Vitaly Lunkin WIns 2008 WSOP Event #27

Date: Tue, Jun 17, 2008

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Vitaly Lunkin played seesaw poker with his heads-up opponent until the wee hours this morning before pulling into the chip lead and finally calling Brett Kimes all-in. The two players gave an exhibition in cautious poker play and for a while it appeared neither was prepared to gamble for the coveted bracelet and the $628,417 in cash reserved for the winner. Twice Lunkin had Kimes all-in only to see him make a river hand to double up and play some more; but finally, Brett's luck went south and he had to settle for second. Vitaly Lunkin collected the winner's booty and proudly held the gold bracelet high above his head for all to see.

Brett Kimes received $387,837 for his three days of play . The third spot was captured by Bobby Firestone along with the $277,026. The event attracted a capacity crowd of 2,706 players vying for the win.

Congratulations to Vitaly Lunkin for topping the record field and taking home the gold.

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Bodog Announces Poker Room Upgrades and Open Beta Testing

Date: Tue, Jun 17, 2008

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Bodog Poker made an announcement today about the release of a new and improved, resizable beta poker client for public testing. Bodog Poker's newest version features full screen mode, resizable tables, embedded chat and game details and on-demand player tools.

These changes were brought about with a lot of help from those who know best; Bodog's poker players. This release features the most sought after feature - resizing ability. This marks the first time all of the Bodog community can be involved in a public beta test. Feedback is encouraged as future versions will reflect the input received from you, the player. With every update, each beta version of the Bodog Poker client can be run independently, giving players the ability to choose between the established and beta clients during each session. Upcoming features, including the ability to play on more than three tables simultaneously, will follow the same process.

Morris Mohawk Gaming Group CEO Alwyn Morris had this to see in a press release "When Bodog Poker players asked for new features like resizable game play windows and full screen mode, we listened, integrating those features into the new beta client. These new features are just another step in Bodog's on-going evolution and players can look forward to much more in the future."

To get a first hand look, head on over to Bodog Poker.

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Barry Greenstein Wins 2008 WSOP Event #26

Date: Mon, Jun 16, 2008

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What better Father's day present than a WSOP gold bracelet? That's exactly what Barry Greenstein gave himself this evening after defeating Chris Klodnicki in heads-up play for the Razz gold. A hard fought battle was the mark of the final table and Greenstein earned this one after getting close to elimination and then staging a charge back to the front. This is Greenstein's third WSOP bracelet, having won one in 2004 and 2005. He also pockets $157,619 in cash which will mostly go to charity.

Chris Klodnicki played valiantly but was unable to overcome the hard charging Greenstein. He takes home $97,389 for his second place finish. Chris Voix was eliminated in the third spot for $58,743. The Razz tournament attracted 453 players and offered a total prize pool of $618,345.

Congratulations to Barry Greenstein and his Father's Day gold.

Are you getting the complete 2008 WSOP experience? Wanna know what goes on when the cameras are turned off? Read Dr. Pauly's urinal confessions on Tao of Poker, get the back story from Pokerrati and drool over the babes of Wicked Chops Poker. Click now to see what you've been missing from these world class poker bloggers.

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Kenny Tran Wins 2008 WSOP Event #25

Date: Mon, Jun 16, 2008

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Well known high stakes cash game poker player Kenny Tran brought his winning ways to the final heads-up match of the 2008 WSOP $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship. Kenny Tran swept Alec Torelli in the best of three heads-up matches for the championship and his first WSOP bracelet. He also collected $539,056 after topping the field of 256 players that started this world championship event.

Alec Torelli received $336,896 for his second place finish. Vanessa Selbst and Jonathan Jaffe each received $108,288 after they made the final four. Congratulations to Kenny Tran for his winning ways and his first WSOP gold bracelet.

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Max Pescatori Wins 2008 WSOP Event #24

Date: Sun, Jun 15, 2008

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Max Pescatori won his second WSOP bracelet Saturday evening when he completed the elimination of the last player remaining between him and the championship. The "Italian Pirate" had to overcome a field of 457 players including many well known poker pros before he could claim the gold. A recent broken arm and surgery to repair the damage apparently had no effect on his poker abilities. Max picks up $246,471 for winning the three day event.

Kyle Kloeckner finished the event in second place to take down the $152,410 in cash. Although he traded the chip lead with Max a couple of times he couldn't overcome the pressure of Max's heads-up play and was reduced to watching his chips move across the table. Greg Hurst completed the top three and collected $94,599 for third place.

I have followed Max throughout his poker career and have always been impressed with his game and the ability to patiently wait for the right hands to strike. Congratulations to Max Pescatori for adding some more WSOP gold to his trophy case.

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Blair Hinkle Wins 2008 WSOP Event #23

Date: Sun, Jun 15, 2008

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Blair Hinkle kept the family name in the WSOP news when he won event #23, $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Blair's older brother Grant Hinkle won WSOP Event #2 earlier this month. The young player proved to be tough beyond his years as he marched aggressively towards his first bracelet and the $507,563 first place prize. The 1344 player field for this event was well salted with notable pros. A comment from one of the professionals was overheard when he said, "Blair Hinkle is one of the toughest players I've faced during this WSOP.

Mark Brockington finished second after a few minutes of head-up play that saw Hinkle holding second best pocket sixes which turned into sixes full, twice! Brockington collected $325,552 as first runner-up. Daniel O'Brien was eliminated in the third spot and received $198,132 for his efforts.

Congratulations to Blair Hinkle for hanging tough and winning his first WSOP bracelet. Needless to say, Mrs. Hinkle is very proud of her two sons, especially since this is the first time in WSOP history that brothers have won bracelets in the same year.

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Jens Veortmann Wins 2008 WSOP Event #22

Date: Sat, Jun 14, 2008

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Jens Veortmann played into the early morning hours before finally defeating Doug Ganger. Both players were beginning to show the fatigue that comes from 12 hours of high stakes tournament poker played from straight back chairs. Veortmann takes down his first WSOP gold bracelet and heads home with $298,253 in cash.

Doug Ganger carries away $182,822 in cash for outlasting all but one of the 414 total entrants. The Flying Dutchman, Marcel Luske, completed the top three and collected $110,264 for his third place efforts. Marcel might be seeing the effects of jet lag that have slightly dulled his usual sharp edged game. Of course, he's still the sharpest dresser in the room.

Congratulations to Jens Veortmann for winning event #22 to claim his first WSOP bracelet and title.

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Scott Seiver Wins 2008 WSOP Event #21

Date: Sat, Jun 14, 2008

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Scott Seiver moved to Las Vegas three weeks ago and collected his first pay check today, a whopping $755,891; and least we forget, a gold WSOP champion's bracelet. Scott came to the final table as the chip leader and never relinquished the lead. The young player made up for his lack of live game experience with thousands of hours if Internet play.

Second place finisher Dave Seidman attempted to protect his much smaller stack and showed early aggression as he tried to add to his disappearing chips. Scott overwhelming lead was just too much for Seidman and he went the way of the other final table players...to the rail where he collected $482,372 for second. Ben Sprengers received $292,034 for third.

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Daniel Negreanu Wins 2008 WSOP Event #20

Date: Fri, Jun 13, 2008

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Daniel Negreanu adds WSOP bracelet number 4 to his growing collection of poker gold. After a four year drought at the WSOP he notched his fourth WSOP win in the same event he picked up his third bracelet in 2004, $2,000 buy-in limit hold'em. Negreanu was the most accomplished player at the final table and with the finesse developed from playing in the toughest poker games over the years he collected all the play money. He rapidly dispatched his heads-up opponent, Ugur Marangoz, to take win and the $204,874 first place money. Marangoz goes away with $126,671 for second place and David Baker has a $78,624 payday after finishing third.

Ironically, Daniel will double hi $200K winnings since he has a pro bet with Phil Ivey that pays $200,000 for each bracelet won. Moments after winning the event he text messaged Ivey with the news...Negreanu 1, Ivey 0.

Congratulations to Daniel Negreanu for winning his fourth WSOP Championship.

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Vanessa Selbst Wins 2008 WSOP Event #19

Date: Fri, Jun 13, 2008

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In one of the wildest final tables heads-up matches a determined Vanessa Selbst fought back from near ruin to finally stop the unorthodox plays of her opponent, Jamie Pickering. Pickering would often raise the pot and re-pot out to the river in the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha...in the dark without so much as a peek at his cards. This style of play is rarely seen when two players are heads-up for a WSOP championship bracelet. A large crowd gathered to watch the incredible action from the rail.

Vanessa stuck to her game plan even when the luck and her chips were going the other way. Solid play paid off and Vanessa Selbst goes home with the bragging rights, the cash and the coveted gold WSOP bracelet. Vanessa received $227,965 for outlasting the other 758 players in the starting field. James Pickering pockets $145,459 which is enough to keep him in beer for a few months. Stanley Statkiewicz Jr completed the top three and collected $88,062 for third.

Congratulations to Vanessa Selbst for winning her first WSOP bracelet.

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Mike Matusow Wins 2008 WSOP Event #18

Date: Thu, Jun 12, 2008

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Any way you slice it this was the all-star final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker and the longest final table to date. When Erick Lindgen left in the four spot the remaining three - Jeffrey Lisandro, Barry Greenstein, and Mike Matusow - played for over three hours before Barry Greenstein was eliminated in third place.

Heads-up play between Jeffrey Lisandro and Mike Matusow started with a bang when Mike went all-in on the first hand and doubled up. He continued to play some of the best mistake free poker seen from him in years to take the chip lead away from Lisandro, then he used his chip advantage to take them all.

This is Matusow's third WSOP bracelet and according to Mike it will not be his last. He said he is playing some of the best poker of his life after losing 61 pounds to collect $100K from Ted Forrest. Mike said the weight was not all he lost, he also lost his negative attitude and now finds life to be a much happier experience. He collected $537,862 for his win. Jeff Lisandro leaves with $347,004 for second and Barry Greenstein's third place finish gives him another $225,552 for his children's charities.

Our congratulations to Mike Matusow, 2008 WSOP Champion.

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Jason Young Wins 2008 WSOP Event #17

Date: Wed, Jun 11, 2008

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Jason Young Wins WSOP Event 17, a $1,500 Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em Shootout, and takes down $335,565 plus his first WSOP bracelet. A tough heads-up match pitted Jason Young against a determined Michael Schwartz. Young had Schwartz down to the felt more than once only to see him make a come back and reload his chip stacks. Young finally had Schwartz all-in for all the marbles and the poker Gods decided not to intervene on Schwartz's behalf. Young's A, J paired when an Ace came on the turn to best Schwartz's pocket fours. Schwartz received $209,527 for second place. John Strzemp III completed the top three and collected $129,675 for third place.

Congratulations to Jason Young for winning his first WSOP bracelet and championship.

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Andrew Brown Wins 2008 WSOP Event #16

Date: Wed, Jun 11, 2008

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Andrew Brown traded chips with well known poker pro Ted Forrest into the early morning hours before he finally managed to get them, all. Event #16, a $2,000 Buy-in Omaha Hi/Lo contest paid $226,483 to Brown for his winning ways. With plenty of friends cheering him on from the rail the young player never showed any fear of the more experienced Forrest answering most raises with a re-raise.

Ted Forrest received $143,420 for second place while Jim Pechac finished third and takes home $88,065. The event featured a field of 553 players.

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Svetlana Gromenkova WIns 2008 WSOP Ladies Event #15

Date: Wed, Jun 11, 2008

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Svetlana Gromenkova is the 2008 WSOP Ladies Poker Champion. She completed the three days of eliminations on top of the field of 1190 players. When the final river card hit the board the normally storic Gromenkova broke out the smiles as she celebrated with her friends in the gallery. This is her first major win and her first WSOP gold bracelet. In addition to the bracelet Svetlana received a custom Corum watch and $244,702 in cash.

If the second place finisher, Anh Le, looks familiar it probably is a result of her having finished second in this same event in 2005, the year Jennifer Tilly took home the gold. Coming so close to the championship twice had an impact on Le and almost brought out the tears. Interviewer David Howard saved the day when he mentioned her daughter Isabelle waiting at home. Ahn Le collected $144,567 for second and Patty Till completed the top three to pocket $87,715.

Congratulations to Svetlana Gromenkova winning her first WSOP gold bracelet.

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