[Update: Check out Dr. Pauly's latest sounds bytes over at the Lord Admiral Poker Podcast and hear what's on Phil Hellmuth's iPod from the man himself.

Be sure to visit the World Series of Poker live blog from Dr. Pauly. More photos are now in the 2005 WSOP Photo Gallery. Complete World Series of poker tournament results can be found at Poker Player Newspaper.]

Dan Schmiech had been getting pummeled by Gabe Kaplan consistently the day before, but he patiently waited at the final table and got his revenge when he beat Gabe Kaplan heads up to win his first WSOP bracelet. In his second year at the WSOP, Dan Schmiech has two cashes and one bracelet, which is not too bad for a guy who plays a lot of internet poker. Dan Schmiech outlasted a final table that included a former professional athlete, an actor, a mother of four, the son of a famous poker player, a law student, a small business owner, a magazine publisher, and a seasoned tournament veteran who's seeking his first bracelet.

There were 269 players in the $5K Limit event competing for a prize pool of $1,264,300. Here are the final table seat assignments and chip counts:

Seat 1: Joe Sebok (San Francisco, CA) $184K
Seat 2: Annie Duke (Portland, OR) $150K
Seat 3: James Kwon (Chicago, IL) $227K
Seat 4: Gabe Kaplan (Los Angeles, CA) $290K
Seat 5: Dan Schmiech (Houston, TX) $219K
Seat 6: Young Phan (Irvine, CA) $144K
Seat 7: Luke Neely (Austin, TX) $94K
Seat 8: Jeff Shulman (Las Vegas, NV) $38K
Seat 9: Greg "FBT" Mueller (Vancouver, BC) $89K

Here are some random facts about our final table players:

Joe Sebok, the son of Barry Greenstein, just started playing poker seriously about a year ago. If it weren't for poker, he'd be a full blown internet geek. This is his second final table at this year's WSOP.

Annie Duke won the Tournament of Champions last year. This is her first final table at the 2005 WSOP.

James Kwon was born in Korea. He's a small business owner and enjoys billiards.

Gabe Kaplan is a proud graduate of P.S. 161 in New York City. He's lists his occupation as a marine biologist and thoroughly enjoys armadillo races. His nickname is "Pookie" and he collects a modest residual paycheck for his days on Welcome Back, Kotter.

Dam Schmiech is a professional poker player who is originally from Brownwood, Texas. He has one cash at this year's WSOP and plays regularly on Poker Stars.

Young Phan was born in Saigon, Vietnam. Despite numerous final tables and multiple cashes, he's never won a WSOP bracelet. He also enjoys baseball.

Luke Neely is a law student originally from Springfield, MA. His favorite hobby is sleeping.

Jeff Shulman was born in Seattle and has a B.S. from the University of Washington. His nickname is "Happy."

Greg Mueller is known as "FBT" which is an acronym for Full Blown Tilt. He's a former professional hockey player who also enjoys food and acting.

Early on and with a shortstack, Jeff Shulman doubled up with pocket aces against Young Phan's A-3. Shulman had $80K in chips and created a little breathing room for himself. Greg Mueller was the first player eliminated from the final table. On the flop if Ks-7c-4s, Phan bet out. Mueller raised and Phan reraised. Mueller called the rest of his chips and was all in. Phan flipped over 8-8 and Mueller showed 9-9. Mueller was in the lead until Phan caught a runner-runner straight to knock him out. Greg Mueller won $25,285 for 9th place. James Kwon continued to be the chipleader.

Gabe Kaplan put a wicked bad beat on Young Phan. Gabe Kaplan had 10-3 and flopped bottom pair. Phan had A-3 and also flopped bottom pair, but with a better kicker. The river was a ten and "Mr. Kotter's" three outer sent Young Phan home in 8th place. He won $37,930. Annie Duke and her As-Qs caught a runner runner flush to knock out Jeff Shulman. He flopped top pair with KJ. Jeff "Happy" Shulman was not too happy to be eliminated in 7th place. He won $50,570.

Welcome Back, Mr. Kotter! Gabe Kaplan doubled up three times inside of fifteen minutes. He survived all in attempts each time and was still alive. That seemed to be the momentum he needed to start his run. Joe Sebok went on a rush too. He scooped a big pot and moved into the chip lead. Luke Neely was short stacked and busted by Annie Duke. He finished in 6th place and won $63,215. Annie Duke doubled up on two hands, once against Gabe Kaplan and the other time with James Kwon, when her Hiltons held up against pocket Jacks.

Joe Sebok's rush ended and he found himself the short stack once again. His pocket Kings doubled up against Gabe Kaplan's Big Slick. That would be one of the last major pots he'd win. Joe Sebok was eventually knocked out in 5th place by Annie Duke. Joe had pocket 3's to Annie's K-7. Annie flopped a King and Joe's hand failed to improve. Joe Sebok won $75,860.

After a couple hours of four-way play, Gabe Kaplan took over the chip lead with $640K after he won a monster pot from James Kwon who only has $200K remaining. Annie Duke was shortstacked and moved all in preflop with Q-J. Dan Schmiech called with A-2 and his hand held up to eliminate Annie Duke, who won $88,500 for fourth place.

James Kwon moved all in with A-J. Dan Schmiech called with Ah-5h and caught some of the flop with a pair of fives. Kwon's hand did not improve and he was eliminated in 3rd place. He won $113,785.

When play reached heads up, Dan Schmiech held a 2 to 1 chip lead over Gabe Kaplan. After 16 hands of heads up play, Gabe Kaplan was eliminated in second place. He won $222,515. Dan Schmiech won his first bracelet and $404,585. He started the final table with a decent amount of chips and never gave any of them up.

"I hit a great rush of cards and everything fell in place at once," Dan Schmiech explained about his play at the final table. Congrats to Dan!

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 5:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Be sure to visit the World Series of Poker live blog from Dr. Pauly. More photos are now in the 2005 WSOP Photo Gallery. Complete World Series of poker tournament results can be found at Poker Player Newspaper.]

Phil Ivey wasn't going to play in Event #27 $5000 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys. He was sleeping at the time that the event was scheduled to start. Barry Greenstein noticed he was not registered, so he woke him up with a phone call. Barry knew that Pot Limit Omaha is one of Phil's better games and insisted that Phil get over to the Rio to play. Phil Ivey mainly concentrates on cash games these days and he chose to play a light tournament schedule this year. It's a good thing that Phil Ivey woke up and answered Barry Greenstein's phone call because he picked up his fifth WSOP bracelet.

The $5K Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys event started with 134 players who added 129 rebuys and add-ons to the $1,765,568 prize pool. Here are the chip counts and seating assignments at today's exciting final table:

Seat 1: E.C. Cohen (Paris, France) $130K
Seat 2: Robert Williamson III (Dallas, TX) $153K
Seat 3: Allen Cunningham (Marina Del Ray, CA) $202K
Seat 4: Davood Mehrmand (Germany) $125K
Seat 5: Surinder Sunar (Wolver Hampton, England) $96K
Seat 6: Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, NV) $494K
Seat 7: Phil Hellmuth (Palo Alto, CA) $114K
Seat 8: Eddy Scharf (Cologne) $150K
Seat 9: Richard St. Peter (Sault Ste. Marie, MI) $162K
Seat 10: Sigi Stockinger (Linz, Austria) $213K

Here are some random facts about the final table:

There are 20 WSOP bracelets among all of the players who made the final table.

E.C. Cohen was born in Tunisia. He enjoys horses and backgammon.

Robert Williamson III is an investor and professional poker player. He won his only WSOP bracelet in this event back in 2002. He made the final table in this event in four consecutive years.

Allen Cunningham has won more money this year than any other player. After today's cash, his 2005 WSOP winnings will be in excess of $1 million.

Davood Mehrmand lists his occupation as "fun seeker." He was born in Persia and enjoys blackjack and sewing.

Surinder Sunar has won many events in Europe and won the 1996 U.S. Poker Championships. He's also made several final tables at the WSOP.

Phil Ivey has 4 gold bracelets and recently purchased a brand new Mercedes worth almost $400K.

Phil Hellmuth is the most humble person in poker. Ask him who he thinks is the best player and he'll tell you, "Phil Hellmuth." He has 9 WSOP bracelets and is trying to tie Johnny Chan for 10. He has 50 cashes at the WSOP.

Eddy Sharf is an airline pilot from Germany. He won 2 WSOP bracelets and every time he made a final table... he won the event.

Richard St. Peter is the father of four. He's currently "in between jobs" despite having an MBA. He also studied at the School of Negotiations at Harvard.

Sigi Stockinger is a businessman who's in Las Vegas on vacation. He's playing at his first WSOP final table.

This was an important final table for Phil Hellmuth. Every time he enters a WSOP event, he has a legitimate shot at making history. He's been racking up different WSOP records and has been trying to make it to as many final tables as possible. He's also been battling Berry Johnston for the most career WSOP cashes. With nine bracelets, Phil Hellmuth is currently tied for second most WSOP bracelets with Doyle Brunson. They both trail Johnny Chan by one after Chan won his 10th a few days ago.

Richard St. Peter was the first player was eliminated. Phil Ivey sent him home in 10th place. On a flop of Jc-6c-5s, St. Peter moved all in with Ac-As-7s-3h. Phil Ivey called with Jh-Qc-9h-8h. Ivey was behind and caught two pair when the Qs fell on the turn. St. Peter picked up a flush draw but it didn't hit and he finished in 10th place. Phil Ivey added to his big stack.

Davood Mehrmand knocked out E.C. Cohen. On the flop of Qh-Jd-2s, E.C. Cohen moved all in with Jh-9c-6c-2h. Mehrmand called with Ad-As-Qs-3s. Davood Mehrmand caught trip aces on the river and scooped the pot. E.C. Cohen finished in 9th place and won $52,555.

Johnny Chan's record is safe for a while after Phil Hellmuth was eliminated in 8th place. Phil Hellmuth check raised Williamson on a flop of Kh-Qh-7c. Both were all in. Hellmuth had Ah-Kd-Qd-Qs and Williamson showed Kc-Ks-5s-5h. Hellmuth's hand did not improve and he went home in 8th place without his 10th bracelet. He won $70,075.

In the biggest pot of the tournament, Phil Ivey knocked out Sigi Stockinger and Eddy Scharf. All three players moved all in on the flop of Qs-8s-2d. Scharf had a set of twos. Sigi had a set of Queens and Ivey showed the nut flush draw. Ivey caught his flush on the turn and knocked out both players. Phil Ivey had almost $1 million in chips, which was more than twice as many as Robert Williamson. Eddy Scharf went home in 7th with $88,280. Sigi Stockinger was knocked out in 6th Place and won $105,935.

Surinder Sunar was busted when Allen Cunningham flopped a straight. Surinder finished in 5th Place and won $122,635. Allen Cunningham's attempt to win his second WSOP bracelet this year came to a halt when he was eliminated by Phil Ivey. On a flop of Qd-10d-4d, Cunningham moved all in with As-Qh-Qs-5h and a set of Queens. Ivey flipped over Ac-Kd-Qc-6d for a flush. His hand held up and Allen Cunningham finished in fourth place. He won $140,150. Three players are left and Phil Ivey is running over the table.

Phil Ivey blew his 3 to 1 chip advantage as Robert Williamson moved into the chip lead. Action was still three handed, when momentum had swung Williamson's way. He also seemed to have the most railbirds who cheered him on every time he won a pot.

After about two more hours of three handed play, Williamson coughed up the lead. Phil Ivey got the chip lead back, while Davood Mehrmand quietly jumped into second place. Phil Ivey eventually knocked out Davood Mehrmand in 3rd place. Davood flopped an open ended straight draw and Ivey showed top pair. Davood's hand failed to improve. Davood Mehrmand hung on and played tough for several hours. He was up against two tough players. Robert Williamson is considered one of the best PLO players in the world and Phil Ivey is one of the toughest cash game players to beat in Las Vegas. Davood won $194,210 for his efforts. Phil Ivey had over a $900K chip lead.

On the verge of elimination, Robert Williamson doubled up against Phil Ivey. Williamson's Ace high flush was better than Ivey's King high flush. Ivey still held a commanding chip lead, while Williamson never had enough chips to put any pressure on Ivey.

After winning a big pot on the previous hand, Phil Ivey flopped a straight. Robert Williamson moved all in and he had only two outs to help him. Unfortunately, he did not catch any of them and was eliminated. Robert won $353,115 for his runner up finish. Phil Ivey won $635,603 for first place and collected his fifth WSOP bracelet.

I'm sure that Robert Williamson wished Phil Ivey didn't answer his phone two days ago. I suspect that Phil Hellmuth wasn't too pleased that Barry Greenstein woke up Phil Ivey, especially because Phil Ivey's big stack at the final table helped prevent Hellmuth from winning his 10th bracelet. Phil Ivey won his fifth WSOP bracelet and he's not even 30 years old. I wonder how many Ivey would have won if he entered in twice as many events that he had been playing?

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[Be sure to visit the World Series of Poker live blog from Dr. Pauly. More photos are now in the 2005 WSOP Photo Gallery. Complete World Series of poker tournament results can be found at Poker Player Newspaper.]

The poker boom is affecting women from all walks of life. From grandmothers to college students and from celebrities to homemakers, the number of women who are playing poker is increasing every day. With the advantages that online poker rooms provide and the plethora of televised poker programs available, women are being exposed to poker on a grand scale, particularly No Limit Texas Hold'em.

The number of entries in this year's Ladies Event is proof that women are an integral part of the poker boom. A record number 601 players bought in for $1,000 to try to win a bracelet. The top fifty-four places were paid prize money in a pool of $546,910.

Actress Jennifer Tilly is not just Phil "The Unabomber" Laak's girlfriend. She proved that she's a solid poker player. She won her first WSOP bracelet in a two day event that was only scheduled to last one day, and she outlasted a field of some of the best female poker players from all over the world.

Jen Creason from Poker Wire was busted early. She ran into pocket aces when she had pocket Queens. Clonie Gowen was eliminated in the first level when her pocket Kings ran into pocket Aces. Tanya Peck built up a nice stack in the first hour. She ran over her first table and caught some good cards to be in a position to make a run. Unfortunately when she moved tables, a bit a bad luck took over. She was eliminated by a bad beat when her pocket Kings lost to A-Q when an ace spiked on the river.

Shirley Rosario had an up and down day. She tripled up by the first break and then was shortstacked for a while before she doubled up again. She was knocked out when her pocket tens lost to someone who flopped a set with 8-8. Kathy Leibert got out to a hot start but her pocket Kings ran into someone who caught a set of Jacks.

I met Kim and Lupe from Lips Tour and they gave me some more background about the Ladies International Poker Series. It's a poker tour for women, both online and in live venues. Lips Tour is one of the many thriving communities catering to female poker players who came out in record numbers to cheer on and support one another at the largest women's event in poker history.

The final table didn't start until way after Midnight. Wendy Rosen was eliminated in 10th place, Janice Newman took 9th place, and Beth Shak finished in 8th place. Susan Carpenter placed 7th and won $21,840. Her A-Q lost to Q-J. Jen Tilly's 7-7 cracked Teresa Chan's Hilton Sisters when Jen caught a runner-runner straight to bust her in 6th place. Angel Word came in fifth place and won $32,810.

Once it got down to four players the tournament directors gave the option to the ladies of quitting for the night. After fifteen grueling hours of poker the remaining players agreed at around 4:00am to stop play and resume action on Monday afternoon.

After a few hours of sleep, the players returned to the final table Here's who made it:

Seat 1: Jennifer Tilly (Harbor City, CA) $449,600
Seat 2: Ann Le (California) $88,600
Seat 3: Cecilia de Mortensen (Madrid, Spain) $36,300
Seat 4: Carolyn Ancheta (Edgewood, Washington) $31,500

Jennifer Tilly amassed a huge chiplead and had a 4 to 1 advantage over the closest player. Both Cecilia Mortensen and Carolyn Ancheta doubled up against Jen Tilly in early action. When Jennifer Tilly entered pots, she consistently overbet looking to make the other short stacks have to commit all their chips if they wanted to play. Cecilia de Mortensen was knocked out by Ann Le in 4th place. Cecilia had 9-9 but Ann Le flopped the Wheel with A-3 on a board of 4-2-5. Cecilia de Mortensen won $38,220 for her efforts.

ennifer Tilly called Carolyn Ancheta's all in bet. Carolyn had K-J and Jen showed A-7. The flop was A-8-7 and Carolyn's hand failed to improve. She won $43,680 for third place. We reached heads up play and Jen continued to have a clear chip advantage.

Jennifer Tilly won her first bracelet when she pushed all in with A-7 versus Ann Le's K-J. Her hand lead all the way and she sealed the victory.

"This is better than an Oscar," she said during her beaming acceptance speech. She happily showed off her World Series of Poker bracelet to the members of the media and the large crowd that gathered to take in the exciting two day event.

When she was asked about her future, she responded, "I'm hooked on poker. I'm not going to stop playing until I lose all my money."

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 5:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[Be sure to visit the World Series of Poker live blog from Dr. Pauly. More photos are now in the 2005 WSOP Photo Gallery. Complete World Series of poker tournament results can be found at Poker Player Newspaper.}

The World Series of Poker held the final four table for the Championship of Ladies' No-limit Hold'em, event #26. The record field of 601 ladies sat down to play some hold'em poker in the $1,000 buy-in event. The large size of the field forced the scheduled one-day event into two days of play. The entrants had been cut down to four players when a halt was called at a little after 4:00 this morning and a weary group of players, crew, media and fans headed for the gate. The final four returned to play for the championship at three this afternoon. Event #26 was offering a total prize pool of $546,910 with $158,335 going to the winner. Jennifer Tilly emerged the Ladies' champion and goes home with the money and the coveted 2005 gold World Series of Poker bracelet.

The seat assignments and chip counts at the 3:00 pm start time:

Carolyn Anseta with $31,500
Cecilia Mortensen with $36,300
Ann Le with $88,600
And the chip leader with $449,600, Jennifer Tilly.

More photographs were taken over the past couple of days than any other time since the start of the 2005 WSOP. Images from today's action will be available in our ever expanding 2005 WSOP photo Gallery. A sample of today's final table action are offered here with a few additional photos available by clicking the continue reading link below.

Additional photos of event #26, Ladies' Championship.

Ann Le, final table seat #1 finished 2nd

Cecilia Mortensen, final table seat #2 finished 4th.

Carolyn Ancheta, final table seat #3 finished 3rd.

Jennifer Tilly, final table seat #4 finished 1st.

Carmel Petresco on day #1 of event #26.

Isabelle Mercier, right, on day #1 of event #26.

Event #26 final table heads-up play.

Posted by flipchipro at 1:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Johnny Chan won his tenth World Series of Poker bracelet and proved why he is considered one of the best poker players in the world. He was tied with Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth who won nine bracelets a piece. After his victory early on Monday morning, Johnny Chan holds the record for most WSOP bracelets along with the honorable distinction of becoming the first player ever to win ten.

Johnny Chan doesn't play as many tournaments like he used to. That's yet another reason why his win was extra special. Around Las Vegas he's considered a cash game specialist. Chan has a regular seat in the "Big Game" with the best players in the world such as Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Chau Giang, Chip Reese, Bobby Baldwin, Lyle Berman, and Phil Ivey.

With the fields of players swelling to record numbers at this years WSOP, it seemed impossible than Chan, Brunson, or Hellmuth could make a final table, let alone win another bracelet. Once again Johnny Chan defied the odds. He's been a fighter his entire life and came from behind to win once again.

Only Phil "The Unabomber" Laak stood in his way of achieving poker immortality. The Unabomber was outchipped and outmatched once they sat down to play heads up. Within 16 hands, Johnny Chan won all his chips and was awarded his tenth bracelet.

Johnny Chan won Event #25 $2500 Pot Limit Hold'em and beat out a field of 425 players who were competing for a prize pool worth $977,500. The second day of action started with 20 players with some notable names such as Humberto Brenes, Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, Paul Wolfe and Tracy Phan still in the hunt. Johnny Chan ended day one 12th in chips and he began day two with a lot of work ahead of him. Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth were playing in a different event a few tables away and they both were keeping close tabs on Chan's progress.

Costa Rican Humberto Brenes appeared that he was going to be a major force at the final table. He knocked out two players early in day two and amassed over $300K in chips. He took a few hits but still reached the final table with a decent chip stack.

Here are the final table seating assignments and chip counts:

Seat 1: Jerri Thomas (Hamilton, OH) $64K
Seat 2: Tony Hartmann (Minneapolis, MN) $195K
Seat 3: Richard Osborne (Martinez, CA) $55K
Seat 4: Johnny Chan (Las Vegas, NV) $70K
Seat 5: Ivo Donev (Austria) $50K
Seat 6: Frank Kassela (Germantown, TN) $169K
Seat 7: Richard Harroch (San Francisco, CA) $75K
Seat 8: Humberto Brenes (Costa Rica) $127K
Seat 9: Phil Laak (Dublin, Ireland) $83K
Seat 10: Ashok Surapaneni (Las Vegas, NV) $173K

Ivo Donev was the first player eliminated from the final table in 10th place. He won $11,730. Phil Laak got his game rolling when he doubled up with pocket aces against Ashok Surapaneni's Big Slick. Johnny Chan crippled Humberto Brenes when his AK failed to improve against Chan's 66. Humberton Brenes finished in 9th place after he was busted by Richard Osborne. Humberto won $19,550. Ashok Surapaneni moved all in with A-10 against Frank Kassela's Hilton Sisters. Surapaneni didn't catch any cards and he was knocked out in 8th place. He won $29,325.

With seven players remaining, Frank Kassela moved into the chip lead. Phil Laak kept the table loose with his freakish antics. At one point after he won a pot, he offered to show his cards for $4 in cash. Johnny Chan agreed and Laak flipped over AK. Chan's smallest bill was a five and he tossed it over to Laak, who gave him one dollar for change.

Robert Osborne must be a fan of pocket nines. He moved all in with them on two consecutive hands. He was seriously shortstacked on the first hand and pushed. Phil Laak called with 8-7o and flopped a 7 with an ace high on the board. Laak caught an eight on the turn to take the lead. On the river, an ace fell which paired the board and gave the lead back to Osborne. On the next hand, he doubled up against Rich Harroch's Big Slick.

Phil Hellmuth wandered over for a little verbal jousting with Phil Laak and Johnny Chan. He was aware that Chan had a shot at history and passive aggressively attempted to get Chan on tilt. Phil Laak rushed to Chan's rescue and joked with Hellmuth.

"If it weren't for luck you'd win every time, right Phil?" Laak exclaimed as the huge crowd that flocked to the rail burst out with laughter. Phil quietly returned to his game.

Richard Harroch and his short stack moved all in with A-J. Chan called with 44. Harroch outflopped Chan with J-8-5. On the turn, Chan picked up a gutshot straight draw. A 6 spiked on the river and Chan eliminated Harroch in 7th place. At that point, everyone watching got a strong feeling that it was going to be Johnny Chan's night.

Phil Laak, with his sneakers off and his hooded sweatshirt half on and half off, knocked out Tony Hartmann in 6th Place. Laak flopped a set with pocket tens and Hartmann moved all in with the Hilton Sisters. Hartmann's hand failed to improve and he was eliminated. Hartmann won $48,175. Johnny Chan was third in chips out of five remaining players.

Phil Laak had a tough decision to make when Robert Osborne moved all in. Laak was second in chips and held "The Kournikova" a.k.a. K-Qo. He reluctantly called saying, "If I win it's a great call. If I lose, I still have chips."

Osborne showed Ah-Th and flopped an ace with two hearts.

"This is what four percent feels like," added Laak to his running commentary of the hand. When another ace fell on the turn, he was drawing dead.

Johnny Chan said, "Zero."

Laak agreed, "This is what zero percent feels like."

Jerri Thomas played impressively for the duration of the tournament and survived a difficult final table. Jerri was shortstack most of the final table and held on. She was eventually eliminated by Richard Osborne. She pushed all in with A8 and was called by Osborne's A-10, which held up. Jerri won $58,560 for fifth place.

Phil Laak won a big pot and offered to show his hand to the other players for $4 in cash. When the table declined, he extended the offer to anyone on the rail. Fellow writer Jon Eaton and I, who were both covering the event, chipped in $2 each. We gave the money to the Unabomber and he happily showed us Ac-Jc. That was the best $2 I spent all day.

Then the hand of the tournament occurred. Johnny Chan raised preflop. Frank Kassela reraised. Johnny Chan moved all in with the Hilton Sisters. Kassela called with pocket aces. Chan slowly counted out his chips. He was covered by Kassela. The flop was: K-K-Q. The railbirds went a little crazy. The turn and river did not help Kassela and Johnny Chan cracked Aces with pocket Queens! Johnny Chan moved into the chiplead after he crippled Kassela.

Frank Kassela and his short stack were eliminated by Phil Laak in 4th place. Kassela won $68,425. Johnny Chan held a $400K chip lead over Phil Laak who was the closest in chips. Phil Laak knocked out Richard Osborne in 3rd place. Laak raised and Osborne re-raised all in. Laak took forever to make a decision. He kept running the math over and over in his head and out loud for the crowd. Phil Laak eventually called with K-T. He got no help on the flop and the turn. He uttered, "This is what six percent feels like."

Phil Laak had just a 6% chance to catch one of three tens in the deck. When a ten spiked on the river, the boisterous crowd went a little crazy. Laak fell on the floor and a shocked expression fell on Richard Osborne's face. Phil Laak's girlfriend, actress Jen Tilly ran over from the Ladies NL event and gave him a kiss. Osborne won $78,200 for his excellent work at the final table. Johnny Chan held the chip lead when play reached heads up.

The tournament directors made an executive decision to postpone heads up play until the $2,500 NL event was completed. The plan was to move the heads up match to the official TV table so that they could provide better coverage of Johnny Chan's attempt at history for the TV audience.

When Doyle Brunson was asked what he thought about Chan possibly setting a record, he said, "I'm rooting for Johnny. He's my friend and he's a great player."

I sat in the front row to witness poker history. The always energized and voluble Phil Laak could not sit still. He talked non-stop to himself, the crowd, the dealer, the tournament director, and Johnny Chan. He would do sit ups and push ups while Johnny Chan was thinking about calling his raises. He comically pulled his hooded sweatshirt over his head to hide from Chan's inquisitive eyes.

On the 16th hand of heads up play, Phil Laak raised to $30K. Johnny Chan reraised to $92K. Laak agonized over the call and eventually moved all in. He flipped over K-J. Johnny Chan showed... the Hilton Sisters! Although Laak flopped a Jack, his hand did not improve and Johnny Chan's pocket Queens held up. He won his 10th World Series of Poker bracelet in just three attempts at this year's WSOP.

Johnny Chan embraced his son after his record setting victory. He handed the "lucky orange" to his father, which Johnny placed on the table. Chan definitely got lucky on several hands after he moved all in. He outflopped pocket Aces and even caught a straight on the river another time in order to survive at the final table.

Indeed, Johnny Chan can now boast that he is the most successful player ever to participate in the World Series of Poker. Johnny Chan also holds the honor of being the last player to have repeat wins at the main event. That might be a record that will never be broken. Time will tell if ten bracelets will become an unattainable milestone or if Johnny Chan can add five more bracelets to his collection likes he wants to do.

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Farzad Bonyadi was seeking his third WSOP bracelet when he signed up for Event #24. He had to outlast a field of 1056 tough players, who were competing for a prize pool worth over $2,428,800.

Seat 1: Joe Zappia (Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada) $247K
Seat 2: Larry Watson (Las Vegas, NV) $59K
Seat 3: Glynn Beebe (Austin, TX) $242K
Seat 4: Mayen Grigorian (Northridge, CA) $112K
Seat 5: K.J. Jordan (Myrtle Beach, SC) $368K
Seat 6: Lars Bonding (Aarhus, Denmark) $818K
Seat 7: Jason "Chip Burner" Tate (Brentwood, TN) $391K
Seat 8: Farzad Bonyadi (Los Angeles, CA) $315K
Seat 9: Robert Doyle (W. Palm Beach, FL) $87K

Here are some random facts about our final table players:

Jason Tate is known as "Chip Burner" and he's an independent contractor in Nashville.

Farzad Bonyadi is a professional poker player who was born in Iran. He has two WSOP bracelets.

Mayen Grigorian was born in Montreal, Canada. He's a stockbroker and has a degree in business. This is his first WSOP event.

Joe Zappia represents Canada. He is a caterer in Toronto and his nickname is "The Hammer." His hobbies include enjoying life to the fullest and sports gambling.

Robert Doyle was born in Brooklyn, NY. He's currently self-employed and enjoys fishing with his four children.

K.J. Jordan deals in Real Estate in Myrtle Beach. He's an avid golfer and is married with two kids.

Larry Watson lists his two daughters and five grand kids as his greatest accomplishments. He retired and was born in Oklahoma. That's where he first learned to play.

Lars Bonding is a professional gambler from Denmark. He originally started out as a backgammon player and plays a lot of online poker.

Glynn Beebe was born in Louisiana. The father of three has an MBA and owns a business in Austin.

Larry Watson was the first player eliminated from the final table. Joe Zappia moved all in with A-10 and Larry Watson had pocket 8's. Zappia flopped a ten and his hand held up. Larry Watson was finished in 9th place and won $48,575. K.J. Jordan pushed all in with Kd-Qd. Lars Bonding called with pocket fives. On the turn, Jordan picked up a flush draw but it missed on the river. K.J. Jordan was eliminated in 8th place and won $72,865. Robert Doyle doubled up with AK against Joe Zappia's AQ. On the next hand, Mayen Grigorian doubled up against Lars Bonding.

Joe Zappia moved all in preflop against Robert Doyle. It was another classic confrontation with Zappia's Ac-Kh versus Doyle's JJ. The flop was all rags and Zappia caught an ace on the turn. In dramatic fashion, Doyle spiked a Jack on the river to make a set. He knocked out Joe Zappia in 6th place. He won $121,440.

Mayen Grigorian's short stack was eliminated by Lars Bonding's big stack when he caught a flush on the river. For fifth place, Mayen won $145,730. Robert Doyle was shortstacked and moved all in with 7-5o. Bonyadi called with Kc-10h. Doyle flopped a pair, but Bonyadi caught a King on the turn to take the lead. Doyle was knocked out when his hand did not improve on the river. He finished in fourth place and won $170,015.

Glynn Beebe was knocked out by Lars Bonding. Beebe has J-9o and Bonding had pocket tens which held up. He took home $194,305 for third. After two and a half hours of intense heads up play, Farzad Bonyadi won his third bracelet after he eliminated Lars Bonding. His K-6 was better than Lars' Q-10. Bonyadi flopped a King and his hand held up. Bonding won $156,400 for his valiant effort. Farzad Bonyadi won $303,025. Congrats to Farzad Bonyadi.

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a sad week in the poker world with the loss of blogger Charlie Tuttle. Although most of us didn't know Charlie personally, many of us were able to meet him via WPBT events and were also able to connect with his best friend Jason Kirk during the recent Vegas trip. Our thoughts are with Jason and Charlie's family during this difficult time. Many thanks to Felicia and Pauly for getting support in the professional poker community to bring joy to Charlie's last days. To quote a fellow blogger, "It's always nice to leave the game on a rush, and you guys should all be commended for giving him that". Be sure to read Pauly's article about Barry Greenstein's emotional dedication of his win in the Pot-Limit Omaha $1500 WSOP event to Charlie.

Drizz asks us why we play poker, something each of us should ponder periodically throughout our playing careers. Shelly from Hella Hold'Em gets inspired and takes a look at her poker goals.

High on Poker takes a look at a new Hardy Boys book, The Mystery of the Missing Rake. It's always a shame when poker comes between brothers...good thing we don't have to worry about that with our brotherly blogging duo, BG and Bob!

In a bit of cross-cultural discourse, Joe Speaker and Div from Poker, Pique and Parenthood dicuss the future legality of online poker, an issue near and dear to all our hearts.

In WSOP news, Pauly's wingman Dan from Pokerati is back in town, and has decided to take up Podcasting. (All the cool kids are doing it). Be sure to check out the inagural episode for some familar blogger voices. Wil Wheaton will be joining Otis on Team PokerStars, and playing in the WSOP Main Event. Congratulations and Good Luck Wil! And Pauly...don't corrupt him too much, ok?

Finally, Otis continues to regale with his tales of A Month in Las Vegas; the LA blogging contingent has a new nemesis (go Mrs. H!); Bill Rini has a photo challenge for us; hdouble revealed what he does all day - go check out the Full Tilt online poker forum; and be careful out there gang - poker is back to her heart-breaking ways.

Posted by at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Without a doubt, writer Hans Christian Andersen is the most famous person from Odewse, Denmark. However, the residents of Odewse are cheering on a new hero, Jan Sorensen, after he won his first World Series of Poker bracelet. The former professional athlete beat the reigning world champion, Joe Awada, along with a field of 192 players, all of whom competed for a prize pool of $902,400 in Event #23 $5,000 Seven-card Stud.

The event started a little late because the ESPN cameramen took extra time to get more of the poker table in their shots for better coverage of the player's cards during a rare televised Seven-card Stud tournament.

Here is the final table including starting chip counts:

1 John Phan (Los Angeles, CA) $198K
2 Gerard Rechnitzer (Beverly Hills, CA) $71K
3 Keith Sexton (Dayton, Ohio) $135K
4 Joe Awada (Las Vegas, NV) $126.5K
5 Steven S. Diano (Las Vegas, NV) $58.5K
6 Chip Jett (Las Vegas, NV) $206K
7 Jan Sorensen (Odewse, Denmark) $140K
8 Tom McCormick (Fargo, ND) $25K

Here are some random facts about the final table players:

* Jan Sorensen used to be professional soccer player in Europe before he started playing poker. He won a bracelet in Pot-Limit Omaha in 2002 and has made two final tables at the WSOP.

* Chip Jett has made two final tables prior to this event. His hobbies include building, breaking, and fixing things. His favorite game is Stud 8 or Better. He is a graduate of the University of Margaritaville.

* Steve Diano is a professional gambler and has one cash in this year's WSOP in a Stud event. He admitted that he will paint his Cadillac pink if he wins a WSOP bracelet.

* John Phan is originally from Vietnam. His nickname is "The Razor" and he enjoys traveling. He made the final table in the WPT Championships at the Bellagio.

* Keith Sexton is a home builder and professional poker player with three kids. He took 2nd place in a 1992 WSOP Stud event.

* Gerard Rechnitzer is a real estate investor. He once beat Mike Caro to win a Stud event at the Commerce Casino in 2000.

* John McCormick is a president of a road construction company in North Dakota. He has five kids and loves golf. He has made 9 final tables in his WSOP career. Limit Hold'em is his best game and he's finished in 3rd twice in Limit WSOP events.

* Joe Awada was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He is the CEO and President of a gaming entertainment company. He often brings pictures of his seven children to the poker table. Joe Awada returns to the final table to defend last year's title.

Joe Awada knocked out the first player at the final table. Tom McCormick was short stacked and had to move all in. By fourth street McCormick showed a King high with three clubs and he was drawing dead by the time Awada picked up a full house on fifth street. Tom McCormick finished in 8th place and won $27,070.

Joe Awada appeared to be on a rush after he knocked out Gerard Rechnitzer. Joe Awada's two pair Kings & Jacks were better than Gerard Rechnitzer's fives & sixes. Gerard Rechnitzer finished in 7th place and won $36,095.

John Phan knocked out Steven Diano in 6th place. By sixth street, Phan was ahead with two pair (aces up) and Diano only had two jacks and a gutshot draw. He missed it on the river and Phan scooped the pot. Diano finished in 6th place and won $58,655.

Joe Awada's attempt to repeat in this event came to a halt when he was knocked out in 5th place. Joe Awada moved all in and lost to John Phan who caught a straight. Last year's champ, Joe Awada won $58,655 for fifth place. Jan Sorensen moved into the chip lead. Chip Jett had the small stack. John Phan held onto his short stack for a while, but eventually was knocked out in 4th place by Keith Sexton. John Phan won $72,190 for 4th. Keith Sexton moved into a huge chip lead after that pot.

Chip Jett was eliminated in 3rd place by Keith Sexton and his quest for his first WSOP was over. Jett pushed all in with a pair of sixes while Sexton showed a pair of Queens, which was good enough to win. Chip Jett won $99,265 for third place. We reached heads up play between Keith Sexton and Jan Sorensen. Sexton had the most chips.

Jan Sorensen slugged it out with Keith Sexton for over two and a half hours of some intense heads up play. Jan made a final table two years ago and finally broke through this year to win his first WSOP bracelet when his full house was good enough to bust Keith Sexton. Jan Sorensen won $293,275 for first and Keith Sexton won $162,430 for second place.

Indeed, all of Jan's friends back home in Denmark are celebrating his victory as we speak. Congrats to Jan.

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)