rio’s Amazon Room, it was the final day of the summer and the opportunity to play poker well enough to make it to the most coveted final table in all of poker.

There were 27 players at the start of July 15, and the plan was to play down to the final nine. It was going to be a long afternoon that would lead into night and possibly lead into the next morning, and the started with Darvin Moon in the chip lead and all players seated as follows:

(Table 1)
Seat 1:  Jesse Haabak          2,750,000
Seat 2:  Ian Tavelli          4,385,000
Seat 3:  James Calderaro      6,475,000
Seat 4:  Jonathan Tamayo      3,300,000
Seat 5:  Warren Zackey          5,485,000
Seat 6:  Eric Buchman        10,005,000
Seat 7:  Leo Margets          1,530,000
Seat 8:  Tommy Vedes          5,070,000
Seat 9:  James Akenhead      8,615,000

(Table 2)
Seat 1:  Phil Ivey        11,350,000
Seat 2:  Jeff Shulman        10,170,000
Seat 3:  George Caragiorgas      1,615,000
Seat 4:  Nick Maimone          1,545,000
Seat 5:  Andrew Lichtenberger      5,625,000
Seat 6:  Marco Mattes          5,285,000
Seat 7:  Joseph Cada          6,565,000
Seat 8:  Darvin Moon         20,160,000
Seat 9:  Jordan Smith          4,510,000

(Table 3)
Seat 1:  Jamie Robbins          9,795,000
Seat 2:  Antonio Esfandiari      4,470,000
Seat 3:  Francois Balmigere      1,440,000
Seat 4:  Ludovic Lacay          5,610,000
Seat 5:  Steven Begleiter    11,885,000
Seat 6:  Ben Lamb          9,410,000
Seat 7:  Antoine Saout        11,135,000
Seat 8:  Kevin Schaffel        11,245,000
Seat 9:  Billy Kopp        15,970,000

Action began with one of what would be many double-ups that would ensure a very long Day 8. Balmigere started it off by doubling through Lamb with A-Q versus the pocket kings of Lamb when an ace hit on the turn. And Tavelli doubled through Akenhead. The action certainly kept the fans on their feet and the media on edge.

The first actual elimination of the day came earlier than expected, and it took a name out of the field that could have created a new rush for poker. Leo Margets, the last woman standing in the tournament, pushed preflop with her relative short stack and A♠-7♥. Warren Zackey called with A♥-10♥, and the board came 4♣-8♦-10♠-4♥-2♣ to end Margets’ goal of making the final table. It was a deep run for the Spanish woman who garnered much media attention for being the last woman standing and playing a respectable game over the past eight days. Margets took $352,832 for her 27th place finish.

Other bustouts in the same payout level included:

26th place:    Jesse Haabak, eliminated by Zackey
25th place:    Francois Balmigere, eliminated by Kopp

It was soon after that the magic stopped. Late in the first full level of the day, Antonio Esfandiari got involved with Begleiter preflop to see the first three cards unfold as 4♣-2♦-10♦. Esfandiari bet out, but Begleiter raised to more than 1.6 million. Esfandiari raised all-in for about 2.5 million more with pocket fives, but Begleiter called with K♣-10♣. The turn of 6♥ and river of A♠ ended the tournament for Esfandiari, and he disappeared in 24th place with $352,832.

As players took their first break of the day, they returned to find that Billy Kopp was the undisputed chipleader with 27,800,000. The closest contender at that point was Darvin Moon and his stack of 16,800,000.

The next level found more eliminations, as follows:

23rd place:    Marco Mattes, eliminated by Cada
22nd place:    Warren Zackey, eliminated by Tavelli
21st place:    Jonathan Tamayo, eliminated by Buchman
20th place:    George Caragiorgas, eliminated by Maimone
19th place:    Tommy Vedes, eliminated by Buchman

And then things got interesting. Not only did the payouts increase to the new amount of $500,557 for the next three players, rising substantially from there on out, but the last 18 players were relocated to two final tables.

(Table 1)
Seat 1:  Phil Ivey
Seat 2:  Ian Tavelli
Seat 3:  Steve Begleiter
Seat 4:  Antoine Saout
Seat 5:  James Akenhead
Seat 6:  Eric Buchman
Seat 7:  Joe Cada
Seat 8:  Jamie Robbins
Seat 9:  Nick Maimone

(Table 2)
Seat 1:  Ben Lamb
Seat 2:  Kevin Schaffel
Seat 3:  Jordan Smith
Seat 4:  Andrew Lichtenberger
Seat 5:  Jeff Shulman
Seat 6:  Darvin Moon
Seat 7:  James Calderaro
Seat 8:  Billy Kopp
Seat 9:  Ludovic Lacay

Just as play was thought to be slowing down, Andrew Lichtenberger started a hand with Darvin Moon to see a 3♦-3♣-6♣ flop. Lichtenberger led out, but when Moon raised, Lichtenberger reraised all-in holding pocket jacks. Moon quickly called, however, with pocket kings, the better overpair. The 6♠ on the turn and 7♦ on the river didn’t help Lichtenberger, who finished in 18th place for $500,557.

That victory pushed Moon up to nearly 25 million chips and back into contention with Kopp, who had pushed far into the chip lead earlier in the day.

During the latter part of the level, play sped up a bit. The next to go was Ian Tavelli, who decided to stick around during a preflop raising war to see the 6♠-4♥-2♣ flop. Begleiter bet big, and Tavelli moved all-in for a whopping 7.705 million chips with pocket nines. Begleiter called with the dominating pocket kings. The Q♣ on the turn was meaningless, as was the 10♣ on the river, knocking Tavelli out in 17th place with $500,557 for the effort.

And then came a big hit to French poker players, fans and media. Popular rising star Ludovic Lacay had been unable to gain much momentum on Day 8 and finally responded to Jeff Shulman’s raise with an all-in reraise for his last 3.09 million. Shulman showed A♠-K♠, and Lacay turned over pocket sevens for the race. But the flop hit Shulman with 9♦-K♥-5♠, and Lacay’s chances decreased. The turn of 9♥ and river of 6♣ ended the tournament for Lacay in 16th place, which was worth $500,557.

After a brief break, the 15 remaining players returned with Begleiter having taken over the chip lead, holding nearly 28 million. Moon was steadily cruising in second place with more than 21 million, and Jordan Smith catapulted himself into third place and sat with more than 18 million.

About an hour into the level, it was Nick Maimone who got involved with Eric Buchman to see a J♣-10♠-8♣ flop. Maimone was the initial bettor, but Buchman check-raised all-in. Maimone called all-in for his last 4,505,000 with A♥-Q♥, and Buchman showed J♦-9♦. The J♠ came on the turn to give Buchman trip jacks, and the Q♠ river gave Buchman the straight. That left Maimone out in 15th place with $633,022 after the recent money jump.

The dinner break was next on the agenda, and it was a much-needed break to a day that was already feeling a bit long. When they returned, they found themselves with the following chip counts:

(Table 1)
Seat 1:  Phil Ivey          7,325,000
Seat 3:  Steven Begleiter     27,260,000
Seat 4:  Antoine Saout        12,420,000
Seat 5:  James Akenhead      5,090,000
Seat 6:  Eric Buchman        28,670,000
Seat 7:  Joe Cada        19,465,000
Seat 8:  Jamie Robbins          1,340,000

(Table 2)
Seat 1:  Ben Lamb          5,200,000
Seat 2:  Kevin Schaffel        10,630,000
Seat 3:  Jordan Smith        18,840,000
Seat 5:  Jeff Shulman        15,500,000
Seat 6:  Darvin Moon        23,800,000
Seat 7:  James Calderaro      5,000,000
Seat 8:  Billy Kopp        13,500,000

After the post-dinner coma wore off and the players looked to gamble again, it was Ben Lamb who started the action and Jeff Shulman who reraised. Lamb called all-in with A♠-J♠, but Shulman showed the dominating hand of A♦-K♠. When the flop came 9♥-K♦-3♠, there was little hope for Lamb, and the 7♦ on the turn and 2♥ on the river made it so. Ben Lamb took leave of the tournament in 14th place, which was worth a solid $633,022 payday.

Only moments later, there was another stack of chips at risk. James Calderaro pushed preflop for his 2.5-million stack with K♥-J♠, and Kevin Schaffel called from the big blind with pocket tens. The board came 2♠-Q♣-5♠-Q♠-5♦ to end it for Calderaro, who finished the tournament in 13th place for $633,022.

In an amazing fall from grace, the next player to be eliminated came as a surprise to almost everyone in the room. From a dominating chip position at the beginning of the day and many points throughout, he was still strong going into the hand in question. Billy Kopp started it with a raise, and Darvin Moon called to see the K♦-9♦-2♦ flop. Kopp bet out, and Moon check-called. But after the turn of 2♥, Kopp bet once again, only to find Moon ready to check-raise to 6 million. Kopp reraised all-in for 20 million chips with 5♦-3♦, which made for a flush. But Moon called with Q♦-J♦ and the much better flush. The 7♣ on the river ended the tournament for Kopp, and he went to the payout room to collect $896,730 for his 12th place finish.

The Kopp elimination left Moon with 45 million chips and an astounding chip lead.

It wasn’t long before another player moved, though this time it was short-stacked Jamie Robbins. He was holding K♣-Q♠ and pushed all-in, and Phil Ivey called with A♥-10♥. The board came 8♠-3♠-3♦-3♥-5♣, and Ivey collected the pot while Robbins proceeded to collect $896,730 for the 11th place finish.

It was an amazingly quick playdown thus far, but no one could predict how long it would take to eliminate the last player. There was a break in the action so the final ten players could be seated at the one ESPN feature table, and once the player announcements were made to the jam-packed audience sections, play resumed at approximately 10:20pm with the following seating and chip counts:

Seat 1:  Darvin Moon        44,300,000
Seat 2:  Jordan Smith        15,430,000
Seat 3:  James Akenhead      5,100,000
Seat 4:  Phil Ivey            10,210,000
Seat 5:  Kevin Schaffel        13,080,000
Seat 6:  Steven Begleiter    26,495,000
Seat 7:  Eric Buchman        36,780,000
Seat 8:  Joe Cada        13,400,000
Seat 9:  Antoine Saout        10,200,000
Seat 10:  Jeff Shulman        17,900,000

And it didn’t even take an hour. Some cautious play launched the final table, but that stopped when Moon and Smith went to see a rather expensive flop of 8♣-4♦-2♦. Moon bet 4 million chips, at which point Smith check-raised all-in with pocket aces. But Moon called with pocket eights and the set. The turn of 5♥ and river of 10♥ changed nothing, and Jordan Smith was eliminated in tenth place with $896,730.

With that, the November Nine were set. The nine players remaining at the table posed for photos and eventually bagged their chips as follows:

Seat 1:  Darvin Moon        58,930,000
Seat 2:  James Akenhead      6,800,000
Seat 3:  Phil Ivey              9,765,000
Seat 4:  Kevin Schaffel        12,390,000
Seat 5:  Steven Begleiter    29,885,000
Seat 6:  Eric Buchman        34,800,000
Seat 7:  Joe Cada        13,215,000
Seat 8:  Antoine Saout          9,500,000
Seat 9:  Jeff Shulman        19,580,000

The players were in for 24 hours of photo shoots and interviews but likely anxious to get to their respective homes to rest. More will be known in the coming months about the November Nine, including their journeys to the coveted WSOP final table and plans for its completion.

WSOP Event #57: Day 3 With Trader, Allanon and Nazgul

Three out of four of Team PokerStrategy.com players took their seats on Day 3 of the Main Event. Many pros were also seen at the tables, including Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier who did amazingly well.

Team PokerStrategy.com was well represented on Day t3, with three out of four players still in the race for the most desired bracelet of them all. Trader, Nazgul and Allanon were all going to fight for the biggest prize of the year. They all started with decent stacks, hovering a bit above average for Nazgul and Trader, and just below average for Allanon.

A total of 1,718 players appeared on the start of Day 3 and only around 800 of them managed to advance into Day 4. The first 648 places, top ten percent, will be paid out. So on Day 4, we can expect the play to reach the bubble in the second or third blind level.

Many top pros took their seats on Day 3, including Phil Ivey, John Juanda and the most successful of them all for the day – the French Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. He finished the day in the chip lead with 1,385,000 in chips, followed by his fellow country man Ludovic "Cuts" Lacay that has 925,000 in chips.

Day 3 was also marked by some interesting tables, such as the one with 2005 WSOP Champ Joe Hachem and the 2009 triple-bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro. Due to such notable names, this table was instantly moved to the ESPN feature table at the start of the day.

Five Years for Poker Room

Online poker room Full Tilt Poker is celebrating their fifth year in the business this year, and they have a new promotion running for ten days to honor it. Called FIVE, the promo will give players a number of new advantages, such as the ability to earn up to 5x the number of loyalty points as normal. There will be more special surprises, such as a large number of freerolls. The first freeroll ran on Thursday, July 9, and capped out before the event began, making it one of the largest in Full Tilt Poker history.

Goldman Sachs: US Online Gambling To Be Worth $12 Billion

In an investment note issued to investors recently, Gold Sachs predicted that the US online poker and casino markets will soon be legal and could be worth $12 billion.

In an investment note published recently, Goldman Sachs predicts that online poker and casinos will eventually be legalized in the United Stated. The 140 year old financial services giant also predicted that rapid growth will follow the legalisation, creating a combined marketplace that could be worth $12 billion.

The report stated that the US poker market was worth $1.5 billion in 2008, based on calculations taken from Party Gaming’s rake relative to its 9% market share. It stated that, “Were the market to be legalized, we believe that the size of the revenue opportunity could increase materially.”

“Based on an assumption of 30% penetration of offline poker players and $300 gross gaming revenue (GGR) per player, we estimate that a legal poker market could be worth $3 billion,” it continued. If the penetration were to increase to 45% and GGR to $400 per player in both the poker and casino markets, each of them would generate $6 billion in revenues.

Norwegian Poker Players in an away Game

The person who was crowned as this week’s Norwegian poker champion was Mr. Henrik Tollefsen. He was crowned at the Dusk Till Dawn poker club in Nottingham, UK. The reason was , the respective authorities of Norway still cling to the old laws which still remains and the wanted to keep these poker related activities somewhere else. So because of that these activities were held in United Kingdom.

So because of it, the tournament was held in U.K and Mr. Henrik Tollefsen, Managed to win a grand prize of USD 124,000. Since he won the tournament and now he has a chance to participate in the upcoming world poker championship also. Any they have sponsored to Mr. Henrik Tollefsen for his U.K tour and it was packed with really enjoyable activities.

During the final battle of Mr. Henrik Tollefsen, the opponent was Orjan Skommo. So the casino game was bit complicated to explain since the both of them are well known professional in poker games. However Mr. Henrik Tollefsen, managed to win the game with some experts moves finally. Along with professional moves he made, his luck also helped him. As the poker is a game of luck. However the runner up of the game Orjan Skommo, also have a grand prize of USD 72,500 totally.

Anyway the final thing everyone needs to be concern about is, the poker game is not a game which can be win by doing practicing game whole life and you must be some kind of lucky person to win the game. Also you must know some professional moves to use during the game play.

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