Mike Matusow is Flipchip's Pick to win it all

Date: Thu, Jul 3, 2008

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Mike Matusow is the player that has best demonstrated the skills and attitude required to become the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion. From my casual observations through the viewfinder I've detected a major change in the attitude and demeanor of the sometimes caustic "Mike the Mouth." Matusow has never been one to hide his feelings at a poker table and this has more than once proven to be his Achilles heel; but, this year there appears to be a new downsized Mike that gained a lot of self confidence and maturity while losing a lot of weight.

He has played with a focused determination to win and it has paid off with a 2008 WSOP bracelet in event #18. Mike has always been overloaded with natural talent for the game and is considered to be one of the great Omaha players; so, if everything comes together and he remains committed to the "new Mike" we could see him in the winners circle come November. Of course, he must survive the next couple of weeks to become one of the final table nine. Barring an unforeseen run of bad luck Mike Matusow could very well be the next WSOP World Champion.

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Matt Graham Wins 2008 WSOP Event #53

Date: Thu, Jul 3, 2008

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A field of 823 players entered the final event before Thursday start of the 2008 WSOP Main Event. The two day affair saw all but 75 players eliminated on day 1 with the lucky survivors returning Wednesday at 2:00 pm and playing until there was only one to take the final gold bracelet of the 2008 WSOP (FYI: the Main Event bracelet is platinum). After more than 17 hours of tough poker the winner was decided a little after 7 this morning when Matt Graham made a miraculous come-back from near disaster to defeat Jean Robert Bellande in heads-up play and take the gold bracelet plus $278,180 in cash. Jean Robert Bellande received $173,564 for second place while Joe De Niro completed the top three to receive $107,845 for third place.

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Jean Robert Bellande of the Survivor Show fame was at the final table and as expected the outspoken poker pro insured the game was never boring. 1996 WSOP World Champion Huck Seed was seen at the rail conferring with Jean-Robert during the all-night poker fest. Bellande took charge of the table and the chips and then the cards turned to favor Graham. This is Matt Graham's first WSOP bracelet and title.

Congratulations to Matt Graham for hanging tough and taking down Event #53 at the 2008 World Series of Poker. The first day of the Main Event will be getting underway today at Noon. Don't forget to stop by the WSOP Lifestyles exhibition opening at 11:00 am today in the Rio Pavilion.

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David Daneshgar Wins 2008 WSOP Event #52

Date: Thu, Jul 3, 2008

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David Daneshgar stayed alive with a chip and a chair in the final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event of the 2008 World Series of Poker. Considering the capacity crowd of 2693 poker players that begin the event three days ago proved this to be a monumental task for the Westlake Village, California poker player. Daneshgar came to the final table in the middle of the chip leader board and hung on to his position as the other players were eliminated.

In the heads-up play David Daneshgar (3,265,000 in chips) faced Scott Sitron (4,874,000 in chips) and begin moving chips across the table until the final hand when he called Scott's all-in bet with a pair of pocket Tens. No help came for Scott Sitron and David Daneshgar becomes the final $1,500 NLHE champion for 2008, collecting his first WSOP bracelet and $625,443 in cash. Scott Sitron heads home to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with an extra $385,974 and third place finisher Dan Heimiller received $275,695.

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James Schaaf Wins 2008 WSOP Event #51

Date: Wed, Jul 2, 2008

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James Schaaf will be heading back to Torrance, California with a WSOP gold bracelet and $256,412 in cash for his first ever venture into big-time World Series of Poker poker. The bracelet on Schaaf's arm had Phil Hellmuth name all over it when the "Poker Brat" made the final table with a big pile of chips; but, missed winning bracelet #12 when he went out in the third spot. Both James Schaaf and second place finisher Tommy Hang breathed a collective sigh of relief watching the intimidating Hellmuth head to the rail.

After having been almost eliminating and finding himself down to a chip and a chair Shaaf caught a few breaks and rebuilt his chip stacks to go into the heads-up play with 880K to Hang's 1.5 million in play money. A few more lucky breaks and mistake free poker saw Shaaf pull ahead and finally eliminate the always tough Tommy Hang. Hang received $158,933 for second and Hellmuth collected $93,168 for his $1,500 investment. Phil Hellmuth's last opportunity to claim a 12th bracelet this year will be the $10K Main Event which gets under way with day 1A on Thursday.

Congratulations to James Schaaf for his first WSOP bracelet and cash.

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Marty Smyth Wins 2008 WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship

Date: Wed, Jul 2, 2008

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The final 2008 WSOP World Championship before the Main Event is now in the record book and we have a winner from down under. Australian Marty Smyth collected the gold bracelet and $859,532 in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship. He outlasted a field of 381 Omaha players to take down WSOP event #50. He defeated Peter Jetten in heads-up play when the river produced a club to give him the winning club flush. It took a few moments for Smyth to realized he had won after he overlooked the club draw in all the excitement.

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As expected anytime there is an Aussie in the thick of it the crowd was consuming copious amounts of brew and loudly demonstrating their support for a fellow countryman...anyone remember when Joe Hachem won the main event in 2005? Peter Jetten enjoyed a nice payday for second place when he received $528,257. Poker super star Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi finished in third place for $331,279. Michael had his own cheering section that shouted their approval when he would take down a pot.

Congratulations to Marty Smyth.

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J.C. Tran Wins 2008 WSOP Event #49

Date: Tue, Jul 1, 2008

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Poker Pro JC Tran joined the exclusive club of WSOP gold bracelet owners when he capped the field of 2,718 starters in event #49, $1,500 No Limit Hold'em. Tran came to the final table in the #2 spot on the chip count list with 1,438,00 making him a 2-1 underdog behind chip leader Rasmus Nielsen holding 2,998,000 in play money. The two would play heads-up for the gold and cash after the elimination of the seven other final table players.

During the heads-up Tran took charge of the game and although he was holding 2.3 million to Neisen's 5.9 million he aggressively and surgically moved the chips to his stack. In the end his A,Q paired when a Queen came on the flop and Nielsen was down to needing a miracle. There was no miracle on this day and JC Tran had his first WSOP win.

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JC Tran takes down his first WSOP solid gold bracelet plus a very nice $631,170 in cash. Rasmus Nielsen heads across the pond with his $389,557 for second place and John Conroy leaves with the third place money of $278,255.

JC Tran said to watch for him at the Main Event final table and I promised I will be there with the camera to document his win. Congratulations to JC Tran for winning his first WSOP bracelet.

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The Orleans Open begins July 5

Date: Mon, Jun 30, 2008

If you didn't make it into the World Series, never fear. The Rio isn't the only place for big tournaments.

The Orleans is offering their annual Orleans Open beginning July 5 and running through July 20.

All 16 events take place one per day beginning at noon in the Mardi Gras room. Buy-ins range from $200 to $2000.

Events are:

#1 July 5 $200 No-Limit Hold'em
#2 July 6 $200 Omaha Hi-Lo
#3 July 7 $200 Limit Hold-em
#4 July 8 $200 7-card Stud
#5 July 9 $300 No-Limit Hold'em
#6 July 10 $300 7-card Stud Hi-Lo
#7 July 11 $300 Omaha Hi-Lo ("Battle of the Sexes")
#8 July 12 $300 No-Limit Hold'em (LIPS tourney)
#9 July 13 $330 No-Limit Hold'em
#10 July 14 $500 No-Limit Hold'em
#11 July 15 $500 "Battle of the Ages"
#12 July 16 $500 Casino Employee Event
#13 July 17 $500 Mixed Limit/No-Limit Hold'em
#14 July 18 $1000 No-Limit Hold'em
#15 July 19 $1000 Omaha Hi-Lo
#16 July 20 $2000 No-Limit Hold'em

The $200, $300, and $500 tournaments are one-day events. The $1000 and $2000 tournaments are two-day events.

All levels are 45 minutes each.

If you play in the tournament, you can get $55 rooms Sunday-Thursday and $100 Friday-Saturday between July 2 and July 23. Use the code 8ORLC07 at this link.

For more information and to print out a registration form to pre-register, click here.

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Scotty Nguyen is the 2008 WSOP $50K H.O.R.S.E. Champion

Date: Mon, Jun 30, 2008

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Scotty Nguyen is the poker champion of the world! After more than twelve hours of play the 1998 WSOP Main Event Champion finally defeated the last remaining player between him and the championship. Demonstrating his fierce competitive nature the Viet Nam native showed his opponents the way to the door. With his handy long neck beer, sans label, and his distinctive laugh the former world champion became the newest all-around poker world champion and will have his name engraved on the David "Chip" Reese Trophy along with the late Chip Reese (2006) and defending champion, Freddy Deeb (2007).

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Jeff Pollack, WSOP Commissioner, summed it up quite nicely when he said, "Scotty may be know as the Prince of Poker, but tonight he played like a King." This is Scoty's fifth WSOP title and definitely the most prestigious. Most of the professional poker community consider this event to be the real Poker World Championship since players must show skill in five popular forms of poker.

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Scotty Nguyen takes home $1,989,120 plus the special WSOP gold and diamond bracelet for outlasting a blue ribbon field of 148 poker players. Second place finisher, 22-year-old Michael DeMichele, collected $1,243,200 for his five days of work. Erick Lindgren received $781,440 for third place. Matt Glantz was paid $568,320 for fourth, Lyle berman gets $444,000 for fifth, Barry Greenstein has an extra $355,200 for his charities after finishing sixth, former WSOP world champion Huck Seed is $284,160 richer with the seventh place money, and Patrick Bueno left in eight place taking $230,880.

Congratulations to Scotty Nguyen for showing the world that poker is definitely a game of skill when played by professionals.

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Alexandre Gomes Wins 2008 WSOP Event #48

Date: Mon, Jun 30, 2008

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Alexandre Gomes made history when he took the final all-in pot of WSOP event #48 to become the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em champion. It's the first WSOP gold bracelet won by a Brasillian. Second place finisher Marco Johnson couldn't contain the aggresive style of the Gomes and watched his chips and hopes march across the table in an orderly fashion until the final all-in. Holding Q,J of spades Johnson immediately called Gomes' all-in bet only to find the kid from Brasil holding A,K of spades. The turn brought an Ace and Johnson was drawing dead. Alexandre Gomes supporters immediately raised the Brasillian flag and surrounded their new poker hero.

Alexandre Gomes will head back home to South America with the first ever poker gold and $770,540 in first place prize money for topping the huge field of 2317 players. Marco Johnson collected $491,273 for second place and Ryan D'Angelo takes away $326,812 for third. Well known Russian pro Kirill Gerasimov finished sixth and received $177,111.

Congratulations to Alexandre Gomes for making poker history.

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Ryan Hughes Wins 2008 WSOP Event #47

Date: Sun, Jun 29, 2008

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Ryan Hughes should have been home two days ago, instead he's spending Saturday night at the 2008 WSOP collecting his second WSOP bracelet for Seven Card Stud Hi/Low. He won his first bracelet last year in another Seven Card Stud Hi/Low WSOP event. Ryan once again displayed his poker savvy with an aggressive, mistake-free game to overtake early chip leader Ron Long and cruise into the victory lane.

Ryan Hughes collects $183,368 to go with the second piece of WSOP jewelry after topping the 544 player field. Ron Long picks up $113,240 for second and Thomas Hunt takes home $68,686 for third. Noted poker pro and two-plus-two author David Slansky made the final table, going out in the eight spot for $19,306.

Congratulations to Ryan Hughes for his win and his second WSOP gold bracelet.

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Joe Commisso Wins 2008 WSOP Event #46

Date: Sun, Jun 29, 2008

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Joe Commisso and Richard Lyndaker played heads-up No-Limit Hold'em at the ESPN360 feature table of the 2008 WSOP on Saturday night for more than six hours. The six handed final table took needed only three hours to shed four of the six players and the marathon two way battle that followed required 209 hands to finally eliminate Richard Lyndaker in second place and crown Joe Commisso champion of the 2008 NLHE Six-Handed Event #46.

Joe Commisso collected the largest prize yet for this year's WSOP, $911,855 and the gold bracelet. Richard Lyndaker takes down $570,551 for second place. Edward Ochana received $368,891 for his third place effort.

Congratulations to Joe Commisso for outlasting the 805 players in the 2008 WSOP $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-handed Event #46.

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Max Greenwood Wins 2008 WSOP Event #44

Date: Sat, Jun 28, 2008

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Without a doubt this was the loudest crowd of fans to date for a 2008 WSOP feature final table event. The cheering for the heads-up play for the bracelet was heard all the way to the Rio's Masquerade Village. Crazed fans wearing gold crowns and carry hatchets filled the stands behind their poker hero, Rene Mouritsen. On the other side of the stands was an equally fired up crowd of backers for Max Greenwood. The two groups would engage in yelling contest every hand, they also engaged in some off-table prop betting with hand fulls of cash that reached upwards to $25K...and who said live poker was dull and boring?

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In the final tally it was the young player from Toronto that ruled the day and the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys event. The final hand saw both players holding a Jack and making top pair with a J,4,5 flop. Greenwood checked, Rene Mouritsen bet out, and Greenwood raised it to a half million. Mouritsen went under the hood for a few seconds and declared all-in. Greenwood immediately called, turning over his Jack with an Ace kicker. A dejected Mouritsen flipped up his Jack with a King kicker and that's how it ended.

Max Greenwood goes back to Canada with $693,444 plus the coveted gold WSOP bracelet while Rene Mouritsen will head across the pond to Denmark with his $445,523 second place bounty. Another Dane, Albert Iversen, takes downt he $267,314 for his third place finish.

Congratulations to Max Greenwood for making a great comeback to win the 2008 WSOP $1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys Championship.

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Bodog WSOP Qualifier VIP Days: The Helicopter Tour

Date: Fri, Jun 27, 2008

photo courtesy BodogLife.com

As we mentioned in previous posts Bodog will be adding some extra value to their WSOP qualifier's Las Vegas experienced with Team Bodog members getting to choose from one of three VIP Days.

We covered Day 1 - The Racetrack and Day 2 - The Gun Range in previous posts. This time we'll be looking at the details of Day 3 - The Helicopter Tour.

Day 2 takes place on July 5. Qualifiers who select this day will get to let off some steam at the Las Vegas Gun Range before heading over to do battle against each other at an indoor paintball range. Here are the details:

• Should WSOP qualifiers choose Day 3 as their VIP Day they'll get it off to swank start with limo service to the airport.

• From there they'll board a helicopter and fly over the Mojave Desert with viewings of Lake Mead, the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.

• The chopper will land on the canyon floor for half-an-hour for a light snack and drink.

• On the way back WSOP qualifiers will get to buzz the Las Vegas Strip at night.

Bodog's WSOP satellites are still running until this Saturday, July. Find out more about Bodog's WSOP online satellites.

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Martin Klaser Wins 2008 WSOP Event #43

Date: Fri, Jun 27, 2008

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Eric Seidel was looking for his ninth WSOP bracelet Thursday evening but soon found himself out in fourth place in this quickly moving event. This was one of the shorter final table playing sessions at this year's WSOP, somewhat unusual for a pot-limit split game. Event #43 was taken down by first time bracelet winner Martin Klaser playing at his very first WSOP final table. Martin continued to play a brutally aggressive game of raises and re-raises to methodically intimidate and eliminate the other players.

Martin Klaser goes home with the gold and $216,249 in cash. Second place finisher, Casey Kastle, walks away with $137,985 and Michael Fetter receives $83,538 for third. Eric Seidel collected $68,304 on his way to the rail.

Congratulations to Martin Klaser for winning the 2008 WSOP $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event.

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