2010 World Cup: Spain Are Slight Favorites To Defeat Germany

Spain vs Germany for the Semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup. Spain last defeated Germany in the Euro 2008 Finals, and certainly Germany would like to see that loss avenged with a big win in the semi-finals over Spain.

Spain had been favored to win the 2010 World Cup even before the tournament started. And for sure, they have played well enough to reach the semi-finals. However, Spain haven't been as convincing with their wins, only winning 1-0 over Portugal in the Round of 16, then 1-0 over Paraguay in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Germany have been impressive, racking up loads and loads of goals against very formidable opponents. Germany defeated England 4-1, and then defeated 2010 World Cup favorites Argentina with a score of 4-0. Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller of Germany each have scored 4 times in the tournament so far.

Germany are capable of getting goals, and they will certainly put the defense of Spain to the test with their attack. Spain will have to step up their game against Germany if they want to continue their dream of a 2010 World Cup. David Villa of Spain is one of the World Cup's top scorers with 5 goals to his name, and is on top of the leaderboard for the Golden Boot if he can maintain his lead, and score more goals.

UFC 117: Anderson Silva Favored To Defend Middleweight Title Against Chael Sonnen

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva has won his last 12 matches, and has successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Championship title 6 times, the most by any UFC Fighter. Now, Anderson Silva is favored to make it a 7th straight title defense when he faces top contender Chael Sonnen in UFC 117, which will be held on August 7, 2010 at the Oracle Center in Oakland, California.

Chael Sonnen is three for four wins since he entered the UFC, and most notable were the wins of Chael Sonnen over Nate Marquardt, Dan Miller and Yushin Okami.

While Chael Sonnen has booked these wins, he has done so via decision, and he hasn't delivered a KO or a TKO since 2007. So, it is highly unlikely that Chael Sonnen will get to KO Anderson Silva. Chael Sonnen may be a good fighter, but he doesn't have the phenom-like striking power to finish a fight, although he surely has the skills to last in one.

Anderson Silva has dominated his last opponents, but maybe not in the style that UFC fans expect of Anderson Silva. Most UFC fans want to see Anderson Silva knock out his opponents and be very aggressive, but lately he's just settled to dominate without going in for the finish as was seen in his championship bout against Demian Maia, were fans felt Anderson Silva could have ended the fight much earlier and with much more gusto.

Nevertheless, Anderson Silva knows how to win UFC championship matches, and he knows how to pace it and win rounds. And if necessary, Anderson Silva is also capable of a knock-out punch, which is what he's done to the likes of title contenders Forrest Griffin, Rich Franklin and James Irvin.

UFC President Dana White though has suggested that if Anderson Silva fights again like the way he did in Abu Dhabi against Demian Maia, then he might get cut from the UFC.

Maybe Anderson Silva's hardest enemy will be hope to please Dana White with a spectacular win.

2010 World Cup: Netherlands Favored To Beat Uruguay

Netherlands were the clear underdogs in their World Cup quarterfinal match against Brazil, but they managed to find a victory, defeating Brazil 2-1. Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands scored twice in the second half to come back from behind to take out the top seeded Brazil from the 2010 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Uruguay ended the hopes of Ghana as the lone African nation left int he 2010 World Cup who had a shot at it. After a 1-1 draw through extra time, it was Uruguay who won the penalty shootout. Ghana had a chance to win it with a penalty spot kick after a deliberate handball by Uruguay star player Luis Suarez, but Asamoah Gyan of Ghana failed to convert. The momentum carried on Uruguay's way to the penalty shootout where Ghana were outscored 4-2.

Having beaten Brazil, the Netherlands will certainly be a heavy favorite, but certainly adjustments will have to be made in the roster as several players who picked up their second yellow card of the tournament will not be illegible to play on the Semi-final match against Uruguay.

Uruguay will also have the same problem, and might even have more to lose as their top goal-scorer Luis Suarez was red-carded for the deliberate handball, and will certainly miss an opportunity to play in the World Cup semi-finals.

At least, Netherlands is assured that their top players like Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder will be certain to play.

JJ Duque Places 76th In $1K Guaranteed Pot Limit Hold'em & Omaha Tournament

 646 poker players qualified for the $1,000 Guaranteed Pot Limit Hold'em & Omaha event of Full Tilt Poker through the FTP Fantasy Poker League. I was able to earn my seat through the success of Andy Black, David Chiu and Steve Zolotow at this same kind of tournament in the 2010 World Series of Poker. David Chiu was the big points earner for me.

The Pot Limit Hold'em & Omaha tournament basically means that different games will be interchanged once the level changes. First round saw Pot Limit Hold'em action while the second round saw Pot Limit Omaha action.

I did well early in the Pot Limit Hold'em section to boost my chip stack up, but got hit at the Pot Limit Omaha section making loose calls, chasing for hands that weren't even the nuts. Like, for example, I would have a 17 outer for an open ended straight draw and flush draw, but when I spiked my flush, it would've been out-kicked by a better flush.

In retrospect, although I do understand the concept of Omaha, I still have to learn to fold more hands on the flop, especially if I might be drawing to only second best, as was the case with the flush. However, Omaha gives good training in seeing what the nuts could be, and what hands could have me beat, and it invokes some discipline to fold a lower straight when a higher straight is out there. And to avoid such situations, I have to rethink my starting hands to see if they have good odds to begin with. When playing Omaha, high pairs and suited connectors are nice, and preferably both in the hole.

When the game shifted again to Hold'em, I once again built my stack. I guess my prowess at Hold'em stll outweighs my skills at Omaha. After all, I'm still more fluent in Hold'em.

Anyway, without much fuss. I played well enough to get ITM at 76th place with 90 places paid. And for my effort, I won $2.50, which I will probably use to play the Daily Dollar Rebuy at Full Tilt Poker with a guaranteed pot of $10,000. The first place prize of $205 would've been sweet, but for me I'm just happy to make it in the money, and have the opportunity to brush up on my Omaha, and continue the learning process.

As they say in poker - you can never stop learning.

Satellite Schedule For APT 2010 Philippines Main Event

The Asian Poker Tour 2010 Philippines Main Event is set at a buy-in of $2500 + $200. That's a pretty big buy-in, and will certainly attract some of the biggest poker names in Asia. For those who can't afford it, Resorts World Manila will be holding satellites to give hopefuls an opportunity to win seats.

The RWM Satellite Series Event #2 will be held at Resorts World Manila’s poker room on Sunday, July 11 at 2:00 PM. Buy-in is set at only Php 5,000 with no registration fee

Up for grabs will be a Php 500,000 guaranteed prize pool, inclusive of a seat to the APT Philippines 2010 main event! Of course, other prizes will be given to top placers.

If you don’t have Php 5,000 to spare? A mega satellite to the RWM Satellite Series #2 will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, July 3 and 10. Both will have a buy-in at only Php 500 (with optional one rebuy and one add-on) and no registration fee.

If you want to qualify online, then you can also play at PKR.com.

2010 WSOP: Chris Bell Wins $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split

284 poker players competed for a piece of the $1.3 Million prize pool in Event 46 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split tournament. 27 places got paid, but the ultimate big winner of the much-coveted WSOP gold bracelet was Chris Bell, who also won $327,040 to top it off.


Chris Bell's big win is something he needed so much. A year ago, Chris Bell was running bad - really bad - to the point that he admitted he was broke. Definitely, it was tough for Chris Bell as a poker pro, who joined several tournaments to come short of ITM, eating up on his bank roll. Chris Bell eventually began questioning himself and even began to contemplate his future in the game, and he had to make some brutally tough decisions about his prospects for success in a game that has clearly become more
challenging in recent years, especially for the sake of his family - his wife and two kids. It was through the help of his good friend Erick Lindgren, who gave him the financial backing he desperately needed to bridge the tournament poker playing psyche-wrecker called variance. Apart from that, Erick Lindgren also provided Chris Bell with a lot of self-confidence, and certainly enough for him to get back on the winning track after several disappointments.

On his speech after winning, Chris Bell shared, “I want to thank Erick Lindgren. I would not be in Las Vegas right now if it weren’t for Erick," Bell stated afterward. "A lot of people had given up on me the last year or so. But Erick didn’t. He’s never told me ‘no.’ He will beg and borrow for his friends. I appreciate him giving me this opportunity. Without a friend like him, I would not be here right now.”

And as if the universe conspired for Chris Bell, his good friend Gavin Smith also won a WSOP gold bracelet the previous day for a Mixed Hold'em event.

On that topic, Chris Bell said, “Last year, I was broke. That was a pretty low moment. That’s another thing Gavin and I had in common. We stayed broke together for the last year. I wanted Gavin to win more than anybody. This is something we can talk about the rest of our lives. We will always be friends. When I was playing the other day, I almost could not concentrate because I was paying attention to what Gavin was doing. I know how bad he wanted it. He is such a good guy.”

The runner up was Dan Shak from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, who won $202,142. Dan Shak had won the 2010 Aussie Millions Championship earlier this year. Dan Shak is also fondly remembered as the co-winner of the inaugural Ante-Up for Africa charity tournament. In 2007, Dan Shak and his co-champ Brandon Moran collectively donated the entire cash prize for first and second place to the international relief effort in Darfur amounting to $380K.

The third-place finisher was former WSOP gold bracelet winner English poker star Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott from Hull, England, who won $150,925. Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott now has 30 WSOP cashes.

The fourth-place finisher was Joe Ritze from Hamilton, Ohio, who. made his second cash at the WSOP and got paid $113,444.

The fifth-place finisher was eight-time gold bracelet winner Erik Seidel, who now has more than $4.3 million in WSOP earnings after collecting $85,800 in this tournament.

The sixth-place finisher was Leif Force from Tallahassee, Florida, who marked his seventh time to cash at the WSOP, winning $65,311 in this tournament to bring his career WSOP winnings to over $1.2 million.

The seventh-place finisher was former gold bracelet winner Rob Hollink from Groningen, Holland, and got paid $50,014.

The eighth-place finisher was Perry Green from Anchorage, Alaska, who marked his first time to cash at the WSOP in four years, and his first final table appearance in 13 years. The three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner earned his titles in 1976, 1977, and 1979. Had Perry Green somehow won this tournament, he would have shattered the record for longest gap between WSOP wins – at 31 years. He once finished second to poker legend Stu Ungar in the 1981 WSOP Main Event. Many poker fans were happy to see Perry Green’s name back on the cash out list. His win in this tournament amounted to $38,549.

The ninth-place finisher was Jeremy Harkin from Troutdale, Oregon, who marked his third time to cash at the WSOP and marked his first final table appearance to win $29,886.

Aside from those who made the final table, former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – “Miami” John Cernuto (12th), Dan Heimiller (19th), and Barry Greenstein (24th).

Erik Seidel now has 60 career cashes. This currently ranks fifth on the all-time WSOP cashes list.

Dan Heimiller cashed for the sixth time this year.

Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler cashed for the seventh time at this year’s WSOP. He is now in serious contention to challenge Nikolay Evdakov’s record set in 2008 for most cashes in a single year – at 10. Nine more open events remain on the schedule, with five more gold bracelet events scheduled for WSOP Europe (which count towards all WSOP records).

2010 WSOP: Jesse Rockowitz Wins $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

3,097 poker players competed for a piece of a $4.1 Million prize pool in Event 45 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em. With 324 places paid,  some of the big poker names and former WSOP gold bracelet winners who cashed in include: Dutch Boyd (15th), Ayaz Mahmood (55th), John “Razor” Phan (59th), Berry Johnston (121st), Tom Schneider (128th), John Juanda (297th), and Jeffrey Papola (308th).

Of course, the big payouts were awarded to the top players who made the final table. The biggest winner of all was 24 year old poker pro Jesse Rockowitz from Petaluma, California, who won his first ever WSOP gold bracelet and a huge payout of $721,373. This event was the third WSOP event ever joined by Jesse Rockowitz, and according to official records, he now has one WSOP gold bracelet, one final table appearance and two cashes, finishing ITM at 86th place in a previous No Limit Hold'em Event this year.

The runner up was 24 year old poker pro Raymond Coburn from Jackson, New Jersey, who marked his fourth time to cash at the WSOP to win $446,274.

The third-place finisher was 31 year old poker pro Thiago Nishijima from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and earned $315,828.

The fourth-place finisher was 40 year old chiropractor Kevin O’Dell from Birmingham, Michigan, who has now cashed in all three $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments he has played, but this being the best finish by far to win $228,614.

The fifth-place finisher was Michael Goldfarb from Coral Springs, Florida, who won $167,405.

The sixth-place finisher was Steven Brown from Cape Town, South Africa, who won $124,006.

The seventh-place finisher was 49 year old IT manager Shaun Malough from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, who won $92,900.

The eighth-place finisher was 22 year old poker pro Justin Conley from Prestonburg, Kentucky, who cashed for the second time this year, and earned $70,365.

The ninth-place finisher was Johan Jakobsson from Umea, Sweden, who collected $53,892.

Incidentally, Four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner John Juanda cashed for the fifth time at this year’s WSOP and 56th time in his career. This ranks ninth on the all-time WSOP cashes list.

John Juanda now appears to be at the top of the 2010 WSOP “Player of the Year” race, with other tournaments still pending.

2010 World Cup: Spain Are Huge Favorites To Win Over Paraguay

Spain has never won the World Cup. But despite not being former champions, Spain were actually the top seeds to win the 2010 World Cup even before the tournament began in South Africa. However, a snag on their first game of the group stages saw them in an unlikely 1-0 defeat to Switzerland. Spain was expected to breeze through their opponents, and lately they've shown that form, winning all of their matches since, including a very impressive win against Portugal in the round of 16. Spain striker David Villa is one of the top goalscorers of the World Cup with already 4 goals to his name. Of course, it helps that he has support from key players like Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas.

Paraguay surprised everyone when they topped their group which included defending World Cup champions Italy. Paraguay may have also been lucky by edging out Japan in the penalty shootout to book their spot in the World Cup quarterfinals, but maybe their run of luck can still get them past Spain. Of course, it is an unlikely scenario, but this World Cup has been full of unpredictability, and maybe Spain might have a vulnerable lapse as they did in their loss to Switzerland. Paraguay will look to its stars like Roque Santa Cruz and Nelson Valdez.

However, the odds lean heavily for Spain, who look to become the first team to lose an opening match in the World Cup, and still move on to win it.

2010 World Cup: Argentina Favored To Win Over Germany

It's Argentina vs Germany in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals stage.

Former World Cup champions Argentina are the clear favorites to defeat Germany after they had a perfect 3-0 record in the group stages, and also showing a decisive win in the round of 16 over Mexico, wining 3-1. Argentina also has a lot of attacking power with the likes of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain, who is the one of current top goal scorers of the 2010 World Cup with 4 goals to his name, including a rare hat-trick against the South Korea.

Of course, former World Cup champions Germany are no slouch either. Despite booking one loss in the group stages due to being undermanned 10 players to Serbia's 11, Germany has also proven that they can show some amazing football against strong teams. Germany showed that dominance in their 4-1 victory over England, who many predicted would be among the top contenders for the World Cup. Germany may have a young team that lacks World Cup experience, but they certainly have a lot of scoring power with the likes of Lukas Podolski, Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose in their roster.In fact, Thomas Muller is one of the top goal scorers of the 2010 World Cup with three goals to his name.

While Argentina may seem to be the favorites to win over Germany, it seems like Germany are stills trong contenders, having gained confidence after they whipped the highly ranked team of England. 

2010 World Cup: Brazil Favored To Win Over Netherlands

It's Brazil vs Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup.

Needless to say, five-time World Cup champions Brazil are the definite favorites to beat Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Brazil has a very star-studded roster with the likes of Elano, Robinho, Kaka, Maicon, Dani Alves and Luis Fabiano all very capable and talented to bring home the World Cup to Brazil. In their round of 16 match against Chile, Brazil dominated with a score of 3-0. It may look likely that they will continue to dominate when they face Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

Of course, Netherlands are also a strong team. They topped their group in splendid fashion, walking away with 9 points. In fact, the Netherlands were only one of two teams to score a perfect 3-0 in the group stages. The other team was Argentina. Netherlands also showed a lot of spunk in the round of 16 by surpassing Slovakia 2-1. Netherlands are relying on their key players like Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Giovanni van Brockhorst to bring the win for the Netherlands.

2010 World Cup: Uruguay Favored To Defeat Ghana

 It's the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup and one of the featured matches will be Uruguay vs Ghana.

Uruguay are two-time World Cup champions, but haven't won the World Cup in over 50 years. Nevertheless, Uruguay has that history and tradition to be a good footballing nation, and certainly very capable of getting deep in the tournament. Uruguay topped their group in the group stages, and did well in eliminating South Korea with a score of 2-1 in the Round of 16. Uruguay has played well with their star striker Luis Suarez among the top goalscorers of the 2010 World Cup with three goals, and still looking to add more when they face Ghana.

Ghana, meanwhile, are the lone African nation who have made it through to the Round of 16 and to the quarterfinals, following a deserved victory over the relentless United States. Ghana certainly have the home crowd support as the entire African continent roots for them to win the 2010 World Cup in African soil. Ghana will look to its stars like Asamoah Gyan, who has scored thrice this World Cup, and also to Kevin-Prince Boateng, who is one of its imminent threats on offense.

Uruguay are slight favorites, but Ghana should not be discounted, considering they are playing in their African home turf.

JJ Duque To Play $1,000 Guaranteed Limit Hold'em

In just a few minute, I will be playing a $1,000 Guaranteed Limit Hold'em tournament at Full Tilt Poker. I won my seat courtesy of the success of Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, who placed 8th in the Limit Hold'em Championship in the 2010 World Series of Poker. Thank you, Michael Mizrachi, for not failing me in my Fantasy Poker picks. Hopefully, I will get to carry on the same success as you did in this event at the 2010 World Series of Poker, and maybe I can walk away with the top prize of $235. It's not much, but it certainly could go a long way.

My Run At The Filipino Poker Tour 14

 First of all, I would like to thank KC Montero of The KC Show for awarding me a seat to play The Filipino Poker Tour Php 5 Million Guaranteed at the Metro Card Club just last weekend. The KC Show was awarding a seat to someone who could submit a picture showing how happy you would be if you won Php5 Million Pesos. Apparently, my picture won! But, of course, just to ease the mind of KC Montero - I also gave him some details on my poker talent, where I've won and even threw in some references. Then, if that wasn't enough, I promised KC that he would get a 40% share of whatever I win. Eventually, he agreed to even just 30%. KC said he needed new shoes. I said I hope we win more than just for shoes.

Anyway, this is the winning picture.

I played on Day 1a, and kept at pace with the average stack for the first two rounds. I played carefully, and avoiding trouble early on. I even folded a small flush just because I felt it was still too early to call a 10,000 raise with a starting stack of 20,000. It wasn't until the 3rd level that I started to win big hands, and move my chip stack to around 40,000+ after taking out a player when my nut flush beat my opponent's smaller flush.

My stack received a huge dent when my set of sixes lost to a set of eights. From around 40+K, it went back down to less than the starting stack at 17,000. I managed to win a big pot after when my KK doubled up against the JJ of another player, pushing my stack to around 37K.

A few pots later, my set of tens ran into a player making the all-in call with a gusthot and two dead overcards. Unfortunately for me, he spiked his four-outer straight on the river. That bad beat brought me down to around 8K and severely crippled with the blinds at 250/500 and antes of 50. The cards ran cold, and I eventually pushed all-in on the button with A-9 to run into the KK of the small blind, which eventually busted me out of the tournament when I failed to improve.

I played well for the short 7 levels or so that I played. Getting dented really made it difficult, and I was put in a desperate position with my back against the wall. I had a pretty decent-sized stack that sadly got hit by bigger hands. Like they say - it takes two big hands to make a big pot, and eventually someone's big hand is not as big as the other.

Anyway - there will be other opportunities. I'm looking forward to the Asian Poker Tour in August.

By the way - congratulations to Johnny Tan for winning Php 2M and for being the champion of the Filipino Poker Tour 14. I heard he went heads-up against runner-upVic Catalan for a grueling 6 hours, which The Metro Card Club announced is the longest heads-up poker marathon the Philippines has ever witnessed.

The other big winners include: Derrick Hernandez (3rd), Tess Datu (4th), Ramil Tandoc (5th), Ronald Dimaano (6th), Percy Shy (7th), Michael Boling (8th).

2010 WSOP: Gavin Smith Wins $2,500 Mixed Hold'em

507 players competed for a piece of a $1.1 Million prize pool in Event #44 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $2,500 buy-in Mixed Hold'em event. Mixed Hold'em means that the variants of Limit Hold'em and No Limit Hold'em would be played at different levels.

The big winner was 41 year old poker pro Gavin Smith, who took down the first place prize of $268,238 and his first ever WSOP gold bracelet. Gavin Smith is one of poker's most lively personalities, and is always fun and entertaining to be with. Should you mention his name among poker players, they'll probably smile or laugh, and remember some of the funny antics of Gavin Smith.

But while it may seem Gavin Smith is about jokes, he is a very qualified poker pro, earning over $3 Million since he's turned pro 6 years ago. Of course, what has eluded Gavin Smith since then was a big win - like maybe a WSOP gold bracelet. Well, the wait is over because Gavin Smith has one now.

According to official records, Gavin Smith now has one win, three final table appearances, and 16 cashes at the WSOP. His career WSOP earnings now total $836,454.
.
Gavin Smith’s victory was arguably the biggest crowd-pleaser of any so far at this year’s WSOP. As players were eliminated from the final table, the number of spectators swelled to the point where the entire ESPN Main Stage was filled to capacity. One veteran tournament reporter, B.J. Nemeth, stated that in all his years of covering poker tournaments he had never witnessed so many people – fans, players, media, and staff – coming up to offer heartfelt congratulations to the winner.

The runner up was 28 year old poker pro Danny “Hurricane” Hannawa from West Bloomfield, Michigan, who marked his first time to cash in a WSOP tournament to win $166,005.

The third-place finisher was Timothy Finne from Fanwood, New Jersey, who made his 7th WSO cash to win $110,324.

The fourth-place finisher was Michael Michnik from Vorhees, New Jersey, who marked his. He marked his fourth time to cash this year to win $81,871 in prize money.

The fifth-place finisher was Jamie Rosen from Boca Raton, Florida, who.made his third WSOP final table – and was paid $61,441 for a fine achievement.

The sixth-place finisher was Jarred Solomon from Johannesburg, South Africa, who made his second final table appearance this year to win $46,562 in prize money.

The seventh-place finisher was Dan Idema from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who made his second final table appearance after being a runner-up in the Poker Player's Championship. Dan Ideam won $35,601 for this effort.

The eighth-place finisher was Dwyte Pilgrim from Brooklyn, New York, who made his first WSOP final table appearance to win $27,438 for eighth place.

The ninth-place finisher was 40 year old poker pro“Karate” Mike Santoro from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, who marked his first WSOP in-the-money finish to earn $21,304.

Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Eli Elezra (23rd), Ivo Donev (51st), Svetlana Gromenkova (52nd), and Eric Froehlich (53rd).

2010 WSOP: Ian Gorodn Wins H.O.R.S.E. World Championship

24 year old poker pro Ian Gordon outlasted 241 players at the $10,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. World Championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker. This marked the first career WSOP gold bracelet victory of Ian Gordon, which was also topped with $611,666 in prize money.

The runner up was Richard Ashby from Watford, England, who won the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud championship a few weeks ago. Richard Ashby came within a few hands of hitting a gold bracelet parlay, but instead had to settle for runner-up status and a consolation prize of $378,027.

The third-place finisher was Eugene Katchalov from New York, New York, who marked his 18th cash at the WSOP since 2005, and got paid $248,831.

The fourth-place finisher was Marco Johnson from Walnut Creek, California, who marked his 12th time to cash at the WSOP for $181,503.

The fifth-place finisher was Matt Glantz from Philadelphia, Pennsylvana, who now has 13 WSOP cashes, including a fourth-place finish in the 2008 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, which was won that year by Scotty Nguyen. Matt Glantz, who now has more than $3 million in overall tournament winnings, and added another $135,040 for his fifth place finish.

The sixth-place finisher was 2001 world poker champion Carlos Mortensen from Alicante, Spain. Carlos “The Matador” Mortensen was known for his prowess in just about every variation of poker, and this marked his 20th WSOP cash amounting to $102,237 in prize money. This was his 20th WSOP cash. He now has more than $2.3 million in WSOP earnings.

The seventh-place finisher was former gold bracelet winner Nick Schulman from New York, New York, who marked his ninth WSOP cash with $78,654.

The eighth-place finisher was Marco Traniello from Las Vegas, Nevada, who cashed for the 27th time since 2005 – the most in-the-money finishes of anyone within that time span. Marco Traniello also made his fifth WSOP final table, and earned $61,414.

 Aside from those who made the final table, former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Scott Fischman (10th), Steve Billirakis (11th), Michael Chow (13th), Johnny “World” Hennigan (14th), Robert Mizrachi (17th), Todd Brunson (18th), Scotty Nguyen (19th), and Abe Mosseri (22nd).
Ten of the 14 players who cashed in this tournament were previous gold bracelet winners.

2010 WSOP: Dean Hamrick Wins $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em Event

2,521 players signed for Event 42 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, which was a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament. The total prize pool went up to $3.4 Million with 270 players taking a piece of that pie. The biggest prize of $604,222 and the WSOP gold bracelet went to Dean Hamrick, a 25 year old poker pro from East Lansing, Michigan, who was popularly known as the tenth-placer in a previous WSOP Main Event, failing to make the bright lights and fame of the WSOP main event final table.

According to official records, Dean Hamrick now has one win, two final table appearances, and eight cashes at the WSOP. He also has three WSOP Circuit cashes. His career WSOP earnings now total $1,366,534.

Dean Hamrick is close friends with defending WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada, who cheered for him by the rail.

The runner up was Tom O'Neal,  a 61 year old math teacher for special needs children who hails from League City, Texas. Tom O'Neal received a nice payout of $375,627, which also marks his first WSOP cash.

The third-place finisher was 25 year old poker pro Ian Wiley from Las Vegas, Nevada, who competed int he WSOP for the first time this ear, and has had two cashes thus far with this event paying out $265,869.

The fourth-place finisher was 35 year old poker pro and marathon runner Niccolo Caramatti from London, England, who marked his fourth time to cash at the WSOP with $191,744.

The fifth-place finisher was recent University of Maryland graduate Aaron Kaiser from Silver Spring, Maryland, who won $140,013.

The sixth-place finisher was 22 year old Cornell University engineering graduate Ryan Hemmel from Long Valley, New Jersey, who is playing in only his third WSOP event, and took down $103,461 for sixth place.

The seventh-place finisher was 28 year old Andrew Rosskamm from Cleveland, Ohio, who collected $77,392.

The eighth-place finisher was 42 year old nurse Thomas Johnson from Bermuda Dunes, California, and got paid $58,571.

The ninth-place finisher was 24 year old poker pro Aaron Gustavson from Las Vegas, Nevada, who cashed for the second time in this WSOP for $44,856.

Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – James Schaaf (12th), Humberto Brenes (16th), Carter Phillips (48th), Jeff Madsen (139th), Michael Gracz (206th), and Andre Boyer (226th). Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Mike Swick from Houston, TX finished in 10th place. Two-time gold bracelet winner Humberto Brenes, from San Jose, Costa Rica, moved into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time WSOP cashes list with his 57th in-the-money finish. He is currently one cash ahead of T.J. Cloutier.

Dean Hamrick had this to say about what it was like to come in tenth in the 2008 WSOP Main Event:

“It was very mixed. It was the most money I had ever won. You don’t really feel that bad. After all, I had won $600,000. But as time passed and I began to realize what a big deal it was, being the first time there was a November Nine, it started to hurt again (to not be a part of that). It was frustrating the way I went out, and then to see what happened to the rest of the guys. To get that close was really tough. Overall, it was a great experience and it caused me to do a lot of other things in poker.”

On what Dean Hamrick learned from the experience in 2008:

“If I would not have had that experience then, I would not have won this event today. It shows that you can never give up. You have to stay patient. You have to pick the spots, and you can’t just throw it all away – because it is very rare to make a final table and it might not come again. You realize how important this is, so you really have to try and concentrate and just stay in the moment and not let any of the other distractions get to you.”

2010 WSOP: Steve Jelinek Wins Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split Event

Event 41 of the 2010 World Series of Poker was a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split tournament, which saw 847 players making the buy-in to compete for a piece of the $1.1 Million prize pot.

The big winner was Steve Jelinek from Birmingham, England, who marked his first career WSOP gold bracelet victory, following three previous WSOP cashes, also winning the top prize money of $245,875

The runner up was John Gottlieb from Houston, Texas, who collected $151,884 for his second place finish.

The third-place finisher was Anders Taylor from Las Vegas, Nevada, who cashed for the fourth time this year and the seventh time in the last two years, winning $97,913 for this event.

The fourth-place finisher was Michael Chappus from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, who won $71,728.

The fifth-place finisher was Ben Lamb from Las Vegas, Nevada, who cashed for the seventh time at the WSOP to win $53,319.

The sixth-place finisher was Mandy Thomas from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, who marked her first time to cash at the WSOP to win $40,169.

The seventh-place finisher was 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth from Palo Alto, California, who won $30,633 for seventh place. It was the 78th WSOP cash for Phil Hellmuth, which ranks number one all time. It was also the 41st career final table appearance at the WSOP, which also ranks first.

The eighth-place finisher was Ryan Karp from West Chester, Pennsylvania, who marked his first time to cash in a WSOP tournament to win $23,635.

The ninth-place finisher was Jeffrey Baker from Goleta, California, who marked his first time to cash at the WSOP to win $18,432.

Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Phil Hellmuth (7th), Barry Greenstein (12th), Richard Austin (22nd), Mike Matusow (49th), and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (75th).

Tony Cousineau cashed in 14th place. He added to his unparalleled moniker as the “Buffalo Bills of Poker,” by finishing in-the-money again, yet remains without a WSOP gold bracelet victory. Tony Cousineau continued to put distance between himself and the rest of the poker world, by achieving his 45th career cash – with no wins, and currently ranks in 16th place on the all-time cashes list.

Three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Barry Greenstein cashed for the first time this year. He now has 45 cashes.

2000 world poker champion Chris “Jesus” Ferguson cashed for the 62nd time, which currently ranks third on the all-time list – behind Phil Hellmuth and Men "the Master" Nguyen.

2010 WSOP: Frank Kassela Wins 2nd WSOP Gold Bracelet This Year

365 poker players joined Event 40 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $2,500 buy-in Razz event. Razz is similar to playing seven card stud, but this time the objective is to get the worst possible hand. In this particular WSOP event, the prize pool went to a total of $839,500 with the top 40 to take a part of that prize pool.

The biggest piece of the prize pot eventually went to Frank Kassela, who wins his second WSOP gold bracelet in this year's WSOP.

42 year old Frank Kassela was almost knocked out of the tournament, ranking dead last after day one,105th out 105 players. Frank Kassela managed to get a lucky run to take him out of his rut, but it was still a long hard climb, but he managed to reach the money with an average-sized stack.

He had a decent stack approaching the final table, but in the first seven hours of the gruelling final table, Frank Kassela was the lowest in chips when the play was four-handed. Eventually, something went wrong in the Las Vegas electrical grid, and play was temporarily stopped. This allowed for Frank Kassela to gather his thoughts. The players and their chips were then moved to the ESPN Main Stage which had ample lighting to continue the tournament. Two hours later, the lights were back on in full, and Frank Kassela was the champion to become the first multiple gold bracelet winner of 2010, and earning the nick name Frank "Lights Out" Kassela.

According to official records, Frank Kassela now has two wins, three final table appearances, and six cashes at the WSOP. His career WSOP earnings now total $764,144.

Frank Kassela now becomes a real threat to tie the record for most wins at a WSOP (one year), which is three. Frank Kassela shares his thoughts on winning his second WSOP gold bracelet this year, and says “It’s awesome. It’s really exciting. I’ve been playing in a ton of events since I won that last one, just because I knew I had a decent chance at ‘Player of the Year.’ Now, with this – I think I am tied. Vladimir Schemelev is up there, so it is going to be close.”

The runner up was 37 year old poker pro Maxwell Troy from Los Angeles, California, who marked his second time to cash this year, after finishing as the runner up in Event #27 (Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split). Maxwell Troy won $132,229, and now has over a quarter-million in earnings at this year’s WSOP.

The third-place finisher was 49 year old George Lewis from North York, Ontario, Canada, who won $85,284.

The fourth-place finisher was Vladimir Shchemelev from St. Petersburg, Russia, which marked his sixth time to cash at the WSOP, and collected $61,795. Vladimir Shchemelev also became the first player at this year’s WSOP to make four final table appearances. He now has a 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 7th place showing in four tries. He took the lead in the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year race – at least for a few hours until Frank Kassela won his second gold bracelet. The race is on.

The fifth-place finisher was Mikko Pispala from Helsinki, Finland, who marked his second time to cash at the WSOP, and was paid $45,433.

The sixth-place finisher was two-time gold bracelet winner Jennifer Harman from Las Vegas, Nevada, who won $33,890. This was Jennifer Harman's second final table this year. Previousy, she took third in the Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split championship. Jennifer Harman now has 26 WSOP cashes, which ranks second on the all-time list among women.

The seventh-place finisher was Stuart Rutter from Birmingham, England, who cashed for the third time this year for $25,646.

The eighth-place finisher was longtime tournament veteran and two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Chris Bjorin from London, England, who won $19,686.

Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event apart from those that made the final table included – Artie Cobb (10th), Linda Johnson (16th), Dario Minieri (19th), David Chiu (20th), Joe Hachem (22nd), Hasan Habib (23rd), Daniel Negreanu (29th), and Greg Raymer (37th).

With his eighth-place finish in this event, Chris Bjorin cashed for the fifth time this year and 55th time in his career. Chris Bjorin now ranks seventh on the all-time WSOP cashes list, in a tie with Humberto Brenes. Chris Bjorin also has 22 WSOP final table appearances, which ranks 15th all-time.

With his 20th-place finish, David Chiu cashed for the 46th time. He currently ranks 14th on the all-time list.

With his 29th-place finish, Daniel Negreanu now has 47 career cashes. This currently ranks in a 12th-place tie with “Miami” John Cernuto on the all-time cashes list.

2005 WSOP Champion Joe Hachem finished 22nd. This was his first time to cash this year.

2004 WSOP Champion Greg “Fossilman” Raymer finished 37th.

2010 WSOP: Valdermar Kwaysser Wins Event 38 $10,000 buyin Pot Limit Hold'em Championship

268 poker players signed up for Event 38 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $10,000 buy-in Pot Limit Hold'em tournament, to fight for a first place prize of over $600K and a much-coveted WSOP gold bracelet.

Emerging victorious among all the players was 26 year old poker pro Valdermar "Luigi" Kwaysser of Budapest, Hungary. This was the fourth year that Luigi Kwaysser has played in the WSOP, but only the first time to win a huge victory, which includes a WSOP gold bracelet and over $600K in first place prize money.
Luigi Kwaysser now has one win, one final table appearance, and seven in-the-money finishes at the WSOP.

The runner up was Matt Marafioti from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who marked his third time to cash at the WSOP worth $381,507. He also finished in-the-money in last year's 40th Anniversary Special Championship.

The third-place finisher was James Calderaro from Venice, Florida, who finished 13th in last year's WSOP, and this time won $284,845.


The fourth-place finisher was Konstantine Bucherl, from Regensburg, Germany. Konstantine Bucherl has several online cashes and five in-the-money finishes in WSOP events. He cashed in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event. This time he got paid $214,106.

The fifth-place finisher was Dani Stern from New York City, who took fourth place in last year’s 40th Anniversary Special, which paid $540,000. Fifth place in this event paid $161,934 to add to his career winnings.

The sixth-place finisher was 2010 NAPT Champion Thomas Marchese from Parsippany New Jersey, who got paid $123,264.

The seventh-place finisher was Peter Jetten from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who has more than $1.5 million in overall tournament earnings. His best showing at the WSOP was second place in the $10,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship two years ago. Peter Jetten put on another fine performance in this tournament and collected $94,394.

The eighth-place finisher was former WSOP gold bracelet winner Blair Rodman from Las Vegas, Nevada. This was Blair Rodman’s 37th career cash, which puts him close to the Top 25 all-time. He also has more than $1.5 million in WSOP earnings after pocketing $72,754 in this tournament.

The ninth-place finisher was Alexander Kuzmin from Moscow, Russia, who marked his first time to cash at the WSOP by winning $56,404.