Taking a page out of Annie Duke on "Celebrity Apprentice," professional poker players (and Best Friends Forever) Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle team up to compete in the 15th season of "The Amazing Race."

Ho came in 38/6358 in the 2007 World Series of Poker main event, while Michelle came in 17/6844 in 2008's WSOP.

Ho and Michelle will use their poker skills to outwit fellow contestants on the race-around-the-world show to claim the ultimate prize $1 million.

"The Amazing Race" premieres Sept. 27 on CBS.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

LasVegasvegas reporter RC Clark posted the following article.

The latest poker scandal involves a long-term scam that four supervisors at the Planet Hollywood poker room were involved in.

The four skimmed money out of high hand jackpots, where poker players win an amount of money if receiving 4-of-a-kind or higher. If no one received that hand that day, jackpot rake from all hands would increase the amount for the next day.

Some supervisors and managers in the poker room worked together to intercept and keep that extra money, which belonged to the players. They were also falsifying payouts to nonexistent players who received nonexistent high hands.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board had been investigating the past few months and last month arrested Thomas Kordick, Scott Marshall, Jason Peterson, and Jonathan Sanner. They were led out of the poker room in handcuffs and charged with forgery, embezzlement, and conspiracy.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Here's another opportunity to rub shoulders with some of poker's elite while doing a great service for our senior citizens in need of special care. The M Resort Las Vegas is hosting a charity poker tournament today, Thursday, July 23rd at Noon, to benefit Homestead of Boulder City, a Volunteers of America assisted living and memory care facility serving Southern Nevada.

The tournament is a $200+20 Buy-In NLHE event with unlimited $30 Rebuys the first three levels plus one $30 Add-On for double the starting chip stack. Fifty percent of all proceeds will go to the charity while the remaining fifty percent will be paid out to the final table players. The winner will also receive a very nice Rockwell Time sports watch. Complete details are available at greasywheels.com.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Professional poker player, author, and celebrity David Sklansky had a home invasion early this morning.

Sklansky was asleep in bed at 3 a.m. when at least one robber broke into his house and bedroom. And he seemed to have a gun.

Sklansky is okay now, according to a message he posted on his popular poker site 2+2. "They knew their job and I never saw their faces," he wrote. Then he added, appearing to joke, "One of the PLO [pot-limit Omaha] 8/B players was almost certainly behind it."

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The death rumors of the Excalibur poker room are greatly exaggerated.

Last August, we posted an RIP sendoff to the Castle because they'd exchanged its regular poker tables with PokerTek e-tables and had laid off all its dealers.

The field trial for the e-tables began March 19 by the Nevada Gaming Commission, and if it lasted longer than 4 months, the casino could terminate its agreement.

Which, on June 19, is exactly what Excalibur did. "MGM Mirage officials said they found that players prefer live dealers to automatic tables."

So... as of July 5, the 12 e-tables will be no more, and on July 10, the Excalibur will return to regular poker tables!

And not only that, but they're in the process of contacting all the dealers they laid off to offer their jobs back!

Now if the 1-3 and 2-6 spread limit games and the Wheel also come back (and maybe even the small free buffet), we will make a triumphant return to the Excal.

As for the e-tables, they will most likely move to another Strip casino.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Annie Duke is fighting back at Joan Rivers' insensitive comments about poker players.

Duke and Rivers were both finalists on NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice," where Duke was fired and Rivers was hired.

On May 27 at 6 p.m., Duke and her poker sponsor Ultimate Bet will hold a charity poker tournament at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, where she will flood the tables with more than 20 Joan Rivers impersonators (including impressionist Frank Marino, who does a fantastic Joan Rivers), each with a bounty on their head. The name of the charitable event? "Sucking out on the Rivers."

The buy-in is $200, and all of the prize money will go to the winner, with the suggestion that the winner donate half the winnings to the Refugees International charity (the Nevada Gaming Commission prohibits all of a prize pool going directly to a charity).

On "The Apprentice," Rivers called all poker players "white trash" and linked them to organized crime.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Even thought the 187 buy-in's don't compare to last year's 334 entrants the field for this year's event included many of poker's best known players. Johnny Chan, holder of 10 WSOP bracelets including back-to-back wins in the $10K main event - 1987 & 1988, was among the pros taking a seat in the $5,000 buy-in championship. At another table was 1998 WSOP Main Event champion and 2008 $50K HORSE champion Scotty Nguyen with 5 WSOP bracelets.

This small, but elite field also included Men Nguyen, Dan Hannenmann, Gavin Smith, Erick Lindgren, Kathy Liebert, David SInger, Mark Seif, David Pham, Michael Mizrachi, Justin Bonomo, Ester Taylor, and Dwyte Pilgrim. Nothing small about the level of talent or their ability to win. By the end of day 2, late Tuesday evening, the field was reduced to 17 players, all in the money. The event is paying 18 places with the winner carrying away $237,692 in cash plus a gold WSOP Circuit championship ring. Second place will receive $143,512 and third collects $91,937. The event collected a $896,950 prize pool.

The action continues on Wednesday beginning at High Noon in the poker room at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas strip and will continue until we have a champion. This is a great opportunity to see some of poker's best going wide open in their quest for the gold so stop by and stake out your spot on the rail, you'll be so close you can hear them sweat.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Sunday mornings mean one of two things, It's autumn and the NFL or it's spring and it's heads-up poker. The third installment of the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship played and taped at at Caesars Palace Las Vegas March 6 - 8 airs on NBC TV every Sunday morning at 10 AM EDT.

This week's first hour of matches will feature Gus Hansen vs Huck Seed and Sam Farha vs Peter Eastgate, while the second hour will showcase Daniel Negreanu vs Dario Minieri and Jeffrey Isbia vs Phil Hellmuth. Tune in for some of the year's best poker from the best poker players in the world. Considering the variety of countries represented by the original 64 players, maybe they should rename it the NBC International Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Don't forget to check broadcast times in your areas then set out the snacks, open a brew, and set back to enjoy some great poker.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The red carpet has been rolled up, the final table is nothing more than a memory, and a winner claimed the $10K seat in the 2009 WSOP Main Event plus a custom Curtis Watch Friday evening at the Jen Harman Charity Poker Tournament in The Palazzo • Venetian Poker Room. With a crowd of hundreds taking part in the charity to benefit the Nevada SPCA No Kill Animal Shelter the project can expect a major contribution from the Jennifer Harman organization that will go far in keeping the shelter open and funding the humanitarian rescue of abandoned and neglected animals.

Many of poker's best known professional stopped by The Venetian to play, donate and lend their support. As usual, the tournament was handled professionally by Director of Poker Operations, Kathy Redmond, and her competent staff ensuring a fun time for everyone.

Even though the 3rd Annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament is over for this year you can continue to donate your cash and your time throughout the year with this direct link to the shelter's website..

Another dozen or more photos from the 2009 Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament are waiting after the jump.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Today at 5 PM in The Venetian Poker Room is one of the year's most popular Poker Tournaments. It's the 3rd Annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament to benefit the Nevada S.P.C.A. (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) no-kill animal shelter. The charity is recommending a $330 contribution for each seat and will offer rebuys for a donation of $100 and there will be a Last Chance Add-on for an additional $100.

Come to The Venetian and join the many celebrities and professional poker players taking part in this worthy cause. The Nevada SPCA operates the only no-kill shelter in Las Vegas. The refuge receives no federal funding nor any local government help and depends entirely on donations to continue it's mission to provide rescue, spray and neutering, vet care, and shelter for abandoned and neglected animals.

Annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournaments have raised and donated more than a half Million dollars to the shelter so join the good guys and pony up some of your bankroll for this noble cause. Poker players are known to have a soft spot for their pets and now they can do a good deed for animals that are victims of the faltering economy.

Confirmed celebrities for the event include Dancing With the Stars' Karina Smirnoff, Nancy "The Voice of Bart Simpson" Cartwright and dozens of professional poker players - Marco Traniello, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Jerry Yang, Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok, Phil Hellmuth, Mark "P0kerH0" Kroon, Eli Elezra, Hoyt Corkins, Andy Bloch, Chau Giang, David Chesnoff, Brad Booth, Joe Bartholdi, Lacey Jones, David Williams, Jeff Madsen, Steve Zolotow, Robert Williamson III, Todd Brunson, Flaminio Malaguti, James Van Alstyne, James Mordue, Shun Uchida, David Oppenheim, Erica Schoenberg, Roy Winston, David Grey, Maria Ho, Tiffany Michelle, David Singer, Paul Darden, and Lee Watkinson. They will arrive on the Red Carpet from 4 PM to 5 PM. See you there!

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

R.C. Clark is reporting on the LasVegasVegas news blog that recent changes in the online poker climate may be a good thing for the legalization and regulation of online poker for US citizens. The settling of the Party Poker suit initiated by the US gives Party a clean record and a line pass when legalization finally occurs. Clark also reveals the recent hiring of former Part CEO by Harrah's to run it's online division. What online division?

Should online poker become a legal reality sooner rather than later then thank the greedy bankers for creating the economic atmosphere that makes the profits from online gambling look might good. As early as last year before the sky fell the casino big boys were flush with cash, building brick and mortar edifices that rivaled anything the world has ever seen.

Now that many of those blue sky projects have become wastelands filled with rusting steel, crumbling concrete, and bankers wanting their money the "small change" from online poker is rapidly drawing interest from the major brick and mortar giants in Las Vegas. Maybe they'll wade in with their clout and influence and make it legal.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Another event from GreasieWheels, this time its the Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHOL) inductees for 2009. The three women players chosen for inclusion this year in the Hall of Fame are well known for their contributions to the poker industry and their ability to play and win at the highest levels of competition. Without any further fanfare we introduce the 2009 WiPHOL inductees Cyndy Violette, Jan Fisher, and June Field.

WiPHOF festivities will open Thursday evening, June 4, at 7 PM with a $230 Buy-in w/$50 Rebuys Charity Poker Tournament at the Golden Nugget. The proceeds go to Poker Gives, a non-profit organization founded by Mike Sexton, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Lisa Tenner.

Mike Sexton will be the emcee for the Friday evening Induction Ceremony and Celebration Dinner/Dance. Tickets for the event may be purchased online from Women in Poker Hall of Fame. This event will sell out so book early to avoid being shutout.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Harrah's Las Vegas, always fiddling with their poker promotions, now has one that poker players have been clamoring for.

Although it isn't much to the casual player, for locals it's a great one -- the ability to earn Total Rewards tier points.

Previously, Harrah's poker players were given the shaft when it came to points. Rewards points were added every hour, but no tier points. Tier points are what slot and table players earn in addition to rewards points. Tier points aren't worth anything except for tracking your play. Earn a certain amount of tier points in a calendar year, and you'll achieve the next level up the Total Rewards ladder.

In other words, the new system now allows players who solely play poker the chance to get to Diamond level, which opens up things such as access to the Diamond Lounge, a separate line at the cashier, cutting in line at the buffet and other restaurants, priority access at the taxi stand, and other discounts and privileges.

And not only is Diamond good for any of the Harrah's properties in Las Vegas, it's good at any of Harrah's properties across the country.

With every hour of poker you play at Harrah's Las Vegas, you'll receive your regular 100 rewards points (a $1 comp) but now in addition, you'll earn 28 tier points. (This is the equivalent of $140 playthrough in slots.)

Players who sign up to Total Rewards (it's free) receive Gold status.

Earning 4,000 tier points in a calendar year bumps players up to Platinum.

11,000 tier points goes to Diamond.

100,000 tier points grants Seven Stars.

So to earn Diamond, one would need to play 393 hours in a calendar year, or just 8 hours per week. Definitely doable.

Currently, the promotion is only offered at the Harrah's Las Vegas property, but plans are in store to roll out the program at other Harrah's casinos later this month.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Plan to be in Las Vegas this weekend for the finish of the NCAA national college basketball championship? Think you'd enjoy watching the biggest stars of professional poker playing in an all new Team format poker tournament? Would it be even better if you could play on one of the teams? You can get on the wait list right now at the Dream Team Tournament site. May I suggest a speedy visit to online registration because this Dream Team Poker Tournament is sold out.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Registration closed when the cap of 170 teams was reached on Monday. Teams not registered may still get in if they get an early spot on the wait list. Successful wait list entrants will be notified Friday at 6 PM. Play begins Saturday and continues though Sunday. Event details are available at the Dream Team Poker site .

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

More than 500 players will be involved in this weekend's play to determine the best team of 3 poker players. Many of the 500 will be well known stars of professional poker. Smart money is saying the team of Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow and Jerry Buss is the favorite to take it all. Both Hellmuth and Matusow played deep in the 2008 WSOP Main Event and continue to play well. Los Angeles Lakers owner and high stakes poker player, Jerry Buss, completes the talented trio. Buss has demonstrated he can play with the best so this team being the odds makers favorite is not surprising.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Another team to watch for is the all female gang of three consisting of Lacey Jones, Mario Ho and Tiffany Michele. Ho demonstrated her card sense in the 2007 WSOP Main Event when she became the last woman with chips. Michele finished 17th in the 2008 WSOP Main Event for a $334,534 payday. Lacey Jones has played major tournament poker for a number of years and knows her way around the male dominated sport.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Even as we watch the somber dismantling of Las Vegas' once unstoppable economy it comes as a small consolation that the sport of poker can still sell out the house. When a $550 buy-in ($1,650 /team) non-televised poker tournament can quickly sell-out to a group that includes many of the games biggest and best players it sends a loud and clear message that poker, casino poker, and tournament poker are here to stay. Maybe someday Internet poker will join the list, again.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Got any plans for April Fools Day? Want to play some poker and help raise money for a good cause? No matter how you answer these questions you should be at the Hard Rock Resort in Las Vegas for the Howard and Suzie Lederer April Fools Fundraiser. Bring your $200 + $30 buy-in to the Hard Rock Casino Poker Lounge (others have a poker room, the Hard Rock has a poker lounge) before the 3 PM start time April 1.

The winner of the tournament gets a seat in the 2009 WSOP at the Rio All-Suite Resort. That's right, you could parley your lowly $230 investment into a multi-million dollar pile of cash. Last year's WSOP Main Event winner received more than $9 million. The charity event winner will also get a Curtis and Co watch plus a Legacy Alliance designed crystal trophy. Of course, you could always use the $230 to buy 95 shares of Venetian stock (Sands Corp); but, you'd miss all the fun and the complimentary snacks.

All proceeds benefit the Warm Springs Preserve. Click for complete details at the event website.

RSVP: info@aprilfoolscpt.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Pre-registration for the 2009 World Series of Poker scheduled for May 26 thru July 15, 2009 at the Rio Resort in Las Vegas is now open. Players can register for any or all of the 57 bracelet events and the annual non-bracelet Ante Up For Africa charity event. This link will take you directly to the registration page. Entrants may also pre-register in person at the main cage of the Rio Resort in Las Vegas.

All WSOP players should familiarize themselves with the 2009 WSOP revised rules now available online. Detailed 2009 WSOP schedules, including satellites, are posted online.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

If you are considering entering any of the 2009 WSOP events it's a good idea to pre-register as seating is limited for this highly popular series of poker tournaments. When the seating capacity is reached the event will be declared a sell-out and registration will be closed. Don't get shutout of this year's events at the world's first and still the most famous poker tournament of all, the 2009 World Sereis of Poker.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Ever wonder what goes on a day in the life of an average poker player?

Ph.D. candidate Jacob Avery will present his study "The Social Worlds of Everyday Poker Players" to the public on March 12 at 12:15 p.m.

This seminar is part of the Gaming Research Colloquium Series, which every month brings in guests to speak on topics centered around gambling.

The event takes place at UNLV in the Special Collections Reading Room at the Lied Library.

If you can't make it, a podcast of the talk will be available shortly after Thursday. Previous podcasts include "The Mob Never Ran Vegas" and "The Art of Managing Casino Games."

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Deep Stack Extravaganza at the Venetian Poker Room will play the final table of the championship event today at 4 PM. With two tables remaining in the competition Tuesday evening the mix of survivors included three known pros - JJ Liu, Kevin O'leary, and Roberto Mercer.

The final Championship event of the first Deep Stack Extravaganza for 2009 attracted 263 players with the $2,500 buy-in. The prize pool totaled 602,764 and will be shared among the top 27 players. The winner receives $186,856. Second place enjoys a six-figure bounty with $108,498.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Mega Stack Poker at Caesars Palace seated 237 entrants Tuesday for the $1060 buy-in championship event. A prize pool of $229,890 will be distributed among the top 18 finishers. The winner goes home with $60,919 and first runner up gets $36,782. Action continues today for the three day event.

Even with the Mega Stack winding down poker players can continue to play in a variety of poker tournaments including two $225 buy-in events remaining in the Mega Stack. Daily and weekly poker tournaments happen throughout the day, every day. Enjoy the many cash games that play around the clock at Caesars Palace poker room.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Last Saturday, Hollie and Perry Vogel moved up their wedding by 7 months after winning a poker tournament.

The tourney was at the Christchurch Casino in New Zealand, with a free wedding offered as the grand prize.

Appropriately called the To Have and To Hold'em tournament, 10 couples pitted themselves at the tables, playing in pairs.

Down to two couples, Hollie built up a stack and then Perry took it down in a quick heads-up punch of Aces that held up.

The lucky couple married a few hours later, then boarded a plane to their honeymoon destination -- Las Vegas, where they plan to stay 7 days for free at the MGM Grand.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Two dueling poker tournaments taking place in Las Vegas this month - Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza and the Caesars Palace Mega Stack Series - hold their championship events this week.

Today, Monday at Noon, the Venetian championship event gets under way. Get a seat for $2,500 buy in and settle back in one of the world's most luxurious poker rooms while you wield your 20,000 in starting chips during 60 minute blind levels. This is the first Vegas tournament of the year for many of the local pro tournament players. Check out the details from an earlier post.

Next, we move across the Las Vegas strip and down the boulevard to Caesars Palace where the Mega Stack Series is winding down its first tournament for 2009. Get to Caesars Palace poker room today, Monday at 5 PM, to play in the Mega Satellite for a chance to win a championship event seat. The Mega Stack championship kicks off on Tuesday, February 25 at Noon. Just in case you don't win a cheap entry, the buy in is $1060. Players receive 30,000 in chips and play 60 minute blind levels. Two $225 buy in events will also play this week at Noon. Check out the details form an earlier post.

Plenty of poker action around Las Vegas this week, especially with the NASCAR show in town for the weekend races.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Prepare for the March 1 premier of Celebrity Apprentice on NBC television. Will the often outspoken professional poker player use her quick wit and natural aggressiveness to wow the Donald? Can a person accustom to competing in a game that rewards individual performance survive in an atmosphere where team work reigns supreme?

Check out the sneak preview of poker phenom Annie Duke as she exerts her strong will to be in control of her fate.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

With two events of the 2009 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza I complete. the initial numbers are looking great for poker. Even though we are experiencing the deepest economic decline in memory the first event ($330 NLHE) pulled in 447 players for a prize pool of $129,407. The winner received $40,117 in cash, not bad for a $300 buy-in poker tournament. The first event paid 36 places.

Event #2 ($330 NLHE) saw 336 players take a seat as they play for a $97,272 prize pool. First place received $30,155 in cash after a couple of days of poker, while the top 27 finishers go home with a piece of the purse. Check out the event schedule as you plan your strategy for becoming a DSE I champion. This is a great opportunity to gain some real-time experience playing in a Las Vegas poker tournament, don't be left behind on the road to poker glory.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The second annual Dream Team Poker Event takes place at Caesars Palace from March 27-29.

Unlike last year's event, the $500+50 tourney has now been opened to all, with an opportunity to go up against poker celebrities and professionals.

An expected 100 teams composed of 300 players will be vying for a $150,000 prize pool.

The tournament is patent-pendingly unique in that players compete individually while also receiving scores as part of a team (teams will be given customized jerseys to wear). Players then compete for both individual as well as team prizes.

To register and for more information, visit www.dreamteampoker.com.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Football and Poker. Ask any addict of football and/or poker they will quickly tell you it doesn't get any better than big bowl Sunday in Las Vegas. Las Vegas, the city that's so full of fun it's almost sinful, in fact, TV ads for Las Vegas are deemed to be unfit as a sponsor of Sunday's big game. That's right, you'll see no ads for the crazy Nevada desert Mecca of gambling and fun.

But wait. It keeps getting worse. Las Vegas locals crowd into the sports betting parlors and wager on the big football game. They wager on every aspect of the game. Their gambling has tainted the purity of this gold plated sporting event. Worse yet, Las Vegas permits, even encourages, everyone (21 and up) to put down some sweat money on the outcome and enjoy the game.

And, of course watching the big football game is fun, just like drinking beer is fun, eating sports book hotdogs is fun, betting on the game is fun, playing casino poker is fun, and Las Vegas is fun. Watch the game on any of the thousands of HDTV's located in Las Vegas sports books and poker rooms. Come to Las Vegas this weekend for the football, stay for the poker. It's Las Vegas, can you handle this much fun?

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Super Bowl Sunday is traditionally one of the super days for Las Vegas. Widely accepted as the second best place to watch the big game, the first being a fifty yard line custom box, Las Vegas welcomes thousands of football betting visitors every year. Even with the current soured economy expect to see an increase in traffic, lower hotel vacancy rates, and lines at the popular eateries on the big football weekend. Still plenty of time to look for deals at the resorts, many will have football celebrities circulating around the sports book on game day.

Of course, you could be watching the game from one of the many fifty-yard-line seats in the Tournament Room at Caesars Palace Poker Room. Super Sunday is the first day of the 2009 Mega Stack Series scheduled to play daily February 1 - 26. Sunday's Event #1 is a $500+$40 Buy-In, No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

Players receive 15,000 in starting chips and play 50 minute blind levels. Play begins at Sunday High Noon with most of the events will play for 2 days. Caesars' Poker Complex is one of the most 'poker tournament friendly' facilities to be found anywhere. The quiet elegance of Caesars Palace extends throughout the poker complex and the room is conveniently located adjacent to Caesars Sports Book.

Handy Links:

• 2009 Mega Stack Schedule and Conditions

• Caesars Palace Poker Room

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Been wondering where you'll watch the Big Football game? May I suggest Las Vegas? Why? Because it's better than being there live. How's that? Because every Las Vegas seat for the game is the best seat in the house, food and beer are almost free, and best of all you can bet the game and the hundreds of prop bets, and do it without breaking any gambling laws in any of the dozens of Las Vegas' sports books. In fact, not only is gambling and sports betting legal, it's encouraged in Las Vegas.

Need another excuse to watch the 2009 SuperBowl in Las Vegas? Most of the Las Vegas Sports Books are adjacent to the Poker Rooms. Sports bettors like to play cards, especially no-limit hold'em poker. That fact fills up Las Vegas poker rooms on the big-game Sunday and a good share of the casuals is dead money. Plot your course now for Las Vegas and Super Sunday, February 1st. Everyone deserves to experience the excitement of a big Las Vegas weekend at least once.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza (DSE) poker tournament series returns to the Venetian Poker Room for 2009. The first of four DSE events in 2009 is scheduled for February 2nd - 25th. Play all the popular tournament poker games - Omaha H/L, Pot Limit Omaha, H.O.R.S.E. and a lot of No-Limit Hold'em.

This is the affordable poker tournament that plays like a major tournament. The DSE format gives players much larger starting stacks and longer times at levels just like the well known 'big time' tournaments. For as little as $330 you can claim a seat in DSE I events and with the increased play time your poker skills will become much more important than the other events with short play times.

Complete information for the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza I is available by visiting the website or calling the Venetian Poker Room direct at 702.414.7657.

The Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza has become one of the most popular tournaments on the Vegas circuit as a result of three changes - more chips, more play time, affordable buy-in. After watching the popularity of the Venetian DSE series it's no wonder other poker rooms are moving to the format. Are you ready for the original tournament to offer big start stacks, longer play times, and affordable entry fees? The original Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza I will be waiting for you.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The Donald Trump "Celebrity Apprentice 2" show returns for Season 8 on March 1, with professional poker player Annie Duke.

Duke will join 15 other celebrities (including Andrew Dice Clay, Melissa and Joan Rivers, Dennis Rodman, Clint Black, Tom Green, Playboy playmate Brande Roderick, and other pseudo-stars) competing in business-related challenges in New York City, as each raises money for their selected charities.

Media was on a lockdown from revealing any of the celebs, which were announced in a hush-hush meeting back in October, before the show began taping.

Ance since taping has completed, how does Duke do? Tune in March 1 to find out, you may be surprised how well her poker skills are applied to the boardroom.

Poker dealer work these days are slim pickin's, what with the recession, e-tables (Excalibur, which we hear are doing well and will most likely be picked up by other MGM Mirage properties), and the lack of players (Silverton, IP, and Gold Coast barely run one table these days).

But here's Aria to the rescue. Aria is the much-anticipated new casino being built as part of MGM Mirage's $9 billion CityCenter.

Today marks the opening of some 12,000 new job openings for CityCenter at this link.

While we don't yet know anything about what the poker room will be like, search for "poker," and you'll find vacancies for poker room cashiers, attendants, supervisors, coordinators, attendants, shift managers, and dealers. All positions begin September, with hirings running through December.

Just fill out the online application, then schedule an in-person review (if local; by telephone if out-of-state).

Interviews will then take place in April, plenty of time to brush up on your card pitching. In fact, here's a tip right from an MGM Grand poker dealer: when auditioning, if you forget everything else, don't forget to rake the pot. If they like you, they will overlook nervousness, misdealt cards, etc. But if you don't rake correctly, you won't have a chance.

Current MGM Mirage employees get preferential treatment, with interviews in February.

For more information, call (702) 590-2489 or 1-866-909-2489.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

2008 was a year of downturns at every turn, even for recession proof Las Vegas. Billion dollar projects idled, layoffs by the thousands, sky-high gasoline, grounded airline flights, and poker rooms closing have combined to cast a darkening shadow of doubt over the Vegas skyline. The Las Vegas strip's eternally optimistic views of tomorrow have been replaced by views of rusting rebar and sun bleached concrete columns. What's the over/under on the "City of Entertainment" going under?

One of the few bright spots in the 2008 Las Vegas gaming landscape was live poker tournaments. The Mother of all poker tournaments, the World Series of Poker®, was a record setting event that played to one of the largest crowds in the long history of the WSOP.

Will the future of Vegas poker remain bright while the great Vegas gaming infrastructure continues to downsize in the raging economic storms? Again, we point to the WSOP. Properly branded, efficiently managed, better than year before, media savvy, Internet friendly, proven fan friendly atmosphere, and ESPN TV have registered send the WSOP to the next level.

The other popular poker tournament in 2008? The NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. A high dollar NBC TV Sports production featuring 64 of poker's elite invited to come together in a series of single elimination heads-up matches to determine the best heads-up poker player in all the land. The Heads-Up tourney follows the college basketball championship format, and it's complete after three days of intense play in front of a live TV audience.

If you're dreaming of sitting in one of the 64 seats of the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship at Caesars Palace this February there are only two ways to get one. Most of the seats are filled with invited poker stars and elites; while, a few hopefuls win one of the rare seats offered in a satellite. Check your mail for an invitation. No invitation then you're down to one option for a seat, a Caesars Palace Free Roll Satellite for the final seat.

Get a free entry into the 2009 Heads-Up Championship Free Roll Tournament with fifty hours of live play in Caesars Poker Room during January. The Free Roll Heads-Up tournament is scheduled for February 22nd at 11AM. First place walks away with $10K in cash and the coveted $20K seat in the upcoming 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Get busy playing the Caesars Las Vegas Poker Room for your free ticket to the free roll.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

With two major expos in town this week the poker rooms around Las Vegas should have a marked increase in players. Many of the drop-in players will be short on Vegas poker experience, others will be playing casino poker for the first time. This makes for an idea combination to give the advantage to the better poker players. Stop by a Las Vegas poker room this week, January 8-11, and maybe you'll leave with a few extra bucks from a visitor's expense account.

Unlike the now defunct Comdex Convention, the attendees to the Consumer Electronics Show and the AVN/Adult Entertainment Expo like to gamble. They spend time in the casinos and poker rooms pumping up the table drop. They also like to play poker tournaments.

Of course, not all of the newbies are inexperienced, they just act that way. These stealthy players represent a potential drain from the bankroll of even the high skilled, experienced players so be ever careful and be grateful that most of the convention player influx is dead money. They're in town to do some business, have a good time, and lose a few bucks. Don't forget to use the LasVegasVegas Poker Tournament Directory, updated daily for the most accurate Las Vegas poker tournament information on the Internet.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Rio Las Vegas is now offering the highest comps for poker players in Las Vegas, at $3 per hour.

The next highest is at Imperial Palace at $2 per hour.

We spoke with Danielle at Rio who was extremely chipper about the promotion, saying that $3 per hour applied to all cash game players between 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. every day, then reverts to the regular $1 per hour the rest of the time.

In addition, the rake is capped at $3 between 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. That's significant in itself.

Quads of 10s and above receive a guaranteed $300, though this will change next week when Rio switches to a bad beat jackpot.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

An armed robbery took place at the Sahara Hotel & Casino last Friday.

Around 6 p.m. on Dec. 19, someone held up the poker room cashier and walked away with an undisclosed amount of money.

To get to the poker room cashier, you have to walk through a row of about eight poker tables on either side. And then back out.

No poker player was robbed, and no one was harmed.

Metro is investigating.

If you have any information, call Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

David Rheems rode his aggressive style of play to victory in the 2008 WPT's Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio. The win gave Rheems an early Christmas present in the form of $1,538,730 in cash. He also received a $25K buy-in in the WPT Spring Championship event.

Justin Young came up one short and had to settle for second place and $936,760. Evan McNiff finished in third place for a $540,440 payday. As we predicted in yesterday's post, this day belonged to David "Chino" Rheems.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

David Rheems outlasted a field of 6833 to grab a seat at the 2008 WSOP Main Event so out playing a much smaller field of 497 entrants playing in the $15K WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic appears to be a piece of cake. The six remaining players will take their seats today at 4 PM at the Mirage and do card battle until only one champion remains.

The following players with seat assignment and chip count make up the final table six. The winner will receive $1,538,730 of the $7,231,350 prize pool. This one may belong to Chino.

1 - Steve Sung 5,885,000
2 - Evan McNiff 4,805,000
3 - Chino Rheem 4,240,000
4 - Amnon Filippi 2,750,000
5 - Justin Young 2,410,000
6 - Hoyt Corkins 2,295,000

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Las Vegas was over run by poker bloggers from around the world in town for the 2008 Holiday Blogger Tournament this weekend. The affair was held at the palatial Venetian Poker Room. Many of the players at the tables represent poker blogging royalty.

Poker Works' Linda, the first lady of poker blogs - Dr Pauly from Tao of Poker - Al Can't Hang - Blogfather Iggy - Pokerati's Dan - Change 100 - Poker Grub - Mean Gene - Human Head - Falstaff - Las Vegas Vegas' Poker Prof - and many more gathered for the Fifth Annual Las Vegas Holiday Blogger Tournament. Flipchip was there with the camera and shares a few images.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo courtesy Greasiewheels.com

On Friday, Dec. 12, the new poker room (er, lounge) at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is holding a Poker Jingle tournament, where the winner receives a $10,000 seat into next year's World Series of Poker.

Buy-in is $200+30, with proceeds benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Southern Nevada.

The tourney is hosted by Tom McEvoy, and goodie bags, hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and other treats will be available.

Poker players expected to attend include:
Kristy Gazes, JJ Liu, Tiffany Michelle, Andy Bloch, Jennifer Harman, Brad "Yukon" Booth, Todd Brunson, Layne Flack, Phil Hellmuth, Barry Greenstein, Marsha Waggoner, Jamie Gold, Marco Traniello, James Van Alstyne, Karina Jett, Lee Watkinson, Mark Newhouse, Roy Winston, Maria Ho, Chad Brown, Jeff Madsen, and more.

The afternoon gets started with a 2 p.m. Effen Vodka media cocktail party, then the celebrity poker tournament begins at 3 p.m.

If you can't play yourself (register at this link until 2:30 p.m. on tourney day), you can also sponsor one of the above poker pros. You can send a personal message directly to your poker pro before the tournament starts (Phil Hellmuth is still available). For more information on sponsoring, email kelli@kelligriggs.com.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Poker employees unite!

Sahara is holding poker tournaments exclusively for the other side of the poker community -- journalists, authors, dealers... if you've been paid for contributing to poker, you're eligible.

Tournaments are all no-limit and are capped at 110 players with 20 alternates. They begin Dec. 1, with sit-n-go satellites the day before.

The winner of the main event on Dec. 4 receives an engraved trophy.

Tourney schedule:

Nov. 30 beginning at 1 p.m.: single table satellites, winner receives $20 and entry to Main Event.

Dec. 1: 9:30 a.m., $100+20; 1:30 p.m., $100+20

Dec. 2: 9:30 a.m., $200+30; 1:30 p.m., $200+30

Dec. 3: 1:30 p.m., $300+40

Dec. 4: 1:30 p.m., $500+50

For more information, call poker manager Gary DeWitt at (702) 481-4814 or email gdewitt@saharalv.com.

Players can pre-register for all events online now at Poker Player Newspaper Online.

While we have Caesars Palace on the brain, they're also offering a fun Monday Night Pro Football promotion.

Every Monday during this football season, Caesars will splash a pot every time a team scores.

If a team scores, a table will be drawn randomly and chips will be added to the pot. Suddenly The Hammer (72o) is a playable hand!

Every time a team scores a field goal, $50 will be splashed.

Every time a team scores a touchdown, $100 will be splashed.

And, every time a team scores a safety or 2-point conversion, $200 will be splashed.

Note that splash pots only count in cash games. We recommend no-limit to have the best opportunity at stealing one of these pots.

If you have $20,000 to spare, you can enter the televised 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Championship at Caesars Palace,

Or you can try to win one.

Caesars is holding a $50,000 freeroll on Feb. 22, 2009 at 11 a.m. First place wins cash plus a seat into the championship.

All you have to do to qualify for the freeroll is play 50 hours in the poker room in January 2009 (tournaments don't count).

Prize structure:

1st: $10,000 plus seat to championship (worth $20,000)
2nd: $7,500
3rd - 4th: $6,250
5th - 8th: $3,500
9th - 16th: $2,500
17th - 32nd: $1,000

One interesting bit about this freeroll is that it plays regularly until it gets to 64 players. Then everyone draws, gets new chips, and plays heads-up. The final four players then play the best of three matches.

We stopped by Silverton yesterday and had a glimpse of the $160 million Grand Opening that's soon to come -- just the center Light Bar, garage, and Johnny Rockets need final touches.

The new poker room, however, is operational and located in the new section of the casino next to the 1500-car garage a la Wynn Las Vegas. Nice not to have to trek through the casino to get to the poker room.

It's right around the corner from the old poker room, which in turn was next to the buffet. The old poker room has been turned into a high-limit salon.

We headed over when we heard an announcement for seats available in the 6 p.m. tournament (at 6:10), yet when we stopped by there was no floor manager to be seen. The desk was left empty for 5 minutes before we headed out... and then we heard another announcement that there were seats available in the tournament.

We won't go into too much detail because kinks are still being worked out, but at first glance it's bigger than its first incarnation with about the same number of tables. Let's hope they fixed the problem of the AC blowing full-blast.

Their current promotion has buy-ins of $100 receiving $20 between noon and 2 p.m. until Dec. 31. We suspect you have to play at least two hours to qualify, but as there was no one to speak to, we couldn't get the lowdown.

Stay tuned for flipchip's review and better photos.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The Tropicana poker room will close in a week.

A quick decision that not even the 19 poker employees were aware of, staff was informed late last week about the Nov. 30 closure.

Unlike Excalibur or Paris Las Vegas who had the corporate backings of MGM Mirage and Harrah's respectively, the Tropicana poker employees will be laid off and not transferred elsewhere.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Clonie Gowan filed a lawsuit in Las Vegas Federal District Court alleging a contract dispute with Full Tilt Poker. According to the brief filed on Friday, November 14, the well known poker professional claims Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Unjust Enrichment, and Fraud.

Also named in the filing are Full Tilters Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Gus Hansen and Patrik Antonius. Ms. Gowan seeks damages of $40,000,000. Read the complete story on Poker News.

photos by the flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

What a day for a poker tournament, especially one with plenty of pros, celebrities and a very reasonable buy-in. Even better would be if the buy-in money went to a very deserving charity. Well, poker players, today is your lucky day. All of the above is available but not in casinos. Its happening at the grand opening of the gigantic Red Rock Harley-Davidson dealership on S. Rainbow. There you'll find 104,000 square feet of absolute fun -- in the form of bikes, boobs, booze, and live poker.

Check out all the details for the 3:00 PM poker tournament in our previous article. You'll be playing for very special Harley Davidson, a rare 2008 105th Anniversary Edition. Hope to see you there.

photos by the flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by the flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

This morning's FY Q3 earnings call from Harrah's offered some hope for online poker players.

CEO Gary Loveman spoke of the possibility of seeing online poker legalized.

Not solely because of Tuesday's elections, Loveman said that he sees the possibility of legalized online poker simply because the heads of committees don't seem opposed to the idea.

"We think the world got easier on this one," he said.

As for other online gaming, Loveman still sees a tough battle.

But baby steps.

Sounds like Harrah's could have something up their sleeves that they're privy to. Because they own the World Series of Poker brand, we don't doubt they're planning something to be ready just in case.

To listen to a replay of the call, dial toll-free 1-800-642-1687 and use the passcode 68328144. The replay will be broadcast until Nov. 21.

Thanksgiving blues getting you down?

If you're in Vegas over Thanksgiving -- even Turkey Day itself -- how about a poker tournament?

Golden Nugget runs their Grand Fall Classic Poker Series from Nov. 24 through Nov. 30, with 7 events, only one of which is no-limit! (Fear not, $125 no-limit tournaments run twice daily at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. with 8000 chips and 30-minute levels.)

All events are $230, begin at noon, start with 8000 chips (with 2000 bonus chips), and have 40-minute levels:

Monday, 11/24: Ladies no-limit
Tuesday, 11/25: HORSE
Wednesday, 11/26: Pot-limit Omaha H/L
Thursday, 11/27: Limit Omaha H/L
Friday, 11/28: HORSE
Saturday: 11/29: Mix -- 2-7 Triple Draw, 7 Stud H/L, Crazy Pineapple
Sunday, 11/30: Limit Omaha H/L

For more info, call John Colville at (702) 386-8164 or email jcolville@goldennugget.com.

photos by the flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Binion's claims it's the place that made poker famous and for good reason. This is the original home of the World Series of Poker™ and the annual tradition was held here for more than three decades before the current owner, Harrah's Entertainment, acquired the original of all poker tournaments in 2004 and moved it to the Rio Resort.

What better time for Binion's to open an all new poker room than a week before the conclusion of the 2008 WSOP™ Main Event final table. Players are greeted with a marble floored foyer filled with photos of past WSOP champions and members of the Poker Hall of Frame. A stop by the new digs that features 10 tables in an opulent setting centrally located to the main casino is in order for all poker players. Play poker where it all begin, Binion's casino in downtown Las Vegas.

photos by the flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by the flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The Venetian Showroom will be filled with poker's elite next Tuesday evening, October 21, at 7 PM for the premier of the The Real Deal! interactive poker-themed stage show. Hosts for the event are funnyman Paul Rodriquez and insult-style comedian Vinny Favorito. They will be joined by The Real Deal! poker pros -- Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harmon, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Gavin Smith, Eli Elezra, Scotty Nguyen, and Todd Brunson.

According to the press release, "...a completely original live show format combines fast-paced action and humor with the latest in wireless technology and abundant prizes, including a chance to win $1,000,000."

That's right, $1 million in cash. The entire audience can interact with the players on stage through the magic of wireless technology so you may be one of the lucky winners just by being in the audience. The show was created Merv Adelson and Emmy™ Award-Winning producer Gary Smith.

Times for the show are 5 PM Tuesday through Sunday with 8 PM primetime shows added on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ticket prices for the shows at 5 PM are $75 and $85 for the 8 PM primetime performance. VIP packages are available and include an opportunity to meet the poker stars afterwards. Of course, you must be 21 years of age for stage participation. A special section without wireless interaction is available at $45 for underage guest. Call The Venetian Box Office at 1.866.641.SHOW or 702.414.9000 for ticket purchase information. You can also visit the website for tickets.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Paris Las Vegas quietly closed their poker room last week.

This time for good.

Bouncing around from gambling pit in the open to its own room next to the sportsbook, Paris' poker room was battered about after having its hours significantly cut and reduced to just tournaments. If you went looking for the poker room, you often couldn't find it, and some employees even thought it was already shuttered.

We could never quite get a fix on Paris and sister casino Bally's operating under the same management (which itself operates under Harrah's). Chips are interchangeable between both casinos, slot tickets can be read and cashed at both, and both properties even shared some of the same managers.

When Bally's Diamond Lounge closed in favor of consolidating into Paris' lounge, we figured more consolidation would be going on. Moving the poker room into its own room from the casino floor just ended up being in a part of the sportsbook.

It was only a matter of time before the room died a slow death. What dealers were left were offered shifts at the Bally's poker room.

R.I.P., Paris poker room. At least you went out without going electronic.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Planning a trip to Las Vegas or perhaps you're already in town and trying to find a poker tournament that meets all of your requirements. Look no further than the Poker Prof's Tournament Directory. Its the most user friendly poker tournament guide on the planet and that includes Internet and print listings. A simple to use search function that finds events based on your input allows players to quickly see a list of all the tournaments available within the prescribed parameters.

Search by date, time, type, buy-in, card room and more. Rest assured the information is current. We have a dedicated team continuously updating the information to insure our readers get the most current tournament details possible. Take a few minutes to check out the ease of finding exactly the Las Vegas poker tournament to play.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

October 1 marked the start of almost full time tournament poker in Las Vegas that will continue through the holidays. Bellagio's Festa al Lago, Binion's Poker Open, 2nd Annual Caesars Palace Classic, The Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza, and the Poker Employees Championship at the Sahara fill the calendar from October through December.

We begin with the biggest tournament, the Bellagio's Festa al Lago. On the calendar from October 1- 26, the Festa al Lago is capped by a World Poker Tour sanctioned $15,000 buy-in final event guaranteed to create another WPT millionaire.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Moving on to Binion's Poker Open scheduled for October 15 thru November 3. Take a nostalgic trip to the place where poker tournaments originated, Binion's Casino located in historic downtown Las Vegas. Binion's is currently building a new poker room centrally located in the recently remodeled downtown landmark.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

In 2007 the Caesars Palace Poker Classic set records for numbers of players and prize pools. Caesars has always been a favorite poker room among cash game and tournament players looking for a spacious, comfortable poker room with all the amenities expected from the world renowned casino. You too can enjoy playing major tournament poker at Caesars Palace during the October 16 - 30 Poker Classic.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Next stop in the Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza. These very popular poker events are the results from the Venetian Poker Room asking poker players what they wanted in a tournament - bigger starting stacks, longer play levels, moderate buy-ins, and smooth blind increases - and then designing the Deep Stack series to provide exactly that. Stop by the Venetian during the November 1 - 25 run of final Deep Stack Extravaganza scheduled for 2008 and find out first hand why players prefer the Venetian.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Finally, we have the Poker Employees Championship at the Sahara Resort in Las Vegas. Four days and four events December 1 - 4. Complete details are available at Poker Player Newspaper and you can register online to ensure you'll have a seat in this year's poker employee tournament. If you've ever been a part of the poker industry then you probably meet the prerequisites for entry.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

A Senate bill has been introduced to allow and regulate online poker and other games of skill. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced this first ever Senate bill (Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act, S. 3616) to to eliminate the ban imposed by former Senate Majority Leader Frist's legislation (UIGEA) that essentially killed online poker by making bank and credit card money transfers with online casinos illegal.

A similar bill got a 30-16 Yea vote to move out of the House Financial Services Committee. The house version of the bill introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) requires federal agencies to define unlawful Internet gambling before writing banking regulations to enforce the UIGEA legislation.

Keep those cards, letters, telecons and emails coming to your Senators and Representatives offices. Apparently some of the are listening and reacting to once again return legal online poker to your computer screen. Playing games of skill is more than just fun and profit, it's one of your rights of freedom. If your one of the millions of Americans that once enjoyed playing poker online you should consider sending a note of support and thanks to Senator Menendez.

PokerStars is offering a chance to win a piece of the November 9.

The November 9, of course, is the World Series of Poker's final table comprising the nine remaining players that will duke it out on Nov. 9.

Stars has invested in six of the players, and will be hosting a $100,000 freeroll (500 FPP required for entry) for each player every Sunday beginning Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. ET.

In addition, if you make it to the top 100, you'll receive 0.01% of that player's eventual winnings from the final table.

Freeroll schedule (all begin 4 p.m. ET):

Oct. 5: David "Chino" Rheem
Oct. 12: Darus Suharto
Oct. 19: Ylon Schwartz
Oct. 26: Peter Eastgate
Nov. 2: Ivan Demidov
Nov. 9: Dennis Phillips

Let's see... every player is guaranteed to take away $900,670. So if you make the top 100 in any of the six tournaments, you'll receive an extra $90.07.

First place to this year's WSOP winner is $9,119,517, so if you're in the top 100 for that player's tourney, you'll get $919.52 extra.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

October 16th is the first day of the 2nd Annual Caesars Palace Classic poker tournament. Satellites for the 17 events begin at 9 AM and Event #1, $500 + $50 No-Limit Hold'em is scheduled for Noon on October 17. The action continues daily through October 30 with avariety of events including Pot-Limit Omaha, Omaha 8/B, Limit Hold'em, 6-Handed Hold'em, and H.O.R.S.E. The Classic features a $10,000 Buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Championship three day event with a guaranteed $1,000,000 First Place Prize.

Daily Second Chance No-Limit Hold'em tournaments with a $175 + $25 Buy-in start at 7 PM. Last Chance No-Limit Hold'em tournaments with a $100 + $20 Buy-in are scheduled at 11 PM nightly. Both the Second Chance and the Last Chance events run October 16 through October 27.

Make plans now to be at the largest poker complex in Las Vegas, the Caesars Palace poker room, for the very popular Caesars Palace Classic. Event buy-ins range from $300 for the Ladies only event to $500, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000, and $10,000 for the championship. Mega-Satellites for the Main Event are scheduled for October 27 with two $500 + $50 and two $1,000 + $60 events.

Visit Caesars Palace Poker Room online or call (702) 731-7110 or (800) 634-6001 for complete details. A schedule of events for the Caesars Palace Classic after the jump.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Awhile back, PokerWorld.com removed their Bad Beat Jackpot from all of their poker tables (even though their website still says "Coming soon!").

A reason was not given, but PokerWorld is no longer contributing a share on the Gold Chip Network.

Where does that money go?

If you're Harrah's Las Vegas (which this month got rid of their property-wide bad beat jackpot that essentially copied Station Casinos'), you put the money back into each property and let that casino hold their own promotions.

Online is still somewhat the Wild Wild West, with not much ramification if the money just ends up evaporating into someone's Swiss bank account.

As for PokerWorld, they're doing the right thing. Because they're able to track the exact jackpot drop players contributed, they will soon be giving refunds.

A nice little unexpected rakeback.

PokerWorld will email players individually once the refund has been deposited.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

With poker profits down (heck, with all casino profits down), we wouldn't be surprised if we began seeing more poker room closings in Las Vegas (such as Las Vegas Hilton's). Or conversions to e-tables (Excalibur, which if it's a success, will mean more at MGM Mirage casinos and elsewhere).

Fortunately, no more of that is in the near horizon.

So when we hear of new poker rooms (e.g., Hard Rock's Poker Lounge), our poker heart gets all a-flutter.

At long last, what was promised when they opened will soon be coming true, perhaps as soon as early 2010: South Point is getting a poker room!

'Course, they've always had one since they opened in December 2005 (under the name South Coast), if you count the empty area downstairs from the movie theater. Nothing much has been done with the 11 tables, other than moving the floor desk around, adding plasmas, cordoning off tables, and offering up new tournaments and freerolls that cater to locals.

The spot was good for people watching, but let us tell you, people watching locals isn't the most fun way to pass the time. We do enjoy playing there a couple times a month, particularly because the cocktail service is fast, and they don't blink an eye when we order back-to-back Patron shots.

Ever since launch, South Point had been promising an actual room, and with South Point's next phase of renovations will also be a brand new 25-table poker room.

Like the number of hotel rooms (2,163 to be exact), this will make the poker room the largest room catering to locals.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Caesars Palace is running daily drawings in their poker room, giving away completely free entries to their Caesars Palace Classic poker tournament. Each seat is worth $10,000.

From now through Sept. 30, just play in the Caesars poker room. Every time any player gets quads or better, they receive a ticket. One ticket will be drawn the following day at 7 p.m. and awarded a seat. If you don't live in town, no worries -- you don't even have to be present to win!

For the locals, however, there's an extra benefit. If you play every day trying for those tickets, you'll probably have accumulated enough hours to qualify for their freeroll. Play 40 hours of poker (live cash games only, tournaments excluded) between Oct. 1 and Oct. 26, and you'll get entered into a freeroll on Oct. 27 that awards 10 seats to the Caesars Palace Classic.

The total value of all seats being given away is $400,000.

The Caesars Palace Classic begins Oct. 28.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Harrah's is offering an interesting bonus for morning poker players that amounts to much more than rakeback or $1/hour comps.

Daily beginning Monday, Sept. 15, play in the Harrah's poker room for at least an hour between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.

You'll then receive a 10 percent buy-in bonus for your next visit to the poker room. A voucher will be given for 10 percent of your buy-in, up to $30, which you can cash in on your next trip.

There's seemingly no limit on the amount of times you can do this, but presumably your next visit needs to be the following day.

We think we might be getting up a bit earlier to play at Harrah's before going to work from now on.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Las Vegas now has an all digital poker room. The Excalibur Resort has opened it's 12 table, sans dealers, poker room filled with PokerPro digital tables. I was at the initial introduction of the dealer-less tables some years ago at the Imperial Palace when poker industry and media people got their first look at what was touted to be the future of poker. Of course, this was before UEIGA made Internet poker a fond memory and pricked the poker popularity bubble.

I have to admit I have little experience with the new tables; but my stop by the Excalibur last night left me with some impressions. The poker players were seated around a large center table embedded flat screen and each seat had its own small screen that allowed players to bet, check, fold, or raise. The first thing I noticed was the room didn't look much different from the dozens of other Vegas poker rooms with dealers, the difference being one less seat (for a dealer).

The most striking difference for me was the library-like silence of the room even with a number of full tables going. Amazing how much noise is generated in a traditional room with poker players constantly shuffling their chips. Maybe someone will produce an audio track of poker room sounds that could provide us traditionalist with the familiar poker room background noise we require to be comfortable.

For those wondering if they must learn a whole new set of skills the answer is no, you can learn the system in about two minutes or less. Another point of seeing the new room in action is the close association with a traditional poker room rather than an Internet poker room, after all, you're there with other real live players instead of tiny abstract avatars so the skill of reading players is in full force. Some of the 'traditional vs digital' poker room differences will be considered an advantage by many players. More hands per hour, no mistakes reading hands or pushing pots, and you keep the dealer toke money.

Next trip to Las Vegas remember you now have another option to play live poker so make it a point to visit the Excalibur's new all digital poker room. For more information about the details of the PokerPro system visit their website.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

A new poker room on the Boulder strip is open and spreading your favorite games. Eastside Cannery is first new property to open on the Boulder Strip in more than a decade and the first new poker room on Boulder in 14 years.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The spacious 8 table poker room is filled with modern poker tables equipped with Shufflemasters and the popular Genesis tracking systems. Genesis tracks play through player's cards so stop by the C.A.N. Players Club and sign up for your free player's card before you play or click here to sign up online. Poker players earn comps at the rate of $1/hour with no daily limit. Comps are good at any of the casino's food outlets.

The room is currently spreading $2-$4 and $4-$8 limit Hold'em plus a $1-$2 No-Limit Hold'em with a $100 min - $300 max buy-in. For the stud players there is a $2-$7 Limit Seven Card Stud game with a $1 low card bring-in. A $2-4 LHE, $4-8 LHE and the stud game were up and running along with $1-2 NLHE during our early Sunday morning visit. Stop by the Eastside Cannery to play in the newest poker room in Las Vegas. If some of the room personnel look familiar you probably saw them dealing at the 2008 WSOP.

Tip: Park near the eastside doors at the Eastside Cannery, walk-in, look left ... the Poker Room. Couldn't be easier.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Well known professional poker player Hoyt Corkins was the victim of a burglary at his Spanish Trails home in Las Vegas. The easy going Corkins had been away from his Vegas residence in the upscale gated Spanish Trails neighborhood for about a month when friends discovered the break-in and called him back to Las Vegas.

The crooks not only ransacked the residence but gathered up his trophies and poker memorabilia before leaving the scene. The poker goodies taken included a WPT bracelet and his two WSOP bracelets - 1992 $5K Pot Limit Omaha, 2007 $2.5K No-Limit Hold'em 6 Handed. The thief (s) also absconded with two cars, a motorcycle, electronics and more than $10K in cash. Corkins told Las Vegas Channel 8 News his losses were more than $100,000 and counting.

They also stole his identity by using his office phone to get a credit card in his name. Corkins indicated he believed the break-in occurred a few weeks earlier at the beginning of the month. This is an opportunity for poker player everywhere to keep their ears and eyes open for any clues that might help capture the bad guys and return the cherished items to Hoyt. It's also an opportunity for players to evaluate their personal security and plug up any chinks in the armor to avoid becoming a crime victim.

Anyone with information that may help in solving this crime can contact the Las Vegas Metro Police Crime Stoppers at 702.385.5555, you do not have to identify yourself and you may be eligible for a reward.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's long-awaited poker room is now open.

Dubbed a "poker lounge," the room has 18 tables and will be a hybrid of 7,000-square-foot poker room and nightclub with bottle service

Though we suspect it will become like any other poker room in town, you may want to leave the t-shirt and cutoffs at home, at least for the first couple weeks.

Separate tables will be cordoned off and available for rental for private home games.

Regular tournament information can be found at this link, which include prizes such as a $5,000 bar tab with cabana rental by the pool and VIP backstage passes to the current concert.

Pictures can be found at CardPlayer.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The late-night NBC show "Poker After Dark" returns for a 5th season at the Golden Nugget.

Shooting will take place Oct. 26 through Nov. 5, with 60 new shows beginning air Dec. 29. The schedule will stay the same and 2:05 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and a one-hour "Director's Cut" wrapup after "Saturday Night Live" on Saturdays.

Staying true to the original format, tables will be six-handed with a $20,000 buy-in with winner-take-all.

Leeann Tweeden will host, with expected players including Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer, and Phil Ivey.

courtesy of venetian las vegas

Venetian resort's wildly popular Deep Stack Extravaganza poker tournament series has announced the fourth and final tournament for 2008. Scheduled for November 1 - 25, the Deep Stack Extravaganza IV (DSE) will feature 25 No-Limit Hold'em events with Buy-ins from $330 up to $2,500 for the Championship final.

The best part of these events is the very reason they named them "Deep Stack." Its all about the number of starting chips and the extended time of play levels. Even the $330 buy-in events start players with $10,000 in play money, plus an optional staff bonus add-on will get you even more bullets. Players in the $1,060 and $2,500 final event begin with $12, 500. Playing in the DSE is no different than entering one of the big major poker tournaments, with one big major exception, you don't need to take out a second mortgage to cover the buy-ins.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Kathy Raymond, director of poker operations for The Venetian, best sums up the Deep Stack Series.

"We are thrilled with the amount of excitement our Deep Stack Extravaganza series creates on the casino floor and throughout the poker community. The quality and experience of our staff along with the high starting chip counts and structure of the tournaments continues to draw players from different skill levels and from all over the world."

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Make your plans now to become a part of poker history as a player and champion of the the Deep Stack Extravaganza IV. The poker world will be focused on the luxurious Venetian poker room during the 25 days of big time Deep Stack poker. The final table of the championship event will take place 2 days before Thanksgiving, so what better way to start your holidays than a trip to the most copied poker tournament format anywhere, the Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Four Winds casino in New Buffalo, Mich., was the first casino to launch with a WPT poker room sans dealers. All tables are PokerTek electronic tables, with players depositing and withdrawing to cards at an in-room cashier.

Players have a love/hate relationship with the tables. On the one hand, it doesn't feel like a real poker game without the dealer controlling the table (not to mention no chips or cards). On the other hand, less rake and no tip is always good.

Mostly because of a delay in getting approved, Las Vegas hasn't seen the poker e-tables yet, but by the end of this month, one casino will be converting to all dealer-less tables.

Excalibur informed dealers that they will close their poker room on Aug. 18, then reopen Aug. 21 with all e-tables. Floor staff will be kept to a minimum, and obviously -- no dealers.

R.I.P., Excalibur. We remember you fondly when you were in the sportsbook area, we could get a free hotdog buffet in late afternoons, and we could spin the wheel.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Are you in Las Vegas, planning a trip to Vegas or looking for an excuse to enjoy some live action poker in Las Vegas? Look no further than the Poker Prof's Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory. It is the most up-to-date, comprehensive guide to Las Vegas poker to be found anywhere. Unlike print guides that offer month old info printed in a format guaranteed to confuse the Prof's schedules are updated daily so the information is as fresh and accurate as possible.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Need another reason to make the Prof's Poker Tournament Directory your exclusive poker planning tool? How about the easiest to use search functions currently available anywhere? Choose your input parameters - calendar dates, days of the week, clock times, casinos, formats, buy-ins - and and then quickly zero in on the events that fit your preferences, schedule and wallet. You can even custom tailor the resultant data in an easy to understand style of your choice.

It's time you stop squinting at the fine print of old fashioned poker tournament directories filled with out-of-date info. Use the Poker Prof's Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory and the only squinting you'll be doing will be recording the flash of your opponent's hole cards.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

If you're in Las Vegas and play poker, it pays to sign up to the Station Casino's player's club.

We preferred the old Boarding Pass card to the new My Card, but that's just cosmetic. Either way, we received a flier in the mail for $10 off our next buy-in of $100.

Just two hours of play is necessary before claiming the $10, so it's basically $5 an hour to play a few hands.

The offer is good through Sept. 30.

You may already know about Station's Bad Beat Jumbo Hold'em Progressive, which starts at $150,000 at quad 10s beaten, then the hand requirement reduces every week until someone gets the beat.

And when it happens, everyone playing poker in every Station casino shares in the progressive... with a minimum of $200.

(This is aside from the in-house bad beat jackpot of $10,000 for Aces full of 10s beaten.)

Another offer is $250 for every royal flush.

And, in addition to the regular $1/hour comp for playing live poker, you'll receive $3/hour if you play between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Nothing beats playing poker on the Strip, but sometimes it's worth taking a drive to check out the local casinos (Palace Station is the closest Station to the Strip, but our favorites are Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch).

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

If you didn't make it into the World Series, never fear. The Rio isn't the only place for big tournaments.

The Orleans is offering their annual Orleans Open beginning July 5 and running through July 20.

All 16 events take place one per day beginning at noon in the Mardi Gras room. Buy-ins range from $200 to $2000.

Events are:

#1 July 5 $200 No-Limit Hold'em
#2 July 6 $200 Omaha Hi-Lo
#3 July 7 $200 Limit Hold-em
#4 July 8 $200 7-card Stud
#5 July 9 $300 No-Limit Hold'em
#6 July 10 $300 7-card Stud Hi-Lo
#7 July 11 $300 Omaha Hi-Lo ("Battle of the Sexes")
#8 July 12 $300 No-Limit Hold'em (LIPS tourney)
#9 July 13 $330 No-Limit Hold'em
#10 July 14 $500 No-Limit Hold'em
#11 July 15 $500 "Battle of the Ages"
#12 July 16 $500 Casino Employee Event
#13 July 17 $500 Mixed Limit/No-Limit Hold'em
#14 July 18 $1000 No-Limit Hold'em
#15 July 19 $1000 Omaha Hi-Lo
#16 July 20 $2000 No-Limit Hold'em

The $200, $300, and $500 tournaments are one-day events. The $1000 and $2000 tournaments are two-day events.

All levels are 45 minutes each.

If you play in the tournament, you can get $55 rooms Sunday-Thursday and $100 Friday-Saturday between July 2 and July 23. Use the code 8ORLC07 at this link.

For more information and to print out a registration form to pre-register, click here.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

At 6 p.m., "Keep Flopping Aces" airs on Rounder's Radio.

The subject of tonight's program involves whether you should turn to the life of a poker pro.

Stepping in for regular host Lou Krieger is psychologist and author of The Psychology of Poker, Dr. Alan Schoonmaker.

Poker pros guesting on the show include Roy Cooke, Barry Tanenbaum, Mark Gregorich, and Don Olney, who will all be onhand to discuss what led up to them turning pro and if they have any regrets. They'll also chat about the best and worst things about turning pro.

Other topics include cash vs. tourney pros, bankroll required, how relationships have been affected, and more.

Attorney Tom Walter will then talk about health and life insurance, mortgages, retirement, and other financial planning issues.

It promises to be an enlightening evening.

If you miss tonight's broadcast, it'll be archived a few days later at roundersradio.com.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

New Table Felt Design is Available Exclusively at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino

With the World Series of Poker right around the corner, the spotlight on poker continues to grow. Designed for beginners wanting to learn the basics of poker room play, the Rio proudly offers free gaming lessons and has recently introduced a unique teaching table.

Developed by Rio Poker Room employees, the poker teaching table features a specially-designed felt which visually highlights the key elements of the game. Used as a unique teaching tool, the special table helps students learn the basics of poker.

Clearly depicted on the instructional table felt itself are the hand rankings, betting options and other key characteristics of the game including when to bet, fold and check.

"Most people that take lessons have either seen poker on television, or played casually online or with friends," said Poker Room Manager Jerome Stone. "These folks sometimes just want to become more familiar with the process of the game as it plays out in a poker room. This teaching felt really gives beginners a great level of confidence and comfort."

During the free lessons, students learn the basics using tournament-style play chips to simulate actual poker room play. Personable teaching dealers help guide students step-by-step through the game and answer questions along the way. Daily free poker lessons are available at Rio between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. hourly.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

As rumors swirl of Las Vegas poker rooms closing (ahem, Paris Las Vegas), a new poker room just opened today at Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon (formerly Barbary Coast), which is owned by Harrah's (er, Caesars -- we can never get used to the new and old names).

While not actually a poker room but tables inside the casino (like O'Sheas), Bill's poker room is situated near the entrance where the big eBay slots just launched (yep, eBay slots and they're so bright with the big screens you need sunglasses). Two tables have 2/6 spread limit (a format we haven't seen since Excalibur) and no-limit with a single blind of $1 and buy-in from $20 to $200.

The tables used are the old World Series of Poker tables, complete with the PartyPoker.net ad in the middle facing the dealer and TV cameras if there were any.

Like next-door neighbors Flamingo and Imperial Palace, a jackpot will offer payouts for high hands as well as $100 for Aces cracked and $50 for Kings cracked during certain hours.

Alas, as is becoming more and more the trend, the rake is 10 percent up to $5 plus $1 for the jackpot.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

While much of the poker industry is scrambling to stop the negative trends from two years of UIEGA, television network giant NBC continues to add viewers for its 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Played at Caesars Palace Poker Room in Las Vegas earlier this year the tournament is televised every Sunday at Noon EDT in a miniseries of two hour poker shows.

Sunday noon is the perfect time slot for the poker miniseries and it says a lot for TV poker considering this same time slot is often filled by the 800 hundred pound gorilla of TV sports, the NFL. So, how come this NBC produced poker tournament has the appeal to show viewer growth while other big time poker shows are scrambling for solutions to their rapidly declining audience?

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

NBC makes it look easy, but remember, they've been producing sports entertainment for decades and have vast experience in packaging successful TV shows. First, NBC assured an all star cast. They invited the most talented poker stars, mixed in a few stars that play poker, added an Internet champion, and even provided satellites so a couple of players from the street could get an invite. Another important factor is the tournament format. Styled after the well known 64 team single elimination college basketball championships makes it easy for viewers to follow the action.

Flip over to NBC today at Noon EDT and settle in to enjoy two hours of entertaining high stakes poker from Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Will Orel Hershiser finally strike out? Will the WSOP Champion Huck Seed continue to flourish? Can MIT phenom, Andy Bloch, solve the equations for a win? Is this the year for Jesus to finally triump? We're down to eight; but, four must go home today. The surviving four will return next Sunday, May 18 at Noon EDT, for the three hour finale and champion of the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

If you happen to be in downtown Las Vegas right now, Montel Williams has taken over the Golden Nugget poker room.

And not the Montel Williams for charity events, this is his own money, your own money, and money won won't go to any outside company.

Williams will be in the poker room all day today, May 10, playing nonstop $1080 sit-n-gos.

Levels are 20 minutes per round, blinds begin at 50/100, and players start with 10,000 in chips.

First place wins $700, second place wins $300.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

WSOP players looking for additional poker action during the upcoming 2008 World Series of Poker at the Rio in Las Vegas need look no further than Caesars Palace. The Mega Stack Series runs daily from June 1st through July 9th. A variety of tournaments starting at Noon have the structure favored by most tourney players. Bigger starting stacks and 50 minute blind levels lower the "crap shoot" factor found in many lower buy-in events. WSOP players are accustomed to ponying up four figures for a seat but you won't need that here. Buy-ins range from $225 to $540 and $1060 for the 3 day championship event.

A $10 staff bonus add-on will increase the starting stack for all tournaments by 2,500 chips. No add-on for the championship just 25,000 in starting chips. Event registration begins at 10 AM every day. Grab the free Caesars shuttle at the Rio, conveniently located outside the poker room, and enjoy the short ride to the largest poker room in Las Vegas.

Check out all the details on the complete schedule for the Caesars Palace Mega Stack Series.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

With the national economy playing dead the big Vegas casino companies are reporting 1st Q earnings below last year's record numbers. Record gasoline prices makes the journey to the desert gambling mecca prohibitively expensive for some while arriving visitors are bringing smaller bankrolls. Unfortunately, aeroplanes are the carriage of choice for the majority of Vegas visitors. It's been the life blood of Las Vegas and now those arteries are blocked by post 9/11 fears.

All of this doom and gloom news should cast a pall over Vegas, a dimming of the of the famous Vegas neon. Right? Of course not. This is Vegas, Baby.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Allen Cunningham began the heads-up play at the final table of the 2008 WSOP Circuit $5,000 Championship as a 4 to 1 chip dog. The 31 year old poker professional relied on his incredible poker skills and cool demeanor to steadily move the chips from 24-year old Ben Fineman's stacks into his own, finally putting Fineman all-in and all-out.

Allen Cunningham of Las Vegas already owns 5 WSOP gold bracelets and has played the final table of the Main Event. Cunningham'sThursday night win at the WSOP Circuit Championship at Caesars Palace earned him $499,609. Ben Fineman of Las Vegas goes home with $257,585 for second place and fellow Las Vegan Kelly Samson rounded out the top three receiving $128,792. The championship event attracted 334 entries and offered a total prize pool of $1,609,900.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship series continues to pull bigger numbers than last year, a very good sign for the poker industry. Of course, viewers are watching the best poker show on TV. A cast of A-list poker pros, sports figures and celebrities combined in a single elimination format modeled after college basketball has proven to be a winning combination. Now, bring in a sports entertainment giant, NBC, to produce the shows and viewers are assured of top quality poker.

More good news for poker? Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) have teamed up to introduce legislation that would remove the stigma cast on Internet poker by the Port Security Bill (Frist Folly). The Frist legislation (UIEGA) was to be enforced by the banking industry thru a credit/debit card transaction filter "thingy" with the ability to discern right from wrong and cancel all illegal transactions. Moving money to your Internet Race Book, that's legal and right, keep betting. Moving money into your player account located in the cage of an Internet poker room, that's illegal and wrong, stop, go directly to jail, don't pass go.

The banking industry, after a year of seeking a solution to this mandate (remember, these are the very same people that have to solve the sub-prime mortgage debacle), sent a letter to all members of Congress declaring the bill to be impossible to enforce. Barney Frank's bill will instruct the banking industry to ignore UIEGA. Mission accomplished.

What a strange, convoluted world we live in. The 9/11 inspired Port Security bill gets harpooned by the Frist anti-poker UIEGA bill, something conceived in such hast it contained an overlooked fatal flaw, it is impossible to enforce. Now we need new legislation that says, "Never Mind." In the future we really should give our full attention when deciding which people we will grant the honor of leadership and the right to serve our collective trust. Click here for a list of supporters for the Barney Frank bill. Check for your politician on the list and what to do if they are not there.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

For those poker players watching the Sunday Noon Heads-Up Poker series on NBC and have decided they must play in the next championship I've included a list of criteria that will earn an automatic invitation to the card dance, after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Sunday Noon crank up the Hi-Def and tune it to your local NBC affiliate for some of the best poker you'll ever see on the tube. The third installment of NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship from Caesars Palace Las Vegas will keep you entertained for two hours while you mingle with the who's who of poker players and a few poker playing celebrities. This week you'll see a lot of baseball superstar Orel Hershiser as he rips his way through the ranks of the pro poker community.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Last year it was Shannon Elizabeth in the celebrity spotlight, this year it belonged to Orel Hershiser. The lanky baseball player is a natural born talent at most everything he does and that includes poker. Hershiser also entertained the players and crowd during breaks with his trademark stories and antics.

Don't miss this Sunday's episode at Noon ET. Check your local listings for exact times in your area. Three more installments remain after this Sunday with a total of seven hours of poker action leading to the 2008 heads-up poker champion.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

For a FlipChip mini photo gallery from the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship click here.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Imagine holding a championship poker event at a major Las Vegas casino and nobody came to play. It wasn't quite that bad last week when the World Poker Tour (WPT) held the 2008 Ladies Championship at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas; but, the 150 players in the events did not include some of the world's best known lady poker players.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Led by two time WSOP champion Susie Isaacs, a group of female players cancelled their entry in the event after learning the WPT would be substracting 15% from the prize pool as a mandatory donation to event partner, Susan G. Koman for the Cure. The players indicated they were not opposed to the charity and have supported its goals through donations of cash and time; but, a "mandatory donation," without regard for the player's financial circumstances was unacceptable.

Enter the World Poker Association's Chairman, Wendeen H. Eolis, to settle the matter and smooth the feathers of those involved in the controversy. Eolis explains, "The furor has centered on the WPT's insensitivity to the varying financial means of 'working players' and more broadly on the decision to compel a charitable donation in an event labeled as a championship." In typical Wendeen H. Eolis fashion, she skips the minions and goes right to the top, to Lyle Berman, Chairman of the Board of World Poker Tour Enterprises.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Following their dialogue, Mr. Berman issued the following statement, ""The WPT has re-evaluated its decision to make a charitable donation a condition for participation in the WPT Ladies Championship." He added, "In the future there will be no such requirement in a WPT championship event." As an added bonus, Eolis signed up Berman as a professional member of the WPA.

Congratulations to super negotiator, Wendeen H. Eolis for bringing this to a quick solution. Congratulations to Lyle Berman for taking the high road and retracting the mandatory requirement and a final congrats to Susie Isaacs and associates for having the fortitude to stand by their principles and demand the righting of a wrong.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Less than a week remains before the Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament at the Venetian poker room. The second annual Jennifer Harman hosted poker event to benefit the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Last year's tournament raised more than $130,000, enough to add much needed space to Nevada's No-Kill Sanctuary.

Come to the Venetian on Friday, April 18, to join Jennifer and more than a hundred professional poker players, celebrities, and sports figures for this year's gala event. The red carpet reception is slated for 2 - 3 PM and the tournament will begin at 6 PM. A suggested $330 donation will get you a seat in the event; but, you best hurry because the limited seating is rapidly filling. Players can take $200 re-buys the first hour and a $200 add-on at the end of the hour. The lucky winner is guaranteed a $10,000 seat in the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

The Venetian Resort poker room provides the perfect venue for this star studded gathering. Don't forget to check out the the silent auction of sports memorabilia and a dinner Pete Rose - Jennifer Harman dinner package. Join the crowd by registering now at www.nevadaspca.org or by calling 702.327.7250; then, show up at the Venetian next Friday afternoon before 6 PM. Bring your "A" game, some extra pocket cash for the rebuys, and a winning attitude to claim the 2008 $10K WSOP seat. You'll be happy, we'll be happy and every day this year you can smile knowing your participation helped out our animal buddies.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The Orleans has $5 bounties, but $50?

TI (Treasure Island) in Las Vegas has a Head Hunters bounty tournament that runs every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and every Sunday at 7 p.m.

The tournament attracts about 30-40 players and 1st place averages $600.

Buy-in is $125 with a $50 bounty on each player (so technically a $75 tourney). If you bust someone out, you not only get their chips, you also get $50. If you win the tournament, you get your own $50 bounty.

Starting chipstack is 5,000 and levels are 30 minutes.

For more information, call (702) 894-7291.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Golden Nugget's upcoming Grand Poker Series in downtown Las Vegas will host a celebrity poker tournament on the first night of the series, June 6.

Buy-in is $1,080 with half going into the prize pool and half going to the Montel Williams MS foundation.

Golden Nugget will host a pre-tourney cocktail reception at 4 p.m., including live music and showgirls and plenty of photo and autograph opportunities.

Later that night will be a tourney after-party upstairs in Golden Nugget's new indoor/outdoor nightclub Gold Diggers.

Satellites into the charity event will also be available, and total players are capped at about 400.

To register, call (702) 386-8164.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Venetian poker room is the place to be April 4 - 25 if you're looking for one of the most popular poker tournament series in Las Vegas. The 2008 Deep Stack Extravaganza II (DSE II) is the original poker tournament providing lower limit tournament players the same conditions featured in major money tournaments. More starting chips and longer playing times make the events more of a contest of skill and less of a crap shoot.

All daily events in the Deep Stack Ex II have identical conditions with a $330 buy-in for $4,500 in starting chips. Another $10 for the staff will add $1,500 to your stack for a total of $6,000 in play money. Playing levels have been expanded to 40 minutes, double the time for other comparable tournaments. All events begin at 6 PM with player registration opening 2 hours earlier at 4 PM. Satellites go daily for event entry.

Players in any event receive a $10 food credit, poker room rates and there's guaranteed valet parking for all poker players. Tell the valet you're there to play poker. Complete up to date information and tournament details are available by calling the Venetian poker room at 702.414.7657.

The Deep Stack Extravaganza series has become a magnet for poker players making for larger fields and bigger prize pools. Fact: The 2008 DSE I held in February attracted more than 6,700 players and paid out over $3.5 million in prize money.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

While the Silverton extension is still being finished, one of our coziest poker rooms in town has been displaced to the keno and slots area right in front of where the poker room was.

Taking a hit in traffic, Silverton offers a variety of promotions to reward their loyal locals.

We liked their no-limit game when the room first opened, but every time we return there's just one 3/6 limit running with the same faces (of course, where else can you find a packed 3/6 game running in Las Vegas?).

Now Silverton wants to lure the no-limit crowd back, and they'll pay you for the privilege. Just like a prop player, only there's 10 of 'em.

Every Monday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., be one of the first 10 players to sit down at a NL hold'em table. Put at least $175 in play, play for at least 2 hours, then when you cash out you'll receive $25.

Now what happens if you bust? Well, you can always leave without collecting your $25. But you can only pick up your $25 after 2 hours. Be sure to bring enough buy-ins just in case.

The promotion will run every Monday for the foreseeable future, and you can participate as often as you'd like.

The Venetian Deep Stack event in February was so popular, they're doing it again!

While not as big as the first Deep Stack Extravaganza, this sequel will still provide lots of play to practice for the WSOP (or the next DSE, which is May 29-July 16).

The event runs from April 4-25 in the poker room at The Venetian, with daily registration at 4 p.m. for the 6 p.m. tournament. Note that this will substitute for the regularly scheduled evening tournament.

Cost is $330 and players start with 4500 chips (plus $10 to the dealers for 1500 more chips). A food credit will also be given.

Satellites into the tournament will run every day, with winners receiving tokens that can be used to buy into not only the DSE but any poker tournament at The Venetian.

The Venetian's website does not yet list the DSE, but you can email poker@venetian.com for more information.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Tuesday, April 1st, will see the start of satellites for the first event of the Sixth Annual Five Star World Poker Classic at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas strip. A $2,000 NLHE contest kicks off the 5 Star tournament on Wednesday, April 2nd. Events run throughout the month and concludes with the final table of the $25,000 WPT No-Limit Hold'em Championship on April 26. This is the big one so expect to see all of the pros, semi-pros, hopefuls and the hopeless gathered at the luxurious resort for one of poker's top premier events. The events will be under the guidance of Tournament Director, Tom McClelland, the man that invented and perfected the tournament director position. We always have a good time covering events at the Bellagio and appreciate the support they provide to the scribes and picture takers delivering the events to the world through the magic of the Internet.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Barney Frank, D - MA, has been working toward exempting Internet poker from the 2006 Internet Gambling Ban, that same exempt status already enjoyed by other forms of gambling, notably, horse racing and lotteries. Barney Frank is one powerful politician due in part to his Chairmanship of the prestigious House Committee on Financial Services.

Frank's committee will take up the Department of Treasury's rules proposed to enforce the 2006 gambling ban through control of financial institutions, mostly banks and credit cards. The hearing will take place very soon, probably within a couple of weeks. A draft of the Treasury's proposed rules has been available since last October and has received hundreds of comments, many from financial institutions concerned that the rules will do nothing to stop US citizens from gambling with foreign-based Internet operators, while creating a compliance nightmare. An interesting article with observations and links from the UK website itweek.co.uk

Check out Barney, man of action, with this archived webcast of a Full Committee Hearing taking up the issue of "Can Internet Gambling Be Effectively Regulated to Protect Consumers and the Payments System?" back in 2007. Makes for an excellent digital meet and greet of the principals. Did you know that Ron Paul, self-proclaimed champion for rights of citizens, is the ranking Republican on the Committee? A live webcast will be available at the Committee's website during the hearing or you can see it later from the webcast archives.

I agree with the smart money about nothing happening during this presidential election year and I think an exemption is close to a done deal for 2009 (the newly elected clean-up crews will need the billions in tax revenues). Are you an Internet poker player? Wanna make sure this goes your way? Get involved. Let your elected leaders know what you think about your eroding personal freedoms. Remind them you not only vote; but, you're informed about the issues and you network with other concerned voters. "That's about the stupidest thing I ever saw." Barney Frank referring to the 2006 Internet gambling ban.

WSOP Poker Players receive special RIO room rates, check it out at the Las Vegas News blog.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

What's the easiest way to plan your poker tournament schedule for your next Las Vegas vacation? How do you find the closest poker rooms? Know the tournament structure and buy-ins? Know you're getting information that is updated daily making it the most accurate on the net? Look no further than the Poker Prof's Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory.

A complete tournament search function provides you, the user, with a simple format to quickly find poker tournaments tailored to your exact parameters. So easy even a donkey can do it. Input any combination of dates, game formats, selectable casinos, and buy-ins structures for access to your personalized, easy-to-read tables of information of all poker tournaments that meet your requirements. Another plus is the option to select the sort functions to present the data in your chosen format.

Take a few minutes to test-drive our tournament directory and learn what thousands of poker players already know...if its a Las Vegas poker tournament find it fast with the Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory. Get all the information you need for the hundreds of daily Las Vegas poker tournaments. Map out the tournaments that's right for your next Vegas trip and print out a map to find the places. And the best feature? Its a totally free service for all poker players, donkeys to dynasties. Know why the Poker Prof's Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory is the #1 poker tournament directory on the Internet.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Orel Hershiser was all the talk at this year's NBC National Heads-Up Poker Tournament just completed at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Gathering a crowd of admiriing fans where ever he roamed the baseball legend brought along his portable trophy case to the tables. He had each of the three opponents he defeated - Ted Forrest, Allen Cunningham, Freddy Deeb - sign a baseball that was proudly displayed and probably served as an intimidation factor. Unfortunately for Orel, the past performance display didn't affect Andy Bloch in match 4 as he took all of the chips and the win. Andy also received a baseball signed by Hershiser.

Flipchip offers some of his favorite photos from the three days of big time poker entertainment. You can catch all the action in the seven part mini-series scheduled for seven consecutive Sundays beginning in April on the NBC Television Network. Check your local TV listings for times and dates.

More photo after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Third time's the charm for professional poker player Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. Sunday evening was the third time he has sat at a final table in the NBC Heads-Up National Poker Championship facing a single opponent championship. Ferguson finished second to Phil Hellmuth in 2005 and repeated a second place finish to Ted Forrest in 2006; but, this night belonged to the most recognizable player in all of poker.

Ferguson quickly found himself behind after Andy Bloch grabbed the lead in the best two out of three format by winning the first match. The second match saw the two players pushing chips back and forth across the felt and once again Bloch begin to take a small chip lead. Finally, Ferguson began to catch and doubled through to take the lead. The momentum moved to Ferguson's side of the table when he pushed all of his chips into the middle with pocket Queens and after much deliberation Andy called with K-3o. The flop brought out another Queen for a set and the turn produced the case Queen for quads. The match was tied at one all.

Lady Luck continued to ride with "Jesus" in the rubber match and he chipped away Andy's stacks, finally putting him all in. Ferguson showed pocket Jacks to Bloch's suited 10-4. Bloch received no help from the board and Chris Ferguson claimed the championship and the half million dollars. Andy Bloch carted away a quarter million for his second place finish.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Day #1 of the 3 day NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship brought some surprises in the first round of elimination. The mighty Phil Hellmuth will not be back on Saturday after his Aces were cracked by Internet phenom Tom 'durrrr' Dwan. Three hands into the match Dwan and Hellmuth were all-in with Phil showing pocket Aces to Dwan's pocket Tens. The 'durrrr' spiked a Ten on the turn for a set and the lead, the river was no help and the Poker Brat headed for the gate.

In another surprising elimination Baseball's Orel Hershiser outlasted 2006 Heads-Up Champion Ted Forrest while Freddy Deeb sent 2007 heads-up champion Paul Wasicka home. Check out the complete updated bracket's list of the 32 remaining players returning on Saturday for rounds 2 and 3.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

A mini-gallery of Flipchip photos of poker stars on the red carpet at PURE nightclub for the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Draw Party at Caesars Palace last night. An 11 AM start time today for three days of heads-up poker single elimination play that will reduce the crowd of 64 starters down to one champion with a half million cash in the backpack.

Check out the pairings for the matches here. Flipchip photos of invited poker stars after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Caesars Palace Thursday evening at 9:00 PM on the red carpet outside of PURE nightclub will be the parade of the chosen 64 made up of professional poker players, three lucky qualifiers and a generous sprinkling of celebrity players. Paul Wasicka, last year's NBC Heads-Up champion will be there to defend his lofty title. So will 2006 winner Ted Forrest and the original heads-up champion from the 2005 inaugural tournament, Phil Hellmuth. Twice runner-up Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson will bring his charisma to the mix as he pursues the elusive title...oh-so-close, but for the turn of a card.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Single table satellites for the Wynn Classic begin Tuesday, February 26. The Wynn Classic gets under way at Noon on Wednesday, February 27, with Day 1A of event #1, a 3-day $540 buy-in No-Limit Hold'Em tournament. Day 2A is slated for Noon on Thursday with a Noon start time. Event #2, $1060 buy-in No-Limit Hold'Em is set for Friday; event #3, $1570 buy-in No-Limit Hold'Em goes on Saturday at Noon and Sunday's Noon event #4, $2080 buy-in No-Limit Hold'Em completes the first week of the 2nd Annual Wynn Classic at the Wynn Las Vegas. Check out the complete February 26 - March 19, 2008 Wynn Classic event schedule here. Ultimate action and classic style poker in one of the world's outstanding poker rooms is open to all players.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship begins later this week with a Draw party at PURE nightclub in Caesars Palace. All of the 64 slots for this invitational event have been filled but this is no reason to stop by and watch the match play live in the tournament area of Caesars poker complex located next to the sports book. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis so consider an early arrival for the three days of events leading up to the crowning of the 2008 Heads-Up Poker Champion. Previous NBC National Heads-Up Champions are Phil Hellmuth 2005, Ted Forrest 2006, and Paul Wasicka 2007. A list of 63 entrants for 2008 is available here.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza, first of four for 2008, began the final championship event, a $2,600 buy-in No-Limit Hold'Em contest, on Sunday. The 2nd Deep Stack Extravaganza Second Chance is scheduled for April 2008.

With all of this major poker tournament action in Las Vegas why are you still sitting there reading this? Get busy booking your journey to the poker capitol of the planet, Las Vegas.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. announced it is exchanging dates of two events scheduled for the 2008 World Series of Poker® (WSOP). Orginally set to start at Noon on Saturday, June 22, the $50,000 buy-in HORSE World Championship has been re-scheduled for a 5 PM start on Wednesday, June 25.

The $2,500 buy-in Triple Low Ball event, originally in the 5 PM June 25 time/date slot, has been moved to Noon on Saturday, June 22. The simple, short version of the change is just swapping the the two events on the schedules. ESPN said the schedule changes were necessary to provide expanded film coverage of the $50K HORSE event, considered by many to be the true (main event?) world poker championship contest. The trademarked WSOP Main Event remains unchanged with a $10,000 buy-in for the No-Limit Hold'em World Championship.

The 39th World Series of Poker will run from Friday, May 30th through Tuesday, July 15th, the final table of the Main Event. Buy-ins for the 55 events range from $1,000 to $50,000. Check out the revised official 2008 WSOP schedule of events. The ESPN Sports Network will begin televising coverage of the 2008 WSOP events in July.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

This is the final week of the Venetian's first of four Deep Stack Extravaganza poker tournaments scheduled for 2008. Tuesday's event is the $540 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. and Wednesday's offering is another $330 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em contest. Thursday, Friday and Saturday events are all No-Limit Hold'em with buy-ins of $540, $1,060, and $540 respectfully. Additionally, on Saturday there is a $225 buy-in satellite w/rebuys for seats in Sunday's $2,600 buy-in Championship No-Limit Hold'em final.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Checking the other side of the strip we find satellites continuing at Caesars Palace for the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. If you've not received an invite then this is your only shot at making it into the exclusive field of 64 players for this prestigious tournament. Sixty-one players selected from professional poker's 'Who's Who' and celebrity player's lists will be joined by an Internet qualifier plus the two Caesars Palace qualifiers in this premier tournament that will decide the 2008 champion of heads-up poker. The event is slated for February 28 through March 2 in the tournament room adjoining the poker room at Caesars Palace. Even if you're not playing stop by for some of the best poker you'll watch all year; and, if you can't make it for the live action see it all on NBC television over seven Sundays in April and May.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

February 26 through March 19 we go to the Wynn Las Vegas for the 2nd Annual Wynn Classic poker tournament. Play major tournament poker in the only Mobil Five Star, AAA Five Diamond, and Michelin Five Red Pavilion resort in the world. You'll be surrounded by uncompromising luxury, striking architectural beauty, and unsurpassed service when you play in any of the events at this year's Wynn Classic. Event buy-ins range from a modest $500 up to a full blown $10,000 Championship finale. Don't miss this one.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza continues this week at the Las Vegas strip resort poker room. Large crowds of players filling the seats in the poker room attest to the popularity of this series poker tournaments. The Deep Stack provides modest buy-ins when compared to other major tournaments and offers a variety of poker games beyond the expected No-Limit Hold'em events. The poker room at the Venetian is one of the best appointed and spacious luxury poker venues on the planet. Venetian poker operations director, Cathy Raymond, and tournament director, Tim Mix, are dedicated to providing all poker players with the best playing experience possible. Check out the Prof's Poker Tournament Directory for the Deep Stack Extravaganza event schedule, then head to the Venetian Las Vegas where events are scheduled through the 24th of the month.

Do you have a need to feel good about yourself while playing a tournament with a group of poker's superstars, well known celebrities and Las Vegas strip headliners? Next Saturday get to Caesars Palace Poker Room for one of the year's most notable charity poker events, the 3rd Annual Opportunity Village Charity Poker Event. Opportunity Village has served the Las Vegas community since 1954 and provides children and adults with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to become a productive citizen in today's society. Complete details including a link to register online available here.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Venetian Las Vegas held an authentic dragon dance and eye painting ceremony Thursday afternoon. While the colorful Chinese dragon weaved and twisted through the casino and into the Palazzo poker players were busy in the Venetian poker room vying for a win in the Deep Stack Extravaganza poker tournament

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Wednesday's $330 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event attracted 517 entrants and Thursday's $540 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament seated 338 players for the Noon start. Today, Friday Feb 8, has a $1,060 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event that is expected to draw another big field including some of the local pros and will offer the biggest prize pool to date. Saturday will be another $540 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event so make plans now to get to the Venetian and be a part of Las Vegas poker history. Chinese New Year festivities continue through mid-month. More of Flipchip's dragon dance photos are available on the Las Vegas News Blog.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Deep Stack Extravaganza is the poker tournament that offers more chips, longer levels of play, and reasonable buy-ins into the variety of popular events. The first event was played Monday, a $330 buy-in No-limit Hold'em contest that attracted 571 players, a number that attest to the popularity of the Deep Stack events. Event #2, $540 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys on Tuesday, had 67 players and a surprising 171 rebuys. Well known Las Vegas poker professionals Andy Bloch and David Williams were included in the entrants.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Wednesday's offering is another $330 No-limit Hold'em event and if the pace of sign ups seen late Tuesday evening continues the entrants will easily top 600, guaranteeing a large prize pool and the winner receiving enough cash to have a major tax problem. Satellites (SnG's) continue daily for all events through out the February 4th to 24th run.

Despite what you may have read on other poker blogs, the 8:00 PM second chance tournaments have not been canceled. They are held nightly in the Venetian Poker Room and will continue through the run of the Deep Stack Extravaganza. The Deep Stack series of poker tournaments has been expanded for 2008 to four events. Check the schedule here.

The Venetian is planning an authentic dragon dance with fireworks and an eye painting ceremony this Thursday afternoon at 3:00 PM in celebration of the Chinese New Year 4706, the year of the Rat. More details and photos available on the Las Vegas News Blog.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Satellites begin Friday, February 1, for the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship held at Caesars Palace Poker Room. Your golden ticket to a half million dollars and poker immortality begins with a $70 buy-in sit-n-go. Additionally, there will be $140 SnG's awarding two seats. Win one of these and your next stop will be a seat in in the championship satellite slated for February 17 at 2:00 PM. Even if you don't win an SnG satellite you can get a seat in the championship satellite with a $540 buy-in.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Opportunity Village is Las Vegas' favorite charity. Established in 1954 the organization provides children and adults with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to learn and function in today's society. Opportunity Village is the state's largest private not-for-profit rehabilitation center offering vocational training, job placement and social recreation programs for those that need it most. In addition, two work centers and a thrift store provide job opportunities, a paycheck, independence and personal achievement for many of the disabled members of our community.

Opportunity Village holds a number of popular fund raisers throughout the year including a poker tournament at Caesars Palace. The 3rd Annual No-Limit Texas Hold'em Celebrity Poker Tournament to benefit Opportunity Village is slated for February 16th at 1:00 PM. Buy-in for the event is $500 with unlimited $300 rebuys through the first 6 levels. There's even a second chance tournament for early bust outs. The winner will walk away with a seat in the 2008 World Series of Poker. A $50 ticket gets you entrance to the VIP Reception next door at PURE Nightclub.

For complete information and details contact Sheria Spleen 702.880.4038. Players can register online for the tournament.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Major tournament poker returns to Las Vegas in a few days at the Venetian Las Vegas poker room. The 2008 Deep Stack Extravaganza gets under way for 2008 with a February 4th $330 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event scheduled to begin at Noon. The first of 21 events that includes plenty of NLHE plus Pot Limit Omaha w/re-buys, Omaha 8 or better, H.O.R.S.E., and a final championship event. The Deep Stack Extravaganza has proven to be a hit with poker players as a result of the more modest buy-ins ($330 - $2,600 for the championship) and the opportunity to play in one of the world's most luxurious poker venues. Call the poker room at 702.414.7657 for complete details.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Major poker tournament action has moved to the two coasts. The Borgata's Winter Poker Open 2008 at the East Coast resort is enjoying record crowds for the daily events that run through January 31. The following known pros were seen playing in the Borgota Winter Poker Open - Lacey Jones, Bill Blanda, Richard Marshall, Will "The Thrill" Failla, Hevad "Rainkhan" Khan, Louie Esposito, Jared "The Waco Kidd" Hamby, Joey "JOEYTHEB" Brooks, Eugene Todd, and "Gentleman" John Gale. The Borgata WPO concludes with a $10,000 WPT Championship event.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Binion's in downtown Las Vegas will host the inaugural Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHOF) induction ceremony slated forr 11:00 AM on February 2, 2008. Four of poker's most respected women - Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, Marsha Waggoner, and Linda Johnson - will become the charter inductees in the WiPHOF as a result of their many contributions to poker and a demonstrated talent to play the game.

Mike Sexton will serve as the Master of Ceremony for the event while Jan Fisher will be the feature speaker. Following the Induction Ceremony there will be a 2:00 PM $500 + $60 open buy-in tournament. Satellites for the tournament begin on February 1st in Binion's poker room.

The public can attend the WiPHOF ceremonies and the freeroll poker tournament scheduled for Sunday, February 3rd at Noon by becoming a charter member of WiPHOF. Membership is $75.00 and includes a ticket to the Induction, a seat in the Sunday freeroll and a commemorative gift. FYI, 20% of all membership fees will be donated to the Breast Cancer Angels Foundation. Additional information available here.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Rumors have been running rampart in the street that the Wynn Poker Room is moving. RC Clark has added more smoke to the rumor with a post on the Las Vegas News Blog. Will your favorite poker venue be relocating to a new home? Will the greatest poker room parking be nothing more than a fading memory? Check it out with a click here

The Palazzo Resort grand opening is today. We're already familiar with the largest four star, five diamond poker room in Nevada at the Venetian so take the time to visit this new multi-billion dollar addition to the Las Vegas strip.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Become one of the 64 poker players invited to the 2008 NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This is your opportunity to join poker's elite in one of the most prestigious poker tournaments of the year. Scheduled for February 28 through March 2, the single-elimination, bracket-style format is very similar to the college basketball March championship. The entire event will be filmed for later broadcast on NBC and CNBC television.

Caesars Palace Poker Room is sponsoring a Satellite Tournament scheduled for 2 PM on February 17 with a seat in the National Heads-Up Championship going to the winner. The buy-in for the satellite is $500 + $40. Daily single table Satellites for a seat in the Super Satellite begin February 1 at 9 AM. Make plans now to join fellow poker players in one of the planet's most luxurious poker rooms and take a shot at poker immortality.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Matt Waldron over at Lifesabluff - Poker Comic has a super in-depth Interview with 2007 World Series of Poker Player of the Year Tom Schneider. It offers some candid observations on other WSOP celebrities, the state of poker and most espically, Tom Schneider.

This is the debute of this new poker interview project entitled "Random Questions". I look forward to future episodes.

From Life's a Bluff

[We] split this into 4 parts but you can also view it without interruption at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRVA7Y...

It was our pleasure to interview Tom as he is a class act. Tom talks everything from Phil Ivey's golf game to his philosophy on life. Find out what he has to say about Hevad Khan and which player's antics are compared to a sixth grader!

Part 1 has the sixth grader quote.

Part 2 Covers stragegy and money managementand mixed games (2-7 Triple Draw Lowball/Badugi anyone?).

Part 3 Gets philosophical covering a-lot of ground quickly from life strategy to academics to business management.

Part 4 Covers Phil Ivey. Find out if he hates Rudy Giuliani or Hillary Clinton.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Screaming Eagle Randy Couture, martial arts legend, requests the pleasure of your company next Saturday, January 12th, inside the Joint at the Hard Rock Las Vegas during the hours of 1 - 6 PM for the Extreme Couture G.I Foundation charity poker tournament, Operation All In. Fifteen tables are available for players in the $550 Buy-in plus $200 Rebuys event.

Randy Couture, a UFC Champion and US Army 101st Airborne veteran, was so moved by his visit with combat amputees at Brooke Army Medical Center he established the Extreme Couture GI Foundation, a non-profit unit dedicated to raising money and providing the unmet needs for the returning wounded veterans making the difficult transition back to civilian life.

Join the stars from the Mixed Martial Arts industry, stars from Hollywood and stars of the world of major tournament poker in the legendary Joint at the Hard Rock for this worthy cause. Make plans now to be a part of this exciting poker event next Saturday afternoon, rub shoulders with the rich and famous, play some poker feel good about yourself. Contact the Hard Rock at 1.800.473.7625 or Xtreme Couture MMA at 702.616.1022 for more details. Click here to register for the charity poker event.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

In the past I would sort thru the photo files for days selecting, prepping and uploading my favorite photos of the year; but, this year I decided to offer many more photos than usual. Even though my time of late is spread thin, I will accomplish this remarkable feat of more-with-less through the magic of the Internet. I'm providing a couple of links to dozens of photos taken during 2007. Anyone that photographs poker players know the year's great money poker shots come from the the World Series of Poker. So here's a link to the an entire month's worth of 2007 WSOP Flipchip favorite photos:

• June, 2007 archive, Prof's Poker Blog 2007 WSOP

Every poker player should experience the WSOP live at least once.
An added bonus link to a half month's worth of 2007 WSOP Flipchip photos and Dr. Pauly's daily ringside recaps from the 2007 WSOP Main Event:

• July 2007 archive, Prof's Poker Blog 2007 WSOP

Important note: To view photos in chronological order after clicking link:

1) scroll to the bottom of page
(2) view photos as you scroll to the top of the page.

And finally, for the true photo junkie this link goes to the Flipchip 2007 WSOP Photo Gallery with free (Creative Commons protected) downloadable hi-rez images:

• Flipchip's 2007 WSOP Gallery

Check out the photos and make a New Year's resolution to come to Las Vegas for the Big Poker Show, the 2008 WSOP.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Year end holidays are one of the great times to be in Las Vegas for the poker. Rooms are jammed with holiday tourist flush with easy money. This is the time of year when the tables are loaded with the casual poker players, many have never played anywhere but the kitchen table.

Tournaments are jammed up with the Internet wonders wondering how the Vegas players know so much about their hole cards...maybe there's something to this "read stuff" after all. Many walk away believing they have been cheated or have had the worst run of luck ever. Someday they will realize that live poker is an entirely different game that requires a long list of complex skills.

So, pick a poker room and grab a seat for some of the best poker games and tournaments that Las Vegas has to offer; and for the newbies, don't confuse luck with skill. We all have luck, both good and bad, and it's dished out in equal portions to all players. Skill, on the other hand, is what the great players fall back on when the luck is absent. Have a Safe, Prosperous, and Happy New Year!

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the poker room,
Not much was moving, quiet as a tomb,
The chip racks were stacked on the side in a row,
Hoping some good luck would fill them with dough;

The players were sitting hunched in their seats,
Telling their tales of all the bad beats,
The dealer looked at me and asked,
Do you plan to bet or will you pass?

From out in the casino I heard a shout,
I jumped from the two seat to see what was about,
And what to my surprise did appear,
A fat guy drinking a bottle of beer,

He came into the room all in a bustle,
No one guessed it might be a hustle,
He slid into the six seat and yelled for a rack,
Looked around and said, "I'll leave when I've filled my sack,"

Through the air the cards did fly,
Lady Luck loved this red suited guy,
He played every hand never folding a one,
The outcome was always the same, he won and won,

When he had taken most of our chips,
He said I'm going to give you some poker tips,
I've played them all, the good and the great,
And let me tell you I can relate,

I've sat across from Hellmuth, Brunson and Chan,
Hachem, Reese, even a guy called Fossilman,
They remind me of a boxer with a glass jaw,
They can't even play me to a draw,

Now please excuse me, I really must go,
I got to make a stop at the Bellagio,
I left my Mercedes in their valet,
Don't look so surprised, I traded that drafty sleigh,

I hope you all have a very prosperous year,
I'll be back next Christmas to play poker right here,
Maybe you should read a poker book or two,
The way you play you don't have a clue,

Under you're pillow tomorrow you must look,
That's where I'll leave your copy of Doyle Brunson's poker book,
And with that he turned, shouting as he walked away,
Have a Very Merry Christmas Day!

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Eugene Katchalov outlasted a blue ribbon field of 664 players that laid down $15,000 to get a seat in the year's final major poker tournament, the 2007 WPT's Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio Las Vegas. Katchalov became poker's latest multi-millionaire when he needed about three hours to eliminate the table and claim the $2,482,605 for his quick win Tuesday evening.

Devil Fish heads back across the pond with a nice Christmas sack stuffed with $674,500 US for third place. Main man with the cool hats, Raymond Davis, finished on the TV bubble in 7th place and left the building a day early with $173,445.

Final table order of finish with prize money:

1 Eugene Katchalov • $2,482,605
2 Ted Kearly • $1,252,640
3 Dave Ulliott • $674,500
4 Kenneth Rosen • $433,675
5 Jordan Rich • $289,070
6 Ryan Daut • $192,715

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Day 4 began with 44 players taking seats in their quest to win the last major poker tournament of the year, The WPT's Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. When time was called for the day 18 players had chips and one of them is going home with the $2,482,605 first place money in a couple of days.

Daniel Negreanu, chip leader with 2,279,000, appears to have the inside track with three quarters of a million more in play money than Matthew Casterella, second on the chip list with 1,686,000; but, there's a lot of poker to be played yet and there are some big names with chips on the short list returning Monday at Noon for Day 5 today.

Select players and chip counts after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Day 2 of the WPT's Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic ended with Phil Ivey holding the chip lead with 460,700. Pro player Lee Markholt Jr was a close second with 442,500. Other players of note include Eric Lindgren at 304,600, Harry Demetriou holding 270,100 and Daniel Negreanu with 265,700.

Day 3 action is scheduled for a Noon start on Saturday and should provide plenty of dramatic action from the pro player rich field.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic has completed both Day 1's and heads into Day 2 on Friday with some of poker's superstars sharing the chips. At the top the leader board is Phil Ivey with a commanding lead of 223,025 over Day 1A chip leader Johnnie Hennigan's 188,700 in chips. Some of the well known names have been eliminated including Barry Greenstein, Jamie Gold, and Dutch Boyd.

The stats for the event are in and show a total field of 662 contributing to the prize pool of $9,661,200. The winner will collect $2,482,605, second place receives $1,252,640, and third takes home $674,500 in cash. The action resumes Friday at Noon.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

A few photos from Day 1A of the WPT Doyle Brunson World Classic at the Bellagio Las Vegas. Tournament Director Jack McClelland got the event under way a few minutes after High Noon on Wednesday with 277 players taking their seats in the $15K buy-in event. When play ended for the day 190 remained with chips and a chair. Johnnie "World" Hennigan is the chip leader with 188,700. Thursday's Day 1B is expected to draw a larger number of entrants vying for the championship. Cards in the air at Noon.

Prior to the shuffle up and deal command a moment of silence was observed for recently departed David "Chip" Reese, world's best all-around poker player. Flipchip was there for the start and filed photos from Day1A, after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

How can you tell its the holidays in Las Vegas? There's a large lighted tree in the middle of the Fremont Experience, scantily clad ladies dressed as elves and the Bellagio's Five Diamond World Poker Classic Tournament is going around the clock on the strip.

The Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Championship is the grand finale of the 5-D tournament events and it all begins on Wednesday at noon in the tournament area outside the poker room at the Bellagio Las Vegas. With a hefty $15,000 + $400 buy-in, the WPT sanctioned Championship event attracts most of the professional players from around the world plus a large number of not-quite-pros and dead money hopefuls to the card party. The prize pool will total in the millions and create a new batch of WPT millionaires when the week long event ends before the TV cameras on the 18th.

There will be two Day 1's due to the limited seating and the expected large crowd of players so you have plenty of time to get to Las Vegas and be a part of this bit of poker history. There will also be a super satellite on Wednesday at 10 pm for those looking to get into the action with a cheap seat. Let me suggest that you get a move on and hop a jet for Vegas, times running out.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

[Still more photos are in the gallery -Prof]

When you gather a group of 120-plus bloggers together in one of the world's greatest poker rooms in the world's most exciting city, mix in copious quantities of liquid holiday cheer, and wrap it all up in a poker tournament you have the 4th Annual Poker Bloggers Holiday event. The event has grown to the current mob size from the humble few that gathered at Sam's Town way back when.

Congratulations to The Rooster for taking down Saturday's event. Dr. Pauly has posted his observations and the results on Tao of Poker. More photos after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Allen Cunningham once again demonstrated his skills and metal when he won the inaugural National Poker League Vegas Open Championship at the Venetian resort in Las Vegas. Cunningham came to the final table the chip leader but watched his lead disappear to eventual second place finisher David Singer after running into a card drought. When the final table action was stopped early Thursday morning Singer had slightly more than a million in chips, Antonio Salorio was close to a half million and Cunningham had a dismal 252,000.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Three players will return for Day 4 of the three day National Poker League Vegas Open Championship. The additional day was required after the final table played until 1 AM and three players remained with chips in the $15K event. Although the players wanted to continue they agreed to return at 3 PM Thursday to finish. The returning players and their chip counts are:

David Singer - $1,014,000
Antonio Salorio - $444,000
Allen Cunningham - $252,000

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

We sorted through Flipchip's photo banks and selected some of our favorite photos of Chip Reese playing in major poker tournaments over the years here in Las Vegas. He always had time to acknowlege the camera and the photographer. A true gentleman of the game and the best all-around poker player we've had the pleasure of photographing.

Larger versions of the images posted here plus a few additional ones are available in the Flipchip Photo Gallery. These photos and all of the images in the gallery are free to use under our Creative Commons Licensing Agreement with the only stipulation being the inclusion of the following credit line:

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Monday was the first day of the National Poker League's Vegas Open Championship at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. With a steep $15,000 buy-in it was no surprise that the event was loaded with well known professionals including a brace of WSOP world champions, Jamie Gold - 2006, Chris Ferguson - 2000, and Berry Johnston - 1986. More WSOP and WPT champions - John Juanda, Gavin Smith, Allen Cunningham - remained in the hunt for a piece of the $812,000 prize pool. Jennifer Harman, world's best female poker player and Kathy "Poker Kat"Leibert remained at the tables late in the day. The contest attracted 57 players to battle for the championship.

Action will reconvene on Tuesday at 3 PM and continue until there are six players remaining for the TV final table on Wednesday. I had an opportunity to visit with Venetian Director of Poker, Cathy Raymond, and learned that a press release will soon announce two more of the very popular Deep Stack Extravaganza Events that will be added to the 2008 poker tournament calendar. Stay tuned for the exact dates and details.

More Flipchip photos from the Venetian Vegas Open after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Five Diamond World Poker Classic continues at the Bellagio Resort on the Las Vegas Strip with entries for this year's Sixth Annual 5 Diamond running ahead of last year's number, a good indicator of the continued popularity of big-time tournament poker. Today's action was a $2,500 + $120 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event that attracted 237 players. Some well known faces were in the crowd late in the early evening. In addition, the final table of Wednesday's $2,000 + $100 No-Limit Hold'em event was down to four with 2007 WSOP Event #33 winner Alan Smurfit still in the hunt.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

I arrived at the Venetian midway through a satellite for Friday's Vegas Open $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event #5. Crews were busy assembling the TV production set for the HD filming of the finale $15,000 buy-in Tournament of Champions. The final table TV broadcst will be seen worldwide in HiDef. The Championship three day event will began at 1 PM Monday in the Venetian Poker Room. Satellites for the championship are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with both requiring a $1,000 + $60 buy-in.

The second annual Vegas Open poker tournament presented by the National Poker League is happening now at the Venetian Resort on the Las Vegas strip. Make plans to stop by this weekend, enter a satellite, win a seat and turn your good fortune into poker immortality and a few million in cash. Merry Christmas!

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Bellagio's 2007 Five Diamond World Poker Classic is officially underway with the first event, $1,500 NLHE, at Noon today. I checked out the action Monday evening and was pleased to see a good turn out for the $1,000 NLHE Second Chance event. The Bellagio Poker Room was jammed, cash games were full, the 'Big Game' was going in Bobby's Room, Single table satellites were filled with regularity and many familiar faces were seen in the crowd.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Major poker tournament action returns to Las Vegas on Tuesday with the first event, $1,500 NLHE, of the Sixth Annual Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic. The tournament continues daily through the WPT Doyle Brunson Classic championship event's final TV table on December 18. Excitement always runs high for this premier tournament poker event complemented by a delightful holiday atmosphere. This is the one event that professional poker players from around the world come together at the acclaimed strip resort to determine who will command and conquer and take home the ultimate Christmas presents, huge piles of cash and rare gold bracelets.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

All new Las Vegas Poker Room Directory is available now. More than a year in the making, the Card Room Directory is simply the best to be found on the Internet. Loaded with user friendly features the Directory automatically lists all information for each card room and includes all the tools you need to find everything available for Vegas Poker during your current stay or when planning a Vegas visit. A comprehensive Las Vegas Tournament Directory with an easy to use Tournament Calendar has been included for your convenience.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Many of the attendees of the Global Gaming Expo that just concluded in Las Vegas came away with some hope that Internet gaming and online poker rooms in particular will soon become legally available to players in the US. Terry Lanni, CEO and Chairman of MGM Mirage, told a panel on Wednesday that his organization is prepared and capable to enter the Internet gaming market when it becomes legal here. Both Lanni and Gary Loveman, Harrah's Entertainment Chairman, were in agreement that online poker rooms will be approved first and expect legalization to happen sometimes within the next one to two years.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Arizona health officials issued a warning that the world's most popular casino chips are contaminated with high levels of lead. Paulson brand poker chips manufactured and distributed by Gaming Partners International Corp. of Las Vegas were tested by a private laboratory and the surface lead exceeded the federal limits for lead by more than 160 times. A separate random group of Paulson chips were tested and exceeded the federal lead limits by 4 times with one of the chips from a Las Vegas casino going completely off the charts with a 45% total lead content.

Gaming Partners International Corp. Chief Executive Gerard Charlier issued a statement saying it objected to any implication its chips could pose a health hazard when used as designed. Lead usually enters the body by inhalation (breathing airborne particles) or ingestion (swallowing). Most forms of lead cannot get through unbroken skin (leaded gasoline is an exception).

Handling lead contaminated items such as poker chips will result in lead particles being on the hands and the lead can then enter the body when eating, touching your nose or mouth or rubbibg your eyes. If you smoke lead is inhaled into the lungs when your fingers come in contact with the burning cigarette. Additionally, people that spend time handling chips know they become rounded and worn down from use and this process of degradation produces particles that can be inhaled or ingested. Lead is especially harmful to children so extra precautions should be exercised if you are around kids after handling any of the contaminated Paulson chips. The health hazards of lead exposure are well documented and readily available from many government and industry sources.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Major tournament poker in Las Vegas ended last week at the Binion's when the Binion's Poker Open held the final event. I stopped by the joint on Wednesday for the final table of the final event but quickly learned that I could stay but the camera had to go. Apparently the poker tournament staff at Binion's has decided to try another approach to marketing their events...no publicity. That should keep the players staying away by the thousands. A good follow on to this latest marketing tact would be an unlisted phone number to Binion's Poker Room. Rumors heard on the boulevard are saying Binion's might not be able to keep the doors open much longer.

Before the camera was booted I did manage to get a couple of quick shots of Eskimo Clark at the final event and am most happy to report he is alive, well, and considering he had most of the chips his game is also doing well. I recall the health problems Eskimo suffered during this year's WSOP which were serious enough to send him to the hospital. We were all concerned for his welfare so it was a pleasure last week to see him playing, winning, and looking fit.

Deep Stack Extravaganza Poker Tournament Series returns to the Venetian Poker Room in 2008. These very popular events were an instant hit because they offered players exactly what they wanted...affordable buy-ins, more starting chips, longer limit levels, smaller blind increases and a variety of events featuring the most popular poker games, Pot-Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 or Better, No-Limit Hold'em, H.O.R.S.E. and more.

Flipchip photos of poker personalities playing in the Venetian Poker Room after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

There's a must read interview with our own Dr. Pauly, poker's foremost contemporary writer, aptly titled Tao of Poker Creator, Pauly, Is a Stud. Pauly was interviewed by poker blogger, Michele Lewis, a self described mother, wife, volunteer, writer and poker player. I suggest you take a look since the Doc mentions yours truly in a rare positive light.

More Vegas poker news and Flipchip photos of some of the NHRA drag racing stars playing in a charity poker event at the Cannery Casino in North Las Vegas after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Caesars Palace Classic kicks off the Main Event of the tournament today at High Noon in the Caesars Palace Poker Tournament Room. The $10,000 buy-in event runs for three days with a scheduled Wednesday final table. Expect to see a large number of pro players taking a seat for the shuffle up and deal command. Caesars' poker has enjoyed a successful run with the Classic after thousands of poker players made the trek to play at the Roman Realm on the Las Vegas Strip so it will probably become an annual happening.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Poker is alive, well and thriving in Las Vegas. If you're a Poker player, a fan of poker or both then mark this on the calendar as a great week to be in Vegas. Start the week with the Caesars Palace Classic. Over at the Roman Realm the Classic's daily events are proving popular with players. Stop by Caesars Palace Poker Room this week to take a seat in a major poker tournament in one of the world's premier poker facilities. The Caesars Palace Classic continues thru the final table of the Championship on Oct 24.

But, wait! There's many more poker options...right after the jump.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Featuring 39 tables set in the largest poker room in all of Las Vegas amid the luxurious surroundings of The Venetian Las Vegas, the Venetian Poker Room is now offering the popular Deep Stack Tournaments daily. These are the events that pulled in the players during the World Series by offering more starting chips and longer levels. That translates to an event with a much reduced 'crap shoot' factor. If you think you play a solid game the Venetian Deep Stack is made for you.

Daily schedules after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The poker playing talents of Jean-Robert Bellande just might carry him through to the cash. Even though the CBS Survivor Series is cut into a slick package that must run in a precise time frame it appears that Bellande is practicing some of the poker table honed talents to gain a slight early edge. His developed abilities to read an opponent or analyze an action are coming into play. Bellande seems to have a read on the other survivors and a good grasp of the overall situation. Of course, his competitive nature is another plus that seems to serve him well on Survivor China and the poker tables.

A few more early Flipchip photos of Jean-Robert Bellande after the jump...

photo by Flipchip / LasVegasVegas.com - Las Vegas

The impending closure of the poker room at the Las Vegas Hilton is being reported by RC Clark on the Las Vegas News Blog. According to the article the room will shut the doors next week on Oct 17.

The Las Vegas Hilton has a history of love/hate with poker so this should not be viewed as a decline of poker in Las Vegas. Once upon a time during the 1980's, the Hilton poker room was the room for poker in all of Las Vegas with close to thirty tables filled with players; but, that was before the brain trust decided to take away the parking and downsize the room to a few tables relocated much closer to the exit. A short time later poker was given the boot out the door.

photos by flipchip / lasvegasvegas.com - Las Vegas, NV

Major tournament poker action returns to Las Vegas this week with the Caesars Palace Classic scheduled to shuffle up and deal the first event at High Noon on Friday--a $500 + $50 Buy-in No-Limit Hold'em contest. Tournaments run every day at Noon with buy-in's of $500, $1000, $1500, or $2000. A Ladies Only $300 Buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event is on tap for the 21st, the day before the Main Event. The $10,000 Championship, a three day affair set for October 22, 23, 24, will have a full house of professional players seeking the title and cash. A great time to be in Las Vegas as a participant or a fan.

The daily action continues into the afternoon with a 5 PM Second Chance No-Limit Hold'em event with a $175 + $25 Buy-in and an 11 PM Last Chance $100 + $20 Buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

Satellites get under way on Friday and will continue throughout the Caesars Classic thus offering players an opportunity to warm up while fine tuning their game, and as an added bonus you might pick up a cheap seat. Mega Satellites for cheap seats in the $10K Championship are offered daily at 7 PM for a buy-in of $500. In addition to the 7 PM Mega-Satellite a second one is scheduled for Noon on the day before the Championship.

photos by flipchip / lasvegasvegas.com - Las Vegas, NV

Most poker players have heard of Bobby's Room. The private high limit room located within the Bellagio's Main Poker Room. When you're in Las Vegas and want to see some of the big name poker pros then head to the Bellagio. Your best bet to see some of the game's legends is through the etched glass of Bobby's Room.

Flipchip photos of the world's best known private high limit poker room after the jump....

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

"We want to see him removed from the United States," said Virginia Kice, spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "ICE has an ongoing initiative called Operation Predator targeting individuals, including foreign nationals, who prey upon and sexually exploit children," she said in an earlier e-mail.

Shahram Sherikhan, Iranian born immigrant and professional poker player, was convicted in Contra Costa County, California in 1995 and served nine months in jail and five years probation on charges of sexual battery and annoyance or molestation of a child. He was arrested at his Las Vegas home August 30th where he lives with his US citizen wife and 9-year-old daughter. Sherikhan was held in the North Las Vegas Detention Center for more than a week before posting a $10,000 bond.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

The first time I remember shooting photos of Jean-Robert Bellande was the final table of a World Series of Poker Circuit Event at the Rio Resort in Las Vegas in 2005. He finished third in the event to Jennifer Harman and winner, Doug Lee. The players making that final table included super pro Phil Ivey and Gabe Thaler. Although Bellande didn't win the ESPN TV filmed event he did established himself as something more than a pro poker player. When the cameras came out he became an entertainer. Big, brash Jean-Robert Bellande dominated the table and played to the crowd with his in-your-face, aggressive style and cutting wit.

He will be appearing on the popular CBS Television show Survivor China, now into it's 15th season. It all begins on Thursday, September 20th at 8:00 pm ET/PT on your local CBS affiliate.

Can Jean-Robert be the next Ultimate Survivor and walk away with the $1 million prize? Will the skills he has developed at the high limit tournament poker tables offer him an advantage in this reality game where those that can lie and look you in the eye are rewarded? Will we know when he's bluffing? Check it out...cheer for the poker player. I've shot a lot of photos of Bellande at a lot of poker tournaments so will post some of them on the Prof's Poker

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

I spent a part of the Labor Day weekend at the Rio Resort. After reading the Rio Poker Room Review I had to try it for myself; of course, a comped room helped me decide. Check out the action at the Rio since it can be a great lower end poker playing experience in a 'tourist soft' atmosphere.

After you've been sitting at the table too long and need to get the circulation restored hike over to the Masquerade Casino for the free Sky Float and Dance show. Floor entertainers will keep you interested while the colorful floats and scantily clad dancers provide a feast for the eyes and cameras.

Don't forget tonight's ESPN WSOP TV show. Read the article below. Flipchip photos after the jump...

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

A few suggestions for your weekend. Got nothing better to do on this last summer weekend before everyone goes back to classes then head to Las Vegas and visit some of our many fabulous poker rooms. I've included a few in today's photo essay post, just enough to spark a small poker adrenalin rush; but, don't feel bound by my suggestions because this is just a small sampling of Vegas poker places. Use the Poker Prof's Las Vegas Poker Tournaments directory to plan daily Vegas tournament play.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Note: All of the Flipchip Photos with this post were taken of people playing poker for money legally at the 2007 World Series of Poker.

"The purpose of UIGEA is to prevent Americans from engaging in their fundamental rights to conduct their lives in the manner they wish to live it, to be free from the Government imposing public morality in the privacy of one's home." - Eric Bernstein, attorney for IMEGA.

On Tuesday, the US District Court of New Jersey granted the US Department of Justice (DoJ) a motion to allow more time in their response to charges brought by Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (IMEGA). DoJ and its co-defendants including US Attorney General Albert Gonzales, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors now have until September 4th to reply to the charges IMEGA has filed against them. IMEGA has sued for a judgment for a temporary restraining order to prevent enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). UIGEA was passed into law last year and prevents US based financial institutions from processing payments to online gaming businesses under civil and criminal penalties including doing prison time.

Flipchip Photos of the 2007 WSOP Winners only at LasVegasVegas Flipchip Photo Galleries. Complete 2007 WSOP stats at the Poker Prof's World Series of Poker 2007 Information Page. Complete WSOP poker from Dr Pauly of Tao of Poker.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

I'm recovering from a strained muscle pull that has required me to spend quiet time. Amazing how much pain a nondescript little muscle can create. Of course, it's the perfect excuse to pop prescription pain killers while lazying around doing nothing. Today's post is a few photos from the successful JCC Charity tournament Sunday at the Palms Resorts (prior to the injury).

If you missed the action you can still contribute food, money or your time to the Jewish Community Center and help them them feed the hungry in Las Vegas.

Flipchip Photos of the 2007 WSOP Winners only at LasVegasVegas Flipchip Photo Galleries. Complete 2007 WSOP stats at the Poker Prof's World Series of Poker 2007 Information Page. Complete WSOP poker from Dr Pauly of Tao of Poker.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Most never reach the level of poker where the cream of the crop cheaters...cheat. The really good sleigh of hand people aren't interested in the pocket change being pushed across a kitchen table. Move up a few levels and the card table may be in a well known card room's private salon and the pots being pushed across the table can buy a house. Ratchet up another level to the major poker tournaments and the amounts of money at stake can finance a third World country for a year or two.

Flipchip Photos of the 2007 WSOP Winners only at LasVegasVegas Flipchip Photo Galleries. Complete 2007 WSOP stats at the Poker Prof's World Series of Poker 2007 Information Page. Complete WSOP poker from Dr Pauly of Tao of Poker.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Want to play in a fun poker tournament with some of game's great players? Better yet, want to offer a helping hand to stock one of the Nevada's largest charitable food pantries? Yes? Then I have just the tournament for you. The Jewish Community Center (JCC) is in dire need of space to expand this much needed community service. Founded in 1991, JCC operates more than 50 community service programs including the food for the needy pantry that feeds thousands of hungry people representing every ethnicity.

Flipchip Photos of the 2007 WSOP Winners only at LasVegasVegas Flipchip Photo Galleries. Complete 2007 WSOP stats at the Poker Prof's World Series of Poker 2007 Information Page. Complete WSOP poker from Dr Pauly of Tao of Poker.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

The major poker tournament action remains at The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles where the Legends of Poker Tournament is in full swing. Of course, I'm based in Las Vegas so I cover poker things to do in Las Vegas this week.

First on the list of must do's is the $50,000 Free Roll Poker Tournament at the Venetian Resort. Play 50 hours this month in the Venetian's Poker Room to qualify for the big cash giveaway. It could be you receiving the winner's $10,000 of free money or just finish in the top 50 and you get paid. Why not play in one of Nevada's premier poker rooms and receive a ticket to the $50K freeroll. You're going to be playing poker somewhere in Las Vegas so why not the Venetian?

The $50K Free Roll event is scheduled for Friday, September 7th thru Sunday, September 9th at the Venetian Poker Room. Check with the Venetian Poker Room for complete details.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Station Casinos has raised the rake at three of the Station properties. R. C. Clark has all the details of this trend setting move that spread throughout vegas poker rooms. Click over to LasVegasVegas News and find out if your favorite joint is on the list to jack players for up to 25% more.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Complete 2007 WSOP stats at the Poker Prof's World Series of Poker 2007 Information Page. Poker from behind the WSOP Curtain from Dr Pauly of Tao of Poker.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

The 2007 Orleans Open Poker Tournament is scheduled to begin the final event, Championship No-Limit Hold'em Championship, at Noon on Sunday. Today's event, also scheduled for a Noon start time, is the $540 Buy-in Limit Hold'em Championship.

Sunday's No-Limit Hold'em Championship has a $1050 buy-in. Satellites for the Championship begin at 9:00 AM today and provide a bargain entry into Sunday's big event.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

A 7:00 PM nightly a Second Chance No-Limit Hold'em event with a $120 buy-in and One $100 rebuy has proven to be quite popular with players. Registration for the Second Chance events open at 5:30 PM daily. The Orleans Open is the second oldest annual poker tournament in Las Vegas behind the 38 consecutive years of the WSOP. The lower buy-in events are a great place to gain experience in the fast paced tournament environment. Stop by the Orleans Resort in Las Vegas and check it out.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Complete 2007 WSOP stats at the Poker Prof's World Series of Poker 2007 Information Page. Poker from behind the WSOP Curtain only from Dr Pauly of Tao of Poker.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Flipchip provides more of his views from the 2007 WSOP. The cast of characters at this year's Big Poker Show did not disappoint. They came from around the world to give the WSOP a rich International flavor. A stroll down the corridors and you'd hear a variety of world languages spoken by excited citizens from all around the globe, all sharing a common interest...poker. Not just any poker, the poker...the 2007 World Series of Poker.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Today is Sunday so you'll get three hours of NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship action that will crown a champion for 2007. One of the final four...Gavin Smith, Paul Wasicka, Chad Brown, Shannoin Elizabeth...will be the Heads-Up Poker Champion for 2007 at the conclusion of today's finale. Tune the tellie to NBC at NOON - 3:00 pm ET and 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm PT for all the action. Check your local TV schedule for times in your area.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Its Sunday so settle back and enjoy 2 hours of National Heads-Up Poker on NBC television, Noon to 2 PM ET and left coast at 3 to 5 PM. Today's quarter-final round of play pits the 8 players remaining from the original 64 starters in another round of tough heads-up poker from Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Watch two full hours of play as today's starting field is halved into the final four. Next Sunday the four meet in the 3 hour conclusion leading to the 2007 National Heads-Up Poker Champion.

Flipchip 2007 Heads-Up photos after the jump...

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

A WSOP Academy Main Event Primer is scheduled in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace just before the 2007 WSOP $10,000 Main Event at the Rio. From the press release:

"Where else can you have lunch with Phil Hellmuth, party with the top poker players in the world at PURE, have your play analyzed by Greg Raymer, and have Joe Navarro dissect a tell you're giving away at the table? And if you don't already have a seat to the Main Event, the two tournaments will allow you to put into action what you've learned and perhaps extend your stay in Vegas a little longer as you compete in the most prestigious poker tournament in the world."

The Primer gives players an opportunity to sharpen their game while hanging out with poker royalty. First time Main Event players will gain an advantage because they will be more comfortable at the ME tables after interfacing with many of poker's biggest stars. The cost of the WSOP Academy Main Event Primer is $2,199. Space is limited, and the event is expected sell out well in advance.

Additional details for the Main Event Primer and all other Academy events are available at www.wsopacademy.com.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

What an incredible weekend in Las Vegas. The party town was jammed with thousands of Mint Julip gulping Kentucky Derby bettors, thousands of Mayweather / De La Hoya fight fans, thousands of basketball bettors, NASCAR bettors, and Tiger Woods bettors. Poker rooms jammed with players, many showing signs of WSOP fever. Thousands were in town for the 24 hour showings of Spidey Man's latest and to catch a glimpse of the hero climbing around Vegas.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

The 5th installment of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship today on NBC TV at Noon-2 ET and 3-5PM PT. Two hours of poker's biggest names and brightest pros going heads-up in a single elimination tournament. The winner receives a very nice payday, the prestigious trophy and all else that goes with being the best of the best.

A few of Flipchip's photos from the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship after the jump.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

Less than four weeks remain before the start of the biggest event in poker. The 2007 World Series of Poker will open Friday June 1st at Noon with a $5000 World Championship Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No-Limit) event. The 2007 WSOP will offer a record 55 bracelet events.

The 2007 WSOP will not be the only game in town. The Venetian Poker Room has scheduled the Deep Stack Extravaganza II that runs concurrently and compliments the WSOP. A full month of daily events will include No-Limit Hold'em, Omaha 8 or Better, Pot Limit Omaha, and H.O.R.S.E. Event buy-ins will range from $330 to $1060.

Dr. Pauly's daily report from the WPT $25K Championship at the Bellagio's 5 Star World Poker Classic...Flipchip photos--Ed.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

479 poker players woke up on Monday morning hoping to survive the day on their quest for almost $4 million at the Bellagio. Standing in their way were some of the best players in the world which included hundreds of Las Vegas sharks and online poker gurus. When the day was over, only half the field remained to fight again on Tuesday.

More news from the Bellagio Five Star after the jump...

Dr. Pauly's daily report from the WPT Championship $25K final event of the Bellagio's 5 Star World Poker Classic with Flipchip photos--Ed.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

WPT Championships Day 1a

The final championship event of the Bellagio's Five Star Classic also happened to be the season finale for the World Poker Tour. The $25K buy-in WPT Championships kicked off on Saturday with 304 players for the first flight of action. The second flight will begin at noon on Sunday. Day 1a featured several of the biggest names in poker such as defending champion Joe Bartholdi, last year's runner-up Davidson Matthew, Liz Lieu, Jamie Gold, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Kenna James, Lyle Berman, Brad Berman, TJ Cloutier, Phil Ivey, Jen Harman, Kristy Gazes, David Sklansky, Ralph Perry, Martin de Knijff, Tuan Le, Andy Black, JJ Lui, Miami John Cernuto, Danny Alaei, Harry Demetriou, Bob & Maureen Feduniak, Jason Lester, Joe Sebok, John Myung, Mike Woo, Eli Elezra, Capt. Tom Franklin, Joe Tehan, James Van Alstyne, Cyndy Violette, Johnny World Hennigan, Thor Hansen, Jon Little, John Duthie, David Grey, Brian Townsend, John Gale, Scott Fischman, Chad Brown, Ted Lawson, Alan Goehring, Dan Alspach, Hoyt Corkins, David Plastik, Padraig Parkinson, Haralabos Voulgaris, Steve Brecher, Robert Mizrachi, Vanessa Rousso, "NeverWin", JohnnyBax, Shaniac, Noah Boeken, Jesse Jones, David "The Dragon" Pham, and several members of the Hendon Mob including Barny Boatman, Ross Boatman, and Ram Vaswami. They were all hoping to make the cut and survive the first five levels.

Much more after the jump...

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

They threw a big party at Caesars Palace