The latest on the online poker fuss involving Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet is that the parent company of both sites will submit to an independent investigation initiated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.
Here’s the KGC news release (see earlier post below for additional details):
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NOTE: See Kahnawake Gaming Commission news release under comments
Here’s a news release from retired Sen. Alfonse D’Amato about recent cheating scandals at two online poker sites, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. Amato is chairman of the Poker Players Alliance.
NEWS RELEASE TEXT:
Washington, D.C. (July 22, 2008) – Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with over one million members nationwide, today issued the following statement in response to recent online poker cheating scandals.
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UPDATE: It’s now being reported that High Stakes Poker also will be back for another season, staying with the Game Show Network. Filming is supposed to begin in September.
NEWS RELEASE:
FOX SPORTS NET AND WORLD POKER TOUR® INK BROADCAST LICENSE FOR SEASON VII
FSN Will Air 26 All-New WPT Season VII Episodes Across Its National Sports Network
(LOS ANGELES) July 17, 2008 – WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: WPTE) and Fox Sports Network (FSN) announced today a partnership and broadcast license for Season VII of the World Poker Tour® (WPT) television series. FSN, the nation’s leading provider of local sports, received exclusive rights to air 26 all-new one hour WPT episodes in the United States across its national sports cable network.
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LAS VEGAS — Nolan Dalla, media director of the World Series of Poker, has put together a terrific summary of the 39th annual WSOP and its historic march to determine the November Nine.
Take a look:
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(See update at bottom)
LAS VEGAS — When final-table play resumes on Nov. 9, this will be the seat-assignment and chip-count situation. There will be 21 minutes and 50 seconds left in level 33, with blinds of 120,000-240,000 and a 30,000 ante:
Seat 1: Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Seat 2: Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Seat 5: Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
Seat 6: David ‘Chino’ Rheem - 10,230,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Seat 8: Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
This is the same order of seating used last night when the final 10 consolidated into one table and then, hours later, finally busted the bubble with the elimination of Dean Hamrick, who was in Seat 1.
It’s just my opinion, but I was kind of hoping the WSOP would redraw for seats on Nov. 9 to add some “stuff” into the final-table dynamics.
Now, the players not only can get coaching to improve their overall game, but also specific tutoring on position plays to make against specific opponents based on their seat and chip-stack size. For example, it makes a huge difference whether you’ve got a tall-stacked opponent or a short-stacked one in your big blind when you have the button.
A redraw in November would have thrown some additional variables at the players, forcing the eventual winner to adapt to the circumstances and work even harder to outplay his opponents.
Don’t get me wrong, it still should be a great show! I’m just sayin’….
UPDATE: In a WSOP interview posted on their site Wednesday, July 16 with chip leader Dennis Phillips, it was reported that officials have decided there WILL be a seat redraw in November before final table action begins.
LAS VEGAS — The November Nine finally are set for Nov. 9!
After more than 15 hours of play Monday, tons of drama, a brush with history, and more all-in moves than you can count, the final table of the 39th annual World Series of Poker main event is ready for four months of hype before a champion is crowned and awarded $9.1 million.
It’s a final table full of players that most fans won’t recognize. Poker’s big guns went out blazing, or firing blanks, in earlier action. They left behind a motley crew of self-proclaimed pros, not-so-much pros, and a 53-year-old trucking company worker from St. Louis wearing a Cardinals baseball cap who holds the biggest chip stack.
The “Year of the Pro” moniker given this year’s WSOP didn’t carry through to the main event, if that description applies only to professionals whose names people would recognize. Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow were the biggest names left on Sunday, but they were nowhere to be found when the spotlight went up for the final nine.
All of these men are guaranteed $900,670 (9th-place money) and one of them will claim the world champion’s title in November after a four-month gap in play that’s expected to build interest, turn the finalists into hometown heroes, and boost TV ratings when the final table airs in prime time on Nov. 11:
* Dennis Phillips of St. Louis (he lives in nearby Cottage Hills, Ill,), 53, a commercial account manager for a trucking company who gained entry in the main event by winning a WSOP satellite at Harrah’s Casino in St. Louis.
* Ivan Demidov of Moscow, Russia, 27, a “semi-professional” poker player who has been playing less than three years. He paid $10K cash for his seat.
* Peter Nicolas Eastgate of Odense, Denmark, 22, a professional poker player with four cashes in European tournaments on his resume.
* Kelly Kim of Whittier, Calif., 31, a Korean-born professional poker player who used to work as a business analyst and holds a degree from UC-San Diego. He learned the game from friends about 13 years ago.
* Scott Montgomery of Perth, Ontario, Canada, 26, a professional poker player.
* Craig Marquis of Arlington, Texas, 23, a college student with just 18 months of poker under his belt. Bought in for the full $10,000.
* David “Chino” Rheem of Los Angeles, 28, a professional poker player.
* Ylon Schwartz of Brooklyn, 38, a former professional chess player who switched to poker several years ago. Has now cashed 12 at the WSOP, more than any other finalist.
* Darus Suharto of Toronto, Canada, 39, an accountant who has been playing poker seriously for about three years and cashed in 448th place in the 2006 main event for $26,389.
Busting out on poker’s biggest tournament bubble about 3:25 a.m. local time was Dean Hamrick of East Lansing, Mich., 25, a professional poker player.
This WSOP main event flirted with history for a while Monday. No woman has ever won this event, but Tiffany Michelle, a 24-year-old actress, singer, and poker media reporter made the deepest run in a main event since Annie Duke finished 10th in 2000. Only one woman, Barbara Enright, has ever made a main event final table (1995).
Here’s a WSOP-site recap of the final main event hand until Nov. 9:
Dean Hamrick Eliminated in 10th Place ($591,869)
Dean Hamrick moved all in for 3,420,000, Craig Marquis moved all in over the top and the action folded around the table. The cards were turned up. Hamrick A-J, Marquis Q-Q. The flop was K-10-3. Marquis still led, but Hamrick picked up a straight draw. The turn was a 10, no help for Hamrick, who needed an ace or a queen to survive. The crowd shouted for various cards in the deck as a king fell on the river, eliminating Hamrick in 10th place. He’ll take home $591,869 for his finish. And with that, we have our “November Nine.”
LAS VEGAS — The final 10 are still battling. No one wants to be the bubble boy. As for me, I just want to go to sleep!
Here are updated chip counts:
Dennis Phillips 26,800,000
Ivan Demidov 21,360,000
Scott Montgomery 19,980,000
Ylon Schwartz 17,120,000
Darus Suharto 13,320,000
Peter Eastgate 13,120,000
Craig Marquis 10,120,000
David ‘Chino’ Rheem 8,080,000
Dean Hamrick 5,820,000
Kelly Kim 3,540,000
Spotted this post on Pokerati… Interesting!
PokerNews Official Statement
July 14, 2008
PokerNews Management
The last 48 hours have been a crucial and trying time for PokerNews.
On the outset of the World Series of Poker, we have been associated with an outstanding female poker player, who until a few hours ago, was the last woman standing in the original field of 6844 entrants in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Official PokerNews representative, Tiffany Michelle, was one of the chip leaders for the better end of her run in the Main Event and was poised for a brilliant Final Table appearance that would make her the second woman in history to achieve such a feat.
As a company that truly believes in this industry and in the importance of supporting aspiring poker players, PokerNews sponsored her Full Tilt Poker into several buy-in events at this year’s World Series including the Main Event, enabling Tiffany to showcase her irrefutable talent and flair on the felt. However, a few days into the Main Event, several media outlets published reports and images showing Tiffany donning an UltimateBet.net logo during her play at the ESPN feature table.
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LAS VEGAS — The final 10 players will be returning from break soon. Here are their chip counts:
1st — Scott Montgomery 21,500,000
2nd — Ivan Demidov 21,100,000
3rd — Dennis Phillips 19,600,000
4th — Darus Suharto 17,200,000
5th — Ylon Schwartz 16,500,000
6th — Dean Hamrick 12,420,000
7th — Peter Eastgate 12,080,000
8th — David ‘Chino’ Rheem 8,650,000
9th — Craig Marquis 6,800,000
10th — Kelly Kim 4,180,000
LAS VEGAS — We’re down to 10 players at one table and just one elimination away from knowing the November Nine who will battle for poker’s most coveted prize on Nov. 9-10.
Kelly Kim was the short stack when the 10 took their seats at the featured table, but anything can happen as poker’s biggest-ever tournament bubble gets ready to burst.
Not only does the 10th-place finisher miss out on the final-table four-month spectacle, but must “settle” for $591,869. The final nine will get ninth-place money, $900,670, before leaving town and commissioning some poker lessons.
Recent bust-outs:
13th — Nicholas Slivinski
12th — Chris KLlodnicki
11th — Joe Bishop
Here is the 10-person lineup, seats 1-10 in order, that started play just minutes ago, with updated chip counts:
Dean Hamrick 12,460,000
Dennis Phillips 21,500,000
Craig Marquis 12,000,000
Ylon Schwartz 10,500,000
Scott Montgomery 20,635,000
Darus Suharto 16,425,000
David “Chino” Rheem 10,100,000
Ivan Demidov 18,700,000
Kelly Kim 4,430,000
Peter Eastgate 10,430,000