Posts Tagged ‘WSOP’

WSOP Releases Figures for 2014 Series

Wednesday, July 9th, 2014

file4741238088930Every year, poker players look forward to the World Series of Poker. Each year, the series seems to get better and better with larger guarantees, more events and players competing. This year, the series enjoyed a record-breaking year with 65 bracelet events which saw 82,360 players competing. This was better than last year by almost 4%.

The series saw an increase in competitors but also in prize money. The total amount of prize money given away in 2014 was just over $225 million which is an amazing amount and a new record for the series. To put things into perspective, the series had just 33 bracelet events ten years ago, so the sires only continues to add more events each and every year.

Ty Stewart, the Executive Director of the WSOP, stated that there is only one World Series of Poker and the group is humbled to have seen the response for the 10th series at the Rio Casino. Stewart stated that this years series had some of the biggest events every organized and it is clear that poker remains strong and the best days of the series are ahead. The WSOP officials cannot wait to begin planning for 2015.

Two events of the series helped to pull this year’s events above the rest. The Monster Stack and the Millionaire Maker both drew amazing fields, with over 7,000 players competing in each event. These numbers helped to push the 2014 series above the rest.

According to the figures by the WSOP, the average first place prize was just under $800,000 with the average age of competitor at 38.93. Just over 94% were male participants average and just over 5% were female. The Main Event is still ongoing so it will be interesting to see who makes the final table of the final event of the series.

23 Year Old Poker Pro Wins Big One for One Drop

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014

file4741238088930The 2014 World Series of Poker featured several events but one of the most anticipated was the Big One for One Drop. The event was open to 56 entrants and 42 players paid the $1 million buy-in to compete in the monster event. The field featured a few amateurs but mostly top pros and would see twenty three year old Daniel Colman earn the first place win.

Colman has been playing poker for a short time and amassed just over a quarter of a million dollars for his efforts in live game play. Thanks to the big win at the WSOP, the pro now has over $17 million on record. Colman was able to outlast the field of competitors to earn the massive payday and defeated Daniel Negreanu in heads up play to win the crown.

When the final day of play began, Colman was third in chips and was surrounded by top players including Tobias Reinkemeier and Scott Seiver. When heads up play began, Colman was in the lead, but only slightly. The heads up match up would last for 46 hands until Colman would claim the first place prize.

Once final play began, Colman had a 5 to 1 chip advantage. On this hand, Negreanu limped in and Colman pushed in 4 million. Negreanu then pushed all-in with a little under 21 million. Colman quick-called and showed K-Q off-suit. Negreanu showed A-4 and the flop of A-J-4 gave him the lead. However, a 10 on the turn gave Colman the straight and the 7 on the river secured the win for Colman.

Final Results:

Daniel Colman                   $15,306,668

Daniel Negreanu              $8,288,001

Christoph Vogelsang      $4,489,001

Rick Salomon                     $2,800,000

Tobias Reinkemeier        $2,053,334

Scott Seiver                        $1,680,000

Paul Newey                        $1,418,667

Cary Katz                             $1,306,607

The event was a great success and was able to bring in a great deal of money for the One Drop foundation which helps to bring clean drinking water to struggling nations.

Party Poker Reschedules Event; Now Coincides with WSOP Main Event

Wednesday, June 11th, 2014

party-poker-table-screenshotThe World Series of Poker is in full swing and in just a few weeks the main event will begin. This is of course the most anticipated event of the series and should see a nice number of players competing. Most everyone in the industry does not schedule events at the same time as the WSOP Main Event as they know they will see a lower number of players than if the event took place at a different time. However, this fact does not seem to be stopping Party Poker from offering a WPT event during the starting days of the highly anticipated main event.

The WPT500 at ARIA Resort & Casino is presented by Party Poker and was recently rescheduled to begin on the 4th of July and continue until the 9th of July. This will place the event in the same time frame as the beginning of the main event. The WPT tournament will have a buy-in of $565 and will have $1 million in guaranteed prize money which make it appealing to players.

The Aria is currently offering lower buy-in events starting today that will be in competition with events at the Rio as well. The Aria events have buy-ins of $235 to $340 with additional events with buy-ins of $150 and $175. Deepstacks, bounties and more will be offered at the Rio.

Once July 1st rolls around, the Aria will be hosting daily super satellites two times a day. These satellites will take place until the event begins on the 4th of July. During the series, the Aria will host a PLO tournament and two 2-7 Triple Draw events. A ladies event, senior’s event and two Open Face Chinese Shootouts are also on the schedule.

Party Poker is already offering satellites so you can earn a prize package worth $1,700 to compete in the WPT event. Included in the prize package is the tournament entry, accommodations and spending money. The satellites start at just $1, making it easy for players to compete for minimal cost.

Third WSOP Bracelet for Brock Parker

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

file4741238088930Since the start of the 2014 World Series of Poker, the players who have earned gold before seem to be stepping up to add to their collection. The most recent player to add gold to their collection is Brock Parker. Parker competing alongside 178 players to win the Omaha eight-or-better championship. The event had a buy-in of $10,000 and the pro earned $443,407 for his first place finish.

This is the third gold bracelet for Parker, who earned two bracelets in 2009 during hold’em six max tournaments. The pro was in good form so far in the WSOP tournaments, earning this win and a final table finish in the $1,500 Razz event which took place just a few days ago.

During the final day of the Omaha event, only 18 players headed to the felt. Parker had the second shorted stack of chips with only 90,000 but he would nail a few key hands to end up just short of 3 million for heads up play. His competitor was Richard Ashby, who held 5.3 million going in the final round.

Parker was able to take chips off of Ashley and by the time the final hand took place, Ashby was sitting with just a few big bets. On the final hand, Parker moved to raise on the button with 6-5-4-2 and Ashby choose to three bet with A-A-A-10. Parker called the bet and the flop showed 9-8-7 and Parkers straight made him the favorite to win. The 9 on the turn made Ashby hopeful but a 3 then secure the win for Parker and Ashby would settle for second place.

Final Payouts:

First                       Brock Parker                      $443,407

Second                 Richard Ashby                   $274,019

Third                      O fir Mor                              $198,508

Fourth                  Shirley Rosario                  $146,522

Fifth                       Viatcheslav ortynskiy     $110,1113

Sixth                      Jason McPherson            $84,195

Seventh               Steve Lustig                        $65,472

Eighth                   Melissa Burr                       $51,768

Ninth                     Daniel Kelly                         $41,595

 

Poker Pro Gives Away Yet Another WSOP Bracelet

Friday, April 11th, 2014

When a poker player wins a World Series of Poker gold bracelet, it is considered a rite of passage. The gold bracelet signifies the best of the best and top pros will have earned more than one. There is a very short list of players who have earned more than one WSOP bracelet and Phil Hellmuth Jr. takes the lead with the most WSOP bracelets standing at 13.

The Poker Brat has earned the most WSOP bracelets of anyone competing and has done something unusual with the coveted piece of hardware. The poker pro has given away all of the bracelets he has won from the WSOP except #1 and #12.

Just two days ago, the poker pro decided to give away his 13th bracelet to his best friend. He said good-by to the bracelet on Twitter and announced who he was giving the gold emblem to. The best friend in question is Chamath Palihapitiya, a venture capitalist of California who has competed in the Big One for One Drop. He is also a part owner of the Golden State Warriors.

After the announcement, Hellmuth took to Twitter to explain who held the other bracelets that he had earned. While Hellmuth holds bracelets 1 and 12, his wife has #2. Mom and dad of the poker pro hold #3 and 4 while his sister Ann has #5. His brother-in-law John is holding #6 while his sons Phillip and Nick have #7 and #8. #9, 10 and 11 goes to his brother Dave and his sisters Kerry and Molly.

The WSOP bracelets of Hellmuth are a family affair. It is interesting to see how the pro has spread the wealth so to speak and given a solid piece of poker history to his many family members. Hellmuth will now try to earn a 14th bracelet by competing in this year’s WSOP events.

 

Android Options Available at 888 NJ and WSOP

Friday, April 4th, 2014

For months now, players in the state of New Jersey have been enjoying online poker gaming. With sites available from 888 and WSOP, players in the state have been given the opportunity to enjoy high quality software as well as gaming options. As the online poker options have developed, new applications have been released to further enhance game play and make it easier for players to take part in gaming. The two sites recently announced that they are offering a new Android option for mobile poker gaming.

Both online poker rooms in the state of New Jersey now offer Android mobile applications. Players had expected the release to take place in December of 2013 but this did not take place. Party Poker was the first to offer Android capabilities two months ago and finally the other two sites have been able to offer the client.

888 and WSOP NJ were the first to offer an iOS app at iTunes and Party/Borgata were the last to join, so the roles have been reversed when it comes to Android. Android devices are more popular than the iPhone currently so it was important to get this app on the market so casino players would have the option during game play.

With the release of Android for WSOP and 888, there should be a nice increase in gaming revenues as now more players will have the opportunity to compete. Party Poker is currently the top performing online poker site in New Jersey and it will be interesting to see if WSOP and 888 Poker NJ can give them a run for the money with this app release.

The release of Android for the two companies must have been difficult as Bill Rini, the Head of Poker at WSOP, said the release took ‘blood, sweat and tears’. Now the client will have to go through a testing phase and then approval before it can be used on the market.

2014 Dates Announced for WSOP

Friday, December 20th, 2013

The World Series of Poker Main Event may have finished up just over a month ago, but that does not stop the organization from preparing for 2014. The World Series of Poker has now announced the schedule for the new season of the popular poker series. The summer festival will be in its 45th session and will begin on the 27th of May.

The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino will host the event in Las Vegas and this will be the tenth year in a row that the Rio has hosted the event consecutively. For forty nine days, the WSOP will host a number of events with the first event kicking off at the end of May and the Main Event beginning on July 5th. The main event will run for a ten day time frame until the final table is set.

There will be many highlights for players to check out in 2014. This includes the Millionaire Maker which will take place on the 31st of May. This tournament will have a buy-in of $1,500 and will offer the first place finisher a prize of at least seven figures.

The Big One for One Drop is back, scheduled for June 29gth, and will have a $1 million buy-in. the format will be no limit hold’em and will help to raise money for the One Drop charity. There will also be a scaled down version of this event called the Little One for One Drop.

Only a few events have been released and the full schedule for the 2014 WSOP is being finalized. There should be more than sixty events with gold bracelets awarded and in January, the schedule should be released. An interesting side note: with online gambling options in the US now, the sites available should offer players an opportunity to qualify for WSOP events.

Ten Finalists Chosen for Poker Hall of Fame Consideration

Thursday, September 26th, 2013

It’s that time of year again. The poker industry is getting ready to induct the latest members of the Poker Hall of Fame and this year ten finalists are being considered. It is most likely that only two players will be chosen as finalists for induction. The induction is based on a vote of the Hall of Fame members and a media panel. The voting process is scheduled to end on October 11th.

There are several who have been chosen for nomination that is very well known in the industry. Jennifer Harman is up for induction and is considered to be the best female player ever to play the game. She has a long standing career in cash game play and has earned close to $2.5 million in tournament game play.

Mike Matusow is another player who is well-known in the poker industry. He is one of the big personalities of the game and known specifically for his Mouth! The pro is known to trash talk competitors and can back up his ‘mouth’ with four WSOP bracelets and over $8.5 million in earnings.

Huck Seed is also up for induction and is known for being a top live competitor. Scotty Nguyen, yeah baby, is up for induction and is also one of the most recognizable players in the game. The pro has earned around $11.7 million playing the game.

Also nominated is Carlos Mortensen, a forty one year old Spanish poker player. Mortensen is considered a top tournament player and has earned just over $11 million as well in game play. He even finished in 10th place during the 2013 main event of the WSOP.

Other players nominated for induction are:

Chris Bjorin

Humberto Brenes

David Chiu

Thor Hansen

Tom McEvoy

 

WSOP Main Event Update: Big Name Pros Still Remain

Friday, July 12th, 2013

The 2013 World Series of Poker is about to wrap things up and the most anticipated event of the series is underway. The Main Event saw 6,352 players pony up $10,000 to compete, which created a prize pool of $59,708,800. The top player at the end will earn just over $8.3 million and with several hundred making the money, everyone wants to hold out as long as possible. Game play has now reached Day 3 and several top pros are still in contention for the gold bracelet.

As of the latest update to WSOP.com, several pros are still in contention. Phil Ivey held just under 200,000 while Annette Obrestad is holding strong for the ladies at 196,600. Kenny Tran has a leg up with 301,300 chips but Victor Figueroa is in a good lead with just over 460,600 in chips. Figueroa has been on a roll this past WSOP, earning tenth place in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Turbo tournament, Event #34, earning $15,525.

The chip leader is just above Figueroa with 507,300 chips. Mark Kroon came into day 3 with the chip lead and it will be interesting to see if he can hold on to the lead to return as the chip leader tomorrow. Kroon finished in 25th place in Event #26, the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Seniors Championship earlier this month and has not cashed out in the WSOP Main Event since 2011 when he finished in 399th place.

The tournament still has a ways to go and many players are running neck and neck in chip stacks. Players are sure to begin to go all in to try and take a few out to narrow down the field. As of today there are just over 1700 remaining and players must get down to 648 to finish in the money.

2013 Poker Hall of Fame Nominations to Begin

Thursday, July 4th, 2013

With the 2013 World Series of Poker in full swing, it is that time of year again to begin nominating players for the Poker Hall of Fame. This past Wednesday was the first day that public nominations were available for the Hall of Fame and two members will be inducted later this year after nominations are set and voting takes place.

The public voting and submissions will end on August 15th. The list of those nominated will be given to the Hall of Fame Committee and those nominated will be reviewed thoroughly. The list will then be cut down to a lesser number and any players who may have been overlooked will be added to the list. Once the nominating committee has reviewed the list, the Hall of Fame members will then vote for their selection. Certain members of the poker media will also be allowed to vote on who will be the next inductees.

Those who are nominated must meet a certain type of criteria to be eligible for nomination. The criteria includes that the player must have competed in high stakes action against top players in the industry. The nominated individual must be forty years of age before the August 15th due date and must have gained the respect of their peers by participating in good game play consistently throughout their career. The player or person nominated must have stood the test of time in the industry. Anyone who is nominated that is not a player must have contributed to the growth of poker and provide lasting as well as positive effects on the game.

It is always interesting to see who is nominated for this prestigious group of players. Once the ballot list is complete, the two finalists will be chosen and then they will join a group of forty members of the Poker Hall of Fame, nineteen of which are still living.