Team Bodog poker player Bobby Reints sitting next to poker pro and genuine hottie Lacey Jones during the $2,000 Limit Hold'em event at the 2007 World Series of Poker. (Bodog Beat Image)
We might as well start telling online poker players that if they qualify for the WSOP prize packages on Bodog.com they will get to sit next to a poker hottie. We've already documented how Team Bodog poker player Yuval Bronstein sat next to actress woman poker babe Shannon Elizabeth for a few hours before busting her out. Now Team Bodog player Bobby Reints is enjoying the company of poker pro and WorldSeriesofPoker.com hottie Lacey Jones. Play route 66 poker.
We were standing there talking to Bobby when Lacey arrived from her recently broken table to claim the seat to his left. "Bobby this is Lacey," as we introduced them, "be nice to her, she's good people." Then as we walked away, we turned to Lacey and said, "take it easy on him." She just smiled. We know that behind that smile are some serious poker chops, but we're not so sure if Bobby and the rest of her new table do though. Download poker wallpapers.
Yuval is still alive in this same event and doing well, sitting in about seveth at time of publish. This time he did not get so lucky as it was hard to tell if the guy next to him had even showered, ugh.
Stay tuned for more reports of lucky Team Bodog poker players live from the 2007 World Series of Poker.
ALL that they touch turns to gold. And yesterday the Smurfit winning streak shone once again as a member of the family scooped uge winnings at a poker tournament.
Alan Smurfit, the former deputy chairman of the Jefferson Smurfit Group and younger brother of Michael, won $464,000 (€345,000) at the World Series of Poker championships in Las Vegas.
The 64-year-old has an impressive record at major poker tournaments and once described wins totalling $180,000 (€134,000) as "middle-of-the-road".
On Friday he improved on that figure by winning the Pot Limit Omaha event at the World Series. Online poker.
Last year, he finished 6th in the Dublin leg of the European Poker Masters and, in 2005, he made the final table of a World Poker Tour event in Las Vegas. Download poker wallpapers.
In addition to the cash prize he was also presented with a World Series of Poker gold bracelet which are only given to players who win an event at the WSOP. Play route 66 poker.
He is the second Irishman to win at the world Series this year. Women poker players.
In June, Corkman Ciaran O'Leary, from Carrigaline in Co Cork who now lives in Seattle, on the $1,500 (€1,114) No Limit Texas Hold'em event. Stay tuned to our poker blog for updates.
A big name in online poker analysis is Poker Software Academy, which releases poker programs designed to help the poker player or women poker player improve his or her game. The latest offering form Poker Software Academy is Poker Academy Prospector, a software package designed to provide deep analysis for the online poker player. Graphic representations of bankrolls and how hands are played are part of the software, which also points out holes in a player’s strategy and can hold up to one million hands in its memory. Advance stats filtering and performance reports are also available. Download poker wallpapers.
Poker is alive and well in Africa.120 players turned out for the ninth All Africa Poker Tournament this week generating an impressive Rands 3 million prize-pool that justified its claim as the "richest poker tournament in Africa." Play online poker.
And after some enthralling heads up play against final opponent and former All Africa Poker finalist Neville Eber, it was 26 year old Claude Sacks who pocketed the Rands 1 million main prize and a seat in the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas after a tough thirty hours of poker at Piggs Peak Casino. Play $500 match poker bonus.
After losing much of his chip stack, Sacks showed considerable character, skill and downright cool in fighting his way back into the lead and eventual victory. He joins Eber, Darryn van Heerden, Ray Rahme and Ryan Brauer as part of the Team All Africa Poker that will compete in the WSOP Main Event early next month. Play route 66 poker.
Piggs Peak will host the next event which is scheduled for August 16-18 and will award the top 10 finalists with a seat in the Sun City Million Dollar Poker Challenge taking place in September 2007. There has been a strong response for this event, and players & women poker pros are advised to register early if they wish to get a seat. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
Susan and Tim are ex-fiancés who have a four year old child. At wit’s end, they decide to enter a series of poker tournaments in hopes of winning enough money to avoid declaring bankruptcy because of their struggling company’s dire financial problems. Are they American Dreamers or Delusional Gamblers? The answer depends on the perspective, as evidenced by “No Limit”, an out of the ordinary, entertaining and emotional inside-look at the high-stakes world of professional poker playing. Passion River will release “No Limit” on DVD July 24th, with a pre-book release date of June 26, 2007.
“No Limit” takes a revealing glimpse into an eight-month journey down the poker tournament trail, culminating at the biggest event of them all, Las Vegas’ World Series of Poker. There are many highs, lows, and in-betweens along the way that all too often spell disaster for these two and their child, but all they really need to do is win just one tournament to make all the heartache worthwhile. Play $500 match poker bonus.
“No Limit” is an unprecedented look inside the world of high-stakes poker, featuring interviews and words of wisdom from over 40 of the top players & women poker players in the world. Poker and "The American Dream" have never been so exposed. Susan is a rigid, high-strung "soccer mom" obsessed with that elusive win, while Tim is just a “fish out of water.” Their four year old son and their "American Dream" are the only reality they know. Play online poker.
Though “No Limit” is a gambling term, the title actually refers to the heights and depths one can encounter chasing the American dream. With a heart of gold, nerves of steel and delusion seemingly driving her every move, Susan gives it all she's got while we stay on the edge of our seats hoping for the best yet fearing the worst. While exploring themes of greed, addiction, individualism, talent, freedom and luck (or lack thereof), “No Limit” is an entertaining documentary that guides us through an offbeat world few of us will ever enter.... whether you are a seasoned pro or a casual observer or online poker player, “No Limit” has something for everyone.
Co-directed by Timothy E. Rhys & Brian O’Hare, the producer of “No Limit” is Susan Genard. The executive producers are Philip Ittleson & Paul Presburger. The film has played a number of film festivals around the world – winning the Best Director (Ensemble) Award at the Australian International Film Festival – and early reviews have already been stellar: Download Poker wallpapers.
“These Guys are like the last American cowboys. There are some great stories told.” – USA Today
“’No Limit’ is the mother of poker docs.” – The Las Vegas Sun
“It’s a roller-coaster ride with an adrenaline high.” – Toronto Star
“’No Limit’ wins on all accounts!” – American Poker Player Magazine
“No Limit” features interviews with over 40 superstars & women poker stars of the poker world including: Amir Vahedi, Annie Duke, Barry Greenstein, Bobby Baldwin (president, Bellagio, Las Vegas), Bonnie Damiano, Charlie Shoten, Chip Jett, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Chris Moneymaker, Clonie Gowen, Daniel Negreanu, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, David Sklansky, Dean Shores, Doyle Brunson, Evelyn Ng, Hendon MOB, Howard Lederer, James McManus, Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, Kenna James, Larry Flynt, Layne Flack, Linda Johnson, Lou Krieger, Mark Seif, Mel Judah, Men the Master, Miami John Cernuto, Mike Sexton (host of The World Poker Tour, Party Poker), Paul Phillips, Phil Gordon, Phil Hellmuth, Puggy Pearson, Ron Rose, Scotty Nguyen, Steve Lipscomb, T.J. Cloutier, Thor Hansen, Tom McEvoy, Vince Burgio, Warren Karp and Yosh Nakano. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
Pace (n.): to establish a moderate or steady pace for (oneself).
Pacing yourself is extremely important, as every world-class athlete knows. As world-class reporters for the Beat, we also must pace ourselves. Today that meant sleeping in, getting some grub at TI and scoping out the Venetian poker room.
Sure we could’ve stayed up until 6am (when the tourney finally finished) to report that the winner of the casino employee’s event was Eric Narciso, a 24-year-old dealer from the Orleans casino who takes home $104,701 for the win. We might have even been able to get out early this morning that Event #1, the $5,000 mixed hold ‘em event if you’ve completely lost track, is down to a final table and give you those details. However, we know that you want us to feel fresh and ready to face the world instead of getting that kind of information. Wait, you don’t? Ingrates.
The current chip leader is Fred Berger stacked at 942,000. He is the only prior WSOP event winner of the final nine. He won a pot-limit hold’em championship back in 2002. Two Canadian players are ranked 2 and 3 in the starting chip count.
Greg Mueller, aka “FBT” was the chip leader at end of Day One. He arrives at the final table ranked third in chips. The Canadian poker player has cashed seven times at the WSOP. His best showing was seventh-place in 2005.
Other events that are underway as we speak:
Event #3 is down under 150 players all vying for the $727,012 first-place prize. Starting the day, the chip leader was Alex Jacob, 2006 USPC champion; however, that mantle has now been passed to David “The Dragon” Pham. Other notable players still alive include Greg Raymer, Erick Lindgren, and Roland DeWolfe.
Event #4 is a $1,500 buy-in pot limit hold ‘em event that started at noon today and has attracted several big-name players including David Benyamine, Humberto Brenes, Shannon Elizabeth, Freedy Deeb and Chris Fergurson. We’re about four and a half hours into the tournament and just under 200 players remain. Gavin Smith and Phil Hellmuth are seated next to each other making for some great entertainment, prop bets abound.
Event #5, $2,500 Omaha Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or better, is starting at 5pm and everyone who actually understands what the game entails is super-excited about it.
Amid that saturation, ESPN's 32 hours of World Series programming last year averaged a 1.0 rating (962,000 households). For the Main Event, it drew a 1.3 rating (1,238,000 households).
That's no threat to the NFL, but the World Series has come far from its early years in the 1970s, when it wasn't even aired.
Now cameras catch everything, including hidden hole cards. This year, for the first time, it all will be televised in high definition. And the tape delay enables ESPN to cut the poker drudgery and highlight made-for-TV moments when the chips are piled high.
"Poker is essentially the best reality show on television because the other reality shows aren't anywhere close to reality," says Norman Chad, in his fifth year as ESPN's commentator for the World Series. "Most people aren't living on a desert island or eating spiders."
Many play poker, and the relatively recent addition of the hole-card camera gives viewers a look at the game even the players at the table don't have.
In the Texas Hold'em Main Event, each player is dealt two hole cards face down. Three more cards are turned face up on the table — the flop. Then comes a fourth face-up card — the turn. Then a fifth — the river. Each player can use his two cards and the five on the table to produce the best five-card hand.
Cameras built into the tables reveal the hole cards to viewers, which is no problem with a tape-delayed telecast (they're not shown on the live pay-per-view).
"I don't think there's anything remotely equivalent as far as its importance to the telecast," Chad said. "Football on television is 50 times better (now) that you have replay. … The hole-card cam is even more important to poker on television."
ESPN first used the hole-card camera in 2002.
"If you're watching ESPN Classic poker from the '70s and the '80s, there weren't any hole cards (hole-card cameras). It was a very different show to watch," said Jamie Horowitz, ESPN's senior producer for the World Series.
But Horowitz says the appeal goes beyond the sneak peek. He says the game itself offers an inside look at personalities and the game: "What makes poker particularly good for TV is there's a narrative within every hand. Every time you're going around the table, there's some sort of drama."
Team Bodog poker player Bobby Reints sitting next to poker pro and genuine hottie Lacey Jones during the $2,000 Limit Hold'em event at the 2007 World Series of Poker. (Bodog Beat Image)
