• Home
• Poker Reviews
• Poker Bonus
• Poker Strategy
• Poker Rules
• Poker Players
• Mac Poker

• Poker Freerolls
• Poker News

Subscribe

Hellmuth’s Dozen

The $2,500 Seven-Card Razz Event at the 2012 WSOP will go down in history simply because Phil Hellmuth, Jr. finally won his 12th WSOP bracelet, proving that hope is alive. And it wasn’t an easy feat either. Hellmuth earned it. Six of the final eight finishers were WSOP bracelet winners with 20 combined victories among them.

Late Sunday night, the event culminated in front of a packed house, half of which seemed to be cheering for Hellmuth, according to WSOP.com, while the other half may have been cheering against him, as he’s not the most loved poker pro in the game, but who cares?

Hellmuth has more WSOP gold bracelets than any other poker player ever. This bracelet proves that Hellmuth isn’t going anywhere. Once a poker legend, always a poker legend. He scored a $182,793 prize for his win and now holds a two-bracelet lead over Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, tied for 2nd all-time bracelet holders with 10 each.

The irony though is that Hellmuth’s forte, Hold ‘em, was not the focus of this event. In fact, every other bracelet he’s won was some sort of Hold ‘em—PLH, NLH, LH, but this time the Hold’em master mastered Seven-Card Razz. Lovingly known as the “Poker Brat,” Hellmuth’s reputation precedes him as arguably the most famous player in the world, but also the most detested player in the world by many due to his “bratty” attitude and self-relishing personality.

After a stint of playing not the best poker and coming in second at three WSOP events last year, Hellmuth had fallen on hard times. But this win should be the sign that poker legends of yesteryear are making a comeback, challenged by the young gun phenomenon of barely legal poker pros fresh off the high-stakes tables at PokerStars.

But five years after his 11th bracelet win—to the day—Hellmuth went face to face with Don Zewin and the possible 12th bracelet while many thought he’d finish second once again. Zewin actually finished third to Hellmuth 23 years ago when he won the 1989 WSOP World Championship. Then when the suspense was so thick it could’ve been sliced with a knife, it happened very quickly and one card sealed the fate of Hellmuth to the dismay of many, but not to Hellmuth. For it could’ve very well been in the top three very best nights of his life, if not the very best.

Viktor Blom’s First WSOP Event

Unfortunately, Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, world-renowned in the online poker realm, didn’t fare too well in his first attempt at a World Series of Poker bracelet. Blom, 21, headed into his first WSOP event with the world at his fingertips, and while fans of Blom were hoping that the lovable online poker phenomena would start off the series with a bang, it just didn’t happen at what was his first live tournament appearance ever in the US.

At the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) last January, Blom proved that he was just as good offline than on when he won the $100K Super High Roller event and scored a $1.2+ million prize. He then went on to win twice at this year’s PokerStars’ SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker). It is these feats that make it even more disappointing that Blom fizzled out in his WSOP debut.

Event #12 started out with a 152-player field and after only three rounds and one day, that number was decreased to 32. Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey didn’t have success in this event either.

Ultimately, Brian Hastings, 23, from Hanover Township, Pennsylvania took his first WSOP title and gold bracelet when he won eight matches straight and collected $371,498. Twenty-four-year-old Jason Ho from St. Louis came in second and won a $229,722 prize.

Nevada to Issue First Online Gaming License

It recently became known that the honor of the first US online gambling license will be given to Bally Technologies. Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) chairman Mark Lipparelli says it’s “another step forward, but it’s not the last.” Bally’s application for licensure was unanimously accepted by all three members of the NGCB.

VP for Bally Technologies business development John Connelly explained that as many as 50 (mostly Vegas-based) casinos have expressed interest in purchasing or leasing Bally’s system in order to provide players with online or mobile casino play. However, before this is possible, according to Connelly, the software must be tested to ensure that the software will restrict online gaming to Nevadans who are 21 years of age and older and that those who do not meet this criteria will not be able to access the system in any way, as US federal law allows online wagers to be received in Nevada only and requires that bettors be age 21 or older.

Connelly also added that he believes mobile online betting will become increasingly popular in the near future as people are already using mobile devices for more than two and a half hours per day.

Bally’s system is customizable for casinos so that they can adjust games offered to include online poker, slots, bingo, sports betting, video poker, and table games. Casinos may also decide for themselves how to collect wagers from online customers.

According to legal rep for Bally Technologies Mark Lerner, Nevada had already enacted these gambling laws 10 years ago and now many US states will soon follow. The Nevada Gaming Commission has final say on the license though, which will take place in Las Vegas at a meeting to be held on the 21st of this month. He also mentioned that Chiligaming, based in France, has sold their online gaming system to Bally, though they didn’t buy Chiligaming. And Bally has recruited some Chiligaming execs after in-depth investigations have cleared Chiligaming from ever having offered illegal online gambling to US players.

WSOP Circuit Gold Ring Winner Wins WSOP Gold Bracelet

Semi-pro poker player Nick Jivkov realized the WSOP motto, “First the ring, then the bracelet,” a slogan that persuades poker players to go for the WSOP circuit ring during the nine months that the WSOP is not in session. The 34-year-old business owner from Illinois has been fervently following the National Circuit and has cashed 10 times in a variety of WSOP Circuit tourneys in the past couple years, winning a gold ring in 2010 in Biloxi. He had not cashed at a WSOP event until this year.

The game was PLH and Jivkov finally earned his first WSOP gold bracelet and a prize of nearly $190K.

Jivkov, originally from Bulgaria, owns a transportation company in Chicago and has two daughters, age 6 and 12. Before winning Event #5, he had amassed $136K in live earnings.

Jivkov had a chip lead about halfway through the final session for which a crowd had grown around the ESPN Main Stage primarily to see Daniel Negreanu who was close to scoring his fifth gold bracelet, but alas he did not succeed, much to the relief of Jivkov who had taken over about 60% of the chips by the time there were four players left.

Bryan Pellegrino came in second with a $117K+ prize and no bracelet. Negreanu finished 5th.

On the difference between the WSOP and other live tournaments, Jivkov told WSOP.com, “To be honest with you, I found myself much more composed and much more patient and not nervous than what I was expecting.”

Vegas Sees First WSOP Bracelet of 2012

The 2012 World Series of Poker is well underway, and the first gold bracelet of the year has been awarded to Event #1 Casino Employees Championship winner Chip Saechao. The 35-year-old Blackjack dealer from California, who came to the US from Thailand at the age of 15, beat out 731 other players, down from last year’s 850 registrants. Whether or not a slight decrease in participation will be a repeating pattern throughout the remainder of the series is yet to be determined.

Saechao, won $70,859 in addition to the coveted WSOP bracelet, while the $43,754 second place prize went to Floridian Patricia Baker, who would have broken the four-year run of all male bracelet winners since Vanessa Selbst won a WSOP bracelet in the Ladies World Championship.

Saechao said of his trophy, “I plan to wear it and show it off. Not too many can come over here to Las Vegas and go back home with this.”

At first, he only intended to play cash games during this year’s WSOP, but a last minute change of heart led him to go for the gold, and it’s a good thing he did.

Meanwhile, speaking of Selbst, she has the fifth highest chip stack in Event #2 $1,500 NLH and remains as one of the 15 left out of the 2,101-deep player field. The chip leader in this event is Jacob Bazeley. Also underway are Event #3 $3,000 Heads-Up NLH/PLO Mix and Event #4 $1,500 Seven Card Stud H/L Split tourneys.

SCOOP Success Stories

The 2012 PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker, fondly referred to as SCOOP, was a record breaking tournament series with three Main Event winners across three buy-in levels (low, medium, and high), crowned last week. The tournament was a major success, even without US players, with countries from all over the world represented.

The $10,300 Main Event High winner was Costa Rican Nick ‘GripDsNutz’ Grippo, who won in a heads up play-off with Canada’s ‘sp00led,’ awarding Grippo with a first-place payout at just under $800K after a three-way deal was made. Second and third place, ‘sp00led’ and ‘sosickPL,’ respectively, both walked with $718K after 514 other players were defeated and a total prize pool of $5.17 million was divvied up.

The $1,050 Main Event Medium saw Bulgarian ‘suarez_BG’ make a huge comeback to win more than $500K after outplaying more than 3,500 players and his final heads-up opponent Denmark’s ‘ministerborg,’ event 21-high winner, who won $417+K for his second-place win.

And finally, the Main Event Low title, which featured a $109 buy-in, was taken by Greece’s ‘john_tri80,’ after he outlasted 22,128 players and earned a $198+K first place payout that was part of a split-deal with second-place ‘FrandsenDK,’ who won $187K for his efforts.

PokerStars Named Best Workplace in UK

PokerStars was recently named as one of the Best Workplaces in the UK by the Great Place to Work Institute, the biggest consulting firm in the world specializing in workplace assessment and enhancement. To determine the best places to work, the institute surveys employees annually and performs cultural audits of about 5,500 organizations globally, representing some 10 million employees. Companies are then ranked within their country based on workplace values including respect, fairness, credibility, camaraderie, and pride.

PokerStars, which employs around 1,200 people globally, half of which are UK-based offices in London as well as the Isle of Man. Some of the factors that make PokerStars stand out include impressive employee benefits, as well as perks, a diverse workforce, and their high number of developmental opportunities for employees..

PokerStars director of HR Lynn Hunter says, “As a fast-growing company, attracting and retaining talented people is critical to our business, so we are dedicated to ensuring our employees are well supported, nurtured and rewarded. This is the first time we’ve participated in the Great Place to Work survey, so it’s especially gratifying to know that our efforts are contributing to the success of our business, and that employees consider PokerStars to be a Great Place to Work.”

CEO for Great Place to Work Tom O’Byrne says, “This has been a particularly good year for the Best Workplaces list. The standard of entry has been particularly high so getting a place on the list is a significant achievement. We assess and select the best workplaces by examining how management create trust in the workplace through various policies, practices and initiatives.” He adds, “But the real measure of whether an organization is a great place to work is whether employees say it is.”

With more than 49 million registered players globally and more than 80 billion poker hands played since it opened its virtual doors in 2001, PokerStars is the world’s biggest online poker site, breaking record after record (at this point they break their own records). The recently wrapped up 2012 SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) had more than half a million players compete for more than $65 million in prizes.

PokerStars Still Breaking Records after SCOOP

After the latest installment of PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker, also known as SCOOP, the series has officially become the largest online poker tournament series ever.

SCOOPS awarded a total prize pot of $65,332,179, beating the previous record from 2010 set at $64,230,010, proving that online poker may not have seen its best year in 2011, but its back in full force. The payouts at the 2012 SCOOP series went out across 120 tourneys with 40 events at each of three levels: low, medium, and high.

PokerStars reported that its own record for total registrants was also broken with 526,154 participants. The previous highest record was also from 2010 with 461,936 registered players. In this year’s SCOOP, players from a total of 156 countries participated.

The Main Event stats across the three levels follow: the Low buy-in for the Main Event was $109 with 22,128 registrants; the Medium Main Event saw a $1,050 buy-in with 3,567 registrants; and the High was a $10,300 buy-in with a mere 517 enrolled.

It looks like PokerStars survived Black Friday after all.

New WSOP Bracelet Designed by Jason of Beverly Hills

Jason Arasheben, jewelry designer, has been chosen by the World Series of Poker organization to design the new WSOP Main Event bracelet for 2012, as well as 66 additional championship bracelelts that will be awarded through the WSOP and WSOP Europe.

“Jason of Beverly Hills” has become the gold standard for jewelry design for sports and entertainment celebrities. He has designed two world championship rings for the LA Lakers as well as custom jewelry for stars like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Diddy, and Katy Perry. Athletes Dwayne Wade, Matt Kemp, and LeBron James have also sported one-of-a-kind, lavish diamond masterpieces by Arasheben.

Jason of Beverly Hills has promised to produce the best yet to celebrate 2012 WSOP victors. Executive Director of the WSOP Ty Stewart says, “Blinger is Better. Jason grasped the heritage of WSOP bracelets, but was only interested if he could take it up several notches. This is a trophy that truly embodies the promise of today’s WSOP—seemingly unthinkable dreams are dealt each year. I challenge anyone to keep a poker face when they see this bracelet in person.”

After studying at UCLA, Arasheben began perfecting the art of jewelry making, and his talent and hard work earned him worldwide recognition for his outlandish pieces that have become highly sought after by those looking to make a statement through expensive jewelry.

Jason of Beverly Hills says, “We are honored to have the opportunity to create this masterpiece for the World Series of Poker and it will go down as the most expensive piece of championship jewelry across all major sports. We will tour this bracelet in our Las Vegas and Beverly Hills boutique so the world can bear witness to this historic work of art.”

The WSOP Main Event bracelet will include a collection of hand-picked round cut diamonds of the highest quality with the four card suits in rubies and black diamonds. The bracelet will consist of more than 35 carats of flawless diamonds set in 160 grams of 14 karat gold. Now the most coveted bracelet in poker will be even more precious than ever before thanks to Jason Arasheben.

Shaun Deeb “SCOOPs” Two More Titles

The PokerStars 2012 Spring Championship of Online Poker, or SCOOP, has not been without its fair share of action. Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb has now won his third title, making him just one multi-title SCOOP winner this year. Just a few days ago, Viktor Blom won his second title of the year.

Deeb’s first win of 2012 came in Event #10 when he won $44,200 and the second in Event #19. Both games were stud tournaments. In the later tourney, Deeb beat out 67 other players, who collectively drove the prize pool up to $136K. Deeb walked with $41,600 for his first place finish. Other registered players included Team PokerStars players George Lind III, Bertrand Grospellier, Eugene Katchalov, Ville Wahlbeck, George Danzer, Anders Berg, Nacho Barbero, and Martin Staszko, all of whom Deeb outlasted.

After his victory, Deeb tweeted, “Another SCOOP title for me. Super tough and long three-hour match with Stevie and @EugeneKatchalov. Both played well, but turned down a +EV chop.”

Since Black Friday, 26-year-old Deeb, who is originally from New York, has continued playing online poker out of Mexico and has earned nearly $5.5 million in online tournaments alone, as well as more than $745K in live tourneys. He’s been playing poker since the age of 16, and like many other pro poker players, Deeb wisely dropped out of college to pursue a career in professional poker. During his first week of playing online poker, he turned $30 into $33,000. This is another great one to watch in the upcoming weeks as he prepares for the World Series of Poker. Like Blom, he will undoubtedly make at least a couple final tables and likely go on to win a bracelet or three.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Best Poker Bonus at 888 Poker 100% up to $600/£400/€400 sign up bonus plus £5/$8/€6 FREE to new players(No USA Players) .

Copyright © 2009 Online Poker News | Partners | Sitemap