Although the WSOP main event has finally wrapped up, the news in the poker industry has been anything but stale. After the announcement that Jeffrey Pollack was stepping down as commissioner of the World Series of Poker, attention turned to the online poker rooms for a number of reasons.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
After going through a previous tough session against "Isildur1", Patrik Antonius ended up a big winner on Monday.
With the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act primed to be enacted on Dec. 1, many industry insiders have been wondering what will happen to the online poker scene in the United States. Although the bill was passed nearly three years ago (Sept. 30, 2006), there have been many lengthy steps to determine just what actions would need to take place before enforcement. On Dec. 1, banks will no longer be able to process any financial transactions that are deemed to be in relation to an online gambling site. Many online poker players have received letters from their banks explaining that these transactions will no longer be allowed, but even weeks away, the Poker Players Alliance remains hopeful that their efforts will come to fruition and a delay or exemption for poker will be put in place.
Over the last few weeks the PPA has asked poker aficionados to "tweet for poker", send e-mails to their representatives and make phone calls. The PPA also petitioned Timothy Geithner for a delay of enforcement, but is still waiting on a response. After numerous recent studies about how much money regulation could generate for the government in taxes, the Treasury and Fed will have a very tough decision to make.
For now, the online action continues to be in full swing, and the largest pot in the history of online poker happened on Monday night. Patrik Antonius faced off against online newcomer "Isildur1" at four tables of $500/$1,000 pot-limit Omaha. "Isildur1", who had recently been crushing the high stakes action -- including taking more than $4 million dollars off of new Team Full Tilt member Tom Dwan -- got the best of Antonius in a previous session, but not on Monday, when Antonius took the Swedish player for more than $3 million dollars. While there were many critical hands, the biggest came with both players holding massive stacks: $450,494.50 for "Isildur1" and $439,479.50 for Antonius.
Isildur1 opened for $3,000 preflop and Antonius called. The flop came 5h-7h-Qs and Antonius checked. "Isildur1" bet $5,000 and Antonius raised to $21,000. Isildur1 called and the turn brought the Ad and a ton of action. Antonius bet $48,000 and Isildur1 raised to $192,000. Antonius then moved all-in for $415,479.50 and was called by Isildur1, creating the largest pot in online poker history at $878,958.50.
It seemed as if the hand would be chopped when both players showed top two pair, but both players did have additional draws. Isildur1 showed As-Ks-Qd-10h (to win he'd need a non-heart king or jack) and was against the Ah-Qc-9s-6h of Antonius (who needed a heart or an eight). The river was the eight of diamonds and Antonius raked in the massive pot.
Isildur1 remains a mystery to those who follow the action as his true identity has yet to be revealed. All we do know is that he is Swedish, which Barry Greenstein confirmed over at Poker Road. Greenstein also mentioned that we'll be seeing a lot more of the player in the future.
More poker on TV … or something like that
AP Photo/Isaac Brekken
From Las Vegas to New York City to Bristol, Joe Cada has been extremely busy over the past week.
Joe Cada won the WSOP main event title on Nov. 10, but since the victory he's been arguably the busiest main event champion we've had in a few years. Cada has been traveling the country doing numerous interviews, making appearances and having a good time nonetheless. Cada was ringside at WWE's Monday Night Raw at Madison Square Garden, then spent the night in New York City in preparation for David Letterman on Tuesday. On Thursday, Cada will be heading to ESPN for numerous appearances across many platforms including "SportsCenter," "Mike & Mike" and, of course, ESPN.com.
"TV's First Family-Friendly Poker-Themed Game Show" is coming to a television near you. "Shuffle Up and Deal" will be appearing on the MyTV network in 2010 and has been booked for 13 episodes. Hosting the show will be a very familiar face to the poker industry, Mike Sexton. The new poker Hall of Famer will be alongside Brandi Williams in a game that really doesn't have much to do with poker at all.
The game play is described in a press release: "In each episode, amateur poker players choose their own cards from an over-sized electronic board, and the turn of each card either helps the contestant's hand or destroys their chances of winning. The main objective of the game is to finish with the largest amount of cash winnings amongst the five contestants. The one that advances to the bonus round plays for a progressive jackpot that seeds at $250,000 and goes up ten thousand dollars for every day it is not hit. The jackpot will eventually top out at one million dollars."
There will be some interactive elements for viewers at home as well as a traveling game show in which professional poker player Chad Brown will serve as the host. There really isn't a ton of information out there yet, but I'm sure their Web site will be updated soon.
Also starting this week is "Poker2Nite," a poker news show that will air weekly on Fox Sports. Joe Sebok and Scott Huff will anchor.
Small blinds: For the second time in as many months a man won a "ladies only" tournament. Greg Sessler, a 22-year-old communications and film major at the University of California-Davis, won $9,932 in the $340 event. … Jean-Robert Bellande is once again a free agent as he has been released from Bodog. Bellande had been a member on Team Bodog for the past few years. … Brad Booth has become the official spokesperson of GR88.com. … Dani Stern became the fifth member of the "Brunson 10," a group of players who will endorse Doyle's Room and keep the legacy of Brunson going. Brunson has handpicked these players and will end up with 10 men and 2 women when the team has been completed. … A new poker movie was released. "Shark Out of Water" is an 18-minute film featuring Matty Finochio and Artine Brown. Professional poker players Phil Hellmuth and Brad Booth also made appearances. … Matt Keikoan won the WSOP Circuit event at Harvey's Lake Tahoe. … Joe Sebok recently hit over 1 million Twitter followers. … Daniel Negreanu recently bought a walk-on role in "Entourage" for charity. … Cornel Cimpan won $910,058 at the WPT World Poker Finals event at Foxwoods. This was his second WPT win in 2009.
Welcome to the 2009 WSOP final table. The information in the blog below will contain the results of the final table, so if you don't want to know what happens, it's probably a good idea not to read the following. The event will be broadcast on ESPN on Tuesday starting at 9 p.m. ET, so make sure you set your DVR accordingly so you don't miss the conclusion.
6:16 p.m. ET: Don't forget that you can go back and listen to all the Poker Edge podcasts and relive the final table from behind the scenes. Our final main event Poker Edge podcast features the newest world champion, Joe Cada, and runner-up Darvin Moon. Moon explains his decision to risk his tournament life with Q-J and sticks by his read. Was he right? We'll let you be the judge.
6 a.m. ET: The interviews with Joe Cada and Darvin Moon are finished and you'll get to hear them and see them on the Poker Edge and ESPN Inside Deal later today. Both had some great things to say and both players deserve all the respect in the world after this heads-up battle. Don't forget to watch the show Tuesday night on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET and thanks for following me over the last few days.
4:18 a.m. ET: We have a champ! Moon three-bet Cada for the first time since Cada's four-bet and all of a sudden all the chips were in the middle!
Moon called all-in for his tournament life with Q-J and was up against Cada's 9-9. The flop came 8-7-2 and Joe Cada held on after the flop. The turn was the king of hearts and Cada would need to hold on for one more card. The river was a seven, and we have a new world champion.
Joe Cada is the newest main event champion and has added $8.5 million to his bankroll!
"Cada! Cada! Cada!" filled the theater as Joe stared at the money. Fans are ecstatic. What a comeback and what a night.
4:15 a.m. ET: Another big hand and another big win for Cada. After a standard $3 million preflop raise and call, the flop of 10d-Kc-7d prompted a $5 million bet from Moon. Cada called and the turn was the 8h. Moon bet $10 million and Cada called again. The river was the 9d and both players checked. Cada showed two pair with 10-9 and Moon mucked.
"Just take a look at the look on his face," said Bluff's editor-in-chief Lance Bradley. "It's way different than what we saw 10 minutes ago."
4:13 a.m. ET: After the chip stacks changed sides, Moon has won the last two pots.
4:02 a.m. ET: Cada raised preflop and Moon called. The flop was 10c-5d-9h and both players checked. The turn was the 10d and Cada bet out and saw an immediate Darvin Moon all-in reraise. Cada thought about the situation and finally called! Moon had 8-7 versus Cada's J-9.
The river … a three! What a sick call by Cada. He doubled up and is back in the chip lead.
Cada -- $108 million
Moon -- $86 million
4:00 a.m. ET: We're on hand No. 78 of heads-up play. For all you Streak for the Cash players, that would be the "over" in the poker prop.
3:55 a.m. ET: Chip counts have switched from the start of the night. Moon in the $130 million range, while Cada sits in the $50 million range.
3:53 a.m. ET: On the very next hand, Moon raises $3 million preflop and Cada calls. The flop is 10c-9c-8d and Moon bets $5 million. Cada called to lead to a turn king. Moon bet $15 million and Cada folded once again to Moon's aggression.
3:48 a.m. ET: Cada just four-bet all-in … and after a couple minutes of thought, Moon got out of his chair, stared at Cada and folded.
3:46 a.m. ET: Cada raised $3 million preflop and Moon called. The flop was 8-10-10, Cada bet $3 million, Moon called. The turn was a 9 and both players checked. The river was a 7 and Moon checked. Cada bet $5 million and Moon called. Cada showed a 10-high straight and Moon showed two pair.
3:44 a.m. ET: Cada and Moon trading preflop pots. Cada can't handle many more reraises from Moon.
3:41 a.m. ET: Cada wins a pot preflop. It looked like he really wanted Moon to play that one.
3:38 a.m. ET: It's Moon's night. He is just in absolute control of the action right now. Cada looked strong and raised Moon's flop bet only to see Moon reraise and put another $25 million in the pot. Cada instantly mucked.
Moon -- $145 million
Cada -- $49 million
3:33 a.m. ET: Cada's emotions are definitely coming through right now. He'll need to keep his head together if he's going to get himself back in this.
3:32 a.m. ET: Another $3 million for Moon.
3:30 a.m. ET: Moon is taking control and Cada needs to adjust to Moon's aggression before he just gets chipped away $3 million at a time.
3:28 a.m. ET: Chip count update:
Moon -- $122 million
Cada -- $72 million
3:25 a.m. ET: Cada took a big hit on the last pot. Cada raised preflop and Moon called. Flop came 8d-4d-As, Moon bet $6 million and Cada called. The turn was the 7d and Cada called Moon's $8.5 million bet this time around. The river was the Jh and both players checked. Moon had a pair of eights and Cada mucked.
Darvin Moon regains the chip lead and pads his stack with another $5 million on the next hand.
3:21 a.m. ET: Cada has $99 million, Moon has $95 million. Play has resumed.
3:20 a.m. ET: As players take their seats right now, just a quick story. I ran into Steven Begleiter and Jonathan Little in the lobby and we discussed the table yesterdays. He said there is one hand that everyone says he made a mistake on that changed the rest of the final table. On the hand that Joe Cada held J-4 and was all-in against Eric Buchman's 5-4, Begs folded A-6 from the button for fear that Buchman would reraise him like he had done very often. If Begs raises there, Buchman folds and knocks out Cada with a pair of 6s.
Funny how one decision can change everything.
2:56 a.m. ET: Players are now on a 20 minute break.
Chip counts:
Cada -- $97.5
Moon -- $97.2
2:55 a.m. ET: Cada picked up about $8 million on a board of Q-3-A-4-7 when after neither player bet the flop or turn, Cada fired $4 million on the river. Moon called and mucked when Cada showed Q-7.
2:51 a.m. ET: Moon is definitely not giving any respect to Cada's first raise at this point. Why should he? Cada has been folding almost every time to a Moon reraise.
2:48 a.m. ET: Moon takes the chip lead back after the last pot. Moon raised preflop to $3 million. Cada reraised to $11 million and Moon re-reraised to $28 million. Cada went into the tank, but his body language was dictating that he would fold. His hands were on the back of his neck, his head down trying to figure out where he stood and a look of shock was on his face. He let the hand go and now the two are close in chips, but Moon has the lead.
2:44 a.m. ET: Moon three-bets preflop and takes down another pot. Seems like he's becoming more aggressive and Cada is a little hesitant. We've seen a propensity from Darvin to bet very big postflop. Cada knows that if he invests a couple million more preflop due to a Moon raise, he's going to have to figure out how to handle the $5 million-plus postflop bet.
2:38 a.m. ET: Darvin wins another pot for a few million.
2:36 a.m. ET: Chip count update:
Moon -- $83 million
Cada -- $111 million
2:35 a.m. ET: Cada raised preflop $2.5 million -- his first time away from his standard bet. Moon called, bet the flop and Cada folded.
2:32 a.m. ET: Of course the second after I write that, the action picks up. Cada's new standard preflop raise is $3 million and he acted accordingly. Moon then reraised to $8 million and Cada made the call. The flop was K-7-6 and Moon bet $5 million. The turn was a 3 and Moon moved all-in. The crowd stood up, but by the time they were out of their seats, Cada's cards were in the muck.
2:31 a.m. ET: Last few hands haven't been much but a preflop raise and fold.
2:28 a.m. ET: Moon takes down the first hand of the new level.
2:27 a.m. ET: Moon opened with a $3 million raise and Cada reraised to $8 million. Moon folded.
After that hand, the blinds are going up $600,000/$1.2M with a $200,000 ante.
2:24 a.m. ET: Cada's continuation bet of $3 million takes down another pot.
2:19 a.m. ET: Cada shows down king high to win a pot. On the next hand, Cada bets $3 million at the river on a board of 10d-Ah-3h-6c-4s. Moon raised to $10 million and Cada calls. Moon showed jack high and Cada takes down the pot with a pair of 10s (J-10).
Moon has $66 million versus Cada's $128 million.
2:15 a.m. ET: Moon chipping away. He won the last pot by raising a Cada postflop bet.
2:12 a.m. ET Moon raises preflop to $3 million. Cada called, a flop hit the board and Cada's chips hit the muck after a $5 million Moon bet.
2:10 a.m. ET: "What do you guys think? Exciting poker so far?" Answer to tournament director Jack Effel's question: Yes.
2:08 a.m. ET: Moon raises $3 million preflop and Cada calls. Flop comes Jc-4h-2d and Moon bets $4 million. Turn is the Qh and after Cada checked, Moon bet out $6 million. Then the fireworks. Cada raised to $16.75 million and Moon called. The river was the 5c and Cada bets out $35 million! After much contemplation and facial pacifying by Moon, he mucked his cards.
New chip leader. $120 million for Cada.
2:03 a.m. ET: Two pots in a row for Cada.
2:02 a.m. ET: Moon raises preflop and Cada calls. The board comes Qc-Js-7d-10h-5h and Cada finally bet $1.75 million on the river and shows a pair of tens versus Moon's 8-8.
Cada fans who spelled out C-A-D-A on their chests were just asked to put their shirts on.
2:00 a.m. ET: Moon taking control winning the last three pots. Poker Edge producer Shaun Wyman said that there's someone in the crowd with a fake chain saw.
1:55 a.m. ET: Darvin just won a big pot off of Cada. Board was 6s-5d-Jc-Qd-2h and Moon bet $7 million on the river. Cada called and mucked after Darvin showed a queen for top pair.
Darvin Moon has the chip lead, but just by a couple million.
1:52 a.m. ET:10d-Ad-3d-Jh-Ks board. Both players checked the flop and Cada bet $2.5 million on the turn. Moon called and Cada bet $3.5 million on the river. Moon called and Cada showed the flopped nuts with Kd-9d.
1:51 a.m. ET: Moon is making different preflop raises each time. I'm not sure what they mean yet since Cada has folded for anything above the $2.5 million mark.
1:49 a.m. ET: Cada takes the next pot with a small turn bet on the K-Q-K-K board.
1:47 a.m. ET: Moon picks up a sizable pot on a board of 8-6-4-A-3.
Cada: $101 million
Moon: $93 million
1:44 a.m. ET: Check that. Moon made it $3.5 million preflop and Cada folded.
1:42 a.m. ET:$2.5 million seems like the standard preflop raise at this point, but neither player wants to let their blinds go. Cada takes down the next pot with a continuation bet.
1:41 a.m. ET: Moon picks up another pot with a continuation bet.
1:37 a.m. ET: Action on hand number one. Moon limps, Cada raises $2.5 million and Moon calls. Flop is 3s-Ks-2d. Cada bets out $2.5 million and Moon raises to $10 million. Cada makes the call. The turn is the ace of diamonds and Cada checks. Moon bets $10 million and Cada calls. The river is another king and both players check. Moon shows Q-Q against Cada's 9-9 and takes down a very significant first pot.
No surprise that there would be fireworks early.
1:36 a.m. ET: Game on.
1:30 a.m. ET: "Bad Moon Rising vs. The Kid". Vince Neil doing the "Shuffle Up and Deal" tonight.
1:28 a.m. ET: Steven Begleiter and Kevin Schaffel are sitting next to each other in the audience of the final table.
1:25 a.m. ET: Darvin Moon might have just got a louder ovation than Joe Cada. Is the Moon the public's favorite?
1:22 a.m. ET: Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack is getting the crowd ready for the "heads-up battle". He's also giving the crowd the chance to applaud the rest of the November Nine. Phil Ivey got the loudest ovation by far.
1:20 a.m. ET: Tournament Director Jack Effel has the microphone and they're ready to get started with the introductions.
1:10 a..m. ET: The cheering has started! Cada's supporters are on their feet while Moon's remain seated as he signs autographs and poses for pictures.
The tournament staff is on stage organizing the money in the center of the table. The coveted bracelet sits on top of the pile of cash as photos are being taken of poker's biggest prize, but there will be only one winner tonight.
Play will begin shortly and I'll be bringing you all the action all night long from the Rio.
12:11 a.m. ET: I'm back in my seat in the Penn and Teller theater. I just saw Darvin Moon in the hallway and he's calm. He said he finally got some rest this afternoon and I get the feeling he's eager to get this underway.
"One way or another its over in a few hours," said Moon. "I'm ready. I'm good to go."
Moon told me he's scheduled for a flight out Wednesday morning, but might leave earlier depending on the results.
The orchestra area of the theater is slowly getting filled up with the public still waiting outside. The crowd to my right looks like Moon fans while Cada's supporters are on the left.
I heard some interesting plans from Cada's fans this afternoon who took offense to a radio station in Michigan saying that they ruined poker with their cheering and treated it too much like a tailgate. To that station, I'd hope they come out here and just see this environment next year. It's amazing when the fans are into it. The fact that people come and cheer during a poker tournament is simply incredible.
Hellmuth is in the house, as is the money. Almost time to get started …
11:30 p.m. ET: I had the chance to speak to the chip leader, Joe Cada, a few hours ago. He's calm and ready for heads-up play. I also spoke to Doyle Brunson and he picked Cada to take the bracelet back to Michigan.
10:50 p.m. ET: You've been waiting for this one. Here's the video preview of Tuesday night's final table episode!
We also caught up with both players after play on Saturday. Here's a clip of Joe Cada reflecting on his day and Darvin Moon saying that he's ready for the battle.
10:00 p.m. ET: Before final table play began this weekend, the ESPN.com team here headed to a bunch of gatherings with the players and their fans. Here's a look at two of them:
8:55 p.m. ET: Bernard Lee takes a look at the final two and recaps his top-10 hands from the final table in his latest column.
I recently interviewed Joe Cada and Doyle Brunson for the Poker Edge podcast which will be out shortly! Also, a friendly reminder that every episode of the WSOP is available from iTunes. The complete season, including Tuesday night's episode, will be available on Wednesday.
Monday, 4 p.m. ET: We're only hours away from the final hands of the 2009 WSOP main event. Both players are rested and are currently at a news conference right now answering questions from the media. I'm answering questions too in today's WSOP chat, and then I'll be back to recap all the action as it happens starting at 1 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
Just a few other items to take a look at before play begins tonight. First, Bernard Lee joined me for a Poker Edge podcast to react to the final table play. We speak to a number of the players who were eliminated, as well as the two remaining finalists.
Also, here's the 9-to-2 recap by Inside Deal:
Sunday, 9:10 a.m. ET: I just finished interviewing Joe Cada while Bernard Lee caught up with Darvin Moon. Both interviews will be on the Poker Edge podcast that will be released in a few hours.
Cada will enter heads-up play with $135 million and has a solid chip lead over Moon, who has $58 million.
Thanks for staying with me during the past 18 hours. The final two will go heads-up Monday night starting at 10 p.m. PT, and you can catch all the action right here on ESPN.com.
8:51 a.m. ET: Antoine Saout's friends are chanting for an eight. The flop is 5-4-5, and Saout stayed ahead. The turn came the 10d, and Cada would need to hit an ace or king to end the night.
The river … a KING! Cada is mauled by his friends as he eliminates Saout in third place by hitting the six-outer on the river.
A chant of "Saout! Saout! Saout!" fills the theater while high fives are everywhere for those in the maize shirts.
8:50 a.m. ET: A race for the top two is about to take place. Joe Cada called Antoine Saout's all-in reraise. Saout showed 8-8 and will need to hold up against Cada's A-K.
8:42 a.m. ET: Apparently playing conservative is out the window. Joe Cada and Darvin Moon just locked up again. Cada raised preflop, and Moon called. The flop came K-10-7, and Moon checked. Cada bet out, Moon raised to $10 million and Cada moved all-in.
Moon took his time and then folded. Cada is now at more than $90 million.
On another note, this has become the longest WSOP main event final table in history.
8:37 a.m. ET: Cada is the chip leader at $78 million. Moon is second with $75 million, and Saout third with $41 million.
8:34 a.m. ET: The turn is a 3. Saout needs a queen and doesn't get it with a 6 on the river. Wow. Cada has hit two sets after going all-in way behind. I'm shocked. I'm trying to compare the luck factor between Darvin Moon and Cada, and honestly, it's pretty comparable.
8:33 a.m. ET: This place just erupted. The flop came 7-2-9, and Cada hit his set.
8:32 a.m. ET: We could be done right now. Cada is all-in with 2-2 versus Saout's Q-Q.
8:30 a.m. ET: Play restarted after a few announcements. Cada is the short stack with 39 big blinds.
8:20 a.m. ET: Only three remain. Eric Buchman just said in his exit interviews that he thinks three-handed play could last a couple of hours.
Here's a look at the chip counts:
Saout -- $80 million
Moon -- $75 million
Cada -- $39 million
8 a.m. ET: Check that. Buchman was all-in again on the very next hand. This time he went in ahead, but his cards couldn't hold up as Darvin Moon's run continued.
Buchman had A-5 and was up against Moon's K-J. After a flop of Q-9-2, Moon landed a king on the turn to eliminate the most experienced player left.
Now, we're three-handed, and only one more needs to be eliminated before the night is over.
7:55 a.m. ET: Eric Buchman moved all-in, and Darvin Moon called. Buchman showed K-10 and is behind Moon's A-7. He wasn't behind for long.
Buchman spiked a king on the flop and another on the turn to seal the deal and put himself back in the game with $22 million.
Sleep is definitely optional at this point.
7:50 a.m. ET: Antoine Saout and Darvin Moon just got involved in one of the few confrontations they've had at this final table. Saout opened the pot $2.5 million, and Moon reraised to $6.5. Saout took some time and called. The flop came Jd-8c-4d, and Saout checked. Moon bet $10 million, and Saout folded.
Chip counts:
Saout -- $82 million
Moon -- $61 million
Cada -- $41 million
Buchman -- $11 million
7:45 a.m. ET: Just wanted to say good morning to everyone on the East Coast. Yes, this final table is still going.
7:35 a.m. ET: Eric Buchman raised $2.5 million from the button, and Saout reraised from the big blind to $8.5 million. Buchman moved all-in and Saout, after nearly five full minutes, made the call. Buchman showed A-Q and was dominated by Saout's A-K.
The flop came K-10-7, giving Saout top pair and Buchman a gut shot straight draw. Another king on the turn didn't change anything. Buchman needed a jack and only a jack to win the pot and the river, but a led to a huge ovation by the French contingent and a devastated look on Buchman's face.
Buchman is down to $9.8 million. Saout is up to $89.2 million. Wow.
7:15 a.m. ET: Eric Buchman and Antoine Saout mixed it up once again. It started off small enough with a $1.9 million preflop raise by Saout, and Buchman, in the small blind, called. After a flop of 2s-10h-3c, the action picked up. Saout led out postflop for $2.375 million, Buchman raised to $5 million, Saout reraised to $11.225 million and Buchman re-reraised to $21.225! The action was back on Saout in probably the biggest post thus far at the final table at more than $40 million, and after nearly five minutes of contemplation, Saout let the hand go.
Buchman is our new chip leader, and all the players look visibly exhausted. Meanwhile, half the spectators are sleeping … as are some of the media.
Blinds are up now to $500,000/$1,000,000 with a $150,000 ante.
Moon -- $53 million
Buchman -- $56 million
Cada -- $46 million
Saout -- $39 million
7:10 a.m. ET: Darvin Moon has taken over the chip lead once again. The four players are extremely tight in chips, but after numerous all-in reraises by Moon, he's been able to build his stack back up.
If 1,500 people attended the Penn and Teller Theater to start the day, I'd say there are about 400 people here now. Most of them are Cada supporters.
Eric Buchman somehow finds himself at the bottom of the chip counts, while Saout and Cada hold on to the second and third spots.
7 a.m. ET: Interesting move of the moment: Darvin Moon limped in from the cutoff with A-J. I wonder why he came to the decision not to open with a raise?
6:49 a.m. ET: Is Darvin Moon employing a new strategy? Moon has reraised all-in twice in the past few hands. Keep in mind he has between 50 and 60 big blinds, but I guess he realized he can't play postflop poker against these three. Not a bad strategy to employ at this point, and Moon is back over $40 million.
6:46 a.m. ET: This might take a while.
6:40 a.m. ET: Joe Cada just took a nice pot off Antoine Saout with a three-bet preflop. Cada opened from the button for $2 million. Saout, probably thinking that Cada was trying to steal, reraised to $6.2 but folded after Cada four-bet to $11 million.
Chip counts:
Antoine Saout -- $56 million
Eric Buchman -- $50 million
Joe Cada -- $49 million
Darvin Moon -- $39 million
6:35 a.m. ET: Now that play is four-handed, we're seeing a lot more flops as players are acting with a wider range of starting hands. Eric Buchman just earned back some chips he previously lost to Joe Cada. Buchman was the aggressor throughout the hand, and eventually, after Cada called the preflop raise and flop bet, he folded to a half-pot turn bet.
On the next hand Buchman went up against Darvin Moon. Moon raised preflop, and Buchman called. A flop of Kh-Qh-4s resulted in a $3 million bet from Buchman that Moon called. The turn was the 9c, and both players checked to see the Ks hit the river. Moon led out for $5 million, and Buchman folded.
There's going to be a lot of pots like this, and I'm sure each of them is prepared to get more aggressive during short-handed play.
6:15 a.m. ET: Chip counts:
Antoine Saout -- $62 million
Eric Buchman -- $55 million
Joe Cada -- $45 million
Darvin Moon -- $31 million
6:10 a.m. ET:Jeff Shulman eliminated in fifth place. Sitting on the short stack for most of the past few hours, Jeff Shulman got it all-in with pocket sevens versus the A-9 of Antoine Saout. The flop came 10-9-6, and Saout took the lead. Shulman needed an 8 or 9 on the turn or river to catch up but wasn't able to hit as the board ran out Q-4.
Shulman walked over to his father and Phil Hellmuth, received many pats on the back from his friends and walked offstage. He earned $1.9 million for his finish.
5:40 a.m. ET: Players are off to a 20-minute break. Maybe Darvin Moon can get in a quick nap as many have mentioned that he might be nodding off at the table. I haven't seen it for sure, but it wouldn't shock me, as the players have been at the table for an excessive amount of time.
5:35 a.m. ET: After 20 straight hands of flopless action, Antoine Saout raised from the small blind and Jeff Shulman called from the big blind. The flop came 3s-Ks-9c, and both players checked. The turn was the 6h, and Saout checked. Shulman put in one-fifth of his stack ($2 million) and was called by Saout. A river 4h enticed Saout to lead out, and Shulman folded.
We actually had two flops in a row, and Shulman was on the short end of this hand too. Darvin Moon raised a Shulman postflop bet and took down the pot. Shulman has been putting a lot of chips in the center only to fold and is down to $6 million once again.
5:30 a.m. ET: Here's an update on the chip counts. Keep in mind there haven't been many flops, so any changes are really based on preflop aggression.
Antoine Saout -- $54 million
Eric Buchman -- $50 million
Joe Cada -- $44 million
Darvin Moon -- $31 million
Jeff Shulman -- $13 million
5:23 a.m. ET: We're flopless for 13 hands, but we had a little bit of action on Nos. 12 and 13. On No. 12, Eric Buchman raised to $2 million from the small blind, and Joe Cada reraised to $5.8 million from the big blind. Buchman let the hand go only to open from the button on the next hand for $2 million. Then Cada reraised to $6 million, but it was the same result. Buchman folded, and Cada chipped up.
5:16 a.m. ET: For those of you who were wondering what's actually happening at the table, we haven't seen a flop in nine hands. What action!
5:15 a.m. ET: Thanks to Nolan Dalla, who was the only man able to get an interview with Phil Ivey. Enjoy:
Dalla: How did the difficulty of this final table compare to other final tables you have made and high-stakes games you have played?
Ivey: Yeah, it was tough because I was handicapped by my chip count. So, I was kind of waiting for something good to happen. I mean, I bluffed a couple of hands. But there was nothing really I could do. The last hand obviously was a little unlucky. I did have ace-8 against two fours [earlier] also, where I lost that pot. And then, I just got grinded down. I held off and stayed even for a little bit. And then, I got it in with ace-king and lost it. There was not really much I could do.
Dalla: Is there any satisfaction you can take from this, after making it to the final table of the WSOP main event final table for the first time? Or was it simply about winning and nothing else?
Ivey: It is definitely just about winning. So, it's disappointing I did not win. But I am happy with the way I played. I think I made pretty good decisions with the amount of chips that I had. And, I think I gave myself as much possibility of winning it as I could. There were a couple of things I would do different. There was a hand that came up earlier where Jeff Shulman opened for $1.2 million, and I moved all-in. I had two kings that hand. Joe Cada had two 10s. If Jeff Shulman would not have opened [with the raise], then I probably would have raised and been able to double up right away. So, there were a couple of things that could have gone differently. But they didn't. That's poker. I think I will be back within a couple of years, so I am not too worried about it.
Dalla: While you were playing, could you feel the energy of the crowd? I think you could tell than many people were cheering for you. Could you feel that support?
Ivey: Yeah, absolutely. It was an amazing experience. Poker has come so far. I mean, when I first started playing, I would tell people I play poker for a living, and they would look at me like I was crazy. So, to see this -- it's really mind-boggling.
Dalla: When is the next time we will see Phil Ivey at the WSOP main event final table?
Ivey: Next year, probably (smiling).
5:05 a.m. ET: We're now 13 hours into the action, and with some fans of eliminated players leaving the stage, more Joe Cada supporters have taken seats at the final table. As I'm trying to figure out how we're going to put this all on TV (Tuesday, 9 p.m. on ESPN), I think we'll spend an hour going from nine to seven and then see some rapid eliminations from that point on. There really have been some great hands tonight.
We've seen a lot more raises and calls preflop since getting down to five-handed. Most recently, Antoine Saout and Joe Cada got involved in a relatively insignificant pot, where Cada raised preflop, Saout called, bet the flop and Cada folded.
The fans are even starting to fade. It's getting pretty late here out West, and since the departure of Ivey, we've seen a steady decline of spectators. Media row has thinned out too, but unlike last year, there's nobody sleeping next to me.
4:50 a.m. ET: Antoine Saout just extended his chip lead over the other four players by putting the pressure on Darvin Moon. Buchman hasn't been playing much but just picked up a small pot preflop.
Here's a look at the chip counts:
Antoine Saout -- $54 million
Eric Buchman -- $50 million
Joe Cada -- $44 million
Darvin Moon -- $33 million
Jeff Shulman -- $10 million
4:38 a.m. ET: Jeff Shulman moved all-in under the gun on hand No. 200, and Antoine Saout called. Shulman was ahead with A-5 against Saout's K-Q. Shulman paired his ace on the A-J-4, but it gave Saout a straight draw. In search of a 10, Saout wouldn't find any help with a 5 on the turn and 4 on the river.
However, that might not be the most entertaining piece of information for the moment. Phil Ivey is apparently online playing $2,000/$4,000 right now on Full Tilt Poker. Guess he didn't get enough action during the final table.
Blinds also have increased and are now $400,000/$800,000 with a $100,000 ante.
4:35 a.m. ET: What on Earth is Darvin Moon thinking? Moon opened the pot, Joe Cada reraised, Darvin Moon moved all-in and Cada called and put himself at risk.
So what could Moon possibly have in the spot? Ummm … jacks, A-K … no. Moon flipped over K-9. Yes, K-9. Oh yeah, Cada had pocket aces, but the hand was far from over.
The flop came down 6-9-3, giving Moon a pair of 9s. Could he suck out again for the third straight elimination? The turn and river came 4-4, and Moon went from the chip leader to fourth in chips.
Here are the current chip counts:
Antoine Saout -- $54 million
Eric Buchman -- $49 million
Joe Cada -- $45 million
Darvin Moon -- $39 million
Jeff Shulman -- $6 million
4:23 a.m. ET: Joe Cada's roller coaster isn't over just yet. After numerous three-bets going uncalled, Jeff Shulman finally called Cada's all-in reraise and had Cada crushed. Shulman showed J-J, and Cada held 3-3 and was in big trouble.
No problem for Cada, though, as he saw a 3 in the door of a 3-4-8 flop. His crowd erupted, and Shulman's contingent was stunned. Yes, Phil Hellmuth was speechless. A 7 on the turn and Q on the river completed the board. Cada is back in the ballgame once again.
Shulman is down to around $8 million, and Cada doubled up to $22 million.
4:15 a.m. ET: Howard Lederer's latest tweet says it best:
"The air was sucked out of the Rio when Moon's queen hit. It was like a morgue backstage. We all missed out on something special."
Darvin Moon has changed the final table greatly by first making two terrible plays and following that up with two sick beats on Phil Ivey and Steve Begleiter.
I've been looking forward to five-handed play for months. It's a chance to see whether Moon can play short-handed poker, and so far, he's been mixing it up and using his chip lead to pressure the table.
That said, he may be very active but just picked a poor spot and gave away a small pot to Jeff Shulman. I guess you can't win 'em all …
3:52 a.m. ET: Down to five players. Wow. Everyone here is still shocked at the elimination of Steve Begleiter, but we all were waiting for the play to pick up, and now it finally has. Amazing how crazy this game is because only minutes ago I was writing how Begleiter was surging.
Can Darvin Moon really make it to heads-up play after the plays he's made today? Time to find out how good he is at short-handed play.
3:49 a.m. ET: Well, that escalated quickly. Steven Begleiter was all-in preflop with Q-Q against Darvin Moon's A-Q. Begleiter's fans all stood up, anxiously awaiting the flop. The flop came 7s-4d-8s, and Begleiter quickly breathed a sigh of relief. The turn was the 3d, and everyone in the blue shirts felt confident Begs was ready to double up back to second place.
Then the ace on the river.
Steven Begleiter has been eliminated in sixth place. Wow. Darvin Moon's run continues. Sick.
3:45 a.m. ET: Begleiter has won three of the past nine hands. Here's an updated chip count:
Eric Buchman -- $53 million
Antoine Saout -- $52 million
Darvin Moon -- $40 million
Steve Begleiter -- $22 million
Jeff Shulman -- $16 million
Joe Cada -- $10 million
3:38 a.m. ET: Clarification on Ivey's exit. He did an interview with the WSOP's Nolan Dalla but did not come out of the theater to meet with the rest of the media.
Begs just won a $7 million pot from Joe Cada.
3:30 a.m. ET: Ivey just stood up the media and didn't do any bust-out interview.
I came back just in time to see Begleiter move all-in and take down the pot. I think he just woke up his fan club, too, who happily added a "Begs! Begs! Begs!" while he stacked his chips.
With six players left, here's the remaining payouts for the night:
Third place -- $3.4 million
Fourth -- $2.5 million
Fifth -- $1.9 million
Sixth -- $1.5 million
3:20 a.m. ET:Phil Ivey eliminated by Darvin Moon. On the first hand back, Phil Ivey moves all-in and is called by Darvin Moon. Ivey showed A-K, and Moon tabled A-Q. The fans erupted and started cheering "Ivey, Ivey, Ivey!"
The flop came Q-6-6, and the entire room sat stunned. Moon had taken the lead, and Ivey would need to hit a king. The turn was a 3 and Ivey, who had a smile on his face when the cards were flipped up preflop, stared with a look of disbelief. The river was 5, and that was it, the dream of Ivey's winning was gone.
Ivey received a standing ovation from everyone in attendance. Gave a polite wave and walked away from the table.
Six left.
2:46 a.m. ET: Players are on a 20-minute break. The last hand featured a four-bet by Buchman, who came over the top of Cada. After Buchman announced his re-reraise, Cada insta-mucked, and the seven were off to another 20-minute break.
Chip counts:
Eric Buchman -- $55 million
Antoine Saout -- $53 million
Darvin Moon -- $32 million
Jeff Shulman -- $17 million
Steve Begleiter -- $16 million
Joe Cada -- $13 million
Phil Ivey -- $6 million
2:43 a.m. ET: We almost had another elimination, but all the excitement ended up for nothing. Joe Cada and Eric Buchman got all the chips in the middle preflop. Buchman had Ac-Kc, while Cada had Ah-Kh. Would we see another Dennis Phillips-like casualty?
The flop brought one club … the turn brought another … and the river a jack of hearts.
Chop chop.
2:35 a.m. ET: Lots of preflop raising going on, but next-to-no action. Phil Ivey moved all-in from under the gun and picked up the blinds and antes when everyone folded.
On the next hand, Joe Cada and Jeff Shulman got involved, and we saw Shulman make a rare three-bet to take down the pot.
Bernard Lee's analysis on Shulman: "He three-bets small but open raises big."
We are now 100 hands past the last elimination.
2:25 a.m. ET: We've played 165 hands already! Here are the chip counts:
Antoine Saout -- $51 million
Eric Buchman -- $47 million
Darvin Moon -- $36 million
Jeff Shulman -- $17 million
Steve Begleiter -- $16 million
Joe Cada -- $16 million
Phil Ivey -- $6 million
2:15 a.m. ET: Begs is definitely tilting. His confident mannerisms have been replaced by a series of head shaking. His fans need to get him back into it if he's going to have a chance.
2:10 a.m. ET: Jeff Shulman took another pot from Phil Ivey. Ivey called Shulman's raise from the button and saw a flop of A-K-3. Both players checked to see a turn 2. Shulman bet out $2 million, and Ivey folded.
Ivey is now down to $7 million, while Shulman is up to $14 million.
2:03 a.m. ET: More Antoine Saout, but this time his actions resulted in his supporters cheering incessantly. Steven Begleiter opened the pot from the cutoff, and Saout reraised. Begleiter made the call, and the two saw a flop of 8h-3c-9h. Begs led out for $6.3 million, and Saout went into the tank and then moved all-in.
Begleiter needed to call $14.9 million more and surprisingly made the call with 8c-7c! Saout tabled Ah-Kh for two overs and a flush draw. With 15 outs twice, Begs needed to dodge most of the deck. He couldn't, as the 10h hit the turn to double up Saout.
Saout is our new chip leader with more than $50 million, while Begs is down to $18.
1:52 a.m. ET: Joe Cada is slowly creeping back into this thing. After Antoine Saout raised from under the gun, Cada reraised all-in and took down the pot. He's worked his way back up to $18.75 from his low of $2 million.
Saout is down to $25 million.
1:46 a.m. ET: Cada just won another $2 million from Ivey holding top pair with K-Q.
To make things worse for Ivey, the price of poker is going up as the blinds are increasing to $300,000/$600,000 with a $75,000 ante.
1:45 a.m. ET:
Updated chip counts:
Eric Buchman -- $46 million
Steve Begleiter -- $45 million
Darvin Moon -- $38 million
Antoine Saout -- $28 million
Jeff Shulman -- $13 million
Joe Cada -- $12 million
Phil Ivey -- $10 million
1:40 a.m. ET: Bernard Lee has the greatest spreadsheet here by far. He's kept track of every single hand and the tendencies of the players. He noted that Phil Ivey has been relatively consistent tonight in terms of stealing blinds and it looks like on average, he's stealing two hands per orbit.
Begleiter has been rolling since dinner. He's played seven hands and has won six of them including the big pot against Buchman.
Complete miserable/hate alert: Antoine Saout got the fourth walk of the night … and had pocket aces.
1:30 a.m. ET: Darvin Moon raised Phil Ivey's big blind. Ivey called to see a flop of 10-8-3 and Moon led out for $2.5 million. Ivey folded and is still hovering around $10 million.
1:23 a.m. ET: Chop chop. Antoine Saout and Jeff Shulman make it all the way to the river with a board of J-2-A-9-6. Saout bet $3.5 million, Shulman called and the both tabled A-Q.
1:17 a.m. ET: Begs is officially the chip leader, but not by much.
1:10 a.m. ET: Cada's friends are getting rowdy. It might be the beer.
After Begs took a pot away from Ivey preflop, Phil went back at it once again with another preflop raise. Joe Cada reraised all-in and Ivey would have to make a tough decision for another $4.35 million more. After a good amount of time, Ivey made the call with As-8c and was in a race against Cada's 4-4.
The flop was 2-10-3 and Cada remained ahead. With his fans screaming, the turn brought a 9. As if the appearance of the 9 wasn't scary enough, the river was a 7 and Cada doubled up through Ivey.
Cada is back up to $12 million while Ivey is back to being the short stack with only $10 million.
1:00 a.m. ET: After Jeff Shulman defeated Darvin Moon in a blind versus blind battle, Ivey and Moon went head to head when Moon limped in on Ivey's big blind. The flop came 9-9-9. Ivey bet $500,000 and Moon called. The turn was a Kd and both players checked to see a six on the river. Both players checked again and Ivey's 10-high beat Moon's eight-high.
Both players got a little smile out of that one and Ivey adds another million to his stack.
12:55 a.m. ET: Not wasting any time, Joe Cada called all-in on the very next hand against Eric Buchman. Buchman showed 5c-4c and was dominated by Cada's Jc-4d. Visibly tilted, Cada watched as the board came 6-9-4-10-7 and he doubled up to around $5 million.
12:51 a.m. ET: Chip counts:
Eric Buchman -- $48 million
Steve Begleiter -- $45 million
Darvin Moon -- $40 million
Antoine Saout -- $27 million
Phil Ivey -- $16 million
Jeff Shulman -- $15 million
Joe Cada -- $2 million
12:49 a.m. ET: A hand after Ivey made an all-in squeeze play, Jeff Shulman reraised all-in after a Joe Cada preflop raise. Cada would need to call $5.775 million more to make the call and after a good three minutes, did put the chips into the center.
Cada shows Ad-Js and would be dominated by Shulman's As-Kh. The flop came 3h-10s-9c. The turn Q gave Cada extra outs with straight possibilities and with his hands on his head, he awaited the river.
A innocuous 4 hit the river, and Shulman doubled up and essentially crippled Joe Cada.
12:40 a.m. ET: Steven Begleiter and Eric Buchman just had another significant confrontation. Begleiter opened with a raise and Buchman reraised to $4.5 million. Begleiter re-reraised to $11 million and Buchman let his hand go. Looks like Begleiter's coach Jonathan Little gave him a pep talk during the dinner break and told him to be a little more aggressive.
12:35 a.m. ET: Ivey has won a few small pots since play resumed and according to Daniel Negreanu, Ivey is "confident." I spoke to Negreanu about Ivey during the dinner break and he told me that Ivey is making lay-downs that he would never make given the situation.
12:25 a.m. ET: Mike Sexton is introduced as the newest Poker Hall of Famer and tells the dealer to "Shuffle Up and Deal!"
Players are back in action …
10 p.m. ET: Dinner break chip counts
Eric Buchman -- $54 million
Darvin Moon -- $41 million
Steve Begleiter -- $38 million
Antoine Saout -- $27 million
Phil Ivey -- $16 million
Joe Cada -- $10 million
Jeff Shulman -- $7 million
Players will take a two-hour break while I head to the Mike Sexton Hall of Fame induction dinner. Congrats Mike! See everyone at midnight ET, and make sure you catch up on the Poker Edge audio blog, which has some great analysis from Phil Gordon on the final seven players.
9:52 p.m. ET: The new Poker Edge audio blog featuring the interviews with Kevin Schaffel and James Akenhead is out.
9:50 p.m. ET: Phil Ivey just chipped up a couple million in a hand against Steven Begleiter. In a small versus big blind confrontation, the two see a flop of Qh-Jd-Kd. Out of position, Ivey checked and Begleiter bet $1.7 million. Ivey called. The turn was another jack and both players checked extremely quick. A river 3 didn't change much to either player and Ivey bet $2.5 million. Begleiter was up against the patented Ivey stare-down and the entire Penn and Teller theater went silent.
After a minute or two of thought, Begleiter gave up the hand and Ivey's fans erupted in cheers.
9:40 p.m. ET: Jeff Shulman is now the shortest stack at the table. Antoine Saout raised preflop to $1.3 million and Shulman reraised to $4.5 million. Saout moved all-in and Shulman, who had nearly a third of his stack in the center, folded.
Here are the current chip counts:
Eric Buchman -- $51 million
Steve Begleiter -- $43 million
Darvin Moon -- $41 million
Antoine Saout -- $26 million
Joe Cada -- $12 million
Phil Ivey -- $11 million
Jeff Shulman -- $8 million
9:20 p.m. ET: Ivey's fans can breathe again. Jeff Shulman raised from the button and Ivey moved all-in for $6.9 million more. Shulman cut out the calling chips and began to weigh his decision. After three or four minutes of thinking, Shulman let his hand go to a round of applause by the Ivey fans in attendance.
The blinds are now $250,000/$500,000 with a $50,000 ante.
9:10 p.m. ET: Five minutes left in the level after the quick break. Ivey is going to be even shorter stacked when the blinds go up in a few.
8:55 p.m. ET: Two of the bigger stacks, Begleiter and Moon, just mixed it up big time. Darvin raised preflop and Begs reraised. Moon deliberated for a moment or two and called. The flop came 2-3-4 with two spades and Begleiter led out for $5 million. Moon raised to $15 million and Begleiter moved all-in!
Moon only had to call $6 million AND FOLDED! Wow. Really? Folded? That hand might make TV … (very sarcastic, obviously it will be on the broadcast).
Begs' supporters erupted and we have a new chip leader in Eric Buchman.
Here are the chip counts:
Eric Buchman -- $51 million
Steve Begleiter -- $44 million
Darvin Moon -- $42 million
Antoine Saout -- $23 million
Jeff Shulman -- $15 million
Joe Cada -- $9 million
Phil Ivey -- $8 million
8:45 p.m. ET: Joe Cada just put Steven Begleiter to the test by three-betting all-in for $7.9 million. Begleiter, who originally raised preflop, folded down leaving Cada's supporters on their feet chanting, "Joey! Joey! Joey!"
Cada is approaching the $10 million mark once gain.
Believe it or not, Phil Ivey is actually here at the table. Since the players left Las Vegas in July we've said he'd be patient and pick his spots, but I definitely didn't think that he'd be at $9 million after four hours of play.
8:30 p.m. ET:
Chip counts:
Darvin Moon -- $58 million
Eric Buchman -- $53 million
Steve Begleiter -- $25 million
Antoine Saout -- $22 million
Jeff Shulman -- $16 million
Phil Ivey -- $9 million
Joe Cada -- $8 million
8:25 p.m. ET: Just got back into the action after interviewing Kevin Schaffel. He still has a smile on his face despite the tough beat. Congrats on a great run, Kevin.
8:05 p.m. ET:Kevin Schaffel eliminated in eighth place. Again! A-A versus K-K! Schaffel has A-A versus Buchman's K-K, but the flop is K-Q-J and Schaffel needs some major help. Wow. It didn't come on the turn as another king hit the felt, eliminating Schaffel in eighth place.
Don't look now, but Eric Buchman is currently closing in on Darvin Moon.
7:40 p.m. ET:James Akenhead is eliminated in ninth place.
Getting extremely short, Akenhead moved all-in and was called by Kevin Schaffel. Akenhead showed 3-3 and hoped to be in a race, but unfortunately was against 9-9 and was dominated. The flop was 10-7-2 giving Akenhead no help. The turn was another 2 and the river was a 9, sealing the fate of Akenhead in ninth place.
Still, Akenhead battled for quite a long time and after tripling up on a miracle card, gave himself a shot. However, he got coolered with the K-K versus A-A hand and that was tough to overcome.
Eight remain and Schaffel has had one heck of a level.
7:25 p.m. ET: Kevin Schaffel doubles up through James Akenhead. After a flop of J-9-4, Schaffel moved all-in and was called instantly by Akenhead who showed K-K immediately. Schaffel turned over … you guessed it … pocket aces. Even better for Team Schaffel, he had Akenhead covered in suits and that would leave Akenhead in need of only the two remaining kings to hit if he were to win.
The turn was a 3 and the river brought another jack to double up Schaffel to $14 million. Akenhead is back as the short stack with only $5.9 million and decided to give away another $1.2 of that stack on the very next hand. Akenhead raised $1.2 million out of the small blind and Phil Ivey moved all-in from the big blind. Akenhead folded and his supporters, who were so loud just an hour ago, have gone silent.
7:15 p.m. ET: Darvin Moon just got healthier once again at the expense of Joe Cada. On a board of 4-8-9-A-4, Moon led out on the river for $2.5 million. Cada raised to $5.5 million and Moon called and showed A-10. Cada insta-mucked and cost himself nearly a third of his stack. Moon is back near $60 million while Cada is down to $6.5 million and is the short stack at the table.
The yellow T-shirted section is not too happy right now as Cada needs to double up soon.
7:00 p.m. ET: Break over. Cards are back in the air. Blinds are $200,000/$400,000 with a $50,000 ante.
6:42 p.m. ET: Here's the first Poker Edge Podcast Audio Blog from the main event. We recorded it right at the first break. Enjoy!
Darvin Moon -- $49 million
Eric Buchman -- $35 million
Steve Begleiter -- $24 million
Antoine Saout -- $21 million
Joe Cada -- $16 million
Jeff Shulman -- $14 million
James Akenhead -- $12 million
Phil Ivey -- $11 million
Kevin Schaffel -- $9 million
6:31 p.m. ET: Did that really just happen? I'm pretty much shocked at this point. Darvin Moon and Antoine Saout just had an interesting confrontation. Saout raised preflop and Moon called. After a flop of K-J-2, Moon led out, Saout reraised and Moon re-reraised all-in on a pot-committed Saout. Moon showed A-4 (I don't get this at all) and Saout had J-2 for two pair. The turn was a 3 and everyone in the place pretty much gave the pot to Moon who, let's face it, runs better than anyone else. The river was another 2 and Saout doubled up.
"That was a gift," said Phil Gordon who is amazed at the actions of the chip leader. That really didn't make any sense. Saout wasn't going anywhere.
"That's about the worst play I've ever seen" is something I'm hearing by many right now.
6:22 p.m. ET: Our first major pot just took place and it's a brand new ballgame. Akenhead moves all-in for $4 million. Begleiter called and Buchman reraised to $12 million! Begleiter reluctantly folded and Akenhead showed Q-K and is dominated by Buchman's A-K. The board came 2-3-J-K and with only one card to come, the Q hit and Akenhead is now back in the game with over $13 million. Wow.
What an amazing hand and Phil Gordon believes that Begleiter had the best hand preflop -- in the J-J, Q-Q range -- which would've given him the pot.
That was the second time that Akenhead got the best with K-Q. On Day 8, Akenhead cracked aces with K-Q to essentially bring him into the November Nine. Now, the British pro has chips and could be very dangerous from here on out.
6:00 p.m. ET: Cada started this level very aggressive as he did when action first began and padded his stack with some of Antoine Saout's chips. Saout on the next hand three-bet all-in on an Eric Buchman raise to get some of the chips back that he had just lost.
James Akenhead remains the very short stack even after stealing the blinds.
Kevin Schaffel continues to get three-bet anytime he raises preflop and he's folded every time. This time around, Schaffel raised under the gun and Saout was the aggressor. Saout put another $2 million in the pot and Schaffel mucked dejectedly. It seems that Schaffel just isn't ready to play a big pot, but he can't continue letting his hands go and blinding himself down to the felt.
5:45 p.m. ET: Cards are back in the air and for those Poker Edge fans, Phil Gordon, Bernard Lee, Lance Bradley and I all chimed in and that podcast will be up within the hour.
Akenhead is looking for a spot and just moved all-in to win the blinds as nobody called. Kevin Schaffel folded to a Joe Cada three-bet on the very next hand to continue his downward trend. Is Schaffel just being too tight right now? Looks like he's not adjusting to the aggressiveness at the table and picking the wrong players to try and steal the blinds from.
5:15 p.m. ET: We had our first full board! Jeff Shulman and Eric Buchman (who raised preflop) got involved on a board of K-7-7-10-3 and after a flop bet and call, both players checked the turn and river. Buchman showed Q-Q to take down the pot while Shulman mucked.
Buchman has been raising incessantly so far, really putting the pressure on his opponents and has had the most successful first level of any player, accumulating $11 million.
Players now are on a 20-minute break and on a side note, Bernard Lee is tracking all the hands on his computer and this spreadsheet is awesome. It really shows just how each player has been acting.
Here's his breakdown:
Akenhead has not won a hand. Schaffel has played three hands and won two of them. Cada started out aggressively, playing four of the first 10 hands, but only one since. Moon has played only four hands and has won all four (two of them on big reraises). Ivey has played seven of the last 20 hands, winning four. Begleiter has played six hands, winning four and the two that he lost were the two that he limped in from the big blind. Buchman is crushing as mentioned above and won the biggest pot of the day against Shulman. Saout has been very quiet, playing only four hands, but has won three (two on big reraises). Finally, Shulman has been quiet playing only four hands. He won his first two, but lost his last two.
5 p.m. ET: Tournament director Jack Effel announced the poker celebrities in the house: Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, Chau Giang and … Phil Gordon. PhillyG at a poker tournament! Way to represent the Poker Edge!
Begs took down two pots recently to the loud chants of his fans while Buchman three-bet Ivey to drop Ivey down to below $10 million once again. Of course, after I finish writing that sentence, Ivey raised Jeff Shulman's big blind and won the next hand to jump back over $10 million. Each time a player raises and takes down the blinds, it's padding $810,000 to their stack.
4:46 p.m. ET: Quick chip count update:
Darvin Moon -- $61 million
Eric Buchman -- $35 million
Steve Begleiter -- $29 million
Jeff Shulman -- $19 million
Joe Cada -- $13 million
Phil Ivey -- $11.4 million
Kevin Schaffel -- $11.3 million
Antoine Saout -- $9 million
James Akenhead -- $4 million
4:35 p.m. ET: Ivey moved all-in over the top of Shulman and Cada who both reluctantly folded. This place was silent though as everyone wondered if that would be the end of Ivey. Someone in the audience yelled, "overrated" and I'm pretty sure everyone looked at that person wondering just what he was thinking.
4:25 p.m. ET: Cada has still been mixing it up. After a hand that he raised preflop and was 3-bet by Shulman (and folded), Cada raised again on the next hand and Ivey called. The flop was Kh-4d-3d, Cada bet $1 million and Ivey folded. The short stacks have so far gotten a little bit shorter in the early going.
Two hands later, Moon limped from the cutoff. Ivey completed from the small blind and Schaffel reraised. Moon, pacifying by stroking his goatee, reraised! Schaffel stared intently at Moon, trying to get a read and trying to figure out what the limp-reraise meant. He reluctantly folded and Moon picked up another $1.5 million or so.
I was just reminded to post that the first answer for Poker Pick 'Em has been determined! Four players were wearing sunglasses to start.
… And Phil Ivey just picked up his first pot.
4:10 p.m. ET: Cada has come out raising and $620,000 seems to be his number of choice. He's opened two pots so far and won them both uncontested. The best line of the day so far came from one of his fans. Tournament director Jack Effel said, "Cada wins the pot!" and his friend yelled, "Get used to it!"
Effel is also trying to interact with the crowd. I'm not sure if it's going the way he envisioned it as nobody is laughing as his jokes …
Just a quick logo note, Darvin Moon is logo-less, but Begleiter added a patch for "The Prisoner" which is something that is coming out on AMC this month. Kevin Schaffel is wearing a "Bad Beat on Cancer" patch and will be donating one percent of his winnings to cancer research.
Schaffel also won the first hand against Joe Cada which offered the first flop of the day.
4 p.m. ET: After lengthy introductions, play is underway and after Doyle Brunson spoke poker's most famous words, "Shuffle up and deal!" the cards are in the air. Joe Cada definitely has the loudest contingent here, but wow, during the first hand, it's so quiet I can hear the chips shuffle at the table. Jeff Shulman raised from the cutoff on the first hand and started off the festivities by winning the first pot.
3:00 p.m. ET: Quick update! Players have arrived and the cheers have started. "Begs! Begs! Begs!" was definitely the most organized.
Just saw Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips and Joe Sebok shaking hands with fans and friends on stage. This place definitely is electric right now.
2:35 p.m. ET: The chips are on the table
Welcome to my favorite column of the year, the 2009 WSOP main event final table blog. Action will begin around 3:15 p.m. and I'll be reporting from here until only two players remain and the heads-up matchup is set. The duo will then return Monday night to battle it out until we have one champion.
I'm guessing the final table will last until around 4 or 5 a.m. Sunday morning, so you're in for a full day of reporting on the key hands, the sights and the sounds from Las Vegas. I'll be posting audio from the Poker Edge podcast, video for the Inside Deal and twitter updates at @ESPN_Poker. It's going to be a long ride so welcome, get comfy and don't forget to refresh often.
This morning has been relatively busy at the Rio, and for good reason. After four months of waiting, all the players, family, friends and fans are in attendance and ready to get going. I saw Eric Buchman waiting outside the theater, and apparently our Inside Deal open with Buchman getting amazed at my entrance is something that caught on, as his mom repeated the action. Quite embarrassing.
Joe Cada was in typical form, surrounded by his friends and family wearing University of Michigan gear with "The Kid" on it. Kevin Schaffel's contingent is wearing "Schaffel up and deal" T-shirts with Schaffel's image on it. Team Begs is in blue with "Begs! Begs! Begs!" on the back, while Darvin Moon's fans are singing. Yes. Singing. You know that song that goes, "People want to knoooow, whooo we arrre, so we tell them …"? Well, the next line is "We are the loggers! The mighty, mighty loggers!" That's definitely a new one.
There's also a great story about Moon and Schaffel again. As mentioned yesterday, Moon was playing the Texas hold 'em pit game against Schaffel's sister. This morning, Jordan Schaffel, Kevin's brother, was up at 5:15 a.m. PT and went downstairs to kill some time since he couldn't sleep. Jordan headed to the Texas hold 'em pit game and saw Moon again! So what did he do? He called his brother. Kevin, whom Jordan said was up very, very early this morning, came down and he played with Moon. As if that wasn't entertaining enough, Moon continued his pit dominance by hitting a straight flush with 3s-5s! He is still running better than ever.
Amazing.
OK, people are starting to file into the theater right now. The chip bags are on the table and the media is filling out their seats. The public isn't being allowed in, and the over 1,000 fans waiting in line are anxious to see the action.
Finally, here is the Inside Deal Nine. The person who has the final winner will win a seat at a WSOP Academy. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out the Inside Deal.
Dennis Quick - Darvin Moon
James Particka - Kevin Schaffel
Chris Jordan - James Akenhead
Josh McDonald - Steven Begleiter
Chris Swartz - Antoine Saout
Michael Hood - Joe Cada
Michael Barger - Eric Buchman
Jason Crosby - Jeff Shulman
Ryan McAnaugh - Phil Ivey
Small blinds: Doyle Brunson and Peter Eastgate are co-announcing the "Shuffle up and deal." … There are balloons in the stands where the 1,500 spectators will be seated. … Lacey Jones is going to be the unofficial host and was rehearsing this morning. … Cliff Josephy is on stage to support Joe Cada. He should be, he has 50 percent of his winnings. … Jack Links representatives handed out free packets of beef jerky to everyone. … Energy drink count: 1. Over/under 3.5.
It's Friday afternoon in Las Vegas and all of the players are hanging out with their family and friends. Many of them are having parties this afternoon as a thank-you to everyone who has come out to support them. Kevin Schaffel is even taking his entire 90-person contingent to the Terry Fator show at the Mirage! All of them are finding ways to relax and be ready for Saturday's action.
As for me, the morning started nice and early with a special ESPN Inside Deal featuring Peter Eastgate. As we prepped for the show in the Penn and Teller Theater, one of my former ESPN.com co-workers, Darren Rovell, was doing his sports business thing by interviewing commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, Darvin Moon and Steven Begleiter. He asked Pollack about the economy and how it has affected the money and Pollack, smooth as ever, boasted that the WSOP is alive and well. Each of these interviews can be found at cnbc.com.
Once Rovell was off the air, the Inside Deal took over right from the final table. We invited Peter Eastgate on the show during this special since let's face it, nobody knows what it's like to enter the November Nine final table besides the nine from last year, and the man who won the bracelet probably has some good advice. Indeed he did.
Eastgate shared his thoughts on the players at the table, how he's spent his year as poker ambassador and whom he'd like to see earn the bracelet this time around. Earning over $1 million in tournament winnings over the past year, Eastgate had a very successful tenure as champion and unlike many of the other recent champs, I don't see him fading out of the spotlight anytime soon.
Bernard Lee, Laura Lane and I then discussed what we're watching for on Saturday and made some final predictions on how this entire table will play out. After we finished the show, I interviewed Norman Chad, Chops from Wicked Chops Poker and some random poker fans in the Rio, including one who asked if Phil Hellmuth was at the final table.
Guess not everyone's been watching every Tuesday night on ESPN at 9 p.m.
Poker Pick 'Em
Time is running out to sign up for Poker Pick 'Em! Entries will lock at noon on Saturday, so make your picks and give yourself a chance at winning the trip to the Bahamas courtesy of PokerStars.net.
Small Blinds
Doyle Brunson was on ESPN 1100 AM and offered to coach Darvin Moon if he would wear a Doylesroom patch during the final table. Moon declined. … Moon also spent a good chunk of the morning at the Texas Hold 'em pit game with Kevin Schaffel's sister. By the way, he's still running good and won another $1,000. … The portraits of the previous WSOP winners are hanging in the halls of the Rio. … Unlike last year, the Penn and Teller Theater is really open, allowing for a better view for the spectators. … However, it doesn't look as though much of the general public will be able to watch this year since the players brought out so many supporters. This is definitely something I think they need to fix next year. … I spoke to Jeffrey Pollack on the Poker Edge podcast and we talked about the Hall of Fame situation. I'm pretty confident we'll see some more changes to the process in 2010. … Hans "Tuna" Lund passed away today after losing a lengthy battle with cancer.
That's about all I really need to say in this blog because after four months of wondering, the final table will finally play out on Saturday and Monday. For those who have been watching all the episodes online and have been avoiding the coverage here on ESPN.com, I welcome you and encourage you to take a look at everything we've posted regarding the November Nine and the final table. If you've been sticking with us the entire way, thank you! In any case, ESPN.com will be on site in Las Vegas at the final table covering the action and everything else that surrounds the final table weekend.
The nine players will take their seats at noon on Saturday and play until there are two players remaining. If last year was any indication, they'll probably be in action until 3 a.m. PT. The final two players will then return Monday night at 10 p.m. PT to play until we have a champion. Those who are wondering about ESPN TV's coverage of heads-up play will be relieved that there will be more than two hands this time around.
The guys were last together on July 16. It'll be quite a reunion at the Rio on Saturday.
While all that is going on, you can expect this blog to fill all your poker needs as I'll be updating directly from the final table. Now, some people might want minute-to-minute updates, but since live poker can be brutally slow at times, you'll catch the highlights here. We'll also have the Inside Deal team out in Las Vegas airing a preview show on Friday, a wrap of nine-to-two play on Sunday and a final wrap on Tuesday. The Poker Edge podcast will also feature daily updates starting on Friday and will run straight through until we have a champion on Tuesday.
The newest addition to the ESPN.com poker portfolio is Poker Pick 'Em and it gives every fan a chance to follow along in a new way. Simply enter the free game, answer 20 prop-like questions regarding the final table and the winner will be heading to the Bahamas courtesy of PokerStars.net. It's easy to play and where else can you prove that you know this final table better than anyone else?
Of course all the action leads up to the final table broadcast on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 9 p.m. ET. If you want to follow the action as it happens, ESPN.com will have you covered. If you'd rather watch the show and read about it afterward, that's cool, too. If you're a Twitter user, you need to start following @ESPN_Poker for instant updates throughout the weekend. If you don't want to find out what happens, I'd probably un-follow me.
The players
It's interesting that after four months I still have no concept of whom I can actually predict winning this thing. After interviewing each of the players, I can say they are all prepared and know what they're in for. In my opinion there is no weak spot, which I know might go against popular belief. On the last Poker Edge podcast I made a prediction of the four who might finish at the top. I honestly said after the show that I think I'm wrong.
After all, this is a game that is impossible to predict, which is why I'm going to leave the analysis (at the moment) to ESPN's co-host of the WSOP, Norman Chad, who released his thoughts on each of the nine.
Darvin Moon: "Can a logger emerge out of the woods of western Maryland, strike gold in Sin City and then submerge himself back into the woods of western Maryland? If he wins, it's the stuff of storybooks."
Eric Buchman: "Not an intimidating table presence, but his reads and instincts are sharp and, with plenty of chips, the 30-year-old New York pro won't do anything outlandish to lose them."
Steve Begleiter: "From his final days at Bear Stearns to the final table here, it's been an odyssey for the 47-year-old amateur. He might have more gamble in him than anyone left -- he won't shy away from mixing it up."
Jeff Shulman: "Until now, the Card Player magazine publisher has avoided big pots and played stay-out-of-harm's-way poker. He likely will continue to avoid the big misstep -- unless he's already made one hiring Phil Hellmuth as his coach."
Joe Cada: "At 21, he could become youngest Main Event champion ever. He's even-keeled and selectively aggressive -- sort of like last year's youngest Main Event champ ever, Peter Eastgate."
Antoine Saout: "He's an engineering school dropout who took up poker seriously only a couple of years ago and now -- in his first World Series of Poker ever -- can become the first Frenchman to win the Main Event. Only in America."
Phil Ivey: "He's Phil Ivey. Next case. Can the game's greatest player navigate a field of 6,494 to win the game's greatest event? Yes. He's Phil Ivey -- short of stack but long on skill, and in his prime."
Kevin Schaffel: "At first glance -- at age 51, the oldest player left -- the affable amateur is outclassed by this group. But then how do you explain that this is the third time in six years he's cashed in massive Main Event fields?"
James Akenhead: "He hopes to be the first Brit to win it all. The good news for him is that he's level-headed; the bad news is that he's short-stacked. He'll need some luck early for any chance to be around late."
ESPN.com has featured each of the nine in numerous stories, videos and podcasts. Just click on the player's name above to take a look at what we had to say about each player.
Cool Poll
Many of you might remember that during the WSOP main event I put in this blog some really cool polls courtesy of Voices Heard Media. Well, I couldn't let the November Nine wrap up without another go. Take a look below and vote, comment, etc. I'll have many of these throughout the weekend and of course, they'll be interactive, giving you the chance to ask these players what you want to know.
The more the merrier
If I know anything about the poker industry it's that the media always works together, not against each other. Maybe it's because the "sport" is young or maybe it's because everyone usually gets along in an effort to build poker awareness. That said, here's a look at some of my other favorite sites that you should visit during this weekend. Just type the name in Google to get to the sites and no, these aren't in any order whatsoever.
The official ones: WorldSeriesofPoker.com, Pokernews.com, Bluffmagazine.com, Cardplayer.com, PokerRoad.com.
Blogs to follow: Tao of Poker featuring the one and only Dr. Pauly McGuire, Pokerati written by Dan "The Wolfman" Michalski (and many others) and Wicked Chops Poker written by three entities.
After months of deliberation and wondering, the 2009 Hall of Fame class has finally been announced. Looking at the list of potential Hall of Famers this year, I believed only one player on that list would be a lock. He received the support of the players and the media, and as it turned out, the result was exactly as expected, with Mike Sexton earning the spot to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame on Nov. 7.
"I am deeply honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and it is particularly special because for the first time it was a process that involved the fans, the media and the living members of the hall of fame," said Sexton in a news release. "To me the most meaningful aspect of this process was the acceptance by the living hall of famers who welcomed me into their exclusive club."
During a special ceremony held during the dinner break of the final table, Sexton will become the 38th member of the Hall of Fame. He is extremely deserving of the honor. Poker fans around the world will think of Sexton as the announcer of the World Poker Tour, but the WSOP bracelet winner can play a little bit, too. With more than $3.7 million in career poker winnings, the 62-year-old has 47 WSOP cashes, which include an amazing 20 final tables.
PartyPoker.net
Mike Sexton will be the 38th member of the WSOP Hall of Fame.
"Sexton's obviously a solid choice for the Poker Hall of Fame," said Lance Bradley, editor in chief of Bluff magazine. "He has been the game's biggest ambassador during its biggest period of growth. In that same time, he's also posted solid results against tough fields."
Those solid results include a fourth-place finish in the pot-limit hold 'em world championship at the WSOP in 2008 and a 420th place finish in the 2009 WSOP main event. Sexton is also extremely philanthropic; he has given hundreds of thousands to multiple charities and founded Poker Gives, which its Web site says is "a way for the poker world to 'Give Back' to worthwhile charity organizations."
"More than any single poker player, Mike Sexton promoted the game of poker throughout the '90s and into this decade," poker pro Howard Lederer says. "He had a singular belief in the game as something that could be much bigger. Every poker player owes a great debt of thanks to Mike for helping to extend poker to places we could have never imagined before."
In addition to being a true ambassador for the game, Sexton also helped found the Tournament of Champions, supported the fight for the legality of online poker, and was a representative of the poker players during some tough times on Day 1D during the 2009 WSOP main event.
In order to be inducted Sexton needed to earn at least 75 percent of the vote from the panel of 30 (15 active poker Hall of Famers and 15 members of the media). Those who were nominated but didn't make it in this year (Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Men Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Ivey and Erik Seidel) will still be eligible for future induction.
The Million Dollar Challenge
After the "Face the Ace" debacle, my expectations for FOX's new poker show weren't all that high. However, being a poker junkie, I definitely caught the first episode after the first football game Sunday and was relatively relieved that it wasn't another complete bomb for the poker industry. Just incase anyone isn't aware of how this one plays out, an amateur faces off against a celebrity in the first round, a PokerStars pro in the second round and then Daniel Negreanu in the third round. Beat Negreanu in back-to-back heads-up matches and the amateur wins a million. Not bad.
Negreanu carried the first episode of "Million Dollar Challenge" with his commentary on the amateur's opponents.
Daniel Negreanu really plays a great role. His assists during the first two rounds are solid, as he offers his own thoughts about the situations. While he can't see the hole cards during the first round, the celebrities the amateur is playing aren't the best at covering up their tells, so Negreanu can capitalize that way. The second round is a different story, since Negreanu can see the hole cards and talk through the hands with the player. Essentially, he's telling the contestants what to do, since if they win, he gets $10,000 donated to the charity of his choice.
"I'm thrilled to be part of this show," Negreanu said. "I love the concept, and I know that it will be packed with great poker and all the bells and whistles, hip graphics and drama."
The teamwork stops during the third round, when the amateur faces off against Negreanu for $100,000. If the player can beat Negreanu, his chance at a million is closer than ever. The first contestant on the show, a priest, defeated Negreanu and has earned his seat at the Table of Champions, where he'll face off against other challengers to earn the right to face Negreanu for the million.
The show had its ups with Negreanu's contribution, its downs with some of the overall corniness and its in-betweens featuring the editing of hands during play when all of a sudden the chip stacks are reversed and the blinds are high. That said, it's worth a watch if you want to see Negreanu at his best and some celebrities at the poker table.
According to Negreanu's blog, "I really think the show hits a demographic that is mostly totally new to poker and likely doesn't watch shows like PAD, High Stakes Poker, or even the WSOP."
Given that it's on right after football on Sundays, that's probably correct.
Small blinds: Phil Laak won the PartyPoker.com World Open V. … Daniel Negreanu questioned the existence of Ultimate Bet on the Hardcore Poker Show. … Joe Cada will be on next week's "ESPN Inside Deal." … Why didn't someone tell Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho that they shouldn't bring a rolling suitcase on the Amazing Race? … Mike Matusow is the Dean of Deepstacks University. OK then. … A.J. Benza will no longer be the co-host of "High Stakes Poker" on GSN. … In other "High Stakes Poker" news, PokerStars.net has come in as the main sponsor. … Brandon Hall won the Aruba Poker Classic, beating Robert Mizrachi heads-up for the title. … I'm wondering how Bluff Media did not get a vote in the Hall of Fame ballot. Strange to me. … Howard Lederer beat out 19 players to win the $10,000 HORSE event at Festa al Lago. Yes, 19 players. Something tells me that's not a good sign for the industry. … Aaron Gustavson edged out Peter Eastgate for the EPT London main event title. Gustavson earned 850,000 pounds for the win. … ESPN The Magazine's Body issue featured Jennifer Harman, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Scotty Nguyen. … Phil Ivey will be featured on "E:60" on Nov. 3. Trust me, I've heard the stories about the trip, and this all-access piece will live up to the hype. … Courts in South Carolina ruled poker as a "game of skill." That's good; now can the rest of the country do it? … Full Tilt Poker released some cool new features this week to their game client. Now players can "run-it-twice" like they do on High Stakes Poker and also play "Cashout Tournaments" where players can trade in their stack for a portion of the prize pool.
While the excitement around the Caesars Cup built up over the past few weeks, the matches didn't last that long. The format of the Caesars Cup featured two-doubles alternate-bet matches in which one player plays the hand preflop and on the turn while the other teammate plays the flop and river; two-doubles matches in which the teammates played the same stack and rotated every two hands; and finally, if necessary, heads-up matches. Team Europe, led by Annette Obrestad, defeated Captain Daniel Negreanu and Team Americas by a score of 4 to 1.
The teams pose for a picture prior to play beginning in London.
In the first match, Huck Seed and Phil Ivey were ousted by Patrik Antonius and Ilari Sahamies. Negreanu and Hellmuth tried to turn it around, but unfortunately the Americas found themselves down 2-0 when their A-A ran into the A-3 of Bertrand Grospellier and the Betfair qualifier, John Harvey. Jennifer Harman and Doyle Brunson beat out Obrestad and Dario Minieri to cut the lead in half, but then back-to-back victories by Gus Hansen and Peter Eastgate (over Barry Greenstein and John Juanda) and Obrestad (over Seed) sealed the deal. The event is scheduled to air early in 2010.
As for the events that award bracelets at WSOPE, it was J.P. Kelly who earned his second bracelet of the year in WSOPE Event 1, the £1,000 no-limit hold 'em event. The field of 608 players set a record at the WSOP, and Kelly became the first British player to win a bracelet in London.
While the field may not have been as large as in Event 1, the talent in the £2,500 Event 2 compensated for that fact. Erik Cajelais outlasted the field of 158 players to win his first bracelet in the split pot-limit hold 'em/pot-limit Omaha event, which, hopefully, relieved him of the memory of being the runner-up in a $5,000 event at the 2007 WSOP. Cajelais' journey to the bracelet wasn't easy, as he needed to beat out a final table that included Men Nguyen (who finished fourth), Chris Bjorin (sixth), Howard Lederer (seventh) and Hoyt Corkins (ninth). Lederer made back-to-back final tables as he is one of five players left standing in Event 3, £5,000 pot-limit Omaha. This was his 25th WSOP final table and he hopes to add a third bracelet to his collection.
On Friday Paul Zimbler became the world record holder by playing the longest continuous poker session.
The last note out of Europe is perhaps the coolest one. Paul Zimbler, a professional poker player from England, set the record for the longest recorded continuous poker session. Zimbler played poker for 74 hours, 20 minutes and 21 seconds! At the end of the session, Zimbler was exhausted and basically had to be carried away from the table, and you'll be able to see the final hand on next week's Inside Deal. Forgetting the accomplishment for a second, Zimbler's challengers donated money to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to play with the minimum donation of £10. More than £35,000 was raised in the attempt. Congrats to Paul on the accomplishment, and please, go get some rest.
Borgata Poker Open
Olivier Busquet claimed his first WPT title in the $3,300 World Poker Tour stop at the Borgata Poker Open. Busquet defeated a field of 1,018 players and managed to make an amazing heads-up comeback to earn the $925,514 first-place prize money.
"I'm a little bit overwhelmed by the whole thing," Busquet said to the World Poker Tour. "Making a WPT final table is every tournament poker player's goal. To actually win the tournament is unreal … I was down to $1.8 million out of $31 million. I hit a couple of lucky cards, I avoided some cards and I am just happy I won."
Busquet's heads-up miracle began when he entered play against Jeremy Brown down 20 to 1. Let that soak in: 20 to 1. The first double-up came when Busquet's J-7 beat Brown's Q-9. He then chipped away until he doubled up again by flopping a straight versus Brown's two pair, and with chips, the online heads-up pro (who came just short of winning the $25,000 heads-up event at the World Championship of Online Poker) began to take advantage. Of course, the fact that Brown bluffed away $7.6 million with Q-2 also helped Busquet's cause.
After coming into the final table with the chip lead, Busquet went on a roller-coaster ride and walked away with the title when his A-4 flopped trips to beat out Brown's open-ended straight flush draw. Other notable finishers in this event included Steve Brecher (10th), Chris Reslock (11th) and Kathy Liebert (29th).
Small blinds: Four more years! Well, for IMG Sports & Entertainment. Harrah's announced in a press release Friday that IMG would continue to "activate its global network to help guide the international expansion of the brand, including sponsorship, event management, licensing and television distribution." … Phil Hellmuth will be coaching Jeff Shulman in preparation for the WSOP main event final table. … Darvin Moon will be on next week's ESPN Inside Deal. … Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho make their "Amazing Race" debut this weekend. … More Hellmuth: Let's just say the 11-time bracelet winner isn't happy with everything going on at Harrah's and the changes to take place in the future. On the Hardcore Poker Show, he said, "You know, there's going to be some mistakes made by Harrah's, and just mark my words -- they're going to risk losing the World Series of Poker, which is estimated at $200 million." … Joe Sebok's signing with PokerRoad hasn't made many people happy. He spoke about his decision on both ESPN Inside Deal and the Poker Edge podcast. … For some reason LeBron James is shown for five seconds playing at PokerStars. The rest of the music video has nothing to do with it. At all. Product placement at its best!
During a time when the poker industry focuses on who will become the next world champion, one former world champion is officially on the hook for being part of the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal from June 2003 until December 2007. After over a year of investigation, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) released a report on Friday that Russ Hamilton, the 1994 WSOP champion, played a major part in the appropriately dubbed "Ultimate Bet Scandal." The KGC said in their report (here) that Hamilton and 31 other individuals used 117 user names to facilitate the cheating through 23 Ultimate Bet accounts.
In their release, the KGC explained that, "The cheating resulted from certain individuals manipulating the software then being used by UB's prior ownership and said manipulation was possible due to deficiencies in the control systems that were created, implemented and/or used by UB's prior ownership."
Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, the current owners of Ultimate Bet, worked with the KGC during the investigation from January 2008 until July 2008. As documented in their report, their initial investigation stemmed from information provided by someone "within the online poker community" regarding the "NioNio" account whose statistics were "alarmingly improbable." Bottom line: he wasn't going to lose.
So how did it work? The report explains that the account used to cheat logged into the Ultimate Bet game client using an account ("AuditMonster1" and "AuditMonster2") that had access to the illicit software where hole cards would be revealed. Those that logged in with the aforementioned accounts didn't play in any game, but rather passed on the information to the actual player who was able to use the data to profit. The money was then sent via player-to-player transfer on the software and many account names were disabled while new ones were created to keep the scheme going.
Tokwiro and Ultimate Bet have been audited since the investigations began and will continue to be subject to audits for the near future. As a result of the investigation, Tokwiro refunded $22,054,351.91 to players that were affected by the cheating instances and paid a fine of $1.5 million (plus the costs of the investigation).
While many in the poker industry are fighting for legalization and regulation, this final report can do one of two things.
First, it can show lawmakers that the online poker players need some sort of protection. Create a licensing company to oversee operations in the United States and make sure that those that play online are dealing with sites that are as transparent as possible.
Second, it can show lawmakers that online poker isn't a good thing and the sooner it's gone, the better. Granted, this view is completely narrow-minded, but when something like this is released, it adds to the already negative impression many have of the game.
Hall of Fame nominees
After 10 players were listed for potential nomination into the Poker Hall of Fame in July, early last week Harrah's released the final list of nine, removing Tom Dwan from consideration.
IMPDI 2009
Phil Ivey has been nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame, but will he get the nod?
"With all due respect to Mr. Dwan, one of the game's most exciting young players, he does not currently meet the criteria for Hall of Fame selection," said the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council in a press release. "We wish him well and expect he will again be considered once he has 'stood the test of time.'"
Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Men Nguyen, Scott Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel and Mike Sexton are all on the ballot for the 15 living HOF members and the 15-member Media Panel to vote on. A player must get at least 75 percent of the vote to be inducted and will be judged on these characteristics:
• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.
I'll give you my thoughts on the nominees this week on ESPN Inside Deal. One of the nominees, Daniel Negreanu, will come on as a guest. Those selected for induction will be honored in a ceremony during the dinner break of the main event final table Nov. 7.
WSOP Europe's capacity issues?
Four bracelets are up for grabs in Europe from Sept. 17 until Oct. 2, but still a major concern is the capacity at the Casino at the Empire in London. Seating for the £1,000 no-limit hold 'em Event 1, £2,500 pot-limit hold 'em/pot-limit Omaha split Event 2 and £5,000 pot-limit Omaha have a maximum daily capacity of 252 players. Event 1 has two start days, but the fact that the maximum capacity of these events is so small will inevitably limit the growth of these events. The WSOPE main event, Event 4, has a maximum daily capacity of 216 players and offers two starting days for a cap of 432. John Juanda's victory in last year's WSOPE main event came in a field of 362 players.
Obviously capacity is a major concern after the debacle at the WSOP main event in Las Vegas, but I think the WSOP needs to take some larger steps to ensure that if the events can grow in numbers that it is, quite simply, possible.
Small blinds: Thomas Bichon defeated the 181-player field at the inaugural WPT Merit Cyprus Classic. … Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho make their Amazing Race debut this season. … Four Planet Hollywood employees were arrested for embezzlement in their poker room. Apparently they really wanted to win the high-hand jackpot over and over again. … 20-year old Carter Phillips took down the European Poker Tour stop at Barcelona. It was almost destiny since Phillips won multiple seats to the event online. … Isabelle Mercier is no longer a member of Team PokerStars Pro. … ESPN Inside Deal will have an exclusive interview with Phil Ivey. … The WSOPE main event start time has been pushed back due to the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Play will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will last only four levels instead of the initially scheduled six. … November Niner Joe Cada won a second-chance event at the World Championship of Online Poker for $128,000. … Even though "Face The Ace" hasn't been wildly acclaimed, TMZ.com is reporting that a man named Brandon McSmith is suing Poker PROductions for $85 million, saying the show was his idea. $85 million? Really? Yikes.
After the completion of the Legends of Poker, a World Poker Tour event, there has been a common phrase used on just about every poker forum: "I bet they're using their run good up right now."
Translation: Can you really believe that two November Niners, Kevin Schaffel and Steven Begleiter, made the final table of a WPT event a month after making the WSOP final table?
In the words of Bluff's new editor-in-chief Lance Bradley, "This is getting out of hand."
Kevin Schaffel finished second to Prahlad Friedman in the WPT Legends of Poker. This was Schaffel's first tournament since the WSOP main event.
Two players just about nobody had heard of before the WSOP main event are turning heads once again after putting on a show during the Legends of Poker main event that concluded Wednesday night. Although Prahlad Friedman was the well-deserving victor, the first four days of the tournament were focused on the names of Schaffel and Begleiter at the top of the leaderboard. Begleiter, who sat next to another November Niner, Joe Cada, held the top spot after Day 1 and Day 2, but Schaffel jumped him on Day 3 when the duo were second and third, respectively, heading into the final 27.
Begleiter was eliminated in ninth place when he was caught making a move with Kh-3h. Todd Terry raised from the button to $50,000, and Begleiter moved all-in over the top for approximately $400,000. Terry called with A-Q and the board held up for Terry, eliminating Begleiter who earned $39,240.
"We really wanted to get in together," said Schaffel to WorldPokerTour.com's Amanda Leatherman after Day 4. "I mean, it was a little sad, but that's the way it goes. … He fought hard, but he's in a better spot than me in November."
Here's how the action played out:
Schaffel entered the televised six-player final table holding the chip lead. Mike Krescanko lasted only five hands and was eliminated by Friedman while Schaffel became the massive chip leader by eliminating Sam Stein in fifth place. On the very next hand Schaffel hit a bump in the road named Toto Leonidas. The tour veteran doubled through Schaffel holding K-K versus Schaffel's 10-10. The hand kept Schaffel in the chip lead, but instead of having a $1 million chip advantage, he only edged out Friedman by $235,000. It didn't last for long, though.
While playing four-handed, Schaffel increased his stack all the way up to $3.9 million before doubling up Leonidas once again. This time around, Schaffel held the best hand with A-J on a flop of Jd-9d-8s, but Leonidas' Ad-5d spiked a diamond on the turn to take a piece out of Schaffel's stack. Friedman then took over the chip lead by knocking out Leonidas when his flush draw missed the second time around in almost the same exact situation.
Prahlad Friedman earned over $1 million and his first WPT title with a victory at the Legends of Poker.
Playing three-handed, the 31-year-old Friedman became the bully and chipped up and held more than half the chips in play. He eliminated Terry when he won a race with A-Q versus Terry's 4-4 and would hold more than a 3-1 chip lead over Schaffel going into heads-up play. Friedman has faced some of the toughest in the game heads-up and had the edge in the experience category, but Schaffel wouldn't go away and doubled up five hands into the action when his two pair held up against Friedman's flush draw. Fourteen hands later, Schaffel wanted to be the aggressor and re-reraised all-in holding K-J preflop. Friedman called with A-Q and with his hand holding up, earned $1,009,000 for his first World Poker Tour title. He has $2,326,066 in live earnings, a WSOP bracelet and countless "fans" of his rapping ability among all forums. He also finished 64th in the 2009 WSOP main event.
Schaffel earned $471,670 for second place, which I find simply amazing, since first place paid over $1 million. I'm not sure if the tournament needed to guarantee a $1 million first-place prize, but I think that second-place payout is a little short.
"I had a great night," said Schaffel in an e-mail. "Just got to do one better in November."
Even though neither Begleiter nor Schaffel won the title, it's great to see the players back on the felt after many of them proclaimed they wouldn't be playing for four months, which, as we all guessed, was just them being tired at the moment.
More World Poker Tour news
After accepting a bid from Gamynia Limited, many watched as WPT Enterprises entertained a second bid from an undisclosed company. With little information available, many were surprised to hear that Peerless Media, a subsidiary of PartyGaming (read: Party Poker), has, pending shareholder approval, purchased the WPT for $12.3 million. What does this mean for the WPT itself? As weird as this sounds, probably not much. Hopefully the brand will continue to grow and receive support from PartyGaming's online platforms, but the biggest impact will probably be seen in the coming months as all signs now point to a re-emergence of Party Poker in the United States. After leaving shortly after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was signed, many have waited for a Party Poker return, and given that the WPT is primarily a U.S. tour, it would seem that the new branding starting next season would be aimed at the American viewer.
Small blinds: Betfair going public? According to Marketwatch.com, Betfair is reportedly weighing a $2.5 billion IPO. Interesting timing. … Maxim Lykov won the first European Poker Tour in Kiev, Ukraine. … Jeffrey Pollack is counting down the days to WSOP Europe on his Twitter feed. … November Niner Eric Buchman joined ESPN Inside Deal this week. … Steven Begleiter will join Phil Gordon on the Poker Edge Podcast on Thursday. … Billy Kopp signs an endorsement deal with Ultimate Bet. … 45 percent of the Durrrr Challenge against Patrik Antonius has been completed and Antonius holds a $76,104 lead. Still a long way to go. … G4's new show "Two Months, Two Million" is pretty entertaining. Clever idea.
I'll be honest. Usually after I come back from the WSOP, the next two weeks are spent trying to catch up on anything and everything, followed by a vacation. This year has been a little bit different, as the excitement of poker around the office simply hasn't diminished. While we continue to gather information about the November Nine and follow all the additional stories throughout the summer, the team here has been in development of a new 30-minute ESPN.com digital show called "ESPN Inside Deal."
Chris Moneymaker will be the first guest on ESPN.com's new poker show, ESPN Inside Deal.
Debuting Tuesday, Aug. 4, the show will feature ESPN The Magazine contributor and previous Ryan Seacrest intern Laura Lane, professional poker player and ESPN.com columnist Bernard Lee, and … yours truly. With great guests in studio here in Bristol each week, we're going to be more than just a news show. Interviews are of course on the schedule, but we'll also have contests, never-before-seen footage from the WSOP broadcasts, and an inside look at the industry we all love to follow.
We're going to do our best to have fun with the show, and we'll have weekly episodes every Tuesday from Aug. 4 until the conclusion of the main event final table. You can email questions and comments for Chris Moneymaker (which may be used on-air) to InsideDeal@espn.com.
After that quick announcement, let's go around the felt
• National Poker Week concluded Friday, and the Poker Players Alliance-sponsored imitative turned out to be quite a success in the eyes of many. Representatives of the PPA, as well as some of poker's most notable names, lobbied politicians and staffers in Washington, D.C., with hopes of gaining support for Barney Frank's online gaming bill. Reaching 51 co-sponsors, the bill, with hopes of future regulation, is gaining momentum. With the support of over 383,000 signees on the PPA's Poker Petition (Poker Is Not A Crime), it looks like the online poker industry has just started to move into a new direction … finally.
• While the U.S. (hopefully) heads in the right direction, Russia has moved in the opposite direction in regard to the poker industry. Russia has revoked poker's title as an "official sport" and made it illegal to play poker except in a few areas across the country. Most affected by this change was the European Poker Tour, which had a stop in Moscow scheduled for the middle of August. Moscow was quickly replaced by Kiev, Ukraine, which actually might be better, as U.S. citizens aren't required to have a visa to enter Ukraine, as they would've needed to go to Russia. In any case, it's a shame that a country that has put out some amazing poker talent recently (Ivan Demidov, Vitaly Lunkin and Alexander Kravchenko) has taken these steps to limit the progress of the poker industry in their country.
Alexander Gomes is the most recent WPT Champion after winning the Bellagio Cup.
• Alexandre Gomes became the first Brazilian to win a World Poker Tour event by winning the $15,000 buy-in Bellagio Cup. Gomes defeated a final table that included Justin Smith, Alec Torelli and Erik Seidel. Gomes earned $1.18 million for the win after a quiet WSOP, while Smith followed up his five WSOP cashes with a $464,870 third-place finish. The 21-year-old "BoostedJ" continues to surge onto the live poker scene, and after tremendous online success, we can expect only more impressive results in the future.
• The TV network G4 has taken a step into the poker industry with a new show, "Two Months. Two Million." Dani "Ansky" Stern, Jay "Krantz" Rosenkrantz, Emil "Whitelime" Patel and Brian "Flawless_Victory" Roberts will play online with hopes of making $2 million in … yeah, you get it. The show debuts Aug. 16, and they mix in the Vegas scene, celebs, Playboy, etc. One of the coolest things that was shown in the promo video is that they have a "Tilt Room" where they use baseball bats, hockey sticks, or anything they can find to blow off steam by bashing whatever is lying around. Great idea.
Small blinds: The oddsmakers have been busy determining the bets for the November Nine. Some have Phil Ivey at 8:1. I disagree. … Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho are on the next season of CBS' "The Amazing Race." Could be entertaining to watch. … The WSOP Academy will host an event in Chicago. ESPN.com's Bernard Lee will be one of the teachers, joining Annie Duke, Matt Graham and Joe Navarro. … The Asia-Pacific Poker Tour starts its third season in Macau. … Bobby's Room saw a poker boom of its own during and after the WSOP. Doyle Brunson tweeted that they were playing Chinese poker at $15,000 a point. That's just sick. … Joe Cada joins Phil Gordon and me on the Poker Edge podcast Thursday.
4:30 a.m. ET: We have our November Nine, and yes, Phil Ivey is one of them. After an eight-level final-day marathon last year, it was quite shocking that the final table had been determined by 3 a.m. ET. The final 27 players showed up on perhaps the biggest day of their poker careers, and as they had for the entire main event, they played fast. By 6:40 p.m. ET, under four hours into play on Wednesday, only 18 remained. Antonio Esfandiari was eliminated in 24th place, and hopes of a double-superstar final table vanished. From that point, all eyes were on Phil Ivey, who was the short stack almost the entire day. Ivey battled and battled as the field got smaller, but he never faced an all-in moment during the final day.
Two bracelets and the main event final table … not a bad 2009 WSOP for Phil Ivey.
Meanwhile, as the field of 18 became 10, Darvin Moon's stack increased, and it was only fitting that Moon finished the job just 45 minutes into the 10-handed final table. On the final hand, Eric Buchman raised, was called by Moon, and then was reraised by Jordan Smith. Buchman folded and Moon called, leading them heads-up to a flop of 8-4-2. Smith checked and Moon led out for $4 million. Smith, with a total of nearly $15 million, reraised all-in and was instantly called by Moon who had flopped top set. Smith showed A-A and sheepishly hoped for a miracle card to either hit the turn or river. The turn was a 5, giving Smith some additional outs. He needed either an ace for a better set or a three for a straight. However, Smith would be the biggest bubble boy of the year as the river was a 10 and Moon raked in the chips to give him a stack of $59 million when play begins in November.
Even though Phil Ivey is one of the short stacks, he's definitely the one the rest of the players are watching. After interviewing Ivey on Thursday's Poker Edge Podcast, it's clear that he's been waiting for this opportunity his entire life. He wasn't concerned about any of the other players at the final table, and he joked that he's going to change his cell phone and leave the country … then he said he was serious. Since his poker face was on with that statement, who really knows what he meant, but that is the enigma of Ivey. No matter what his actual intentions are at this time, he will be the focus of the media and of poker fans everywhere as the days count down to November. Can he win the bracelet that nobody ever thought a pro could win again? We'll find out in November.
(1) The fact that Darvin Moon and Billy Kopp put so much money in the pot after they both flopped flushes surprises me. Neither of them had the nuts, yet both players were willing to take such a risk with so much at risk.
IMPDI 2009
Darvin Moon is the chip leader heading into the main event final table.
(2) I honestly cannot wait to see some hands when they start airing on ESPN later this summer. While the first show is July 28 and will cover the $40,000 no-limit hold 'em anniversary tournament, a few weeks later the main event will start to be broadcast, and we'll truly see the full journey of these players. Without a doubt, I'm leaving this year with more questions about hands played than ever before, and I know that TV will come through and show us everything we want to see.
(3) How will Phil Ivey actually act over the next few months? Will he really not talk to anyone? His best line of the night: "I might start watching poker on TV."
(4) Will Darvin Moon show up in November with an endorsement deal or no? He held out this long, but the online sites will definitely put up some large money to logo the chip leader.
(5) Out of all the players who were part of the final 10, I would never have predicted that it would be Jordan Smith who would go out 10th. With so many chips and being in such a great position entering the final table, never did I think the only other bracelet winner left would be the one on the rail.
Kevin Schaffel enters the final table sixth in chips.
(6) Two European players (Antoine Saout and James Akenhead) … seems familiar … oh wait, Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov. While Saout and Akenhead are the short stacks, both have had some tournament success, and with the blinds at $120,000/$240,000, each has some play left.
(7) It was great to see a friendship form between two of the November Nine: Steven Begleiter and Kevin Schaffel. The two met in June and will now spend the next four months sharing this experience.
(8) A great job by the staff here at the WSOP: The tournament ran well and appeased the players, with only one slipup on Day 1D. Nobody's perfect.
(9) While I didn't mention this specifically in earlier posts, Jeff Shulman didn't make any friends at the WSOP with some of his recent comments. As initially reported on Wicked Chops Poker, Shulman reportedly said that if he won, he'd "renounce the WSOP bracelet." When asked if that was true, he said, "If by renounce it you mean throw it in the garbage, then yes." Will he change his tune over the next four months? This is one story I'm interested in following until November.
(10) Finally, a big thank you goes out to everyone for following the blogs, podcasts, videos and all the content here on ESPN.com. Appreciate the comments, the questions and, of course, the corrections.
That's a wrap from Vegas. I can't wait until the final table in November.
1:50 a.m. ET: I'll give a full recap of the day in the next update, but here are your November Nine:
Darvin Moon -- Logger from Oakland, Md.
Eric Buchman -- Not sure, since he didn't fill out his sheet, but he has many tournament results and he's from Long Island, N.Y.
Steven Begleiter -- Former Bear Stearns employee who now works in private equity. From Chappaqua, N.Y.
Jeff Shulman -- His second WSOP main event final table, Card Player's editor from Las Vegas, Nev.
Joseph Cada -- Professional poker player from Shelby Township, Mich.
Kevin Schaffel -- Semiretired from Coral Springs, Fla.
Antoine Saout -- Engineer turned professional poker player from France
Phil Ivey -- Seven-time WSOP bracelet winner, professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nev.
James Akenhead -- Professional poker player from London, England
Andrew Feldman is the poker editor, columnist, producer and tournament director for the ESPN Poker Club. Andrew has covered the poker world for ESPN.com since March 2005 and also serves as the Editorial Producer for the ESPN.com Fantasy Editorial group. Andrew can be found playing online at the ESPN Poker Club under the username "AJ Suited."
Andrew's archive of stories and poker tips can be found here. He can be heard with Phil Gordon on the "Poker Edge" weekly in the Podcenter.
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