Le Monde du Poker.

June 25 2012, Donnie Peters

On the original 2012 World Series of Poker schedule, Event 43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em was the only tournament slated to play down to a winner on Monday. However, with the extension of Event #41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em, there are now two events scheduled to wrap up. Those events will be the focus of this edition of the PokerNews What To Watch For.

Glazier Looks To Be First Woman To Win Open Event Since 2008

In 2008, Vanessa Selbst won her first World Series of Poker gold bracelet in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. Since then, no woman has won a bracelet in an open event.

Jackie Glazier made it all the way to heads-up play in Event No. 41 where she holds a 3-to-1 margin over Greg Ostrander. Glazier has already reached a few milestones in this event, which would only make it fitting that she claim the bracelet as well. Prior to this event, Glazier had never had a score over $100,000 or made a WSOP final table. She can check both of those off her list, and she'll look to add a bracelet on Monday.

Clark Aims for Gold

Zachary Clark has never made a WSOP final table or even finished better than 20th. He holds the chip lead going into Day 3 of Event No. 43 with 20 players left, making it a virtual lock that he bests his previous best mark.

Clark is the nephew of the late David "Chip" Reese, who has three WSOP gold bracelets. Clark would like nothing more than to earn his first and follow in those great footsteps.

Lew Looks for the Biggest Success Live

PokerStars Team Online Randy Lew is known for his amazing skills on the virtual felt. He earned the largest live score of his career in November 2011 when he won the APPT Macau Main Event for nearly $485,000, but a WSOP title would only further prove he's able to do it on the live felt, as well as online.

Lew will enter the final day 12th in chips out of the final 20 and will be looking to lay claim to his first gold bracelet and $654,380.

As always, you can find PokerNews' coverage of the 2012 WSOP on our Live Reporting Pages. We look forward to having you follow along and stay tuned for plenty more from our What To Watch For series.

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October 16 2011, Brett Collson

It was a quiet week on the Full Tilt front, which allowed us to delve into some fun stories — like seizures of online poker funds. In this edition of the Weekly Turbo, you'll get a look into the millions of dollars seized in South Carolina and Switzerland, NBC cancelling the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, and more.

$20 Million Seized in Swiss Bank

On Wednesday, a daily newspaper in Switzerland learned that the Justice of Geneva has seized more than 18 million Swiss francs (around $20 million) in connection with online poker sites. La Tribune de Geneve reports that the money was seized on Sept. 26, and could possibly be tied to the 10 men indicted by the Department of Justice on Black Friday.

On Sept. 19, the Manhattan United States Attorney's Office amended its April 15 complaint against online poker companies to include charges against the board members of Full Tilt Poker, including Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Ray Bitar, and Rafe Furst.

The Department of Justice then issued a warrant in rem to seize the bank accounts of Ferguson, Lederer and Furst, leaving their property at risk. The FBI was given authorization to take control of any funds discovered a number of accounts, one of which was held at Pictet & Co Bankers in Switzerland.

Wednesday's report in La Tribune de Geneve is written in French, so we’re doing our best to get to the bottom of this. Stay tuned.

Secret Service Seizes $2M from Online Poker Shell Companies

The Secret Service and the Greenville County Sheriff's Office have seized more than $2 million tied to online poker operations following an investigation that uncovered two shell companies connected to money-laundering schemes.

U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said Thursday that Prime Investment, LTD and Trading 24/7 LTD were used as fronts to transfer large amounts of money into the country in order to process online poker transactions. The sheriff’s office had five officers work with the Secret Service to contact online poker players in Upstate South Carolina who were receiving payouts. Nettles said the focus of the investigation was not on the players, but to prevent any money laundering from taking place.

"The companies used a scheme of deception to hide the true source of the money, a violation of federal laws including bank fraud, money laundering and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act," Nettles said in a press conference.

Nettles also said in a press release that two foreign companies sent more than $40 million into the United States to make payments to players in South Carolina and elsewhere in the country. The names of the two companies were not mentioned.

For its help in the investigation, more than $700,000 was given to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. Nettles said the money will be used for local law enforcement purposes, such as the K9 program and forensic computer lab, which aren’t funded by taxpayer money.

Get more on this story at FoxCarolina.com.

NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship Won't Return in 2012

NBC has cancelled the popular National Heads-Up Poker Championship for 2012, adding another poker show to the list of casualties caused by Black Friday. The 64-player heads-up event posted a respectable 1.5 rating during its seven years on NBC, but the network pulled the plug after PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, two of the show’s biggest advertisers, were removed from the U.S. market.

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is the third poker show to hit the chopping block in the wake of Black Friday. Earlier this year, NBC dismissed Poker After Dark (NBC), sponsored by Full Tilt, and Fox put an end to the PokerStars Big Game. The Big Game can still be found on PokerStars.tv.

Find out more about NBC Heads-Up being cancelled.

James Bord: "Europeans Are Far Superior To Americans"

The World Series of Poker Europe Main Event got underway on Saturday, and defending champion James Bord officially threw down the gauntlet to American players from across the pond.

Bord offered to refund any losing bets on the WSOPE Main Event (up to $500) on the sports betting site Matchbook.com if an American wins the tournament. Bord, who won last year’s event for £830,401 and now plays in some of the biggest cash games in the world, says he believes Europeans have surpassed Americans in terms of talent at the table.

"I don't think an American can win the bracelet; Europeans are now far superior,” Bord said this week. “We used to look up to the U.S. players back in the day, but those days are now long gone. I'm prepared to put my money where my mouth is and refund any losing bets up $500 if an American wins."

Not surprising, several American pros weren’t thrilled with Bord’s comments.

icekevin Kevin Iacofano GL USA. Serious arrogance and comments from a guy who barring one miracle championship has a very pedestrian record in poker. October 13 2011

Let the games begin.

Two Americans have claimed victory in the first four years of the WSOPE Main Event. Norway’s Annette Obrestad took it down in 2007, and then Americans John Juanda (2008) and Barry Shulman (2009) won bracelets before Bord won it in his home country last year.

Read more at UK.PokerNews.com.

The Grinder And The Breeder's Cup

Former November Niner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi has joined forces with the Breeder's Cup to host the First Annual Breeders’ Cup Celebrity Invitational.

The event, presented by the The Deepstacks Poker Tour, will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana. Among the notables expected to participate are Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener, as well as NBA players Brian Cardinal, Jermaine Taylor and Carl Landry.

Team DeepStacks Pros expected in attendance include Robert Mizrachi, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Randal “Randallin” Flowers, Karina Jett, Tristan “Cre8ive” Wade and Team Pokerstars Pro David Williams.

The $230 buy-in charity tournament features unlimited $100 rebuys and one $100 optional add-on, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Breeders’ Cup official charity, The V Foundation.

“Poker and horse racing are a natural fit as there’s action, excitement and high stakes in both,” Mizrachi said. “I’m really excited to host this event and to help connect the horse racing and poker communities.”

To register for the event or for more information, visit the Deepstacks website.

Hellmuth Adds Mercier, Lamb to Caesars Cup Team

When selecting his “Team Americas” roster for the upcoming Caesars Cup event at the World Series of Poker Europe in Cannes, Phil Hellmuth went with experience. A lot of experience. The team boasted 39 WSOP bracelets and none of the team members were under the age of 35.

However, with the news that 10-time bracelet-winner Doyle Brunson won’t be making the trip to France this month, the Poker Brat took to Twitter Wednesday looking for an alternate.

phil_hellmuth phil_hellmuth Team USA/Canada: @TexDolly couldn't make it to Cannes, big loss, but time to bring in a Young Gun! @jasonmercier @benbalamb or @tom_dwan? October 11 2011

Later in the day, Hellmuth made his decision.

phil_hellmuth phil_hellmuth As Captain of Team USA/Canada I select @JasonMercier as our 5th player. He has earned it w his stellar tournament record the last few yrs October 12 2011

Mercier, 24, has arguably accomplished more in the past four years than anyone in the game. He has two WSOP bracelets, a European Poker Tour title, several High Roller victories, and nearly $6 million in earnings. He’s the No. 1-ranked player in the world in both the Global Poker Index and ESPN’s The Nuts. #whenwillitend.

Minutes after selecting Mercier, it was announced that Huck Seed also wouldn’t be making the trip. In staying with the “young gun” theme, Hellmuth replaced Seed with the player he’s currently chasing for WSOP Player of the Year, 26-year-old November Niner Ben Lamb.

phil_hellmuth phil_hellmuth As Captain of Team USA/Canada I'm picking @BenbaLamb for 3 reasons: tourney record, @RealKidPoker + @JasonMercier voted for him AND... October 12 2011

phil_hellmuth phil_hellmuth Ben Lamb is the only player ahead of me in "Player of the Year" race! Although I plan on passing him in the next few days, bring it!!! October 12 2011

Mercier and Lamb join Hellmuth, Johnny Chan and Daniel Negreanu as part of Team Americas. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier’s Team Europe squad features Jake Cody, Gus Hanson, Dario Minieri and Maxim Lykov. The two sides will face off in the Ryder Cup-style poker event on Wednesday, Oct. 19 in Cannes.

For more info on the Caesars Cup, visit WSOP.com.

Bet on the November Nine

The November Nine will reunite in Las Vegas in less than a month, and poker fans will now have the opportunity to bet on the outcome in the City of Sins. Nevada gaming regulators have allowed sports books to offer six different bets on the World Series of Poker Main Event final table.

In addition to betting on which player will win, bettors can wager on who will be the first to bust, which hand will determine the champ, how many hands will be dealt at the final table, and whether the first dealt flop will contain more black or red cards.

When asked if he ever thought he would be listing betting odds on the WSOP, Caesars regional Vice President of Specialty Gaming Howard Greenbaum said, "Ten years ago, no. But I also didn't imagine the thousands of fans seeking autographs from players or the live television. This shows you how popular the World Series of Poker has become. Our objective was to give people something to bet on."

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has the full story.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

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AppId is over the quota
September 26 2011, Brett Collson, Mickey Doft

Many online poker pros consider the day of PokerStars WCOOP Main Event to be the biggest, most important Sunday of the year. With nearly $11 million up for grabs across the three WCOOP events that kicked off on Sunday, it's hard to argue that notion.

The poker world's who's who logged on to PokerStars on Sunday to take shots at becoming poker's next millionaire. Last year's Main Event winner, Tyson "POTTERPOKER" Marks, did not participate on Sunday, meaning there would be a new world champ crowned in 2011.

The WCOOP Main Event drew a field of 1,627, and after 22 levels of play on Day 1, only 176 players remained. First place is set at $1,646,300, and several well-known players are still in the field including Team PokerStars Pros Eugene Katchalov (273,015), Matthias "mattidm" De Meulder (254,378), Johnny Lodden (231,518), Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen (177,253), and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (42,426). Also still in the field are Terrence "Unassigned" Chan (332,029), David "Gunslinger3" Bach (226,848), Shawn "buck21" Buchanan (214,943), Steve "gboro780" Gross (201,117) and Tom "kingsofcards" Marchese (193,915).

With the money starting at 189th place, Bryn Kenney was the unlucky one who finished in 190th. With and a 19-big-blind stack, Kenney four-bet shoved, ran into "akia86"'s , and could not catch up. Here are the top ten chip counts heading into Day 2:

Andrey "ThePateychuk" Pateychuk

Play resumes at 1400 EDT (1900 BST) and we'll be providing live updates throughout Day 2.

Bubbling Event #61, the prestigious $10,000 8-Game High Roller, was Team PokerStars Pro Ville Wahlbeck. All-in after a flop in limit hold'em, a short-stacked Wahlbeck held against "roi kin23's" . The turn and river we no help to Wahlbeck, who fell in 10th place and outside the money.

The chip counts at the start of the final table were:

As you can see, the star power at the final table was immense. Maria "Femmeonfelt" Ho was the first to bust, doing so during no-limit hold'em. She shoved from the hijack for five big blinds hold and was called by both "Ostrov" and "Brryann." They checked down a board of . "Brryann" tabled for two pair, eliminating Ho in sixth place.

Daniel Negreanu departed in fifth place during pot-limit Omaha. Following a flop, Negreanu committed his short stack with for sixes and a flush draw, facing "Ostrov's" for top pair. The turn and river didn't save Negreanu, ending his excellent WCOOP with a fifth-place finish worth $52,500.

The limit hold'em round spelled the end for "Brryann," despite picking up . Short stacked and all-in against "Ostrov" and Eugene Katchalov, things looked well for "Brryann" through the flop and turn. Katchalov bet the turn and successfully isolated the pot with , but spiked the on the river to send "Brryann" to the rail in fourth place. Unable to get anything going on at the end, "roi kin23" fell during limit hold'em as well. All-in with after a flop, "roi kin23" fell to "Ostrov's" after the turn and river hit the board.

Things had certainly gone "Ostrov's" way at the final table. Going into heads-up play, "Ostrov" held 519,883 to Eugene Katchalov's 180,118; however, Katchalov battled back to take the lead at the conclusion of Day 1.

The stacks going into Monday's Day 2 are the following:

Eugene Katchalov: 396,517
"Ostrov:" 303,483

Here's a look at the payouts so far from the Event #61 final table:

Notable Finishes: Anders "Donald" Berg (7th - $28,000), Jason "TheHood" Gray (8th - $28,000), Matt "Hoss_TBF" Hawrilenko (9th - $28,000)

Day 2 of Event #58 began with 16 players competing for a top prize of $50,125. Omaha specialist Scott "BigRiskky" Clements, who won a pot-limit Omaha bracelet in 2007, was among a handful of notables still alive when Round 6 got under way on Sunday.

After two rounds of action, Clements had advanced to the Final Four along with Quentin "MiPwnYa" Lae, Rob "Patonuis2000" Woodcock and "DaMethod." Lae was within striking distance of his second bracelet of the 2011 WCOOP series. He won the $215 pot-limit Omaha Turbo event earlier this month for more than $72,000.

Final Four

Scott "BigRiskky" Clements defeats Rob "Patonuis2000" Woodcock

Clements continued his pattern of swift victories by eliminating Woodcock on the very first hand of the semifinal match. Clements opened the button with a raise to 100 and Woodcock three-bet to 300. Clements called and the flop brought . Woodcock bet 400 and Clements called to see the fall on the turn. Woodcock checked, Clements bet 1,170, and Woodcock put in a check-raise to 4,910. Clements then moved all-in and Woodcock called, and the hands were revealed:

Woodcock:
Clements:

Clements was out in front with his set of kings and the on the river brought no help to Woodcock, who collected $14,035 for his third place finish.

Quentin "MiPwnYa" Lae defeats "DaMethod"

The other semifinal match wasn't nearly as brief but still ended within 20 minutes. Lae jumped out to an early lead and then finished off his Austrian opponent midway through Level 2. The two players saw a flop of and Lae led out for 600. "DaMethod" raised to 2,664, leaving just 140 chips behind, and Lae re-raised to put "DaMethod" at risk. "DaMethod" called with for two pair, which led Lae's for a pair of jacks. But the on the turn gave Lae a better two pair, and the meaningless on the river secured a spot for Lae in the finals.

Championship

Quentin "MiPwnYa" Lae defeats Scott "BigRiskky" Clements

Clements offered to discuss a deal as heads-up play began, but Lae politely declined and the two pros began a battle for the WCOOP bracelet. The Brazilian seemed poised to claim his Omaha title as he jumped out to an 8-to-1 advantage in the first level. Then, with the blinds still at 25/50, Lae raised to 124 and then called a small three-bet from Clements. The flop came and Clements bet 744 — more than half his stack. Lae raised and Clements called for his tournament life.

Lae:
Clements:

Lae's two pair was up against a big draw for Clements and the turn and river gave Lae his second title of the series and a payday of $50,125.

Notable Finishes: Vincent "Vingtcent" Van Der Fluit (9th - $2,406), Noah "Exclusive" Boeken (17th - $1,604)

Day 1 of the $2,000 HORSE reached the final table, but four players remained heading into Day 2 with a shot at WCOOP glory. Just missing out was Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier who finished in fifth place. The chip counts heading into Day 2 were as follows:

Short-stacked Lari "Operga" Sihvo exited in fourth place during stud hi/lo. All-in on third street with /, Sihvo was facing the / held by "turataika." Unfortunately for Sihvo, he was not able to improve past a pair of sevens, ending his tournament. A little while later, "mitdadu" fell during Omaha hi/lo. Short stacked and all-in against both opponents, "mitdadu's" lost both halves of the pot on an board. Marcel "p3rc4" Bjerkmann made a low, while "turataika" made a flush for the high.

Bjerkmann began heads-up with a big chip lead, holding 867,119 to "turataika's" 190,381. The heads-up battle lasted 39 hands, but Bjerkmann ultimately closed it out during Razz.

Marcel "p3rc4" Bjerkmann: //
"turataika:" //

All-in after sixth street, "turataika" paired and bricked the wheel draw, finishing in second place. Marcel "p3rc4" Bjerkmann took it down for the WCOOP bracelet and the $61,335 first-place prize.

Notable Finishes: Eric "AceQuad" Brix (10th - $6,345), Andre "aakkari" Akkari (12th - $6,345), Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (16th - $4,935), James "Andy McLEOD" Obst (18th - $3,525)

Even though Event #60 may have been overshadowed by the Main Event, nearly 10,000 players turned out for the two-day tournament to create a prize pool of close to $2 million. After 11 hours of play on Day 1, only 72 players were left vying for a first-place prize and $284,319 and one of the last WCOOP bracelets of the 2011 series.

Among the notables still in contention were Team PokerStars member Victor Ramdin and Matt "All_in_at_420" Stout, who began Day 2 fourth overall in chips. Here's a look at the top 10 stacks when play resumed at 1000 EST (1700 BST) on Monday:

It's been an incredible WCOOP and the excitement isn't quite over. We'll be providing live coverage of Day 2 of the Main Event, so be sure to keep it here at PokerNews for all of the exciting action.

For news, updates, and more, follow PokerNews on Twitter and Facebook.

Follow Mickey Doft on Twitter — @mrdoft

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