October 08 2012, Chad Holloway

On Sunday night, the World Poker Tour Season X continued on Fox Sports Network with Part I of the $25,000 WPT World Championship, which took place at the Bellagio in Las Vegas from May 19 to 26, 2012. The tournament attracted 152 of the world’s best players and created a prize pool of $3,660,500, of which $1,196,858 was reserved for the eventual winner.

This week’s episode, the first of three, began with a look back at the tournament’s early days. That included a look at past Season X winners from around the world, each of whom earned a seat in the WPT World Championship by winning their respective events. They included Tommy Vedes (Seminole Hard Rock Showdown), Moon Kim (Bay 101 Shooting Star), Sean Jazayeri (L.A. Poker Classic), and Edouardo Alescio (Venice), just to name a few.

Player of the Year: The WPT Season X Player of the Year Race was a heated affair entering the event. Will “The Thrill” Failla sat atop the leaderboard with 2,050 points, but several players were still in contention including, but not limited to, James Dempsey (1,400 POY Points), Bobby Oboodi (1,400 POY Points), Darren Elias (1,600 POY Points), Daniel Buzgon (1,750 POY Points) and Joe Serock (1,800 POY Points).

Early Action: The aforementioned Sean Jazayeri was an early exit, as were Erik Seidel and Phil Laak. In the end, only 98 players made it through Day 1 with Steve O’Dwyer and his stack of 231,500 leading the way. However, registration was open until the start of Day 3, so plenty of other notables entered the fray on Day 2 such as Jake Cody, Sam Trickett and Dave Shallow; in addition, former WPT World Champs Martin De Knijff (Season 2), David Williams (Season 8) and the reigning champ, Scott Seiver, all registered for the event.

James Dempsey, Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Selbst and Morten Christensen all hit the rail on Day 2. At the end of the day, two-time WPT champ Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi led the final 94 with 428,200.

Will Failla’s exit early on Day 3 meant he was no longer in control of his fate in the POY race. “I’m sweating profusely right now, there are 13 people that could still pass me for Player of the Year. I’m really hoping they don’t, but you know, it is what it is, let it land where it’s supposed to, I absolutely did everything I could do to win it,” Failla said after his elimination.

“The Thrill” was soon joined on the rail by Dave Shallow, Scott Seiver, Martin De Knijff, Edouardo Alescio, John Juanda, Joseph Cheong and Vanessa Rousso, but they were replaced by late registrants like Jason Mercier, David “Doc” Sands, Mohsin Charania, Antonio Esfandiari, Faraz Jaka and Phil Hellmuth. Although many failed to make anything happen on Day 3. In fact, only 44 players made it through the day, including Curt Kohlberg who bagged up 918,300 for the chip lead.

The Money Bubble: Only 18 players were slated to get paid, but that didn’t slow the action. With 21 players remaining, three two-time WPT champs built a three-way all-in pot. Both Antonio Esfandiari and Jonathan Little were all-in and at risk against Michael Mizrachi.

The flop gave Mizrachi a gut-shot straight draw, but it was the on the turn that gave him the lead. The on the river was of no consequence and Mizrachi scored the double elimination. Day 4 ended with 19 players left, meaning just one more needed to go on Day 5 to reach the money.

Marvin Rettenmaier

It happened when Josh Arieh got his short stack all in under the gun with and received a call from Marvin Rettenmaier, who woke up with in the big blind. The board ran out and Arieh became the bubble boy. Not long after, players began to hit the rail including Guillaume Darcourt (18th – $40,266), Faraz Bonyadi (17th – $40,266) and Rinat Bogdanov (16th – $40,266). It was at that point that Joe Serock retook the lead in the POY race; however, Moon Kim and Matt Juttelstad still had a chance of passing him.

Juttelstad (13th – $43,926) was actually busted by Kim a short time later, and then Serock hit the rail in 10th place after his was outdrawn by Retteinmaier’s after the board ran out , bringing about the end of Day 4 with nine players remaining.

A Short Day 6: With only six seats at the final table, three players needed to hit the rail on Day 6. The first to go was Hafiz Khan (9th – $58,568), and he was followed out the door a short time later by Wil Wilkinson (8th – $82,361). On the TV final table bubble, Moon Kim got his stack all in preflop with and was up against the of Marvin Rettenmaier. The board ran out and Kim was sent to the rail in seventh place, good for $118,966. What’s more, his elimination ensured that Joe Serock would become the WPT Season X Player of the Year.

Here’s how things stacked up at the start of the final table:

WPT Season X $25,000 World Championship Final Table

The Pope: Without a doubt, the man with the best rail was Wisconsin’s Trevor Pope, who had a friend in the crowd dressed as the Pope. Actually, the Pope conjures up images on an elderly man donned in white, but Pope’s friend looked to be about 21 and had a red robe and hat, something more reminiscent of either a bishop or cardinal. Nonetheless, watching him clap and celebrate in the background at the Royal Flush Bar alongside the Royal Flush Girls – well let’s just say it’s not something you see every day.

Sands is the One to Watch: Through Season X, seven up-and-coming poker pros were featured as Ones to Watch. The players finished the season with mixed results, but it was David “Doc” Sands who finished with the best results by quite a margin:

Ones to Watch Season X Winnings

Trevor Pope

Nope for Pope: Action folded to Trevor Pope on the button and he moved all in for 1.46 million holding . Philippe Ktorza then moved all in for 1.7 million from the small blind with , which pushed Michael Mizrachi out from the big blind. Pope was a 3-1 dog and was up out of his seat even before the flop fell flop, which gave him a gut-shot draw to a wheel. The turn gave Ktorza a set, but it also gave Pope an added flush draw. Unfortunately for him, the river was not what he needed and Pope finished in sixth place for $155,571.

“I don’t have any complaints, this is obviously a good finish [in the tournament],” Pope said in his post-elimination interview with Jessica Welman. “A final table is a final table, I don’t expect it to be the last one I make, but sometimes things go in your favor and sometimes they don’t.”

Who will be the next to join this prestigious list:

Tune in Next Week: Part II of the WPT World Championship is set to air on Sunday, Oct. 14, on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. If by chance you miss it, check back next week for the latest recap of all the action here on PokerNews.

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*Pictures courtesy of World Poker Tour.

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October 07 2012, Brett Collson, Rich Ryan

Did you miss any of the top poker news stories this week? Well you’ve come to the right place to get caught up. We’re covering Gus Hansen joining the new Full Tilt Poker, Daniel Negreanu’s performance bet, and more.

Poker Players

The Face of Full Tilt Poker

On Tuesday, Full Tilt Poker announced that Danish poker legend Gus Hansen will be the first player to endorse the new site when it relaunches in November.

“I’m very excited to represent the industry’s most authentic poker brand,” Hansen said in a press release. “Full Tilt Poker has the best games, most innovative software and the strongest poker community; to me this feels like coming home.”

Hansen, a former Full Tilt Pro, returns to represent the brand after the company’s assets were purchased by PokerStars in July. He told PokerNews in an exclusive interview that his job will be to represent the brand online and in major live tournaments around the world. “They’ll be paying me to do what I love to do,” he said.

The 38-year-old was one of Full Tilt Poker’s leading faces for several years before the site was shut down last year. He boasts career tournament earnings of nearly $11.2 million with three wins on the World Poker Tour and one World Series of Poker bracelet. Hansen was also a prominent figure at FTP’s high-stakes cash games, and told PokerNews that he looks forward to “crushing the high-stakes games” again when the new site launches.

To read the entire interview with Hansen, check out the story here at PokerNews.com.

Tony G Offers Lines on Negreanu Bet

On Monday, we brought you the story about Daniel Negreanu looking for action on his Global Poker Index bet. Negreanu currently sits 31st on the GPI leaderboard and is taking bets he’ll crack the top 20 by the start of the 2013 World Series of Poker.

After learning about the wager, Tony G listed odds for Negreanu on his new betting site, TonyBet.com. Tony is offering 2-1 odds that Daniel will make the top 20 by the start of the 2013 WSOP, and he is laying around 6-1 that Negreanu can make the top 10 by that time.

TonyBet also has GPI-related lines for Vanessa Selbst, Phil Hellmuth and Marvin Rettenmaier. Rettenmaier is fourth in the rankings as of Tuesday, trailing only Bertrand Grospellier, Jason Mercier and Dan Smith.

GlobalPokerIndex.com has more.

Galfond Says Goodbye

That was the tweet from Phil Galfond on Thursday, alluding to the news that he had finally sold his multimillion dollar New York City home that included a stainless steel slide connecting two penthouse apartments.

Galfond purchased the residences in 2008 for $3.2 million and spent around $300,000 building the slide, which was installed by using a crane. Galfond owned the apartment for three years, but after the DOJ’s crackdown on online poker, he didn’t see the need to hang onto the East Village grinding pad, so he put it on the market for just under $4 million. Galfond now splits his time between Vancouver and Las Vegas.

Sources told the New York Post this week that Galfond’s New York City abode was purchased by Canadian businessman Daniel Gieschen for $3.3 million. Apparently, though, the slide wasn’t a selling point. The listing broker for the residence said that Gieschen will be inviting friends to the Big Apple for a “slide party” before donating it to a children’s museum or charity.

The New York Post has more.

On Their Bikes

After the World Series of Poker wrapped up in Cannes, France, many poker players made their way to Italy for the European Poker Tour (EPT) stop in Sanremo. Some traveled to Italy by taxi. Others took the train.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Eugene Katchalov, though, took a more strenuous method of transportation. They made the trip by bike.

The two Team PokerStars Pros embarked on a grueling 118 kilometer trek Friday morning, alongside their trainer Lincon Rodrigues and his girlfriend Petra Janssen van Doorn. The ride to Sanremo was the result of a bet that the two players made for the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). Katchalov made more money than Grospellier during the three-week series, but still agreed to pedal from Cannes together with his friend.

After the foursome arrived in Sanremo, Grospellier told the EPT that he hadn’t ridden a bike in 15 years. He even got lost along the way, saying, “I was following the others and then they disappeared. So I followed signs to Italy, but they went a different way to Italy.”

For a closer look at the duo’s ride to Sanremo, read the story at the PokerStars Blog.

Lead photo courtesy of the European Poker Tour.

Brandon Cantu Vents

After finishing second to Jonathan Aguiar in WSOPE Event #5: “10,450 Mixed Max – No-Limit Hold’em, Brandon Cantu was very upset. The two-time WSOP bracelet winner, and now three-time WSOP runner-up finisher, attacked both Aguiar and the WSOP on Twitter, then caught up with PokerNews’ own Sarah Grant to let off some steam.

Cantu then challenged Aguiar to a rematch for the difference between first and second prize money.

A challenge that Aguiar accepted.

We’ll keep an eye on this rematch and bring you up to speed if any details surface.

Online Poker

PokerStars Getting a Makeover

For more than a decade, PokerStars has prided itself on offering the best online poker software in the industry. But the company will soon be scrapping its popular client and unleashing a slick new remodel for players around the globe.

An alpha version of new software, called PokerStars 7, was presented in front of players and media at the PokerStars VIP Club Live Event in London last weekend. The new design offers a user-friendly interface with more table filters integrated into the lobby, reducing the amount of pop-ups needed to find a game. According to PokerNews UK & Ireland editor Matthew Pitt, who was at the event, the software includes a new “quick seat” option, making possible for a player to be seated at a table and be receiving cards in just two mouse-clicks.

Among the other new features is the “App Bar,” where players can customize their client by selecting from many different options to best fit their liking. “Absolutely everything is in here, and is so simple to find, from four-color deck to auto-mucking your losing hand,” said Pitt.

Pitt added that the new client has a similar feel to Full Tilt Poker, which was known for its simple and user-friendly lobby.

For an in-depth look at the alpha software, check out Matthew Pitt’s article at PokerNews UK & Ireland.

Online Poker Battle in Nevada

The Nevada Gaming Control Board met with three gaming companies on Wednesday to discuss applications to receive intrastate online poker licenses.

Boyd Gaming, Fertitta Interactive and the Golden Nugget each received preliminary approval for licenses from the two-member board. All three companies will now seek final license approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission on Oct. 18.

Boyd, which owns numerous casinos in Las Vegas, seeks a license as an online poker operator having already partnered with service provider bwin.party, owners of the PartyPoker brand. Bwin.Party applied for licensure as a business-to-business service provider in March but has yet to meet with gaming regulators.

Golden Nugget applied for a license as an operator and already has a partnership with Bally Technologies, which runs the Golden Nugget’s free poker offering, GoldenNuggetPoker.com. In June, Bally was the first company to receive a license as a service provider for Internet poker in Nevada. The company is having its technology tested by the state before it is given authorization to provide real-money games.

Fertitta, the parent company of Station Casinos LLC and the UFC, applied for a license to operate as an online gaming service provider and looks to provide real-money online poker under the Ultimate Gaming brand. Fertitta launched Ultimate Gaming in June, offering free-play online poker until its real-money operation is approved by regulators.

If all three receive final approval from the Gaming Commission, they will join Bally, IGT, Shuffle Master, South Point, Monarch Interactive, and others as licensed intrastate online poker companies. South Point is expected to launch the first real-money poker site by the end of the year.

Poker Business

Amaya Gaming and Bwin.Party Seal the Deal

On Monday, TechCrunch.com reported that bwin.party sold the Ongame Network to Amaya Gaming. The deal is worth up to “24 million, and an initial payment of “15 million is expected to be made during the fourth quarter of 2012. If regulated online gaming returns to the United States in the next five years, Amaya Gaming is also subject to additional payments of up to “10 million.

In the press release, David Baazov, the CEO of Amara Gaming, stated that “The acquisition of Ongame bolsters Amaya Gaming’s product portfolio, transforming Amaya into a leading provider of gaming platforms.”

Amaya Gaming, founded in 2004, is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, and is present in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Before purchasing bwin.party on Sept. 25, Amaya acquired Cadillac Jack, a company that manufactures video-reel slots, wide area and multilevel progressives and bingo games for $167 million.

In February, Shuffle Master signed a definitive agreement to purchase Ongame for “19.5 million, but the company withdrew iis offer in June. According to PokerScout.com, Ongame ranks fifth worldwide in real-money ring-game traffic, and recently passed Winamax.fr and PokerStars.it in the rankings.

TechCrunch.com has more.

Chad Elie Sentenced to Prison

Chad Elie, one of the 11 men indicted by the Department of Justice on Black Friday, was sentenced to five months in prison on Wednesday.

In March, Elie pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and operating an illegal gambling business in the United States. He admitted in court that he acted as a “payment processor” for the PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker, and deceived U.S. banks into processing hundreds of millions of dollars in online poker transactions.

Elie was slated to go to trial April 9 on nine charges including bank fraud, conspiracy, and violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). He faced up to 85 years in prison, but, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, he’ll serve five months in prison and hand over $500,000 in fines.

“I’d just like to apologize to my family and friends for the pain and disappointment I caused them and ask for their forgiveness,” Elie said in a brief statement to the court, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg has more.

Poker Tournaments

Greg “Fossilman” Raymer won the Heartland Poker Tour Missouri Main Event on Monday, claiming his second HPT title of the year along with $121,973. The win in St. Louis came less than three months after Raymer won the Heartland Poker Tour Albuquerque Main Event, propelling him to the top of the HPT Player of the Year leaderboard.

Raymer outlasted a field of 336 players in St. Louis, including well-known pro Dennis Phillips, who finished as the final table bubble boy in seventh place. Joining Raymer at the final table was former HPT champ Shawn Roberts, but his exit in fourth place left Raymer eyeing tour history.

“Winning two of three tournaments is unreal and unexpected,” said Raymer, who finished out of the money at the HPT Colorado event last month. “I’m just very excited.”

Raymer becomes the second player in the HPT’s eight-year history to win two titles in the same season. Jeremy Dresch was the first to accomplish the feat, winning back-to-back events in 2009. Dreshch later added a third title in 2011.

Here’s a look at the final table results from the Heartland Poker Tour Missouri Main Event:

Get a full event recap at HPTPoker.com.

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