First 2010 WSOP Bracelet Goes To Hoia Pham

Last Friday the very first event, Casino Employees Championship, of the 2010 World Series of Poker kicked off. The tournament was (as you probably already have figured out) only for people working at casinos around the globe, but it still attracted 721 players who paid the buy-in of $500 to enter. The final table included 4 poker dealers, 1 dealer for other casino games, 2 floor staff, 1 bartender and 1 office worker. It ended up being a poker dealer from Village Club Casino in California who took home the tournaments and the first prize of $71,424.

Hoia Pham, 43, from San Diego played fantastic poker on the final table and it was a very well deserved win. Part from the first prize and the bracelet, it must have been a great feeling for Pham to take home the very first event of 2010 WSOP.

"I feel very good. I am very, very happy." Said Pham after the tournament.

"I can't wait to tell everybody. I told my boss I would take vacation to (play in this tournament). So now, I get to go back to them and show them what I won."

New Podcast – EPISODE 63 - Cap That Hole

Tonight on the Poker Donkeys Podcast we talk some poker news and about 2010 WSOP. Ken thinks I am getting a kick back from http://www.itsawinner.co.uk/ because I talk about there podcast more than one time. I think he is just afraid that you will stop listening to us and listen to The Live Poker Show. Fuck him we do a show once every few months Ken should be happy that we have any listeners left, 17 and sturdy. It is 3am and I need some sleep so just listen to see what the show is about it is all good.

[CONTENT WARNING] Poker Donkeys Podcast features harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Listener discretion is advised.

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Sahara Offers $1 Rooms

Sure, it may not be your first choice in resort destinations, but it may be the cheapest.

Sahara is offering $1 room rates -- and you don't even have to gamble.

All you need to do is be able to book fast and follow the hotel-casino on Twitter or Facebook.

They will have limited $1 rooms over 24-hour periods at least 5 times by the end of the year. And they've given a hint that the first $1 sale will take place before the end of this month.

For Facebook, go to this link.

Daniel Negreanu Whining Some More

Poker pro Daniel Negreanu recently launched a complaint against Cereus Poker Network on his blog. Specifically he complained about the recent holes in the poker network’s security measures. Hackers had pointed out how easy it would be to crack the code for poker rooms like UB.com and Absolute Poker and read other player’s cards. Negreanu spoke out on his blog about the network, calling the company “a bad apple” in the poker community and vowed they would never get his support. He pointed out that the poker room’s decision to keep operating even when the security flaw was published is symptomatic of why it is a bad apple.

Can the Poker Players Alliance Do Anything

The grassroots organization known as the Poker Players Alliance attempted to gather support to defeat the UIGEA but failed. The PPA looked for an exemption for online poker to be added to the UIGEA. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) did not even entertain the idea, despite the persuasive attempts of PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato, a former colleague of Kyl’s. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. (UIGEA) applies to all forms of online gambling, and the PPA had hoped to have online poker excluded. Senator Jon Kyl appears determined to see the UIGEA go forward as written.

Bodog Poker Lets You Show One

Online poker room Bodog Poker has introduced new features for their poker playing clientele. One new feature allows players to show one card when they fold. Typically a player has two options when folding their cards at the showdown, either show all or none of their cards. The new feature allows them to show only one card, teasing and possibly misleading their opponents, a useful tactic in the game of poker. Additional features like tournament tickets have also been rolled out for the online poker room this month.

Phil goes For World Records

The current record for poker endurance is about 75 hours, and poker pro Phil Laak plans on beating that number. He will make the attempt at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Laak’s plans are for 80 hours of straight poker play. The current Guinness Book of World Records holder is Paul Zimbler, who played about 200 different people in heads up matches. Zimbler played quite a few pros like Mike Matusow, who encouraged him to stay awake and keep playing. Laak will be donating half of what he wins to charity, hoping to raise money while making the attempt at breaking the world record.

Doyles Room Fight Night

At online poker room Doyles Room a new promotion will run twice a week. The promotion is called Prime Time Fights. This is a new kind of bounty tournament, where $5 of each player’s buy in is a bounty on their own head. As each player finishes they collect points, both for their place and how many bounties they collected. The winner of each monthly leader board will play a Doyles Room pro for a cash prize of up to $750. The Prime Time Fights will run weekly on Tuesday and Thursday.

Poker Pro says No to Sunglasses

Poker pro Daniel Negreanu is not a fan of poker players that wear sunglasses at the table. Kid Poker says that players could use them to aid in cheating. The remarks were made among peers during a recent game of High Stakes Poker, and the rest of the pros seemed to share his feelings, despite that many of the top pros do wear sunglasses, such as Greg Raymer, Phil Laak and Phil Hellmuth. Negreanu’s point was more to the fact that if a player is going to cheat, the sunglasses could help them conceal their behavior.

The Sunday Briefing: Annette Obrestad

Winning Sunday was Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad. She took down the PokerStars Sunday 500 for $87,400, a nice score heading into the World Series of Poker later this week.

PokerStars Sunday 500
Buy-in: $500 + $30
Prize Pool: $500,000
Entrants: 997

1. Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad - $87,400
2. Christian "charder30" Harder - $63,500
3. Joe "floes" Serock - $47,500
4. Martin "AABenjaminAA" Hruby - $35,500
5. Jason "jdtjpoker" Wheeler - $25,000
6. Brent "greener_tree" Belser - $20,000
7. seghei007 - $15,000
8. Harrison "gibler321" Gimbel - $10,000
9. Paul "PremiumStud" Dewald - $5,750

Notable Finishes: Lauren "locoencabeza" Kling (10th - $4,750), Benjamin "xthesteinx" Zamani (14th - $3,750), Shannon "basebal1b" Shorr (15th - $3,750), Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (16th - $2,750)

Online Poker Room Signs Obrestad

Online poker room Full Tilt Poker has announced they have signed poker pro Annette “Annette_15″ Obrestad. Obrestad was the winner of the World Series of Poker Europe in 2007. The Norwegian poker pro has gotten plenty of attention over the years, both for being a young pro at age 15 and for winning an online poker event without looking at her cards. To date she has over $3,075,000 in live tournament wins, and is in the top spot of Norway’s live tournament all-time money list. She just recently turned 21 and will not set her sights on the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Phil Ivey’s House for Sale

High stakes poker professional Phil Ivey has recently put his Las Vegas mansion on the market.

His 6,700 sq ft house is located on a golf course several miles West of the Strip in a secluded community.  The house is currently listed at $1,995,000

Agent Roger Stein with Windermere Prestige Properties has the listing.  You can view the listing by clicking here

Obviously there are rumors flying everywhere as to why Ivey is selling his house.  Some say it’s because of his recent filing for divorce, and he wants to split up all of his assets.  However, the recent legal problems facing the online poker behemoth he helped co-found, Full Tilt Poker, are casting doubt as to whether he is trying to move some of his assets around or put them in different people’s names.

This house, at 6700 sqft is only listed for about $290 per foot which seems pretty reasonable.  However I’m sure that at one time this house fetched $5M.  Who knows how much the poker mega-millionaire is into this crib for, but I don’t think it will break him.

Poker Player goes broke

Five years ago, Michael Mizrachi was at the top of the poker world.  He had won millions of dollars and several prestigious poker titles.   Fast forward to today, and Mizrachi, known as “the Grinder” in the poker world, is practically busted.

An article in the Florida Sun Sentinel says that Mizrachi owes roughly $340,000 in unpaid taxes to the IRS and is facing foreclosure on his home.

Despite winning nearly $7,000,000 in his tournament poker career, Mizrachi has managed to lose his Florida condo jointly owned by his brother. It was foreclosed on and sold at auction.  His main residence in Miramar, FL has also been foreclosed on and will be going to auction later this month.

Yet another cautionary tale of a poker player that has zero regard for variance, bankroll management, or his own ego.  Four or five tournaments does not make a poker career.  Only the best know how to manage downswings, which hits anyone who gambles, whether that gambling is in the stock market, real estate, sports betting, or poker.

What struck me to be most odd is how in light of all his inability to manage his money, he manages to blame his CPA for his own failures.  Many athletes who spend more than they make also blame their accountants.  Our country is wrought with people who make large sums of money, then blow it all, and yet refuse to take any accountability of their own mistakes.

I can honestly say I’m not hoping he makes a poker resurgence.  He should get a regular job, understand what it means to make a real living, and pay his freak in’ taxes.