Tag: wsop

ESPN to Air WSOP Final Table (Nearly ) Live

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Leading cable sports network ESPN has just announced that they will be changing the way they will broadcast this year’s WSOP Main Event Final Table in November. Instead of broadcasting a recorded version of the events multi-million dollar conclusion after it’s already taken place, the cable network and its online affiliates announced they will be broadcasting the final table live…or nearly live.

What that means is the stations (and online affiliates) will be showing the WSOP main event final table from day 3 through day 8 with only a 15 minute delay. The action takes place on November 6 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas Nevada. The competition will proceed until the 9-player final table has been dwindled down to the top three competitors. This will be broadcast on ESPN2. Then, the conclusion will take place on November 8 and be broadcast on ESPN.

Providing the play-by-play will be Lon McEachern and David Tuchman while Norman Chad and the team from ESPN Inside Deal will cover the breaks. There will also be a group of professional poker players present to provide commentary on the goings-on. Although most of these pro player names are still to be announced, one confirmed commentator will be “The Magician” Antonio Esfandiari, there for the final two days of the event. Esfandiari was the winner of last year’s World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

The first prize for the winner of this year’s World Series of Poker championship is approximately $8.7 million.

WSOP November Nine Schedule Tweaked

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The World Series of Poker Main Event is one of the most watched and followed televised poker tournaments out there today.  It draws in between 6,000 and 7,000 players consistently, and features the “November Nine” which is the final table of the event.  The idea behind this is that the final nine players are set in July, but have around a four month break until the play continues in front of a massive live crowd and huge television audience on ESPN and ESPN2.  The final table schedule was set and ready to go, but Caesars Interactive Entertainment, who owns the World Series of Poker, recently decided to make a change to the format.

The idea behind the change is that it will help improve the TV coverage for ESPN and ESPN2.  The November Nine was set to kick off on November 5th, and go through November 7th, but it has been changed to kick off on the 6th of November at 11:30am PDT.  One other thing that changed in the format is that it was originally planned for players to take a day off from the action and for play to continue with two players in heads up play.  The new plan is that there will still be a break in the action for a day, but it will then feature the final three players taking the stage at 5:00pm.

The televised coverage of the event will work very similar to how the live action worked during the Main Event, in which there was a small delay in the action.  The November Nine will feature a fifteen minute delay, and players will also get to see the players’ hole cards, and hear the commentary as well.

The final table coverage will most likely feature some big names in poker, just as the Main Event did.  The coverage of the 2011 Main Event drew in some commentary from players like Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, and Olivier Busquet, who all chimed in to give some analysis after they were no longer in the action.

The 2011 November Nine should draw an incredible amount of interest this year, as it features some of the young up and coming players in poker; as well as a wide range of players who have different styles of play.

Guillaume Humbert Takes Down WSOPE Event #1; Denies Hellmuth 12th Bracelet

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With Event #1 at the World Series of Poker Europe drawing a ton of interest, one player stood out above all of the other big names.  Phil Hellmuth made it into the final 12 of the event, and looked to be on his way to taking down his 12 WSOP bracelet.  Mixed with Phil there were quite a few other big names in the event as well, as players like Jason Mercier, Vanessa Selbst, and Daniel Negreanu took their shot at the €215,999 first place prize.

It looked like Hellmuth had a realistic shot at taking down his 12th gold bracelet in the No Limit Hold’em Six-Max Event, but he was unable to hold up in the end.  Hellmuth got in some coin flips that didn’t hold up, and also got a bit tilted at some of the players who he was matched up against.  Hellmuth’s efforts were good enough for a 7th place finish, and a nice €24,183 pay day.  This finish will put him close to the current Player of the Year leader Ben Lamb, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Player of the Year race will end up.

The real story of the event came down to Guillaume Humbert, who finished in first place and took home the grand prize of €215,999.  Humbert is actually a part time online poker pro, who used some of his earnings to buy-in to this event, and this was actually his first ever live poker tournament of his career.  He grinded his way through the final 12 players, and got to heads up play against Azusa Maeda.  When heads up play began, Humbert was about 600k in chips behind Maeda, but played aggressively for around an hour to gain a chip lead, and never actually had a hand go to showdown.  Play finally came to an end with Maeda pushing all in with a straight draw and back door flush draw; but he was dominated by a flopped straight of Humbert.  Maeada took home a nice consolation prize of €133,471 for an excellent run; but it was Humbert’s day in the end.

You could assume that this probably won’t be the last that we see of Guillaume Humbert at the World Series of Poker Europe.

ESPN Knows Poker

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With the April 15th indictment of the big online poker rooms like Full Tilt Poker, Poker Stars, and Absolute Poker, there was a major concern that the 2011 World Series of Poker would take a dip in terms of it’s entrants, as well as it’s fans watching.  This turned out to not be the case at all, on either fronts.

The 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event drew in a crowd of 6,865 players, and had an incredible number of fans watching the live action daily, all the way down to the November Nine.  There were 10 programs for the Main Event that aired on ESPN2, and had around 415,000 people watching each episode.  To top that off though, the primetime coverage of the event drew in 646,000 viewers, and there was also the live action streamed on ESPN3 online daily as well.

According to the senior director of programming and acquisitions of ESPN, Doug White, the show also did incredibly well in the early morning hours of 1am to 5am, boosting numbers around 136% overall.  Another great addition to the show was the professional poker player guest commentators, such as Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Olivier Busquet, and Johnny Chan.  One of these players was constantly there to give analysis, predictions, and opinions on how hands were played, and how they would have played them.

The Main Event was even discussed on the biggest show on ESPN, Sports Center.  It’s incredibly impressive that after all that the United States has been through in terms of the ups and downs of online poker, that they were able to bring in not only the large number of players; but also the large number of fans as well.  While the future of online poker is still up in the air, one thing that seems to not be is the big time events like the World Series of Poker.  The 2011 World Series even broke records for largest total prize pool, as well as most entrants across all of the events.

Final Table Set at 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event

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Final Table Set at 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event

“November Nine” Features Players from Seven Nations

ESPN’s WSOP Coverage Continues on Tuesday Nights through November 8, 2011

The 42nd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship – commonly referred to as the Main Event – is down to its final nine players. The “November Nine” – a diverse and international group – is all that remains of the massive field of 6,865 players who entered the iconic tournament seeking poker’s most coveted title and a top prize of more than $8.7 million.

The final nine players represent seven countries – the most ever in WSOP and tournament poker history; Ukraine, Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic, Belize, Great Britain and the United States. The players will return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in November to vie for poker’s ultimate trophy – a WSOP gold bracelet – and the lion’s share of the Main Event’s $64,531,000 total prize pool. The winner will receive a first-place prize of $8,711,956, with the other eight players sharing another $19 million-plus.

The November Nine and their respective chip counts are as follows:

     1.    Martin Staszko – 40,175,000

Staszko, of Trinec, Czech Republic, is a 35-year-old poker professional. He is the first Czech ever to make a WSOP Main Event final table. In addition to poker, he plays competitive chess and tennis for pleasure. He said it would be “unbelievable” to be the first person to bring a Main Event gold bracelet back to the Czech Republic.

     2.    Eoghan O’Dea – 33,925,000

O’Dea, of Dublin, Ireland, is a 26-year-old student. The son of Donnacha O’Dea – widely regarded as the greatest Irish poker player of all time – Eoghan is becoming quite the poker force himself. He now has a total of five WSOP cashes, four of which he earned this year. The father-and-son tandem now has a total of three WSOP Main Event final tables, with Donnacha having finished sixth in 1983 and ninth in 1991.  It is the first time in WSOP history a father and son has made it to the Main Event final table.

     3.    Matt Giannetti – 24,750,000

Giannetti is a 26-year-old, self-taught poker professional from Las Vegas. Prior to launching his poker career, Giannetti graduated from the University of Texas.

     4.    Phil Collins – 23,875,000

Collins, 26, of Las Vegas, Nevada, is a professional poker player. His considerable entourage at the Main Event spurred on the former University of South Carolina student by loudly singing lyrics by the famous musician with whom their friend shares his name. Collins’ chip count kept him near the top of the leader board for much of the past few days, leading to numerous amateur renditions of “In the Air Tonight” echoing throughout the tournament room.

     5.    Ben Lamb – 20,875,000

Lamb, 26, is enjoying a career year at the WSOP, leading the race in Player of the Year points by a healthy margin. In addition to making the Main Event final table, Lamb’s other accomplishments at this year’s WSOP include a gold bracelet win, a second-place finish and eighth- and twelfth-place tournament finishes. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native now boasts a total of 12 WSOP “in-the-money” finishes that have paid more than $2.1 million in total prize money (excluding the minimal ninth-place money he is guaranteed for making the November Nine).

     6.    Badih Bounahra – 19,700,000

Bounahra is the oldest member of the November Nine. At 49, the resident of Belize City, Belize, has been playing poker for about six years. Away from the felt, Bounahra says he enjoys fishing and sleep.

     7.    Pius Heinz – 16,425,000

Heinz is a 22-year-old student and poker professional from Cologne, Germany. He is the first German ever to make it to a WSOP Main Event final table, a feat he accomplished after a promising seventh-place finish in a previous WSOP event.

     8.    Anton Makiievskyi – 13,825,000

Makiievskyi, of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, is a 21-year-old aspiring poker pro. When he isn’t competing on the felt, he enjoys cycling and anything pertaining to music, particularly teaching himself guitar and drums.  This year marked his first trip to the WSOP in Las Vegas.  Makiievskyi hopes to become the fifth Ukrainian to win a gold bracelet at the 2011 WSOP.

     9.    Sam Holden – 12,375,000

Holden, a 22-year-old professional poker player from Sussex, Great Britain, will enter the final table as the short stack. This first-time WSOP participant will need to pick his spots carefully in November if he is to bring poker’s most prestigious title back to England.

John Hewitt, 23, finished in 10th place, just one spot away from the November Nine. Hewitt is originally from Chicago but now resides in San Jose, Costa Rica. The former student demonstrated an aggressive style of play during the Main Event, at one point even holding the chip lead. In the end, it was not enough to make the final table.

In addition to the first-place prize of $8,711,956, prize money for the remaining eight spots is as follows*:

2nd place: $5,430,928

3rd place: $4,019,635

4th place: $3,011,665

5th place: $2,268,909

6th place: $1,720,396

7th place: $1,313,851

8th place: $1,009,910

9th place: $782,115

 

When play resumes in November, the players will pick up with 34 minutes and 57 seconds remaining in Level 36. The antes will be $50,000 and blinds will stand at $250,000 and $500,000.

The 2011 Main Event has received unprecedented nearly-live coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Comprehensive WSOP television coverage will begin airing Tuesday, July 26 at 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Coverage will continue in two-hour blocks each Tuesday at 9 p.m. for 16 weeks, culminating with Main Event Final Table coverage on Nov. 8, 2011.

The 2011 Main Event capped the largest-ever WSOP, both in terms of total participation and prize pool. A total of 75,672 players from 105 countries entered the 58 events on this summer’s WSOP schedule, generating a total prize pool of $191,999,010.

The 2011 Main Event was the third-largest in the tournament’s illustrious history, drawing 6,865 players from 85 nations. Only the 2006 Main Event (8,773 participants) and the 2010 Main Event (7,319 participants) were larger.

*The final nine players each received ninth-place prize money upon reaching the final table; the remainder of the prize pool will be placed in an interest-bearing account to be added to the prize pool on a percentage basis for the final eight finishers.

ABOUT THE WSOP

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world, awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet – globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2011, the event attracted 75,672 entrants from more than 100 different countries to the Rio in Las Vegas and awarded more than $191 million in prize money. In addition the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent of the World Series of Poker Europe.

Ben Lamb Is On A Roll After Day 2B at the WSOP Main Event

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The 2011 World Series of Poker has narrowed the field down to where everyone still playing is sitting in the same room at the same time.  Day 2B is in the books and Ben Lamb was the leader.  He ended Day 2B with 551,600 chips, which is good enough to give him the overall lead heading into Day 3.  He was followed close by Kevin Saul with 542,200 chips though.  Those are the only two players over the 500k mark in chips.  Out of all the big named players out there, probably the biggest name near the top of the leader board is Patrik Antonius, who has 361k in chips, and is in 12th place currently.

Lamb has played incredible during this World Series, with a 12th place finish in the $10k Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship, an 8th place finish in the $50k Player’s Championship, a 2nd place finish in the $3k Pot-Limit Omaha event, and he also won his first gold bracelet in the $10k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.  He’s sitting in second place in the Player of the Year race behind Phil Hellmuth, and is in a great spot to make a push in the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Day 2B began with 2,490 players and ended with 1,043 who are advancing on to Day 3.  This sets the total for Day 3 to have 1,866 players who are still alive and pushing for the gold bracelet.  693 players will be paid, meaning that they still need to eliminate nearly two-thirds of the field in order to get into the money.  While a large number of players from the field are shooting for their first gold bracelet, there are seven former Main Event winners who are still alive heading into Day 3, Joe Cada, Robert Varkonyi, Carlos Mortensen, Huck Seed, Phil Hellmuth, Berry Johnston, and Tom McEvoy.  Jamie Gold and Joe Hachem were both still alive heading into Day 2B, but were eliminated before the end of the day.

Day 2A Ends 819 Players Moving On

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WSOPOn Monday, there were 2,031 players who had made it past Days 1A and 1C to come together to play Day 2A.  Play featured quite a few big names out of the 2,031 players, and also featured some big eliminations out of those names.  At the end of the day it was Aleksandr Mozhnyakov who was at the top of the leader board with 478,600 chips.  There were a total of 3 other players who finished the day with over 400k in chips, Tuan Vo (434,500), Guillaume Darcourt (410,500), and Stephane Albertini (400,100).  All four of these players are of course in a great spot heading into Day 3.

Out of the other big names remaining, Day 1A leader Fred Berger began Day 2A with a little more than 209k in chips, and ended the day with 205,400.  A few other notable names with pretty good sized stacks are Shaun Deeb (294,700), Sebastian Ruthenberg (289,400), and Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander (167,000).  Other players such as Daniel Negreanu (114,100), Annette Obrestad (90,500), Shannon Shorr (110,500), Sorel Mizzi (108,400), Ted Forrest (112,600), Adam Junglen (131,600), and Lee Childs (110,300) were all still alive at the end of the day, and sitting in fairly good position to make a push in Day 3.  Brad Garrett from the hit TV show “Everybody Loves Raymond” also made it through to Day 3, with 67,000 chips.

While big names and former Main Event champions Dan Harrington, Jonathan Duhamel, Johnny Chan, and Scotty Nguyen were eliminated; Jamie Gold and Robert Varkonyi both moved on.  The big story of the day though was 11 time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.

Hellmuth didn’t show up for over an hour when Mike Matusow noticed, and sent security to find him.  Hellmuth was in his hotel room, and had forgotten that he was supposed to play on Monday in Day 2A and not Tuesday Day 2B.  He started the day with 11,800 in chips, but by the time he showed up he had been blinded down to 6,975 chips and had quite a bit of work to do.  Hellmuth was indeed able to come back though, and ended the day with a solid 64,900 chips.  While this won’t put him in the drivers seat by any means for the remainder of the event, he is definitely still alive.  819 players have moved on from Day 2A to Day 3, and will now be met up by the players who make it through Day 2B.

42nd Annual World Series of Poker® Sets All-Time Records

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WSOPTotal Prize Money and Participation Establish New High Marks

Total Participation Finishes Over 75,000 Entrants for First-Time Ever

The 42nd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) Presented by Jack Links Beef Jerky at the Rio-All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas established a host of new records as poker enthusiasts from more than 100 nations traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the game’s grandest spectacle.  The WSOP remained the industry standard-bearer, with a record 75,672 entries in 58 events creating the largest prize pool in WSOP history: $191,999,010.

The new all-time high in entrants surpassed by 3.7 percent the previous record of 72,966 set last year; this year’s record prize pool eclipsed the previous high of $187,109,850 set in 2010 by 2.6 percent.

For the seventh consecutive year, the WSOP generated a total prize pool well in excess of $100 million.

In the 42-year history of the WSOP, the prestigious tournament has now awarded more than $1.4 billion in prize money.  (Actual figure is: $1,420,374,131)

Legions of amateur players competed alongside legendary poker pros, Hollywood A-listers and international sports figures to establish the new milestones.  Among the notable non-poker playing names competing during this year’s WSOP included Jason Alexander, Nelly, Ray Romano, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennifer Tilly, Shane Warne, Paul Pierce, Shawn Marion, Petter Northug, David Lee, Phil Kessel, Jeff Fenech, Patrick Bruel and Brad Garrett.

The youngest player in this year’s WSOP was Logan Deen, from Cocoa, Florida who played Day 1-B of the Main Event, the day of his 21st birthday – and he did survive the day. The oldest player to participate in this year’s WSOP was 91-year-old Ellen Deeb, who played Day 1-C of the Main Event, but unfortunately Ellen didn’t make it through. It didn’t stop her from pulling out $10,000 cash from her purse to try and re-enter the tournament (not allowed), but she’ll have to wait to 2012 to play again.

“This summer underscores the appeal of the game and the power of this event.  We’re so thankful for all those who came from around the world to demonstrate that poker continues to grow,” said World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart. “All across the board at the 2011 WSOP, from our signature gold bracelet events to cash games to satellites and daily tournaments, records were made to be broken.”

Many within the poker community speculated that participation in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship – commonly referred to as the Main Event – would suffer this year, however it remained right in line with where it has averaged the last five years (6,753).

The 2011 WSOP Main Event attracted its third-largest field ever, with 6,865 participants. As a result, the prize pool for the 2011 Main Event alone stands at $64,531,000 million, with the winner’s share amounting to $8,711,956.

In addition to overall participation and prize money, the 2011 WSOP established new records for:

Most million-dollar tournaments: Forty-six of 58 events in this year’s WSOP boasted a prize pool of $1 million or more, up from 44 events set last year.

Largest Seniors event in history: Event #30 attracted 3,752 players, eclipsing by 19 percent the previous record of 3,142 set last year. Year-over-year event prize money was up nearly 15 percent from last year, jumping from $2,827,800 to $3,376,800.

Biggest single day attendance ever: 3,752 players in Event #30 ($1,000 buy-in).

Biggest single day attendance ever for $1,500 buy-in event: 3,389 players in Event #56

Most consecutive years with multiple event winner: Brian Rast’s two victories stretched the multi-event winner record to 12 consecutive years.

Most consecutive annual WSOPs played: Howard “Tahoe” Andrew of Walnut Creek, Calif., extended his record for most consecutive years played at the WSOP: 38.

Most cashes at WSOP without a win: Tony Cousineau of Daytona Beach, Fla., extended his record as the player with the most cashes – 49 – without a win.

Longest span between Event Cashes: The 35-year span between Artie Cobb’s first cash in this event (1976) and his most recent cash in the same event (2011) represents the longest time span in WSOP history.  He accomplished this in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split (Event #25).

All-time Cashes and Final Tables: Phil Hellmuth added to his record as the individual all-time leader in cashes (84) and final table appearances (43).

A complete list of tournament records set at the 2011 WSOP below:

·         Biggest Heads-Up tournament prize pool in history ($3,040,000) – Event #2
·         Largest live Omaha High-Low Split Tournament in history (925 entries) – Event #3
·         Largest live Six-Handed tournament in poker history (1,920 entries) – Event #10
·         Biggest Deuce-to-Seven tournament prize pool in history ($1,184,400) – Event #16
·         Largest live $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3157 entries) – Event #18
·         Largest live $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3175 entries) – Event #20
·         Largest consecutive-days starting field sizes in poker history (combined 6,332 entries) – Event #18 and Event #20
·         Largest live Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in poker history (1,071 entries) – Event #22
·         Largest Mixed-Game (Eight-Game Mix) in poker history (489 entries) – Event #23
·         Largest Seniors tournament in poker history (3,752 entries) – Event #30
·         Biggest Seniors No-Limit Hold’em championship prize pool in history ($3,376,800) – Event #30
·         Largest single-day live tournament start in poker history (3,752 entries) – Event #30
·         Largest consecutive-days starting field sizes in poker history (combined 6,580 entries) – Event #30/Event #32 (broke Event #18/Event #20 record from earlier in 2011 WSOP)
·         Largest four-consecutive days field sizes in poker history (2,500+3,752+2,828+3,144 =12,224 entries) — Events 28, 30, 32, 34, June 16-19, 2011
·         Largest Mixed Pot-Limit tournament in history (606 entries) – Event #39
·         Biggest Pot-Limit Omaha prize pool in live poker history ($3,393,400) – Event #42
·         Largest live $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3,389 entries) – Event #56 (broke earlier series record for Event #18)

Day 1A of The 2011 WSOP Main Event Is In The Books

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WSOPThe 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event kicked of on Thursday with its Day 1A.  It featured some big names being eliminated, and some big hands as well.  The name that stood out among the rest after Day 1A was Fred Berger, as he was the chip leader to end the day with 209,500 chips.  The hand that made Berger the undisputed chip leader came late in the day with less than 30 minutes remaining.  Berger was in a big hand with Scott Montgomery, and the money was all in on the river as Berger held J/9 of hearts on an 8c 6h 2h Js Jc board, and Montgomery showed just a pair of eights.  Berger now has a commanding lead going into Day 2A over the rest of Day 1A, with nearly 30k more chips than the second place player.

Day 1A of the Main Event featured 897 players, which is about 20% less than last year.  Day 1A ended with 556 players who are moving on to Day 2.  Some big names such as Johnny Chan, 2011 gold bracelet winner David Diaz, and 2010 Main Event final table participants Soi Nguyen and Filippio Candio made it through Day 1A.  Some big names also were eliminated early though, as the likes of Doyle Brunson, Greg Raymer, Jerry Yang, Matt Affleck, Josh Arieh, and Adam Levy were all eliminated.  Brunson was originally up in the air about participating in the event, but in the end decided to enter the big one.

Jason Alexander was another big time story, as the former Seinfeld star had to compete against what was possibly the toughest tables from Day 1A.  He started out against Annette Obrestad and Billy Baxter, and as that table was broken up early, he sat down with a table that would scare any amateur player.  His next table included Matt Glantz, Barry Shulman, Vanessa Selbst and 1998 WSOP Main Event runner-up Kevin McBride.  Alexander didn’t flinch though, as he finished the day with 63,150 chips, and even pulled off an elimination of Vanessa Selbst.

Day 1B will be played Friday, with Day’s 1C and 1D occurring on Saturday and Sunday.  Monday will then feature the players who advanced from Day’s 1A and 1C to make Day 2A.

Doyle Brunson Will Play The 2011 WSOP Main Event

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The World Series of Poker Main Event is one of the biggest tournaments in the world, and also draws in some of the most attention, and the largest prize pool for any tournament.  The tournament begins this week, there will be thousands of players in it; one big named player has decided that he will play it after orginally saying that he would not.  Doyle Brunson is one of the biggest, and most well-known names in poker, after saying that he would sit out this years WSOP, he changed his mind and will be playing in this year’s Main Event. Brunson is one of the eighteen living members who make up the Poker Hall of Fame.

The flip flop decision for Brunson was not due to money, but rather his loss of passion for the game since Black Friday.  It has been obvious that Brunson hasn’t been the same lately, as he failed to cash in any event for the second straight year at the World Series of Poker.  He also played in the $50k Player’s Championship late last week, but busted out on day 2.  Brunson is also 78 years old, and it’s hard to imagine any poker player not having to mentally prepare for a grueling 8 day poker tournament (assuming it all goes well for him).  Brunson has had success at the World Poker Tour over the past year or two, but just not at the WSOP.

Doyle Brunson has taken home 10 gold bracelet’s in his time, leaving him tied for second place all-time.  He won his last one back in 2005, and is widely considered as one of the biggest names, and most popular players in the poker world.  Brunson has won over $6 million in live tournaments in his career, further securing his place in Poker’s Hall of Fame.  While Brunson does have a strong game, this could be the end of his live tournament career forever according to him.  Only time will tell how the loss of online poker will affect him over the next year or so.