WSOP 2010: Affleck vs Duhamel

Matt Affleck missed his chance at a payout like this one thanks to a single hand. (Bodog Image)

We've already covered who the WSOP 2010 November Nine are, but there's a player that should, by all accounts, have been among that elite crowd: poker pro Matt Affleck. He had a dramatic reversal of fortune involving a pot with 42,000,000 in chips and a river card that some are already calling the worst beat in the history of the WSOP. In a dramatic showdown with Johnathan Duhamel, Affleck was holding pocket rockets (AA) but still came up short.

Duhamel had JJ, a strong hand, but after a flop of Td9c7h, nowhere near good enough to take on Affleck. The turn card hit: Qh. Affleck pushed all of his chips into the pot, confident that his opponent had a limited number of outs. Five minutes passed as Duhamel assessed the situation. Duhamel pushed all his chips into the middle and waited. The River hit and with an 8d hitting the felt, Duhamel made a straight. Chasing straights is for suckers, many say, but Duhamel's uncanny play netted him a 42,000,000 chip pot. Affleck, stunned, stood up and left the table quietly, his eyes red and some reporting a tear or two running down his face. Who can blame him?

"I won a huge pot and didn't deserve it," Duhamel told a reporter after. "I made a bad read but ended up winning anyway."

That single pot helped push the Bouscherville, Quebec resident far over the top, making him the chip leader by over 17,000,000 compared to the next-highest player in the November Nine.

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Phil Laak wins first WSOP Bracelet in London!

Laak during the 2009 WSOP. (Bodog File Photo.)

We talked about Phil Laak making it to the final table in a WSOPE event yesterday and lo and behold, it looks like the Unabomber pulled it off and finally earned himself a World Series of Poker bracelet for his efforts. The flamboyant stunts-man and frequent media darling whose arm is still in a cast after last month's ATV crash, credited his record-breaking non-stop poker marathon for helping him discover the focus that let him win £170,802 and the most famous piece of jewelry in the game. "I've won something like 80 percent of my cash sessions since I broke the record," he told one reporter.

Yesterday's post about the event was written while the three final players: Laak, Chris Bjorin and Andrew Pantling, were taking a break. Laak eliminated Bjorin holding KK over QQ after a few more hands; it was then that a break was requested by Pantling, who had a chip lead of about 3:2 over Laak. Laak denied that request, likely drawing on some of the training for his endurance run at the Bellagio, and insisted the game continue until it was done.

Laak and Pantling swing back and forth quite a bit, with Laak finally getting some momentum after some massive gains and losses. When he was over the million-chip-lead mark, Laak went after Pantling, 3-betting him for the rest of his chips. Holding Kd5c against his opponent's Ah9h, it looked like the game may go further after a flush draw hit to board, but Laak hit a pair of fives and that was that.

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Ratings Down For World Series of Poker Coverage on ESPN

No one knows what's behind the decline in the ratings juggernaut that is the WSOP. (Photo by Therese Branton)

Ratings for ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker Main Event are down about 16%, according to numbers provided by the network. The overall ratings for the first six weeks of WSOP coverage have averaged a .67 rating. For perspective and an idea of scale, a single Neilsen point means that approximately 1.1 million viewers watched a show in, meaning that the coverage has pulled an average of 737,000 viewers each week. The 2009 Main Event coverage pulled in a .79 rating, or approximately 869,000 in comparison.

Interestingly, the Poker Player's Championship, which featured Robert and Michael Mizrachi in combat improved against the previous year's ratings and gave high hopes to all involved, but the Tournament of Champions that aired the next week only held steady against the previous year's numbers. The broadcasts of the Main Event began on August 10th and featured the second largest field in history and the biggest names in the game competing, and the drop accompanied it.

Even with moments like Allied Network Solutions CEO Ted Bort and Brahlhad Friedman's confrontation (in which Bort barked like a dog at the pro while he was trying to make up his mind) included in the broadcast, numbers have dropped quite a bit with the exception of the over-55 demographic.

What's behind the decline? Has poker fatigue settled into the mainstream? Was the coverage just skipped by many because of the number of online sites that reported the happenings already? What do you think?

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World Series of Poker Europe Update: Event #2 Wrapup!

Jeff Lisando during the 2009 WSOP, where he won the Player of the Year award. (Bodog File Photo.)

Jeff Lisandro, the 2009 WSOP player of the year, won his fifth career bracelet this weekend after a particularly exciting final table in event #2 of the World Series of Poker Europe event, behind held in London's Empire Casino in Leicester square. Event #2 in the WSOPE lineup was a Pot Limit Omaha championship and it's been part of the schedule every year since the original. Previous champions in the Pot Limit Omaha tournament include Italy's Dario Alioto in 2007, Theo Jorgensen from Denmark in 2008 and Finland's Jani Vilmunen in 2009.

Joseph Serock, a 22-year-old pro from Albuquerque, New Mexico got second place and won £98,262 for the experience of a lifetime: taking on one of the best poker players out there in an enthralling tournament. Over two dozen players in the Pot Limit Omaha event were former WSOP bracelet winners and many of the others in the field were among the top PLO players in Europe.

Serock fought valiantly in the last few hands and proved worthy of everyone's respect throughout the tournament, but there's a reason the pro from Italy via Australia has won four bracelets in the last 15 months. Besides Lisandro, there were four other WSOP gold bracelet winners at the final table, including Chris Bjorin, Willie Tann and Jeff Madsen and two of the finalists were also WSOP Player Of The Year winners. A stunning lineup and Serock's ability to keep his cool makes him someone to watch out for.

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WSOPE Europe is looming large!

If you're interested in playing, it's time to get on Priceline! (Photo by canpcjpeg.)

It's starting on September 14th at Casino At The Empire and if you want to play in the first event of the World Series of Poker Europe, you better book your flight now. No, it's not as big as the original Las Vegas event, but there's five bracelets up for grabs (compared to one last year) and a nice selection of tournaments for every type of player that can put up the shekels to get down at the tables.

The first event is a £2,500 Six-Handed No Limit Hold 'Em tournament. Scheduled to take place over three days, it's a great kickoff to the event, offering a nice cash pool for the winners to partake from and letting everyone warm up a bit. It's followed by a £5,000 pot limit Ohama event, a £2,500 no-limit hold 'em tournament, a much larger £10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold Em and a £10,000 Main Event that features No Limit Hold 'Em.

The defending main event champion is Barry Shulman, who won £801,603 after defeating a field of 334 players that created a £3,340,000 prize pool. Final tallies on this year's event are not available yet, as players can buy in up until the tournament start, but it's estimated to be a significant improvement over last year's totals all around. Jack Effel is once again serving as tournament director.

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WSOP Europe Schedule Announced

The big show goes to Europe and takes some great action with it! (Photo by Christophe Libert)

The World Series of Poker Europe takes place in London from September 14-28, 2010 at Casino At The Empire. While not as massive as the original event in Las Vegas, WSOP Europe is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious and competitive events in the sport, drawing players from around the globe. This year sees a total of five bracelet events, up from a single one in 2009. These include tournaments with the following buy-ins and game types: £2,500 Six-Handed No Limit Hold 'Em; £1,000 No Limit Hold 'Em; £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha; £10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold Em and a £10,000 Main Event featuring No Limit Hold 'Em.

The defending main event champion is Barry Shulman, who won £801,603 after defeating a field of 334 players that created a £3,340,000 prize pool. Final tallies on this year's event are not available yet, as players can buy in up until the tournament start, but it's estimated to be a significant improvement over last year's totals all around. Jack Effel is once again serving as tournament director.

The Casino at the Empire is considered to be one of the premiere venues of its type in the UK, offering two restaurants and a cafe, three bars/lounges and reasonable rates. In addition to the WSOP, players can enjoy cash games 24/7 along with tournaments run by the Casino.

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James Bord Becomes First UK Player To Win WSOPE Main Event

James Bord won over £830,000 for his first-place finish at the WSOPE Main Event. (Bodog File Photo)

England's James Bord captured the WSOPE Main Event title after four days of play, coming out on top of a field of 346 players. The 29 year old pro from Stanmore was cheered by a crowd described by onlookers as "boisterous" after the win at the Empire Casino in London. Surprisingly, this was only the second World Series of Poker event that Bord had ever entered and he surprised everyone, including himself. After being handed the bracelet, he told a reporter: "I never thought I would win a bracelet. Being so close, you just never know when it’s going to come again. And it’s even more special to win it in my hometown. It’s just something very special."

Before playing poker professionally, Bord worked for Citigroup. He says that he is a "professional gambler," but makes most of his money playing poker, widely regarded as a skill game. This year's final table was an interesting group of players; Bord joined seven other pros and Dan Fleyshman, the CEO of an online poker company, and four countries were represented at the final table: France, Great Britain, Monaco and the US. Bord is typically a Mixed Games cash player and for the last few years he's been focusing on high-low games. When asked if he'll change his focus after this victory, he responded "I will play in some more tournaments. But on a daily basis, cash games are my thing."

Bord collected £830,401 for taking the top spot. Here's how the rest of the table broke down:

2nd – Fabrizio Baldassari (£513,049)
3rd – Ronald Lee (£376,829)
4th – Roland de Wolfe (£278,945)
5th – Nicholas Levi (£208,119)
6th – Danny Steinberg (£156,530)
7th – Dan Fleyshman (£118,643)
8th – Brian Powell (£90,617)
9th – Marc Inizan (£69,754)

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