J Santos is Back With Muck-It
J Santos hasn't turned up yet but we did get an envelope with a Muck-It cartoon. Hopefully, Santos will continue his journey north and should be back drawing and drinking here in Las Vegas. His extended "vacation" down south is finally over and he's anxious to get back to work (read he's broke). He is going to paint a couple of outdoor wall murals (his murals often look more like graffiti than fine art) so hopefully he will be around throught the end of the year. He also is considering a new group of painted carved wood cats. The guy is also a somewhat gifted carver and occasionally he paints a retablo or two. He's been working on some secret carving for the past year; but, I haven't seen it yet so don't know what he's doing.
A quick road trip to Los Angeles yesterday didn't end until early this morning. I finally got home to find the broadband connection had gone south, the reason for the lateness of this post. The hours of driving in a continuous stream of traffic from Vegas to LA and return combined with many more hours of sitting in LA's infamous traffic reminds me that following the poker tournament crowd around is sometimes not all that great. The Poker Prof and I had to go to Hollywood Park Casino, home of 
The deck was passed around the table so the players had to deal the cards. This arrangement provided the locals with a double threat on your money, you could not only go broke from bad play but bad dealing. Most of the players were older than my grandparents and included a high percentage of lacquered blue haired ladies, the perfect compliment to the comb-over men. Your cards were hard to see through the thick smoke. Everyone smoked, often having more than one cigarette fired up; probably a result of Alzheimer, a word that hadn't come along yet. 
He also told me that I played so badly I didn't have a pray of winning at the LA clubs, much less in Vegas. In fact, I still remember him telling me, "Remember the toughest virgin in your high school class? Well, go home because you have a much better shot at scoring with her than winning here." OK, enough of the good old days, apparently going to LA makes me regress to a much crazier era. Now that I think about it, the old days just weren't that good. I am always happy to see the lights of the modern Las Vegas and to be a part of the incredible evolution of the poker industry.
Flipchip and I went back downtown to the Plaza for the final table of the Ultimate Poker Challenge. The buy-in was $10K and 55 players entered. At stake was $167,500 for first place and the coveted gold bracelet. There were plenty of top pros in the tournament and the final table was filled with some familiar names and faces. 
The action went fast even though the tournament directors raised the levels from one hour to ninety minutes. The format of the tournament was seven-handed tables which pleased a lot of players. "Seven-handed is great," said Any Bloch. "I prefer short-handed events. You get to play more hands and the action is faster. More tournaments should be short-handed."
Mike Wattel was eliminated just as his girlfriend Cyndy Violette arrived to cheer him on from the rail. On a flop of 7s-6s-6c, Wattel check-raised Andy Bloch, who thought for a second and then moved all in. Wattel called. Andy showed A-7 for two pair and Mike had As-8s for just the nut flush draw. Wattel picked up a straight draw on the turn but the river was a blank. Mike Wattel was eliminated in 4th place and he won $44,300. Andy Bloch had a commanding chip lead with over $1.1M. Chau was second with $307K and Blair Rodman had $205K.
When play reached heads up, Andy had $1.4M in chips to Blair Rodman's $206K. Andy aggressively went after Rodman's stack. Whenever Rodman bet it seemed that Andy went over the top. Eventually, Rodman had next to nothing and he moved all in preflop with 9-4. Andy Bloch called with J-4 and his hand held up. Blair Rodman won $100,750 for second place. Andy won $167,500 for first place and the UPC gold bracelet.
21 players returned to action on Day 2 of the the $10K Ultimate Poker Challenge no limit main event, which was held at the Plaza Casino in downtown Las Vegas. Players begin with $30K in chips and levels are 60 minutes in length. The action is seven handed which is a unique twist to this year's event. In all, 55 players started on Monday and they competed for a prize pool worth over $540K. Erik Seidel ended Day 1 as the chip leader with $180,900 and Chau Giang was a close second. 
1st = $167,500
Early on The Grinder and Minh Ly were embroiled in a heads up battle. Minh Ly won the first with 5-5 versus The Grinder's A-Q. The Grinder did much better the second time when his Hilton Sisters held up against A-5. Minh Ly was eventually eliminated by David Levi. Erik Seidel's stack took a hit when he doubled up David Plastik on the featured TV table. Chau Giang slipped into the chiplead. Andy Bloch doubled up and cracked Minh Ly's pocket aces when he rivered a straight. Cyndy Violette won a race with the Hilton's against Gavin Smith's A-K.
Ted Forrest doubled up Erik Seidel and The Grinder just before David Levi bubbled out in 15th place. The Grinder was the next one busted in 14th place, followed by John Juanda in 13th. The UPC and the Plaza pays the players in casino chips. John Juanda walked over the the craps table and bet on a few throws. When Erick Lindgren was busted a few minutes later, he ran over to the craps table shouting "I'm coming to save Juanda!" The two played craps for a few minutes before they walked over to the cage and cashed out.
Gavin Smith finished in 10th place and at the dinner break, Mike Wattel was the chip leader with 9 players remaining. After dinner, Cyndy Violette was knocked out by Sentil Kumar. Cyndy had A-8 and Kumar had K-8. The both checked on a flop of Q-8-8 and all the money went in on the turn. Kumar caught a King on the river to knocked out Cyndy Violette in 9th place. That hand pushed Sentil Kumar into the chip lead.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts:
The World Series of Poker television series 
1. Nghi Van Tran Toronto, Canada $780,615
The 2004 Ultimate Poker Challenge on-air host, Chad Brown, finished in seventh place to receive $94,620 while the always familiar professional, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson takes $70,965 back to California for his eighth place effort.
The Ultimate Poker Challenge continues the 2005 series at the Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. Most of the information we linked to in the previous article about the Ultimate Poker Challenge is incorrect. The tournament no longers follows a points system for entry into the semi-final event since the players apparently hated it. In fact, there is not a semi-final event. The 17 episode series concludes it's run with a $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold'em event currently scheduled to begin at noon on Tuesday, July 26th. I will be there on Tuesday to cover the event through the camera lens while Dr. Pauly will be providing coverage from the computer keyboard. He may live blog the event or not, probably depending on the number of names that come to play, it's his call.
We covered the 2004 Ultimate Poker Challenge last year and came away with enough photos to populate a permanent 
More than a hundred million dollars was paid out to 2005 WSOP players, making it the richest sporting event ever. The LasVegasVegas 2005 WSOP team provided readers with an instant and continuous window to all the action through 
The Product: Three DVDs' with the same 2004 episodes that aired on ESPN during the past year. Each episode is a DVD chapter so getting to an exact point during an episode can be a bit tricky. The bonus features includes some brief (but interesting) interviews on strategy with top name professional poker players. Included on the DVD set is a couple of Greg Raymer pieces and a bonus short piece on the late Stu Ungar.
The 
I finally had the time to stop by the Plaza and check out the action this week. I had just come from the strip where I had been shooting photos of the heads-up play at the Bellagio Challenge Cup's final table between Amnon Filippi and Quinn Do. Shortly after I arrived at the Plaza in walks Amnon just minutes from his $362,400 victory at the Bellagio to a round of congratulations from the players waiting for the UPC final table to begin.
The order of finish and payouts for event #13 follows:
Despite the intense heat wave in Las Vegas, Flipchip and I headed back to the Bellagio poker room to cover the second part of the final table for the Bellagio Challenge Cup. 97 players bought in on Monday for $10K and the event featured some of the best players in the world including T.J. Cloutier, Erik Seidel, Scotty Nguyen, Allen Cunningham, Cyndy Violette, and John Juanda.
I spoke to Quinn Do afterwards and he seemed pretty down about second place. He's going to return to Seattle with a WSOP bracelet but he really wanted to win this event, especially because some of the best players in the world were in the tournament.
We happily returned to the poker room at the Bellagio to cover the final table of the $10K buy in Bellagio Challenge Cup. On Monday, 97 players started with $20K in chips. Action on Wednesday resumed at Noon with the final nine players. Everyone at the final table made the prize money. Also at stake was the infamous Challenge Cup and a $25K seat in the 2006 WPT Championships that will be held at the Bellagio next Spring. 2005 WSOP bracelet winner Quinn Do ended Day 2 as the chip leader.
Chad Layne was the first player eliminated from the final table. He finished in 9th place when Amnon Filippi's pocket eights won a coin flip against him. A few hands later, I saw Sam Grizzle crack Amnon's pocket aces when he rivered two pair on Amnon. I also witnessed Tobey Maguire show a little emotion as he cracked a smile when tripled up. His moved all in with A-Q and beat out Scotty Nguyen's pocket tens and Mimi Tran.
Scotty Nguyen lost a big hand to Amnon Filippi, only to be finished off by him a few hands later. Scotty's AJs did not beat out Amnon's Q-Q and Scotty finished in 7th place. Amnon Filippi must like the Hilton Sisters. They held up against Sam Grizzle's A-J and he knocked out Grizzle in 6th place. At that point, Filippi moved into the chip lead.
I was bored with the slow pace of the final table and played some more $4/8 Hold'em with tourists. I saw Linda from Poker Works playing $15/$30 and contemplated a jump into those murky waters. The highlight of my session was discovering that my pocket aces held up in a 6 way pot! One chick was tilting so hard at my table that she ran through five hundred inside of an hour on a $4/$8 table.
It's back to the Bellagio for Day 2 of the Bellagio Challenge Cup which was held in the remodeled poker room. Exactly 97 players bought in for $10K. The first place cash prize of $364,200 and a seat in the WPT Championships at the Bellagio were both at stake. Players started with $20K in chips on Monday and only 41 players returned to action on Tuesday. Sam Grizzle ended Day 1 as the chip leader with over $123K. For the Bellagio Challenge Cup, only the nine final table players are paid prize money. 
However, I was not too happy with the way a veteran tournament photographer of Flipchip's stature was treated. Hopefully he'll be able to clear up this injustice and he'll back to snap a winner's photo on Wednesday. 
I chatted with Ron Rose. He had some heart problems and that prevented him from playing in the WSOP. He joked that his health issues turned him into a cash game player because he's not well enough to play lengthy tournaments. Good to see him at the tables again.
I played a cash game with tourists while covering the tournament. The $2/5 NL game was full, so I was seated right away at a $4/8 Limit table. Inside of an hour, I was up 32 big bets after my K-K and A-A held up. I only played a few hands after that and cashed out quickly. It was back to covering the final ten players.
The ESPN 2005 World Series of Poker and the World Series of Poker Circuit events televised series begins tonight at 8:00 Eastern Time. Tonight's two one hour installments will be of the WSOP Circuit Championship tournament held at the Rio Hotel here in Las Vegas earlier this year. The Championship event was held on March 20, 2005 and will be seen on TV for the first time tonight on the ESPN network. Check your local listings for the time and channel in your area.
The all-star final table will provide some interesting poker and a rare opportunity to see one of the best female players in the world, Jennifer Harman. Jennifer is considered to be one of a handful of players, male or female, that can play in the highest limit games and consistently win. You will also get a first look at a rising poker star, Jean Robert Bellande. Former Los Angeles restaurant owner, Jean Robert Bellande, adds an element of entertainment to any final table and he could challenge "Mike the Mouth" for the title of table trash talker. Third place finisher, professional poker player Gabriel Thaler, gave up a law practice to play poker. Well known professional Phil Ivey made this final table so you get an opportunity to see the man with the cool stare in action. Grant Lang, Kevin Keller and Tom Macey round out tonight's final table players.
Well we had a quick two day break before we headed back to work covering tournaments for Las Vegas and Poker Blog and Poker Player Newspaper. Flip Chip, the Poker Prof and I headed over to the Bellagio for the first day of the Bellagio Challenge Cup. It's a four day event with a $10,000 buy in. Only 97 players signed building a prize pool of $940,900; but there were plenty of top names flinging chips around in the infamous Bellagio poker room. The winner is slated to take away $364,200. 
At the end of Day 1, 41 players remain in the field. I spoke to Scotty Nguyen. He told me he had $120K in chips and thinks he's about 3rd place. Tobey Maguire has $42,150 and made it to day two. Notable bustouts include John Juanda and Capt. Tom Franklin. On our way out, we spotted Phil Ivey shooting craps with John D'Agostino. He was up about $300K. 
Poker celebrated the crowning event of the sport with the just completed World Series of Poker at the Rio here in Las Vegas. The forty plus days of events provided plenty of excitement and drama for players and fans alike. I was there every day and remained at the final table until the final hand was dealt and a WSOP champion's bracelet was awarded to another event winner. Many of the players receiving bracelets this year were well known professionals that have taken the past year to adjust their game to include surviving the very large fields, then employing their skills during the end game to take the prize. Doyle Brunson came through a large field of players to make the final table; then played heads-up with Minh Ly, one of the toughest ultrahigh-limit players, to get his tenth bracelet. A few days earlier Johnny Chan outlasted a field of more than four hundred and then did a textbook perfect disassembly job of the Unabomber in heads-up play to take home his tenth bracelet.
Who will forget the excitement of watching the Unabomber's girlfriend, Jennifer Tilly, win the Ladies event. The actress beat out a blue ribbon field of contenders to become the 2005 WSOP Ladies champion. She entered the $10K main event and played well enough to outlast many well known professionals.
T.J. Cloutier won event #13, No-Limit Hold'em, and received another bracelet for his collection along with a little over six hundred thousand dollars. During the winner's interview following his victory he was asked how much poker he had learned from his sometimes business partner and player of the year, Daniel Negreanu. T.J. quickly replied, "Nothing."
The 2006 World Series of Poker is already in the planning stages and the officials are busy collecting opinions and suggestions to make next year's tournament even bigger and better. We are already at work on our plans for the upcoming year of reporting poker tournaments. We will improve existing features and add a few new ones. We are thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this growing industry and we are especially thankful for all of the people that take the time to read our offerings. We strive to offer our readers accurate and timely information coupled with our trademark 'In Your Face' photographs so those people that can't be there still have the opportunity to experience big time tournament poker.
Some of the bloggers that helped us make this effort work include April at 
Joe Hachem of Sydney, Australia outlasted the largest field ever in the history of the World Series of Poker to win his first World Championship. He survived 5,618 other players and earned his first bracelet after a week of grueling poker against the best players in the world. After over fourteen hours of play at 6:40 A.M. local time, int he longest final table in the history of the WSOP, Joe Hachem won a record $7.5 million first place prize. Without a doubt he will become an instant international celebrity over night.
Joe "Back Cracker" Hachem was born in Lebanon and lives in Sydney, Australia. He's a chiropractor and has been playing poker for a decade. He's married with four kids. His railbirds are the loudest and will chant "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oy, oy, oy!" Whenever he wins a pot.
Mike Matusow was the first player eliminated. He lost a big hand early when he moved all in with K-K against Scott Lazur's A-A. Lazur reraised Steve Dannemann preflop and Mike pushed all in. The Flop was K-Q-6. The crowd went nuts when Matusow flopped a set. The turn was 2 hearts which brought three hearts on the board. Lazur had the Ace of hearts and the nut flush draw The river was the Jack of heart. On the second hand of the final table, Lazur doubled up.
Andy Black was involved in a classic No Limit confrontation: A-K vs. 10-10. You have to win with AK and beat AK if you want to win a tournament. Andy Black pushed with 10-10 and Steve Dannemann called with A-K. The flop was all rags. The turn was a King and that killed Andy's chances. Andy looked so sad when he lost. He finished in 5th place and won $1,750,000. He looked like he was going to cry and Phil Hellmuth came over to give him some encouraging awards. The crowd gave him the loudest send off so far. "He deserved better than first. "He played his heart out," Irish poker writer Tom Murphy said.
Mike Matusow was the last remaining well known professional at the 2005 WSOP Main Event final table. Earlier today I predicted that Mike should win the tournament based on his chip position and more big time tournament experience than the other players combined. Mike also has two WSOP gold champion's bracelet from past wins. He has been playing poker professionally for more than a decade and proven himself to be capable and highly skilled at separating players from their chips. I placed a qualifier on my pick saying that the all-in win/lose ratio had to be equally matched. It wasn't and Mike is on the rail, out in ninth place. Not bad when you consider he outlasted 5611 players and takes away $1,000,000 in prize money. Mike had his sights set on the elusive championship bracelet so even with the high finish and great money he is disappointed.
A little later Mike folded to Andrew Black's $2 million raise, losing a five million dollar pot. Not long after that the final and fatal blow of bad luck stalked Mike all the way to the turn when he went all-in with pocket Tens and was called by Steve Dannenmann with an A,Jo. The flop came 2,3,5 leaving Mike's pair in front ; but then the turn brought the four giving Steve a wheel and Mike's only hope was one of the remaining Aces to come on the river to give him a split pot. It wasn't to be, the river was a nine and Mike was out in ninth place.
The excitement permeates every nook of the old Horseshoe today. The day we have all awaited for over a year is finally here, the final table of the final WSOP event for the Poker Championship of the world. Nine of pokerdom's newest millionaires will be vying for the over twenty million in prize money stacked on today's table. The players will be seated at the ESPN TV table to begin play at 4:00 this afternoon and they will continue until we have one undisputed winner. 
Who will our winner be? Early on, I had predicted Hellmuth; but, he fell by the wayside before making it into serious contention. So, who is my second favorite? Mike Matusow. Mike already has a couple of WSOP bracelets so he knows the path to the winners circle. It won't be an easy journey with the likes of Irish lawyer and well known European pro Andrew Black holding $8,140,000 in chips. Chip leader Aaron "A-K" Kanter comes in with $10,700,000 after doubling through Black late last night when he hit a river flush and he can play chip stack influeced style. Let Aaron hit another big pot and he can pick off the players without risk of elimination or ruin. Tex Barch is close behind with $9,330,000; while my favorite, Mike Matusow, is solidly positioned with $7,410,000. Roundin out the final table field are Steve Dannenmenn with $5.46M, Joe Hachem with $5.42, Daniel Bergsdorf with $5.27M, Scott lazar has $3.37M and Brad Kondracki is coming in as the short stack with $1.18M 
Give Mike a break even on all-ins then combine it with his large piles of chips makes Mike a serious contender. His extensive experience should prevail and propel him to the win. Mike is the most experienced player in the mix so he gets my nod to go all the way. Everything I just said is voided if Mike goes through a Matusow Meltdown. Anyway, he said he would throw a party for the media if he won. With Mike the Mouth at the final table you're guaranteed to be entertained, it's just his poker personality coming out. Mike reminds me of 1978 WSOP champion, Puggy Pearson. 
The champ has left the building. 2004 World Series of Poker Champion, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, was eliminated from the 2005 WSOP championship main event today. Greg went out in the 25th spot so there will be no back-to-back WSOP champion until 2006 or beyond. The Fossilman went all-in with an A-9 against a pocket pair of fives. The turn brought a pair of Kings with a seven, the turn was another King and the river was a deuce, truly the classic river card. Greg stood silent for a few moments; then after a round of handshakes he began collecting his things and turned to leave the table, then turned back and waved to the loudly cheering crowd of spectators and players alike. He received a standing ovation for his valiant effort in seeking to become the first back-to-back champion since the Mighty Johnny Chan did the trick in 1987 and 1988. Greg employed his 'aggressive with results' style of poker to build mountains of chips on his space at the main event poker table. He came out fast on day one; then remained a powerful force at all of his tables until the very moment that river deuce fell and he hit the wall, busting out.
The former corporate lawyer is now a very busy businessman and one of the elite professional tournament poker players. I'm amazed at his stellar finish in this year World Series of Poker Main Event. Greg outlasted more than fifty-five hundred players to get one of the twenty-seven return tickets to the historic old Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas. He played solid poker to get so close to the mountaintop again this year. Greg took the time to do a comprehensive exit interview with the ESPN people. He collected his things along with $304,680 to add to his five million from last year and left the room. Going down the hall he continually stopped to sign autographs and pose for photos. 
He has spent more time the past year working to educate people to the legitimacy of tournament poker than he has spent playing tournament poker. Greg voluntarily became the point man of the efforts to make tournament poker and Internet poker rooms legal.
The 2005 World Series of Poker is down to twenty-seven players and two days of play. The "Big Show" has left the Rio All-Suite Hotel and will not return until 2006. The final hand of the 2005 WSOP at the Rio was dealt around 9:30 this evening. The man on the bubble, Burt Rice, was eliminated in 28th place leaving 27 players that will make the journey downtown to Binion's Casino for the two day conclusion of the biggest, baddest poker tournament ever held. Every day of the 41 days at the Rio records were broken for numbers of entrants, prize pools, first place prize money, number of payouts, number of fans, number of registered players and any other category associated with the World Series of Poker. Today's final moment was an anti-climatic event with many of the people in the room not realizing the day had ended, the run at the Rio was over, the WSOP was leaving the building.
The ESPN production crew began disassembling the set and moving it out of the building, even as the surviving player's chips were being counted and bagged. The television production set will be rebuilt overnight and must be available no later than the 3:00 pm start time on Thursday. As part of the Las Vegas Centennial Celebration the 2005 WSOP champion will be determined at the rustic old downtown venue, formerly Binion's Horseshoe. The mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, negotiated the terms of a settlement last year that allowed the 2004 WSOP to happen and one of his terms was insisting that the event would return to downtown Las Vegas one last time. The historic old Horseshoe is "facility resource challenged," at the very least. Going from the cavernous Rio Pavilion conventiion facility with the 'miles across' look and high bay ceilings to the smallness of Benny's Bullpen may provide some with a claustrophobic moment or two. The second floor room is limited to a couple of hundred people including players, crew, media, family and spectators. Hopefully, the remote big screen TVs' will be set up thoughout the casino to offer live video directly from the feature table. The media, me included, will be severely restricted in our access to the three tables, 27 players and main event in general. I'll do my best to provide photos that let you continue to experience "being there."
Last year after the final hand was dealt and Greg "Fossilman" Raymer was the last player standing many of us shared a moment of saddness knowing that the 2005 WSOP would be played away from the only home the tournament has known, Binion's Horseshoe. I remember driving away that day thinking that not only had a page of poker's history book been turned; but the entire book had been closed. The very idea was difficult to deal with in the days following the 2004 WSOP and I consoled myself with how great it would be to return downtown, if only for a couple of days. Now, fast forward to today. I'm now thinking how great it will be next year, 2006, when we don't have to leave the spacious and comfortable Rio Hotel and Casino. What a difference a year makes.
By the time the cards are in the air at the Horseshoe on Thursday even these things will be gone. The only remains of the Rio's 2005 World Series of Poker will be memories. Even the broken dreams and illusions of greatness brought here by the thousands of poker hopefuls will have been swept away. Some of us did manage to capture a slice of poker history with our cameras, recorders, computers and videos. I shot more than ten thousand images of the event and will continue sorting and adding the best to our 
Mike Matusow ended the day as the chipleader at the World Series of Poker as the field was thinned from 56 to 27 players. Matusow started the day second in chips in his quest to complete his comeback. It seems that only Mike Matusow can now stop Mike Matusow. Ralbirds carefully watched his table and camera crews followed his every move in hopes that they record all of his colorful banter, as well as catch a glimpse of a possible "Mike Matusow Meltdown." That never happened and Matusow maintained his composure once again as he cruised into the chip lead with over $5.14 million.
The biggest shark lurking in the WSOP waters is six-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey. He plays in the "Big Game" with poker legends such as Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstien, and Bobby Baldwin. His stellar coemption is one of the reasons why he's considered one of the most skilled players in the world. Doyle Brunson said that Phil Ivey has the potential to be one of the best players of all time. If Ivey can win a World Championship, it appears that Brunson's prediction might become true.
Back Story
Top 10 Chips
Minh Ly (Las Vegas, NV) $2.050M 
2004 World Series of Poker Champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer had a tough day ahead of him. He began Day 4 as the chipleader and had all 185 players gunning for him. The action was faster than expected once again after over 127 players were eliminated in all on Tuesday. Several top pros made big moves. John Juanda went from a middle stack to over $1 million in chips while Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, and Tim Phan flirted with $2 million stacks all day. Unfortunately during the last hour of play, Raymer's stack took a huge hit and he lost half of it. He ended the day around $700K in chips, which was below the average stack of $968K.
The Buzz
Sight of the Day
2 Mike Matusow
5 Phil Ivey
8 Johnny Howard
Phil Ivey 2,027,000 
On the official third day of action, the players reached the money at the 2005 World Series of Poker. 569 players began on Monday after surviving a field of over 5619 players. The top 560 players are paid prize money. The action started out slow because the players were on "The Bubble," which meant that they were close to making it into the money. All of the short stacks were playing tight and cautious. They didn't want to make any crucial mistakes so close to the money. As soon as the first nine players were eliminated, the players began falling fast. By the end of the day, the field had dwindled down to 188 players. Greg "Fossilman" Raymer closed out day #3 as the chip leader with over a million in play money. When he took the chip lead on day #4 of the 2004 main event he never relinquished his lead and went on to become the WSOP Champion. 
Greg "Fossilman" Raymer continued his bid to be the first repeat WSOP champions since Johnny Chan's magnificent run in 1987-1988. If Raymer repeats this year it will be one of the most amazing feat in poker history. The fact that he outlasted over 5,400 players is outstanding. After starting Day 2 with over $300K, Raymer ended Day 3 with over $1 million in chips.
Just after Midnight, Mike Matusow and Greg Raymer was seated at the same table. Fireworks occurred last year when Matusow relentlessly verbally abused Raymer while the two were at the same table. Raymer got his revenge after he eliminated Matusow.
6.Tim Phan $746,000
The Grinder 
The Buzz
Chip Leaders
Kenna James $152,800
Toto Leonidas
REMAINING PLAYERS:
The third and final "first day" of the 2005 World Series of Poker is history. The action ended a little after 2:00 this morning with about 640 players left from the crowd of more than eighteen hundred players that started the day at 11:00 Saturday morning. Stephanie Unger, the late Stu Unger's daughter, made the "Shuffle up and deal" command to put the cards in the air.
Not more than thirty minutes into today's play Mike Matusow reminded the crowd why they call him "the mouth." The dealer at his table called a penalty on Mike for apparently throwing his cards so the tournament director was called over and after hearing Mike's version and having the other players at his table back him up they changed the penalty to a warning. Mike's mouth just couldn't stay shut and enjoy the victory. He dropped the F-bomb and the TD immediately called a ten minute penalty. Mike continued yacking and out comes another F-bomb so the penalty is up to twenty minutes. This should have been the end of it, but remember, this is Mike "the Mouth" Matusow so another F-bomb and another ten minutes. The end? Nope! Another one and another ten minutes making the total penalty forty minutes. Rumor on the floor said Mike needed the time to get into the restroom since today's lines set a new WSOPee break record.
Today was tough on the players that have already won a bracelet at the 2005 World Series of Poker. Doyle Bronson was eliminated, T.J Cloutier is gone, O'Neil Longson goes out, Mark Seif heads home and Isaac Galazan is flying back to Thailand. The top dozen chip leaders going into tomorrow's official second day of play:
The World Series of Poker Main Event #42 is reporting an official 5,619 entrants paying the $10,000 entry fee to build a prize pool of $52,818,610. The winner and 2005 WSOP World Champion Poker Player will receive a record prize payout of $7,500,000. All of the nine players making the final table will go home a millionaire. The payout schedule is:
An unofficial 1886 players remaining from the three "Day Ones" will begin the second day of play at noon on Sunday. The average stack is around $23K. Some notables and their chip counts are... Layne Flack with $69,775, Robert Mirazchi with $67,625, X-22 with $64,125, Gavin Smith with $61,925, Paul Darden with $55, 110, Paul Wolfe with $48, 250, John Juanda with $46,600 and defending champion, Greg Raymer comes in with $39,525. Short stack honors belong to Dennis January holding $1,350. Finally, from the "Why the hell do I want to know that? department," of the 1886 players slated to return to play Texas Hold'em Poker on Sunday approximately 108 list somewhere in Texas as home, while only one calls Planet X home, Paul "X-22" Magriel.
Action continued at the Rio Casino for the second "day one" of the World Series of Poker. The field this year is so big that the first day had to be held over three days. Day 1B was just as exciting as Thursday's events. Approximately 1878 entrants from all over the world forked up a $10,000 buy in for their shot at poker history. Carolyn Gardner, the 1983 Ladies World Champion, sang the national anthem to commence Day 1B of the tournament. And what would a WSOP event be without some sort of fireworks from Phil Hellmuth?
Tobey Maguire was eliminated early in the day. Tobey had pocket Kings and moved all in when he flopped a King. There were three clubs on the board and Young Phan called with pocket Aces. Phan caught a four flush on the river and Tobey Maguire was knocked out.
If he lost a couple of small pots, he would come right back and win a big one.
He also walked over to media row and asked me and the other writers what we were writing about him. He eventually walked through the crowd and told his bad beat story to anyone who would listen.
Top 5 Chip Leaders on Day 1B:
Joe Beevers $34.4K
Notable Eliminations on Day 1B:
Melissa Hayden
Dewey Tomko
About 260 players came out for the WSOP Celebrity/Media tournament. There were plenty of the celebs who participated: James Woods, Brad Garret, Dick Van Patten, Shannon Elizabeth, Penn Jillette, Oliver Hudson, Elvis, and Oklahoma Johnny Hale. Nicole Ritche was sweating her boyfriend DJ AM. Notable bloggers and media types: Lou Kreiger, Otis, the Poker Prof, Debi, Jen Leo, Tuscaloosa Johnny, John from Poker News, the Poker Pages crew (Amy, Dayrn, Sharla, and Steve), BJ, Jay Greenspan, NYC Poker Babe, The Irish Twins: Tom Murphy & Mike Lacey, Dan & Shane from Pokerati, and Sherry. I'm sure I'm missing a few and I'm sorry if I did. 
Action started out fast for me. I caught pocket aces in consecutive hands and got two people to go all in both times. I knocked out Otis. I eventually got moved to Lou Krieger's table. I doubled up with Qs-10s against 8-8. I caught a flush on the river.
When there were two tables left, I was the chip leader. Amy Calistri bubbled out and I made the "money" and my first final table at the WSOP. I was 3rd in chips but the blinds were going up so fast that I had to make a move. I went card dead and found Ad-6d in late position. I was up against 8-8 and I couldn't improve my hand. I was bounced in 6th place and won $250 for a charity at Vanderbilt Hospital in memory of Charlie Tuttle. 
Day one of the 2005 World Series of Poker was played today. More than eighteen hundred $10,000 ticket holders, 1885 to be exact, began the first day of the main event a few minutes past 11:00 this morning. The crowds in the Rio Pavilion were just overwhelming. Corridors were so packed with people that walking was mostly impossible. The WSOP Poker Lifestyles trade show in the adjoining convention area had become the detour path to the WSOP main event tables after the Rio Hotel closed the main corridor due to the children's dance show being held in the same area. This brillant move also placed one of men's restrooms off limits; so, the two thousand players needing to go to the restroom during the scheduled fifteen minute breaks formed lines that stretched down the halls and around the corners. One of the pros said he was going to get a cab over to Caesars' restrooms so he wouldn't be away from the table so long. Great planning on the part of the Rio's professional hotel management staff. Rumor said they closed off the main hallway because they did not feel comfortable having a bunch of derelict poker playing men around hordes of pre-teens in tutus and pushy stage moms. Way to go Rio! Be sure to give the events coordinator that planned this one a very large raise. Dr. Pauly summed up this situation much better than I when he said it was an "amber alert just waiting to happen." Read all of the details in 
I spent the day wandering around the room with a hand written list of player's table numbers carefully compiled by Pauly. The vast numbers of players and railbirds make movement almost impossible. We have finally created a new stress inducing problem, indoor pedestrian traffic jams. If the drive through Vegas traffic doesn't stress you out the walk through the Rio's Pavilion will. The security guards had pulled over one of the peds that had obviously had one too many, I think they charged him with reckless walking and attempt to crawl. I am not really complaining here. I can't think of any place I would rather be than at the 2005 WSOP main event. The crowds are very much a part of the Big Show and add much to the overall excitement.
A quick update on 
Will another unknown player straight from the internet outlast all of the professionals this year and make it three in a row for the virtual poker specialist? Not likely. I think this is the year the professionals have returned to their winning ways with new strategies and methods. Many of today's young professionals have already made a mark for themselves and will only get better as they accumulate experience. This year there were no obvious groups of brash young players fresh from their computer screens ready to challenge the establishment. The infamous "crew" from last year that shouted to the world,"We own the World Series of Poker," have apparently given up on their boisterous claim to title. Overall the 2005 WSOP has been a most exciting and enjoyable journey. I have seen very few fights (2), only a handful of serious yelling matches and an almost complete lack of intentional rudeness.
Friday will find another 1800 plus players in the second flight beginning play at 11:00 in the morning. I will be there with the camera recording this slice of poker history. Who do I think will win this "Mother of All Poker Tournaments?" A very difficult bit of handicapping, indeed. Doyle Brunsen answered a reporter's question about who he thought would be favored to become the next champion. He summed up the gargantuan main event as being similar to a lottery, although not exactly an equal opportunity lottery, since some of the players are holding a lot more tickets than others. So, after much consideration, I have arrived at my pick... Phil Hellmuth! Why Phil? He has the experience, he has already won nine WSOP bracelets and, as we all know, he would win ever tournament he enters if it were not for bad luck; but, the main reason? I don't think Phil can survive a whole year with only nine bracelets while Brunson and Chan have ten.
The final 2005 WSOP scheduled event before the start of the $10,000 main event ended before midnight this evening. The 39th event of this year's WSOP was a Duece-to-Seven No-limit Draw Lowball with rebuys tournament. Sixty-five players ponied up the $5,000 entry fee and then bought an additional 139 rebuys for a shot at the gold and diamond champion's bracelet and a share of the $986,860 prize pool. 
David Grey went heads-up with John Hennigan for only a few minutes before John was crippled by David's pat 9,8,7,6,4. David doubled up and took over the chip lead; then, on the next hand David called John's all-in; then turned over the winning hand. David wins $365,135 and his second WSOP bracelet, he won the other in 1999 in the $2,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud event. John had to settle for the second place money amounting to $217,110. Dewey Tomko rounded out the top three leaving with third place money of $138,160.
The final table was played in record time allowing a large group of very tired media to make a rare 'before midnight' exit. Great news since the first day of the $10,000 No-limit Hold'em world championship begins at 11:00 am on Thursday. Twenty-two hundred hopefuls will hear the much anticipated "shuffle up and deal" command from WSOP tournament Director, Johnny Grooms. The first of three flights will begin the nine day journey that ends with someone taking the $10,000,000 first place money and the most coveted prize in all of poker, the platinum WSOP world championship bracelet. The crowds of players and fans in the Rio's Pavilion today made walking difficult. The parking lots outside were full, long rest room lines spilled into the corridors, hundreds of players in line to register then on to another equally longt line to pay the cashier the $10K entry fee. An air of anticipation and excitement filled the Pavilion.
Some of the more interesting news coming out of the question and answer session was Harrah's WSOP tournament officials confirming the 2006 WSOP will be held at the Rio (rumors naming Caesars as next year's site have circularted since the Harrahs/Caesars merger became official). Jack Binion, son of WSOP founder Benny Binion, and Crandell Addington were inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. The media charity tournament got under way with more than two hundred news people trying to win a $10,000 cash prize for their favorite charity. Our very own Dr. Pauly finished in sixth place and collected some of the prize money for his charity. Check out 
The Poker Lifestyles trade show got under way this morning, the first of four days. All of the big names are there and some not so big companies. Every one of the exhibitors share a passion for the sport of poker and it shows in the enthusiasm of the people manning the many booths. We are located near the main entrance in spaces 106 and 107 so stop by and visit some of the greatest names in poker. The huge exhibition space is crowded with booths and thousands of poker fans. Stop by the Rio for an enjoyable time watching the WSOP main event and the poker tradeshow. 
The 37th event of the 2005 World Series of Poker crowned a champion early today. A few minutes after three this morning the final hand was played and Jon Heneghan won all the chips and the championship. He is the 2005 WSOP $1,000 buy-in No-limit Hold'em with Rebuys champion. Jon receives $611,015 first place money and one of the cherished gold 2005 WSOP Championship bracelets. Second place finisher, Paul Deng, goes away with $324,305 cash for his efforts.
The event attracted a field of 894 entrants and recorded a record 1584 rebuys and add-ons. Robert Aron finished third and collected $188,000 while Gary Do went out fourth and picked up $164,500.
We will be at booth #107, 
Vinny Vinh was on a mission to win his first WSOP bracelet. It was a wild ride. He had to endure a grueling three day event and survive a difficult final table if he wanted to succeed. During heads up play, Vinny came from behind to take the lead, but unfortunately he fell behind. He also got invovled in one of the peculiar situations I had seen at a final table when his opponent was issued a ten minute penalty for using the F-word. Unfortuantely, Vinny was too far behind and he could not overcome a $1 million chip advantage held by Rafi Amit. 
Several big time names made it to day three, such as: Rafi Amit, Erik Seidel, Vinny Vinh, Ferit Gabriellson, Max Pescatori, Julian Gardner, Peter Costa, Simon "Aces" Trumper, John Gale, Jeff Rine, Derek Baxter, Tony Bloom, Larry Jonsson, Istvan Novak, Todd Brunson, Tony Cousineau, and Richard Son Pierre. 
Istvan Novak was the person player eliminated from the final table. Vinny Vinh busted him. Novak had A-K-7-2 for two pair, kings and threes but Vinny Vinh showed K-7-5-2 and had a higher two pair with kings and fives. Istvan Novak won $31,020 for 9th place. After getting his stack crippled a few hands before by Derek Baxter, Erik Seidel flopped top set with A-A-J-4 double suited and ended up losing a big pot to Simon "Aces" Trumper when he caught two runners to catch a Broadway straight. Seidel won $46,530.
Simon Trumper was knocked out by Derek Baxter in 5th place. Although Trumper was in the lead, Baxter caught a full house on the river to send Trumper to the rail. Simon Trumper won $93,060. Derek Baxter is eliminated in 4th place. On a flop of Qc-Jh-9h, both players moved all in. Baxter had Ah-Js-9c-5h and Amit flipped over 10h-9s-8h-7d for the straight. Derek Baxter's hand did not improve and he was busted in 4th place. He won $124,080. 
After three hours of heads up play, Vinny Vinh took a huge hit. He moved all in on the flop with trip 8s, however, Rafi flopped a full house. Vinny was crippled. He has less than 100K remaining. Then it got ugly. Rafi dropped the F-bomb and tournament director, Jack Effel, put a ten minute penalty on Rafi for use of profanity. His railbirds went nuts and flew into a fit of rage. One guy walked up into an area he was not supposed to be in and got into Jack's face. Jack Effel called security to table #136 and several of Rafi's railbirds were asked to leave by Jack for taunting and unruly behavior. One drunk guy was being obnoxious and one of the other floor persons wanted him thrown out as well. It was a really ugly scene and Rafi continued to plead his case to Jack as he got blinded off during his ten minute penalty. He lost almost $200K in chips since the blinds were $8K and $16K.
It took Todd Witteles two chances at a final table this year before he won his first WSOP bracelet. He had to outlast a field of 406 players who were competing for a prize pool of $1,120,560. Todd also had to survive a final table that included the leading Player of the Year point leader in Cyndy Violette. 
Todd Witteles cracked Eddie Sharf's pocket aces with a river flush. Eddie was down to just one chip. A few hands earlier, Cyndy Violette scooped a huge pot. After doubling up and then quadrupling up, Eddie Sharf moved all in with Q-J against Matts' pocket tens. Matt's hand held up and Eddie was knocked out in 10th place. He won $13,445.
Craig Crivello was knocked out in 6th place. Craig's 6-6 did not hold up against Todd Witteles A-10. Craig won $56,030 for 6th place. Matt Hawrilenko moved all in on board of Q-7-5-9. Kieu Duong called with Q-J. Hawrilenko showed Q-6. The river was no help and Hawrilenko finished in 5th. He won $67,235.
Paul "Cigar" McKinney is 80 years old and he's been playing poker longer than the majority of WSOP participants have been alive. He has won or made the final table at tournaments in Atlantic City, Tunica, Foxwoods, and Las Vegas. Although he never won a WSOP bracelet, he's made several final tables and has plenty of WSOP cashes. He played excellent poker for two days and survived a heads up battle that almost lasted three hours.
Carol Bollinger was the first player busted when she moved all in with Kh-5h. Bob Hume thought about if for a few minutes and called with K-J. He flopped a Jack and Carol Bollinger could not catch up. She was eliminated in 9th place and won $15,015. Charles Zeghibe knocked out Daniel Klein. Both players moved all in on a flop of A-K-8. Zeghibe had two pair with K-8 and Klein showed A-Q. Daniel Klein won $22,525 for 8th place.
Charlie Zeghibe was eventually knocked out in 5th place by Paul McKinney who moved all in preflop with K-K. Zeghibe showed A-4 and although he flopped a pair of fours, his hand failed to improve and he was eliminated in 5th place. He won $45,045. Robert Redman and Bob Hume were both all in preflop. Robert Redman turned over A-Q and Hume flipped over pocket Jacks. Hume's Jacks held up and Robert Redman went home in 4th place and won $52,555.
The $3,000 NL event started with 1010 players. The prize pool was $2,787,600. The final table had an interesting mix of players. In the end Andre Boyer, who is considered the French-Canadian version of Mike Sexton, came from behind and won his first WSOP bracelet.
John Duthie didn't last too long at the final table. Morten Jensen was in the LB and moved all in with a short stack. John Duthie pushed all in the BB. Duthie had K-J while Jensen showed 8-3 off suit. The table got a big chuckle because the previous night, John Duthie pushed with 8-3 and beat out Jensen's A-10. "It's payback time," Jensen joked. In a rare situation, both players had exactly $100K in chips. The flop was 7-5-3. Morten Jensen took the lead with a pair of threes. His hand held up and John Duthie was eliminated in 9th place. He won $55,750.
Ken Blanton was busted when his pocket aces were cracked by Dennis Perry's big blind special. With 4-8, Perry flopped two pair. Both players moved all in on the flop and Blanton didn't catch any other aces. He was eliminated in 7th place. He won $111,505. 
Boyer moved all in and Perry reluctantly called with A-8. Boyer showed a set of 3s. Dennis Perry was eliminated in fourth place and won $195,130.
Allen Cunningham attempted to become the first player to win $1 million dollars at the 2005 WSOP. He already made four final tables, won one bracelet, and was guaranteed his fifth cash at this year's WSOP before the final table even began. If Cunningham was one of the first two players eliminated at the final table, then he would fall short of the $1 million milestone. He had to survive a skilled final table that included a few international players and a three time bracelet winner in David Chiu.
Daniel Shak was the first player eliminated when he moved all in with a nut low draw and the board had no qualifying low. Alas, Daniel Shak was knocked out by Haim Kakoun. He finished in ninth place and won $21,055. Bueno Patrick was the next player eliminated. He moved all in preflop with Jd-8s-7d-4s. He was up against Stephen Ladowsky's Ah-Ad-Js-5s. The flop was Kh-Jh-9c and the turn card was the 6s and Bueno picked up an open ended straight draw, but it missed on the river card when the Ks spiked. Bueno Patrick was eliminated in 8th and won $31,585.
Daniel Horowitz hung on for a while with a short stack. Although he doubled up a couple of times, he was eventually eliminated by Haim Kakoun in 4th place. Daniel Horowitz won $84,225. Haim Kakoun was knocked out in 3rd place by Russel Salzer who flopped two pair. Haim Kakoun won $105,280 for his efforts. 
Doyle Brunson once again proved why he's the best poker player of all time. At the age of 72 he won his 10th bracelet and tied Johnny Chan for the most career World Series of Poker bracelets. He beat out one of the toughest final tables so far this year. And for someone of his age to play until four o'clock in the morning is a testament his mental strength and willingness to win. His epic victory comes just one week after his son, Todd Brunson, won his first bracelet. His latest milestone also occurred four days after his friend Johnny Chan won his 10th. 
When action got down to nine players, Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson sat on top of a huge mountain of chips. He was gunning for his 10th bracelet and at the time, he looked like a lock for the final table. I witnessed a wild hand where Men the Master showed me his hole cards as I stood behind him. The table was four-handed. Minh Ly raised all in. Doyle Brunson thought about it for a few seconds and called. Men the Master agonized over his possible call. "If my hand hits, I win a huge pot," he said to everyone within earshot. Men the Master picked up his cards and showed it to both me and Scotty Nguyen who got up from his seat at the adjacent table to check out the action. Men the Master counted up all his chips and thought for another minute before he folded A-K face up. Minh Ly showed Hilton Sisters and Doyle Brunson flipped over A-J. Minh Ly flopped a set and Doyle's stack took a big hit. He was down to under $150K but rallied to double up in chips once the final table started.
When the players were announced by tournament director Johnny Grooms, Doyle Brunson got a standing ovation from the audience. Early on, there was a race between Jason Lester's A-K and Scotty Nguyen's pocket sevens. Lester was still behind and picked up more outs with a helpful all spades flop of Q-J-8. The turn and river did not help Lester and he was the first player eliminated from the final table. He won $67,905 for 6th place. Scotty Nguyen moved into the chip lead.
For a while it seemed that Scotty Nguyen did not want to play any hands. He sat back and watched Doyle Brunson and Lane Flack battle back and forth, with Minh Ly occasionally jumping into the fracas. Doyle Brunson moved all in with pocket Kings against Layne Flack's A-Q. Doyle flopped a set when a King fell and he caught a full boat on the river to double up against Layne. Doyle Brunson moved back into the chip lead.
Doyle ran out to a huge chiplead despite the weary look on his face. The usually animated Scotty Nguyen was mellow. He remained patient while looking for his spots. Doyle took a huge chunk out of his stack, but he hung on a doubled up against Minh Ly. Scotty Nguyen was short stacked and moved all in with Q-J against Minh Ly's pocket fives. Scotty didn't catch any cards and he was eliminated in 3rd place. Scotty Nguyen won $106,105. Doyle has almost a $800K chip lead over Minh and the two began heads up play.
Doyle Brunson showed everyone that age does not matter at the poker tables. He finished 53rd in last year's main event and outlasted over 95% of the field. He also won an event on the most recent season of the World Poker Tour. Now he has another bracelet to add to his collection.
Over 291 entrants competed for a prize pool of $401,580 in one of the largest Seven-card Razz tournaments in the history of poker. Razz is a brutal game that is usually reserved for sadists and others who enjoy hours of non-stop abuse at the tables. Last year's T.J. Cloutier decided not to play and entered a No Limit Hold'em event instead. Due to a large number of entrants, there was almost a riot when one of the tournament directors told the players they could not play to the end in a scheduled one day event, and would have to come back the next day to finish up. Twenty-five players returned a second day and the tournament lasted until almost seven o'clock in the morning after two agonizing hours of heads up play.
Play was three handed for several hours. Bruno Fitoussi, O'Neil Longson, and Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri battled in one of the most frustrating versions of poker. Eventually Barbieri was eliminated in third place. At one point Bruno Fitoussi, who is the manager of the infamous Aviation Club in Paris, was outchipped 9 to 1 by O'Neil Longson. Bruno made a valiant stand and hung on for almost two hours before he lost to O'Neil Longson's big stack. 
Lawrence Gosney is in the construction business back in England. He understands that it takes time to build a masterpiece. He patiently built up a big stack on his way to his first WSOP victory in the $2,000 NL event that began with 1,072 players. The prize pool was $1,972,480 in yet another huge field. 
Bjorn Isberg was eliminated by Dustin "Neverwin" Woolf in 9th place. Isberg was all in with preflop with Big Slick versus Woolf's pocket Jacks. Carlo Citro folded the Hilton Sisters face up which would have won. The board was all rags and Woolf's J-J held up. Isberg won $39,450 for 9th place.
JC Tran and his short stack moved all in with K-5 against Alan Purdy's Ac-8c. JC Tran caught some of the flop when a 5 hit and doubled up against Purdy. That would be the first hand of a remarkable run by Tran. Alan Purdy lost another hand to JC Tran. They were both all in preflop. Purdy was the shortstack and had A-10, while JC Tran showed A-Q which held up. Purdy won $78,900 for 7th place. 
JC Tran would not go quietly. One on hand, he quickly moved all in preflop and flopped pair. He moved all in against Jarl Lindholt and although he was dominated, he caught a card on the river to double up. JC Tran moved all in once again. That time he had A-5 against Lawrence Grosney's Big Slick. Guess what JC Tran flopped? Yes, he flopped trips. He continued his amazing run as the shortstack.
Neverwin moved all in with K-Q against Shack Ko's pocket 8's. The all diamonds flop had both a king and a queen. Shack had a 8 of diamonds and had outs, but didn't catch any. Eventually Neverwin was sent to the rail by Shack Ko. Neverwin could not win with A-K against Shack's 9-9. Dustin "Neverwin" Woolfe won $138,075 for 4th place. Shack Ko was eliminated by Lawrence Gosney. Shack pushed all in with Ad-5d against Gosney's A-Q. Shack took home $157,800 for 3rd place.