Breakfast Club Poker

Paul Hannum Charity Tournament

For those of us that worked in the poker tournament media, one of our bright spots was getting to work with the WPT's cameraman and photographer, Paul Hannum.  And with his unexpected death earlier this month, we are left with a void once filled by one of the most genuine, talented professionals in the business.  But our void is small compared to the one his fiancee and, as yet, unborn daughter must contend with.

Tomorrow, August 29th, Gavin Smith is hosting a $1000 buy-in charity tournament event at the Bike, where all the proceeds will go to Paul's fiancee Sarah and baby Hannum.  If you do got, be sure to say hi to Jen who will be taking up the cause on the felt.  If you're not able to make it to the Bike and would like to do something for Sarah and the baby, check out this site.

A number of great prizes have been put up for the event, including a $25,000 seat at the WPT Championship Event and

• ANY 10K WPT televised Poker Event Sponsored by Full Tilt Poker
• WPT POKERSTARS CARRIBBEAN ADVENTURE
  * WPT Buy-In $7,800+200
  * 7 night accommodation Atlantis, Bahamas (valued $3,000)
• PARADISE POKER CONQUEST PRIZE PACKAGE
  May 12-18th, 2007 Atlantis Resort, Bahamas
  * $5,200 Buy In to the Conquest of Paradise Island Main event
  * 6 nights accommodation Atlantis, Bahamas (valued $2,000)
• WPT CELEBRITY INVITATIONAL SEAT

   

Kelli Griggs Wins Seat for WPT Ladies Night IV

Kelli Griggs battled her way through the 419 player field to win the Bicycle Casino's Legends of Poker Ladies Event, dubbed the Ladies Poker Party.  Along with first place honors, Griggs also gets the last remaining seat at the table for the WPT's Ladies Night IV which will take place August 31st.  This was Griggs' second cash in a major tournament.  She recently cashed in this year's WSOP Ladies Event, finishing 59th in the record field of 1128 players.  You can read more about Kelli here.

Congrats Kelli! 

I saw that Teresa Chang finished 6th at the Bike''s Ladies Poker Party.  I remember watching Chang finish 6th in the 2005 WSOP Ladies Event.  With six players left at the final table, she was second in chips behind Jennifer Tilly.  It looked like Chang had a shot at the chip lead when she got her pocket queens all-in against Tilly's pocket sevens.  The board came A-8-5-6-4, giving Tilly the straight and Chang the rail.  I almost wondered if Chang played the event at the Bike this week to see if she could get another shot at Tilly:)

I noticed that Marsha Waggoner and Lacey Jones also made the money at the Bike this week, finishing 18th and 22nd respectively.  Congrats gals.   

Commerce and LIPS Dream Up Great Event

Well California continues to be the hotbed of women's poker.  This weekend is the Ladies Event at the Bike, where players will be vying for the last seat at the final table for WPT Ladies Night IV.  And next weekend the Commerce is pulling out all the stops for us gals.

On August 26th and 27th, the Commerce, in conjunction with the LIPS Tour, is hosting The Ladies Poker Dream Weekend.  Saturday kicks off with wine tasting, a buffet lunch, and of course...a poker tournament.  Sunday includes yet another buffet, a seminar by Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher, and then another poker tournament to test your newly acquired skills.  The tournaments will be affordable $125 and $225 buy-ins, respectively.  And because this is a stop on the LIPS Tour, there is a seat into the LIPS Grand Championship up for grabs.  The eventual winner of the The LIPS Grand Championship will receive a seat into the 2007 Ladies WSOP event, the LIPS/WPT event and 5 entries into LIPS events throughout the next season.       

   

WPT Ladies Night: Seat Open

The WPT has announced its line up for Ladies Night and it looks like a great one. 

Of course Jennifer Tilly will be back to defend her title.  With Tilly's growing poker track record, I almost hate to preface Tilly's name with "actress", because I feel she's earned the right to be called a player.  Tilly will be joined by a particularly tough line-up, featuring JJ Liu, Vanessa Rousso, Erica Schoenberg, Anahit Galajian, and possibly you.

When the final table is set to film on August 31st, these five talented women will be joined by the winner of the Bicycle Casino’s Legends of Poker Ladies Event, which is being held on August 19-20 in Bell Gardens, Calif.  So you've got a couple of days to get out to the Bike and take your shot.  The Legends Ladies Event looks like it will be a fun time, kicking off with a cocktail party and an appetizer buffet - and of course ending with a slot on WPT's Ladies Night.

WPT Ladies Night is scheduled to air on October 28th.  It's no coincidence that it will air during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  In what has become a tradition, both the Bike and the WPT will again be supporting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation with this event.      

Gold Wins Bracelet and Customary Virtual Hazing

In case you were out of the poker universe this month, Jamie Gold won the 2006 WSOP Championship Event.  And is customary, along with the bracelet and the first place prize pool ($12 million this year), Jamie will also receive a diss'ing in the blogs and forums.

Trashing the champion has become almost a tradition; as reliable as the Swallows of Capistrano or Xmas decorations in retail stores after Halloween. As the field of "unknowns" has swelled in the past years, the "who was he to win this thing" theme generally runs its course.  Many people who have allegedly played with past champions have offered up the "I've played with him before and he sucks" threads.  Every word uttered and perceived behavior displayed during the event by the eventual winner is dissected for a potential backlash.

Jamie's hazing has taken a bit of a Hollywood spin - or the accusations of Hollywood spin as the case might be.  It was rumored early in the event that the ethically challenged character and agent Ari Gold in the hit HBO series Entourage was indeed modeled after Jamie.  But one blog claims that Jamie was more Llyod (Ari's slave assistant) than agent.          

Pictures from the Final Table

When I took these pictures the mood in the tournament room was lively. People cheering, chanting,  Matusow losing $7500 in the stands playing Chinese Poker. Other pros seen playing from their leather chairs were Juanda, and Phil Hellmuth. Phil Gordon had his ESPN stage in the corner of the room behind the bleachers of the final table. Pros got their make up done before taking the mic with him and finishing off with $100 Roshambo. Bracelet winners were announced throughout the night as well as the retirement of one of Harrah's longtime employees. As you've probably heard, Jamie Gold dominated the table and the evening and some questioned whether or not he made a deal with the devil. Others, myself included, discussed leaving after Allen went home fourth for $3,628,513. It was no surprise that he didn't want to take the bust out interview in the media room. Jamie Who? How about Jamie who cares. The hand everyone continues to talk about is Richard Lee's bust out Jacks. Why, Richard, why? He did take his interview, and what a class act. He has a new fan in me. Ok, how about some pics?

Maureen Feduniak (and Phil) Just Miss Bracelet

While the WSOP Championship final table has yet to play, technically the last WSOP event concluded with Maureen Feduniak finishing in second place, taking home $108, 564. 

Event #45, a $1500 NLHE, was the last event on the long WSOP schedule - and the last chance for Phil Hellmuth to win his 11th WSOP bracelet this year.  Currently Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson are all tied with 10th bracelets a piece.  And you know Hellmuth would prefer not to share top honors.  Hellmuth came close - he finished in third place, winning $53,945, behind bracelet winner Anders Hedriksson and Feduniak.  It was not a bad little payday for Phil, but at this point, I'm guessing the money wasn't his goal.  All in all, Hellmuth has logged in a stunning performance this year; winning bracelet #10 and cashing in 8 WSOP events.  Including his bracelet event, Phil made 4 final tables this year. 

Together the Feduniaks haven't had a bad run either.  Maureen also cashed in another WSOP $1500 NLHE event.  And Maureen's husband Bob cashed in the main event and the $2000 Omaha hi/lo this year. 

Final Table 2006 WSOP on Pay Per View

Today is the big day. ESPN will be showing the final table Live on Pay Per View. If you are trying to find a TV listing for it on ESPN, don't bother. I just went over to their TV listings and they show it playing on ESPN Deportes, which I'm sure it is, but what else? The  "2004 World Series of Poker presented by Miller High Life!"  will be playing on ESPN Classic.

DON'T WORRY. If you are trying to order the Pay Per View for $24.95, it's on the lower left of the homepage under "Must Read". Or, you can click through this link right here! ESPN PAY PER VIEW OF THE FINAL TABLE OF THE WSOP. And you don't need a TV either, see Jamie Gold and Allen Cunningham battle for the $12 million on your PC computer!

Dream Heads-Up?

I know it's way to early to think about it - but I also know you've thought about it too; the possible heads-up match between Allen Cunningham and Jamie Gold. 

At this point, we are down to 12 players (the $1million zone).  Gold has continued his run and more than doubled his aleady impressive starting stack.  Gold has over 30,000,000 chips; more than a third of the chips in play.  Currently Allen Cunningham is in second place with just over 14,000,000 chips.  Allen has more than quadroupled up today.

Together, Jamie and Allen have more than half the chips in play.  Admittedly, a lot can, and will, happen between now and heads-up.  But what a match that could be.

My favorite heads-up match of the WSOP so far was the Jeff Madsen v. Erick Lindgren match.  I swear you could hear the gears turning inside their brains as they tried to crack the code on one another.  I think Cunningham and Gold could top it.  I'd love to see their competing styles go head-to-head for the biggest tournament in history.   

But like I say - there are a lot of rivers between now and heads-up.      

 

27 Left With Two Days Yet to Play

Yesterday, the WSOP Championship played down to 27 players.  Each of the remaining players is guaranteed to take home $494,797.  And although that is quite a tidy sum, it will be hard for players to leave now, knowing just how close they came to their $12 million dream.   

While the majority of the remaining players are not poker household names, the field still represents a wealth of tournament experience. 

Jamie Gold (pictured) will start today at the top of the leader board, where he has been for most of the last two days.  He's a California player with the penchant for action they are known for.  And while he has only played in tournaments for the better part of the year, he's got some nice scores going into this year's WSOP.

Prahlad Friedman should be a household name, but for some reason sneaks under the radar screen of most poker enthusiasts.  Fridman won a WSOP bracelet in the 2003 $1500 Pot Limit Hold'em event and came in 2nd in the 2005 WSOP Circuit Championship at Rincon.  He is also well known in the world of internet cash games, where he plays at the levels you and I fear to tread.

Even though he is mild mannered and understated in the field, Allen Cunningham is a pro that's on everyone's radar screen.  With four WSOP bracelets to his name and 95 money finishes in major tournaments, he's hard to miss.

For more discussion of the field and the list of today's starting chip counts, read on.