Sat., March 6, starting at 10 a.m., celebrities and poker pros will mingle at Caesars Palace to play poker for NBC’s Heads-Up Poker Championship. Slated to play are Don Cheadle, Orel Hershiser, Jennifer Tilly, Annie Duke, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chen, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu.
You’re welcome to get out of bed early and try to see the spectacle on a first-come, first-served basis.
Filed under entertainment, Las Vegas, news
The final nine poker players will square off next Saturday at Noon at the Rio at the final table of the World Series of Poker. It will conclude when two remain and await the championship. The winner will receive a payout of $8.5 million; ninth place takes home $1.3 million.
The top four at the Main Event final table will control 75 percent of the chips.
If you want to take in the action, the Penn & Teller Theater viewing is free to the public to anyone 21 and older. Space allocated on first-come, first-served basis.
ESPN will air a two-hour telecast on Saturday and Monday’s final table.
Las Vegas Backstage Access has followed the action and will continue to do so until the end.
Player standing and stats going into the Main Event:
1. Darvin Moon, 45, Oakland, MD, $58.9 million (in chips)
2. Erich Buchman, 29, Hewlitt, NY, $34.8 million
3. Steve Begletter, 47, Chappaqua, NY, $29.9 million
4. Jeff Schuman, 34, Las Vegas, NV, $19.6 million
5. Joseph Cada, 21, Shelby Township, MI, $13.2 million
6. Kevin Schaffel, 51, Coral Springs, FLA, $12.4 million
7. Phil Ivey, 32, Las Vegas, NV, $9.8 million
8. Antoine Saout, 25, St. Martine des Champs, France, $9.5 million
9. James Akenhead, 26, London, England, $6.8 million
Filed under entertainment, Las Vegas, news, Uncategorized
The original field of World Series of Poker (WSOP) began with 6,494 competitors. Now, after nearly 11 hours of play in the Rio’s convention pavilion, the nine-player final table is set for the World Series of Poker’s $10,000 no-limit hold ‘em world championship.
The final table, a mixed bag of experienced poker professionals and amateurs ranging in age from 21 to 51, are now on a four-month break.
The World Series of Poker resumes November 7, this time inside the Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater. The nine players will compete until a heads-up table of two is reached. The pair will come back November 9 and play for the title. ESPN will broadcast it the next evening.
The chip leader going forward is Darvin Moon, a logger from Cleveland, Md.. The other eight players in the final table are Eric Buchman of Valley Stream, N.Y., former Bear Stearns executive Steven Begleiter of Chappaqua, N.Y., Card Player magazine editor Jeff Shulman of Las Vegas, Joseph Cada of Shelby Township, Mich., Kevin Schaffel, Coral Springs, Fla., Antoine Saout of France, standout poker player Phil Ivey of Las Vegas and James Akenhead of London.
Filed under entertainment, Las Vegas, news, sports, travel, Uncategorized
The 2009 World Series of Poker $2,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split / Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split champion is 32-year-old Las Vegan Phil Ivey. Ivey collected $220,538 for first place. He was also awarded his seventh WSOP gold bracelet. 
Ivey now has 7 wins, 19 final table appearances, and 33 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP. Ivey currently has $3,439,386 in WSOP winnings.
The Las Vegan is one of the rare poker players who excels at both tournaments and cash games, being nearly a mythological figure in the poker world that is unquestionably one of the game’s most enigmatic personalities. Considered by many to be one of the most publicity-shy poker star in the world, Ivey rarely gives out interviews or reveals much about his private life. Yet the further Ivey runs away from the spotlight, the more it seems to shine upon him. Ivey’s numerous wagering exploits have become part of the popular modern folklore, making it difficult at time to separate fact from fiction.
Ivey routinely makes stratospheric-sized prop and sports bets. He reportedly bet $1 million on last year’s Super Bowl. He won.
Ivey’s “poker office” was in the luxurious Trump Taj Mahal until the age of 24, when he moved to Las Vegas. He then started playing tournament poker and gradually attained superstar status.
Filed under entertainment, Las Vegas, news, sports, Uncategorized
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