Danny Shiff, of Aventura, won the main event at the Isle Classic last month, taking home $115,604. (This is linked to my new blog.)

Schiff entered the final day 10th of 11 players, and was down five-to-one in chips when play went to heads-up.

The event drew many of South Florida's top players, including Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, John Riordan and Noah Schwartz.

173 Players $2500 Buy-in
Danny Shiff Aventura, FL $115,604.00
Scott Watson Parkland, FL $66,951.00
John Riordan Tampa, FL $43,207.00
David Anthony Punta Gorda, FL $28,805.00
Roy Kay Aspen, CO $22,771.00
Andrew Touchette Wakefield, MA $17,322.00
Stewart Newman Weston, FL $13,235.00
Theo Tran Las Vegas $9,342.00
David Bell Parkland, FL $8,953.00
Noah Schwartz Bay Harbor Island, FL $8,564.00
Ben Hamnett Pittsburgh, PA $8,174.00
Cong Pham Naples, FL $7,785.00
Daniel Blum Plantation, FL $7,396.00
Zachary Milchman Boca Raton, FL $7,007.00
AJ Kelsall Tampa, FL $6,617.00
Brian Hawkins Fort Lauderdale, FL $6,228.00
Harrison Gimbel Jupiter, FL $5,839.00
Lawrence Berg Las Vegas, NV $5,450.00

Continue reading "Aventura man wins Isle main event, $115,604" »

The World Poker Tour is back at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with another non-televised series called the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

It runs Jan. 29-Feb. 14 and consists of 17 events and still has some WPT icons: Raw Deal analyst Tony Dunst, WPT commentator Mike Sexton and the Royal Flush Girls. They'll be there for the main event, Feb. 10-14. The winner gets entry into the $25,000 2012 WPT World Championship at Bellagio in Las Vegas.

The main event starts at noon Feb. 10. Players who bust out on Day 1A can re-enter on Day 1B, Feb. 11. Beginning on February 14 at 1:30 p.m., the tournament will stream live on www.WorldPokerTour.com and Tony Dunst will comment, along with guests (usually good players who have been knocked out).

The $3,500 buy-in WPT Main Event includes a $750,000 guaranteed prize pool.

On-site registration is already open for all of the events. (Registration fee is non-refundable.) To participate, players must obtain a free “Wild Card” at the Player’s Club or in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise.

WPT and Seminole Hard Rock Casinos have a multi-year partnership that includes several WPT branded events and the development of official WPT Poker Rooms inside select Seminole Hard Rock Casinos. To register, book a hotel package or get more information on this event, call 954-585-5111 or visit www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com/poker or www.WorldPokerTour.com.

Continue reading "Dunst, Sexton, WPT coming to Hard Rock in February" »

Don Pegasus of Fort Lauderdale took home the tournament trophy Wednesday night in the Dan Le Batard Poker Tournament at Dania Jai-Alai.

As the tournament came down to the final table, nine players agreed to split up the prize pool, each taking home $535 for the $79 buy-in monthly event.

The fronton is located at 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd in Dania Beach.

Costumed girls at four points of the casino directed visitors toward the elevator at the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino, but pretty soon the Stax Poker Lounge will be much easier to find.

And it serves as a metaphor: The poker room is about to have a big jump in visibility.

The poker room celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, another step in a $150 million expansion at the casino. The poker room has muscled up to 30 tables, is adding tournaments and eventually could be home to a World Poker Tour event.

And when the casino opens its garage early next year, players will be able to park, hop on an elevator and have a quick indoor walk -- as opposed to now where they either valet park or take a shuttle from a nearby lot, then navigate through the casino.

Tuesday, more players got a look at Stax as celebrities, poker regulars and even I duked it out in a 63-player tourney. It was the first time the seven tables were used in the high-limit area, which is slightly elevated and cordoned off by ropes. Pro Jason Mercier was the featured player in a special final-table room, protected by glass doors and featuring miniature cameras for hole cards in case there's ever a televised final.

Continue reading "Coconut Creek's Stax opens, and getting there will soon be easier" »

A quick reminder: Seminole Casino Coconut Creek Casino will celebrate the opening of its Stax Poker Lounge with a public reception/celebrity meet and greet and ribbon cutting ceremony.

Jason Mercier and Huckleberry Seed; runway fashion model, 2010 Playboy Playmate of the Year, and recent “Celebrity Apprentice” show contestant Hope Dworacaczk; comedian Jimmy (J.J.) Walker; and “Top Chef” Hosea Rosenberg.

The schedule:
11a.m. -12 p.m. - Reception and casual meet and greet.
12 p.m. – ribbon cutting ceremony.
12:10 p.m. - photo opportunity with celebrities.
1 p.m. - Invitation only poker tournament.

It's at 5550 NW 40th Street, Coconut Creek, just east of State Road 7 (U.S. 441) and north of Sample Road on 40th Street. For more information call 954-977-6700 or visit seminolecoconutcreekcasino.com.

The Big Easy Poker Room at Mardi Gras Casino is changing its hours in January: Instead of being open from 11 a.m. to 5 a.m., it'll be 10 a.m. to 4 a.m.

Director of Poker Operations David Litvin said the room will still have its "dizzying array of high hands, high hand derby and 26 progressives plus cash drawings."

There's also a weekly $1,500 guaranteed freeroll every at 7 p.m. Thursdays and a $1,000 guranteed shootout at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15.

Also coming: A “hybrid” tournament with WQAM radio. A "real" tournament with a charity angle to it. It'll be at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23 (I originally had it as Jan. 12 but the date changed). Players can team up with WQAM personalities.

Each guest will choose which host’s “team” they want to represent and be given the “colors” for his team (a T-shirt). The guest who wins the tournament will win the prize pool but will also win the charity money for the charity that their host represents.

Mardi Gras Casino is located at 831 North Federal Highway on the corner of US-1 and Pembroke Road. Call 954-924-3200 or visit www.mardigrascasinofl.com; Become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mardigrascasino or follow us on twitter at http://www/twitter.com/MardiGrasFl.

The Seminole Casino Coconut Creek is celebrating its new poker room with a reception and a charity poker tournament on Tuesday.

The room, called Stax Poker Lounge, is part of a $150 million expansion at the casino that will almost double the casino's floor space and is scheduled to be completed early next year. The casino is adding about 600 slot machines, adding more blackjack tables, building a 2,400-space parking garage and opening three restaurants.

The poker room opened in October as part of the expansion. The former poker area, which could be accessed only via an elevator in the corner of the main casino floor, offered high hand promotions, but little in the way of tournaments. Coconut Creek officials said the new room will offer more tournaments.

The ribbon-cutting is at 11 a.m. that is free and open to the public. At 1 p.m. is the tournament with celebrities and invited guests from the casino. Top names include comedian Jimmy Walker (who played J.J. in the TV series “Good Times”), professional poker players Jason Mercier and Huckleberry Seed, 2010 Playboy Playmate of the Year and “Celebrity Apprentice” show contestant Hope Dworaczyk; and Hosea Rosenberg, Season Five winner of the TV show “Top Chef.”

The poker room, located on the second floor above the expanded casino, is a 30-table non-smoking poker room with flat-screen televisions and a large bar.

“It's going to be lots of fun, and there's much more fun to come with other opening celebrations we have planned in the next couple of months,” said Steve Bonner, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek general manager.

Call 954-977-6700 or visit seminolecoconutcreekcasino.com.

The Palm Beach Kennel Club officially announced Thursday that it's going to hold the largest guaranteed World Series of Poker Circuit Event of all time: $1 million in prize money.

Buy-in is $500 plus a $55 fee. It'll be event No. 1 when the series stops for the second year at the kennel club in West Palm Beach. The idea: to separate this venue from others in the 17-stop circuit.
"$1 million on a $500 event gets people to change their plans," Poker Room Director Noah Carbone said.

So will the first prize money: Presuming it's 25 percent to the winner, that'd be a $250,000 first prize, which organizers called a good "ballpark" number.

The series, consisting of 12 events, runs from Feb. 16 through Feb. 27. The main event, which carries a $1,500 buy-in, starts Feb. 25.

The kennel club says it's adding tables, which it will have to do in order to run the three flights of 700 players each for the $1 million event (they have 64; they'll grow to 75). Carbone cautioned players to sign up for Day 1A, to avoid being shut out. The tournament is tied to PokerTickets.com for those wishing to preregister.

To break even on their guarantee, they'll need 2,000 entrants, a big jump from last year, when they set a state record (later broken by other card rooms) with 877.

WSOP officials called last year "a success," especially because it was the first WSOP series held at a kennel club. There were more than 7,000 overall entrants, with 64 percent of them coming from outside of the county -- an indication that the WSOP drew new faces to Palm Beach County.

At least two players will go to the WSOP circuit end-of-season free roll in Vegas: the overall points winner and the main event winner. Carbone mentioned that last year's winner, John Riordan, was under 21, so he was not eligible for the Vegas trip because poker in Florida is 18 and over, while Vegas has a minimum age of 21.

Carbone also pointed out that this year might have a rush of younger players, because Black Friday on April 15 shut down the internet as a form of getting to play, and internet poker skews young.

The four aces: Jimmy Sommerfeld, WSOP Tournament Director; Noah Carbone, PBKC Poker Room Director; Bill Bruce, WSOP Asst. Tournament Director; Tim Wright, PBKC Poker Manager (photo/courtesy of PB Kennel Club)

Sara Azmi of Lauderhill emerged as the winner as Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino's poker room wrapped up its 2011 Tournament Challenge Series on Dec. 4.

Azmi, Gulfstream Park’s first ever female Challenge Series champion, chose the cash option of $19,000 in place of driving away in a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport.

The complete order of finish:

1st Place: Sara Azmi - $19,000
2nd Place: Martin May - $5,000
3rd Place: Rolando Wong - $2,500
4th Place: Lewis Rutstein: - $1,500
5th Place: Jorge Hernandez - $1,200
6th Place: Claudio Benedetti - $900
7th Place: Khampetch Seignarack - $700
8th Place: Zion Mesika - $600
9th Place: Joseph Duchman - $500
10th Place: Dusan Kipicic - $500

Vanessa Rousso, who ditched law school to become a poker pro, now is the celebrity behind a tournament to provide legal aid to those who can't afford it.

Rousso, the 2001 Wellington High valedictorian, will be the featured player in the "Betting for Justice Charity Poker Tournament" at noon Jan. 21 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. Buy-in is $150.

Money goes toward Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., which helps Miami-Dade and Monroe county residents with civil cases.

Rousso, an expert in game theory, graduated from Duke University in 2.5 years, then enrolled at the University of Miami law school. She also upped her poker playing at the Hard Rock during that time, and won enough to go pro. She goes by the name "Lady Maverick," a reference to the movie "Maverick," and how she was staked in early tournaments similar to the movie character.

The tournament will award a $10,000 cash prize plus additional prizes for the top ten players.

Buy-in is $150, with rebuys for the first three levels with re-buys of $25 and a $50 add-on.

Visit www.lsgmi.org or call 305-438-2531.

There's a little more room now to play poker at the Seminole Casino Hollywood.

Officials opened up the new poker room last week, and upgraded promotions are in place for this month.

Poker has been part of the Hollywood casino, which started as a bingo hall in 1979 and is known by locals as the “Hollywood Classic,” since the 1990s — well before the Texas Hold 'em poker boom hit TV in the mid-2000s. Poker tables had been near the slot machines in the center of the casino, although it had been a squeeze since August 2010, when the casino added blackjack and other table games.

But last month, workers cleared out the non-smokers' bingo room and put in 10 poker tables (there had been room for only eight before). The former poker area now has blackjack tables. Non-smoking tables were added to the bingo room.

Poker players are allowed to smoke at the tables at the Seminole Classic. The two other Seminole casinos in Broward County allow smoking, except in their poker rooms. Meanwhile, pari-mutuel casinos are non-smoking by state law.

Also this month, the Classic card room is rolling out more promotions including Card Sharks, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays. Players who have the high hand for the hour play a “high-low” game similar to the “Card Sharks” TV show. Participants win $100 to $1,000.

As part of Poker Morning Madness, weekday players from 6 to 11 a.m. Dec. 11-22 get a $20 bonus if they buy in for $100 and play at least an hour. And Bonus Frenzy, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays, allows players who hit four of a kind to spin a wheel for $100 to $500 in chips.

Studz Poker Club at Calder Casino & Race Course will host the Miami Gardens Poker Classic, a six-event poker tournament series featuring over $200,000 in guarantees Feb. 3-12.

“We continually listen to our players and offer the types of tournaments that they want,” said Chris Trabue, Director of Poker for Studz Poker Club, in a press release. “After many successful events, we’re eager and excited to have our first tournament series.”

Details for the Miami Gardens Poker Classic are at www.StudzPoker.com.

Farhan Madhani of Miami Beach won the Rock 'n' Roll Poker Open main event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in November, earning $172,408.

Madhani and Alexander Venovsk were the two remaining players when they did a partial chop, each agreeing to take $150,000. They then played for $22K-plus and the trophy.

The main event, which had an entry fee of $2,500, drew 331 players, creating a prize pool of $761,300.

Madhani, 33, says he's been playing poker professionally a little more than two years. He describes his game as "aggressive," although he's not afraid to switch gears.

"But I'm usually pushing the action," he said. He had a pretty good month: He also was part of a seven-way chop in the Isle Poker Open last month, taking home $22,400.

Harrison Gimbel finished third, earning $76,130.

Next in line were: Allen Kessler, $54,052; Daniel Buzgon, $40,349; Dennis Tuttle, $31,975; Robert Perry, $23,981; Travell Thomas, $17,891; Brooks Long, $12,942; David Bell, $8,755;
Cong Pham, $8,755; and Matthew Elsarelli, $8,755.

The Rock 'n' Roll Poker Open consisted of 18 events, with buy-ins ranging from $100 to $2,500. The Hard Rock guaranteed more than $1 million in payouts. (Sorry it's up late, but I held out trying to get a photo.)

Other winners (in order): Richard Freedman, $44,000; Avery Clark, $4,999; Kwa Tecklee Derrick, $7,500; Angelo Miele, $11,214; Henry Fermin, $7,259; Irving Rice, $8,631; Edward Wolf, $3,400; Gervehiwet Goitom, $4,600; Eliyahu Levy, $25,000; Alexander Glamoclijia, $14,910; Uri Kadosh, $4,548; Zohair Karim and Stanley Point Du Jour, $5,411 each; William Beasley, $28,315; Jesse Chinni, $3,739; James Ladeira, $6,153.

A poker tournament to benefit Women In Distress and the Sun-Sentinel Children's Fund is set for Jan. 8 at the Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach.

The tournament includes a champagne brunch at noon; the tournament begins at 2:30 p.m. Buy-in is $300 for poker only, $350 for the brunch, goodie bag and poker.

The grand prize is an entry into 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas (which usually costs $10,000). Other prizes include a five-day all inclusive Mexico vacation to Hacienda Tres Rios in Riviera Maya, with round trip airfare for two, one 3-day World Poker Tournament Boot Camp Champions Camp in May 2012, a four-day Royal Towers Run-of- House Room with round trip airfare for two to Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas, and a two-Day World Poker Tournament Boot Camp Tournament or Cash Camp for 2012 at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

Women In Distress is near and dear to Bryan Oulton, co-owner of All In Free Poker, the bar poker league that often holds its finals at the Isle. Oulton's mother was murdered last year; his father, Robert, is charged in the case and awaiting trial.

"I have made it my mission to advocate on behalf of domestic violence victims. It is an issue that affects much of South Florida and now is the time for the community to take a stand," Oulton said.

Title sponsor and supporter of Women In Distress, PermaPlate, states, "PermaPlate is honored to be involved with the All In For Charity Poker Tournament because we are a company that believes in giving back to the communities that we do business in. Upon learning the stories of those that have been affected by abuse, and the many ways Women in Distress touches and helps rebuild the lives of these families, the more we wanted to help.”

The Sun-Sentinel Children's Fund awards grants to nonprofit organizations supporting the needs of local low-income children and families.

For more information on Women In Distress of Broward County, Inc., please call (954) 332-3459 or visit www.womenindistress.org.

For more info on the poker tournament go to http://www.womenindistress.org/poker.html

The Studz Poker Club at Calder Casino & Race Course has another big tournament coming up, a $50,000 guarantee Dec. 2-4.

Day 1A is at 11 a.m. Dec. 2; Day 1B is at 11 a.m. Dec. 3. Buy-in is $550 for 17,000 units, with an optional add-on of 3,000 units for $20. Players knocked out of Day 1A can enter again on Day 1B.

Day 2 play, which is expected to wrap up the tournament, begins at 1 p.m. Dec. 4. If play is not completed by 1 a.m., the tournament will resume at 3 p.m. Dec. 5.

Tournament players are eligible for all promotions, including the high hand and flopped progressive straight flush.

More info at http://www.calderracecourse.com/poker or 305-474-5700.

Anthony "Boston Tony" Ruberto, of Hallandale Beach, took down the main event Tuesday in the World Poker Tour's debut trip to Jacksonville, at the Orange Park Kennel Club.

Ruberto earned $325,928 and a seat at the $25,500 WPT World Championship event at Bellagio in the spring of 2012.

"But for now, I'm going to go away to an island somewhere," said Ruberto, 30, who lived in Massachusetts most of his life before moving down here to play poker.

Asked if he had shout-outs for friends at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, he said: "I don't have friends. They cost you money." Then, he added: "Aww, they know who they are. I'm just not that big-speech kind of guy."

Ruberto has fared well in several Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino events, but didn't have a big win. Most notably, he finished second in the $5,000 Fall Poker Open main event after he was in second place and chopped with Harrison Gimbel, earning $275,242. He also was third in the WPT Winter Open main event in February. He also was 11th at the Isle main event in January and took a chop for fifth back in 2008, when the Hard Rock held its first big $3,000 tourney.

But this time, he got the trophy.

"They didn't get me this time," he said.

The final table loot:
1st: Anthony Ruberto - $325,928
2nd: Sam Soverel - $187,762
3rd: Lisa Hamilton - $112,657
4th: Vitor Coelho - $75,105
5th: Artie Rodriguez - $55,077
6th: Darryll Fish - $46,315

The WPT returns to Jacksonville in April, the week after visiting the Hard Rock. Both of those main events will make TV.

So if you liked the World Series of Poker live coverage you also might like following the World Poker Tour final table action at Jacksonville going on right now.

It's at http://www.worldpokertour.com/Live_Streaming/Jacksonville.aspx, on a half-hour delay, with Tony Dunst and Jonathan Little providing the commentary.

Among those who made the final table were Arturo Rodriguez, 45, of Miami Beach, who earned his seat this past October when he beat out nearly 1,800 others in a tournament on www.ClubWPT.com (WPT’s legal $19.95/month subscription poker room), and entered the final table of the $3,500 buy-in tournament in fifth chip position. The best part: He earned his seat playing during ClubWPT.com's two-week trial period.

He says he has been playing poker for more than 25 years, but just started playing on ClubWPT.com two months ago. He finished fifth, earning $55,077.

Photo of Rodriguez/Courtesy of WPT

Darryll Fish ($46,315) of Fort Lauderdale finished sixth, and Anthony "Boston Tony" Ruberto Jr. is still alive. Ruberto has fared well in several Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino events, most notably finishing second in the $5,000 Fall Poker Open main event and earning $275,242.

Top prize at Jacksonville is $325,928. As of about 4 p.m., he's the chip leader, which he has been most of the day.

Update coming either tonight or tomorrow morning.

The World Poker Tour unveiled its 2012 schedule Monday, and it includes its second annual stop at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood April 18-23.

It also includes the debut WPT tournament in the new Jacksonville Poker Room the next week, April 28-May 2.

The tour stop, location, dates and main event entry:

WPT Ireland, City West Hotel, Dublin, Ireland, January 5 – 8, 2012 €2,500

WPT Venice, Casino de Venezia, Venice, Italy, February 6 – 11, 2012 €4,950

LA Poker Classic, Commerce Casino, Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 24-29 $10,000

Bay 101, Shooting Star, San Jose, CA March 5 – 9, 2012 $10,000

WPT Vienna, Montesino, Vienna, Austria March 26 – 31, 2012 €3,500

Seminole Hard Rock, Poker Showdown, Hollywood, FL April 18 – 23, 2012 $10,000

WPT Jacksonville, Jacksonville Poker Room, Jacksonville April 28 – May 2, 2012 $5,000

WPT World Championship, Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada, May 19 – 26, 2012 $25,500

WPT World Championship Super High Roller, Bellagio Las Vegas, May 23 – 25, $100,000

Pius Heinz, a 22-year-old from Cologne, Germany, won the World Series of Poker early Wednesday morning at the Rio in Las Vegas, taking home $8,715,638 in prize money – the third-highest payout for any poker champion in history.

He outlasted a field of 6,866 players from 85 nations, including Badih "Bob" Bounahra of Belize and Fort Lauderdale, who finished seventh ($1.3 million).

Heinz entered the November Nine on Sunday as No. 7 in chips, but made it to Tuesday night's final table along with Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko. Lamb was knocked out in just four hands Tuesday night, then Heinz and Staszko battled for six hours, ending at 3:23 a.m. Eastern time.

For the first time in history, poker players and fans everywhere could tune in and watch all the action. Comprehensive coverage included expert analysis and player hole cards being shown to viewers – a WSOP first. I watched quite a bit of it, and at times, just couldn't turn it off. So I'm bleary-eyed today.

Read more at WorldSeriesOfPoker.com.

Dalia Bavli of Hollywood took home the coveted “Suck for Luck” trophy for the Wednesday night Dan LeBatard 790 The Ticket Celebrity Poker Tournament at Dania Jai-Alai.

The top three players received $1,082 and the next seven each got $600 in the agree-upon “chop.”

Meanwhile, I continue to play the worst poker known to man, setting a personal record by getting knocked out in 24 minutes -- and I was trying.

After not getting a hand for the first orbit or so, and with blinds at 50-100, I got ace-king in the big blind. Raised it to 400. A guy who had been in a few hands raised to 800. I called.

Flop came out A-K-6, 2 diamonds. I check, trying to get some chips out of it. He checked. Turn comes a queen, I figure it's time to rock 'n' roll, he shoves, I call.

He flips over queens for the set. I go home.

Here's why I played this so poorly. They know I'm a tight player, so if I raise to 400, I have a hand. He re-raises, so I figure he should have a hand... Aces, kings, queens, maybe A-K, at worst A-Q.

So, after the turn, I'm beat by three of those five and chop with the fourth. But a big bet after the flop would've ended the hand. Greed does not always work.

Meanwhile, the card room has really bumped up its players’ rewards. Poker players in cash games get $5 per hour in “Dania money” – applicable for tournament entries or food – for each hour they play between noon and 6 p.m.; after 6 p.m. they get $2.50 an hour.

Dania Jai-Alai’s Cardroom is open Sundays through Thursdays from noon to midnight, Friday and Saturdays from noon to 2 a.m.

The fronton is located at 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd in Dania Beach.

Kevin Deng, 30, of Coral Springs won the main event at the Isle Open Poker Tournament Monday, taking home $100,000.

Deng moved here from Port St. Lucie about two years ago to play poker, and frequents the Isle and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

He and Joshua Hillock of Palm City were the final two at the table, and Deng said he had a bigger chip lead but "lost a couple of flips." So they chopped, with Deng getting the trophy and a little bit more. First prize had been listed at $122,000.

There were 232 players in the $2,200 buy-in tournament.

Continue reading "Coral Springs man wins Isle main event, $100,000" »

The Breeders’ Cup and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi are joining forces to host the First Annual Breeders’ Cup Celebrity Invitational Nov. 2 in Indiana, presented by The Deepstacks Poker Tour.

Mizrachi will be joined by pros, including three-time WSOP bracelet winner Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener, as well as NBA players Brian Cardinal (Dallas Mavericks), Jermaine Taylor (Sacramento Kings) and Carl Landry (New Orleans Hornets).

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

Held at the Horseshoe Casino & Hotel Southern Indiana , the $230 buy-in charity tournament features unlimited $100 re-buys and one $100 optional add-on, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Breeders’ Cup official charity, The V Foundation .

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

Contact Shana Matthews at 604-441-0742 or visit DeepStacks.com.

The monthly Dan LeBatard poker tournament is at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Dania Jai-Alai.

Buy-in is $79 and rebuys are allowed in the first 30 minutes.

Dania Jai-Alai’s cardroom is open every day from noon to midnight. The fronton is located at 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd in Dania Beach.

Call 954-927-2841.

The inaugural Add On for Autism Charity Poker Tournament to benefit Andra’s Hand Foundation, an organization whose mission is to increase knowledge and public awareness about Autism in South Florida, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

The tournament will offer a $10,000 top prize and a $1,500 invitation to the World Poker Boot Camp, among other awards.

Along with the $10,000 grand prize, the player who knocks Todd Brunson out of the Texas Hold ‘em tournament will receive an invitation to the two-day World Poker Tour Boot Camp valued at $1,500. The last woman standing gets a High Heels Poker Tour gift basket. Additional prizes will be awarded. All players will get an autograph and a photo with Brunson.

Buy-in is $150. There will be an optional re-buy structure for the first three levels with re-buys of $25 and a $50 add-on.

To register visit www.addonforautism.org . For additional information or sponsorships, contact Eric Lazarus at 954-410-0202 or at eric@andrashand.org .

Amir Lehavot of Weston finished 15th in the World Series of Poker Europe main event, which isn't bad -- except he had been running among the top five for many of the first few days of play.

"I'm obviously disappointed to going in to the final two tables with double the average chip count, yet bust in 15th," he wrote in an e-mail. "At the same time, I'm very happy with my play through the tournament. I also understand the variance built in to poker tournament, and the fact that making it deep but missing on a good cash is something that happens often with tournament poker. Just part of the landscape."

He won 43,000 Euros, which goes to about $62,000 in the field of 593.

Lehavot didn't really have a busto hand as much as losing three tough hands. He had ace-king, kings then queens, but his kings ran into aces and his queens into ace-king.

He had been listing his Weston address (his parents live here) but the final day the WSOP said he was from Israel.

"I asked the WSOP to play the Israeli anthem if I win. I chose to do that to both honor my country of birth, and protest the unaviliability of online poker in the U.S.," he says.

Lehavot, who had been hugely successful before black Friday, said he's been playing quite a bit live since then and "It's been fun."

The latest salvo in the high hand war has been fired, by the Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach.

"We’re going to taking it to another level," said Mike Smith, director of poker. The casino will give away more than $100,000 in high hand jackpots and other giveaways each week, starting Monday. "We're trying to give back more, more often.

"We’ve just made a conscious decision that the big bad beat jackpots really don’t draw players any more," Smith said. "Players are interested in the quick grafication."

The high hand also keeps the money in play more often, Smith says, because players who net a four- or five-figure bad beat score often just throw it in the bank. The Isle is setting its bad beats at $25,000 for no-limit, $10,000 for limit, with aces full losing to quads paying 10 percent of the jackpot and quads over quads and higher paying the whole amount.

The schedule here might seem like a lot to ingest, but if you give it a quick read, it's not as complicated as you think, and it seems fair to everyone:

9:15 a.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays: High hands every 45 minutes, paying $1,500 for $2-$5 NL or higher, $750 in $1-$2 NL or $4-$8 limit or higher; $500 if $2-4 limit and $250 if it's $1-$2 limit.

9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesdays: High hands every 45 minutes (they blacked out the afternoon because they have a nice tournament on Tuesdays). $750 in every no-limit game, $400 in any limit.

9:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays: High hands every 45 minutes, $500 for any hold 'em game. Also $1,000 hourly cash drawings from 2:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. for anyone who hits a full house. Only tickets earned on Wednesday will be in the drum for Wednesday drawings.

9:15 to 7 p.m. Thursdays: High hands every 45 minutes, with same guidelines as Monday. (Except Nov. 11.)

9:15 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 9:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Sundays: High hands every 45 minutes, with same guidelines as Monday. Also Saturdays and Sundays: High hands up to $300 from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. Also from 2:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., $1,000 drawings each hour, with tickets collected all week.

While the World Series of Poker Europe has been full of South Floridians, and the World Series Main Event in Las Vegas is about to climax, plans are starting to leak out about muscling up the WSOP Circuit Series at the Palm Beach Kennel Club.

The series made its debut stop at the kennel club last year, and drew a massive amount of entrants, including 877 for the first event.

But word is slipping out that it'll be larger this year. Although an official announcement is still some time away, poker room manager Noah Carbone mentioned that the main event will carry a $1 million guarantee. For a $550 buy-in.

Carbone says the plan is to have three Day 1s, starting off Feb. 16, the kennel club's first day, according to the WSOP.

The kennel club gave away a seat Saturday night, during a charity tournament benefitting the Rooney Foundation, which helps several charities. As usual, I got knocked out early (as a celebrity bounty), then rebought. Got A-K on the first hand, and when the board came out A-9-2 rainbow to give me top pair, all my chips ended up in the middle -- only to see my opponent turn over A-A for the set, and send me to the rail.

Which gave me time to talk to Noah...

Ebony Kenney of North Miami Beach, who we profiled in the Sun-Sentinel awhile back, was among the winners at the Isle Poker Open so far.

The main event starts Friday.
The results of the first five events:

Event No. 4 (No-limit hold 'em, 1,173 entries, $330)
Ebony Kenney N. Miami Beach, FL $24,990
Matthew King Miami, FL $23,845
Kevin Peart Miami, FL $23,791
MadhaniFarhan Miramar, FL $22,400
Scott Zakheim Davie, FL $21,320
Peter Han Boca Raton, FL $20,627
Atanael Thomas Fort Lauderdale, FL $20,042
James White Ormond Beach, FL $18,108
Michael Dweck Boca Raton, FL $16,490
Shawn Nguyen Miami, FL $12,667
Maria Proskouriakova Miami $3,871
Andrew Kelsall Tampa $3,871
Robert Lebeau St Petersburg $3,237
Elvin Garcia Miami $3,237
Frank Argano Miami $3,237
Wesley Reinhart Orlando $2,745
Robert Vanolinda Lakeland $2,745
Tria Vue Lawrenceville, GA $2,745
Dolline Vance Lake Worth $2,287
Leodegario Alabastro Pembroke Pines $2,287
George Lampert Naples $2,287
Michael Minetti Las Vegas $2,287
Steven Dockswell Lake Worth $2,287
Paula Alibrandi Miramar $2,287
David Baker Tequesta $2,287
William Franzese Coral Springs $2,287
Earl Vanlandingham Tampa $2,287

Continue reading "Ebony Kenney among Isle winners so far" »

Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi of Plantation won event No. 5 at the World Series of Poker Europe, a no-limit hold 'em split format.

Mizrachi outlasted a field of 125, including Noah Schwartz of Sunny Isles Beach, who made the final table of four players.

Buy-in was 10,400 Euros and paid Mizrachi 336,008 Euros, which at the Sunday's exchange rate, was is equal to $466,211. (In an earlier version of this, I had it as $1,663,246. I'd like to blame the WSOP release but it's my job to check the math. So, my apologies for not getting it right.)

It's the first big win since his huge 2010, when he won $1.6 million in the $50,000 buy-in WSOP Poker Players Championship, and also made it to the November Nine of the Main Event, good for another $2.3 million, ultimately finishing in fifth place.

It's his second bracelet, but Mizrachi told WSOP officials he's confident there'll be more.

“I think I will definitely end with double digits. But I hope for twenty. When I run good, nobody can beat me. And I play all the games pretty well. I might be sitting there with a cane and can barely walk, but I think I can get to twenty.”

The WSOP report says Schwartz, who was making his 10th WSOP cash and crossed the half-million mark in earnings with the guaranteed cash, endured "an unusual medical problem" during the tournament and had to visit the hospital before his Day 3 match. He earned about $550,000.

(Note: For some reason this is up twice on my blog. Trying to work out the technical issue.)

Tristan Wade of Boynton Beach emerged from a field of 258 poker players to win a World Series of Poker Europe championship in Cannes Thursday.

Wade, 26, took home about $250,000. He's also an instructor for Deepstacks, a poker training company that does online and live instruction. (He taught at Calder last year. Good stuff.)

As Pokerlistings.com wrote: "With eight years of hard work Tristan “cre8ive” Wade has paid his dues and after a number of close calls he can finally call himself a WSOP champion.

"With a career that reaches back to the Moneymaker boom year of 2003 and includes 14 WSOP cashes and three final table appearances, this victory was a long time in the making for Wade," the article continues.

“I’ve been playing poker for a long time, going on eight years online and live, and it’s finally happened,” he told PokerListings. Hoping to update with a photo but in the meantime, a nice gallery of him sipping champagne and celebrating with his friends (click on Event 4).

Also, this very detailed report from WSOP.com.

The World Poker Tour Regional Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Rock & Roll Poker Open is coming Oct. 26-Nov. 14 with more than $1 million in guarantees spread out over the 18 events.

On-site registration is already open for all of the events. To participate, players must obtain a free “Wild Card” at the Player’s Club or in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise.

The WPT and Seminole Hard Rock Casinos have a multi-year partnership that includes several WPT branded events and the development of official WPT Poker Rooms inside select Seminole Hard Rock Casinos. Call 954-585-5111 or visit seminolehardrockhollywood.com/poker or WorldPokerTour.com.

The schedule:

Event No. 1: $250,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool.
Day 1A – Wednesday, October 26 at 11 a.m.
Day 1B – Thursday, October 27 at 11 a.m.
Day 1C – Friday, October 28 at 11 a.m.
Day 1D – Saturday, October 29 at 11a.m.
Day 2, Final Day of Play – Sunday, October 30 at noon
$350 buy-in; 30 min. levels; 20,000 units

Continue reading "Hard Rock has more WPT Regional events" »

Henry Peraza from Miami won the Dan LeBatard 790 The Ticket Poker Tournament at Dania Jai-Alai Wednesday night.

Peraza was the chip leader when the last five players agreed to “chop” and took home $1,230 each. Peraza's photo is with Chris Maxfield of Dania’s Poker Room.

The tournament featured some local past NFL greats: Orande Gadsden (left), Leroy Hoard, 790’s Stugotz, Jim Jensen and Leon Searcy

Dania Jai-Alai’s Poker Room is open Sundays through Thursdays from noon to midnight, Friday and Saturdays from noon to 2 a.m.

The fronton is located at 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd in Dania Beach.

Mardi Gras Casino is offering a poker tournament for college students at 7 p.m. Sunday.

It’s a free roll, with $1,500 in prize money. Valid 2011 college university ID is required, and schools represented by at least 10 students get an extra 500 in chips each.

Registration starts at 5 p.m., players must be seated by 6:50 p.m. and alternates are taken after the first 100 players.

Players start with 500 units; a $10 dealer tip adds 1,500 units. There are $10 unlimited rebuys for 1,000 units the first six rounds and $20 add-on for 3,000 units after round six.

And, remember, the minimum age for poker in Florida is 18.

Go to MardiGrasCasinoFl.com.

The fourth annual Isle Poker Open starts Sunday and consists of nine events.

All begin at noon unless noted. The schedule:
Sunday: No-limit hold 'em, with a $550 buy-in and $50,000 guarantee
Monday: $500 bounty NLH, with a $1,600 buy-in and $100,000 gurantee
Tuesday: No-limit hold 'em re-entry, with a $330 buy-in and a $30,000 guarantee
Wednesday, Oct. 12: Statellite for main event
Thursday, Oct. 13-16: $330 tournament, with 1A, 1B and 1C Oct. 13-15 and Day 2 on Oct. 16 ($200,000 guarantee)
Monday, Oct. 17: Heads-up Pot-Limit Omaha (32 players max) with an $1,100 buy-in
Tuesday, Oct. 18: No-limit Hold 'em re-entry, $330 buy-in with a $30,000 guarantee
Wednesday, Oct. 19: Re-entry tournament, $550 buy-in, $50,000 guarantee (Perhaps a Day 2 on Thursday)
Thursday, Oct. 20: 3 p.m. Six Max tourney, $1,100 buy-in, $50,000 guarantee
The main event has Day 1A Oct. 21, Day 1B Oct. 22 and a Day 2 and a Day 3. Buy-in is $2,200 and it's a $300,000 guarantee.

"Our goal from the start was to have these four building blocks, and we hope they can continue to grow," said Mike Smith, director of poker.

For more info, call: 954-633-6680 or TheIslePompanoPark.com.

The Dan Le Batard Poker Tournament is usually on the last Wednesday of each month, but Sept. 28 was a Jewish holiday, so the September tournament is at 8 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 5).

This time some real football celebs coming: Fred Taylor, Leon Searcy, Duane Starks and
Errict Rhett.

Buy-in is $79.

Call 954-927-2841 or go to DaniaJaiAlai.com.

Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino begins another "poker challenge" Oct. 1, with the prize this time being a Jeep Wrangler Sport.

Players can earn points between Oct. 1 and Dec. 2. Points are awarded for faring well in the card room's nightly 6:30 p.m. multi-table tournaments or the one-table sit-n-go tournaments that are run whenever there are enough willing players.

The top 50 point earners then play it off on Dec. 4 for the Jeep Wrangler Sport.

For info go to GulfstreamPark.com or 954-454-7000.

While out "researching" a future article about high hands at poker rooms, you know what happened...

I hit a high hand.

I've had some notes scribbled down for a few weeks about how South Florida is the high hand/poker giveaway capital of the world, but it lacked some real people who played just to chase the high hand jackpots that card rooms here are offering to attract players from each other.

So I headed to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, hoping to luck into a couple of appropriate players, and I needed a Friday night to play cards anyway. There were no $1-$2 tables open, so I took a new $1-$1-$1 game, where the button posts a buck, too, and the min buy-in was $40. (Hardly a big game, but at least I did buy-in for $100, as I would at $1-$2.)

One guy, who I'll use in my story later, says he'll play this $1 blind game purely to chase the high hand. So he plays all pairs and any suited cards that have a chance to connect. On Friday night, the Hard Rock was giving away $500 every half hour, so the math seems about right.

But my high hand would've happened in a game of any limit. I got pocket aces, and bet what was getting one caller at the table for this game (OK, $5). Flop came out A-Q-4 rainbow, so I've hit the set, which I check because I'm way ahead and my opponent is an aggressive raiser who likes to chase. He bets $10, I call. Another blank on the turn, check-check.

Queen on the river, filling me up. He bets $20, I check-raise it to $40, he folds, saying he had the queen (maybe, maybe not).

And at 7:18 p.m. on a Friday night, I have the high hand, although we all kind of think a boat won't hold up; we'd been there two hours and every half hour at least someone hit quads.

So I sweated the next 12 minutes, then offered to buy dinner for the table when a Hard Rock person came out with the cash. One player accepted; another asked for a $10 cash equivalent (I didn't give it to him, would you?) I tipped the dealer $50 (Is that the right amount?) and played another 45 minutes or so, when I went home happy.

I guess I can say I'm now ahead of the extra $1 rake poker rooms have been taking basically for high hand promotions, although if I play once a week and win 10 hands each time, that'd 50x10=$500. But I still gotta write the article about high hands. (Does it change the way you play? If so, how?, etc. etc.)

I know the comments feature on this blog is a little unwieldy, so if you have any thoughts, maybe just email them to me, at NSortal@Tribune.com.

First of all, there's no heckling in poker. But if there were, it figures it'd happen in the home state of Snooki.

Plantation's Fred Goldberg entered the World Poker Tour/Borgata Poker Open final table just a few chips shy of first place, but the cards didn't fall his way Friday and he ended up in fourth place -- and a bad taste in his mouth after the crowd apparently went too far during the TV taping.

The hassle came from fans of eventual winner Bobby Oboodi, a 24-year-old New Jersey guy that was the Atlantic City favorite. And it's not surprising, considering that Goldberg was the top threat, so he's the target.

The TV tapings are conducted with a few rows of seats around the bright lights and the final table, and fans are only a few feet away from the action. Goldberg said every time he was in a hand, Oboodi's crowd needled him and taunted him. So eventually he got up and addressed them face-to-face, nose-to-nose.

"I had to stand up for myself," Goldberg said.

Goldberg said WPT officials later apologized. My take is that it's great for fans to root for their guys, but addressing other players negatively is not something I would do or support.

"But there's one good thing about it," Goldberg said. "It'll make for good TV."

Goldberg earned $280,925 in the five-day tournament that drew 1,313 entries, a WPT main event record. He played with his left hand in a cast, broken about a month ago playing racquetball. (Does playing one-handed poker put you at a disadvantage?)

Early in the final table Friday, he took the chip lead, but lost a few key hands, according the to World Poker Tour hand-by-hand reporting.

He lost a set to a runner-runner four-card flush, and had another small pair counterfeited.

"I don't know if I was frustrated, but I just wasn't running good," he said.

Still, he's happy to be faring well, after taking time off for his family.

"The bottom line is I'm back," he said. He also wanted everyone back at the Hard Rock to know that he appreciated their support.

The final results:

1 Bobby Oboodi $922,441
2 Jin Hwang $554,303
3 Daniel Buzgon $335,433
4 Fred Goldberg $280,925
5 Darren Elias $230,610
6 Ricky Hale $186,585

After leading for most of the day Thursday, Fred Goldberg of Plantation enters the final table at the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open in second place, less than one small blind behind the leader.

Play resumes today.

A lot of people are rooting for Goldberg, a Hard Rock regular who has always been this-close to fame and fortune:

He bubbled the final table in 2006, finishing 10th the year Jamie Gold won and took hom more than $12 million.

Then in March 2007, Goldberg he finished fourth at the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic championship event.

He did win a bracelet at the 2007 WSOP, a $1,500 Mixed Hold'em event that combined Limit and No-Limit versions of the game.

The field is the largest ever for a WPT main event, with 1,313 entrants (it was helped by rebuys)
1 Bobby Oboodi 11,140,000
2 Fred Goldberg 11,080,000
3 Darren Elias 7,360,000
4 Daniel Buzgon 4,710,000
5 Ricky Hale 2,320,000
6 Jin Hwang 2,205,000

Blinds are at 80,000-160,000 with a 20,000 ante.

With five other poker rooms in south Broward County, David Litvin acknowledges the challenges in attracting players to Mardi Gras Casino.

So the new director of poker operations has a strategy: promote the heck out of everything.

“We have to give people a reason to come here,” Litvin says of the Big Easy Poker Room. “We'll be aggressive with promotions, both by choice and by necessity.”

The Hallandale Beach casino collected $399,532 in poker revenues in August, according to state figures at Florida Gaming Watch, just behind Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino ($436,145) and Calder Casino & Race Course ($424,960) and ahead of Dania Jai-Alai ($59,018). The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Seminole Hollywood Classic don't have to report their revenues to the state.

Litvin, 49, started in his new position on Aug. 1, but has worked at Mardi Gras for about a year, as a dealer and shift manager. He entered the poker biz back in 1994, conducting tournaments on three local cruise ships before running a school for poker dealers.

The promotions include:

$1,500 guarantee tournament: The free event, limited to 100 players and alternates, will be 7 p.m. Thursdays. Mardi Gras staff will start handing out seats at 1 p.m. Players get 500 free units and can buy 1,500 more for a $10 dealer tip. They can make unlimited $10 rebuys during the first six rounds and add 3,000 units for $20 after the sixth round.

High Hand Derby: Instead of having only one hourly high hand winner, the poker room pays $300 to the highest hand, $200 to No. 2 and $100 to No. 3 from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays. “It used to be if someone hit a straight-flush to the queen in the first three minutes of an hour, the air went out of the room,” Litvin said. “This keeps the players engaged.”

“Buy a rack, get a stack”: Players who buy at least $100 in chips as the poker room opens get a ticket for this event, set for 11 a.m. weekdays (and weekends starting in October). If they're still playing an hour later, they can redeem that ticket for $20 in chips. Litvin said Mardi Gras gets at least 10 tables a day running when the room opens at 11 a.m. because of the promotion.

The poker room, open from 11 a.m. to 5 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours weekends, also offers high hand, aces cracked and progressive straight flush promotions. Call 954-924-3200, or go to MardiGrasCasinoFl.com.

Parkland poker pro Matthew Waxman has notched the biggest victory of his life, winning the World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris.

"It's been a life dream of mine to win a World Poker Tour title," he said.

He earned 518,750 Euros, which converts to about $1729,896 in U.S. dollars.

Waxman came into the final table fifth in chips, but the group was tightly bunched. He made it to the final two as a huge chip leader.

"I was running very well right out of the gate, and I had a lot of spots where I was raising with hands that were appropriate, but they weren't seeing my cards," he said. "A lot of my big bets were decent hands."

Waxman is well-known in South Florida, having won the Isle Poker Classic in January, earning more than $86K. He has won more than $1 million combined in live games and online, although the online thing dried up with the April 15 shutdown of online poker. (He played under the name BigStackBBQ and more recently Poligraph.)

His also record a live win for a $117,797 December victory in Atlantic City in a World Series of Poker circuit event, and has cashed at least nine times in the WSOP in Las Vegas, including five in 2010.

He told the WPT he was about to buy a house or a condo before he left for France.

"Now I might get a little upgrade," he said.

The inaugural Jeff Conine Celebrity Poker Classic raised more than $75,000 Sunday for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, which helps underwrite the operations of the Conine Clubhouse, a home-away-from-home for families of children under care at the hospital.

Sports celebrities sat at each table at the tournament, at Studz Poker Club at Calder Casino & Race Course.

Calder president Austin Miller said the tournament "exceeded all of our expectations."

Michael Sage of Hollywood, won the grand prize, $5,000 cash. Michael Barone of Hollywood came in second and won a Breitling Men’s watch and Alex Pou of Weston won third place and a five-night stay at the Villages at Punta Gabriela, Costa Rica, including air courtesy of Spirit Airlines. Fourth through tenth place winners were rewarded with cash prizes and the top 10 players all went home with autographed baseball helmets. (Their photo: Alex Pou, left, Conine, Barone and Sage.)

Conine said he was happy.

“The clubhouse is my proudest accomplishment in South Florida, my legacy, because it’s real life,” he said. “Being a professional athlete brings notoriety, but nothing we do between the lines can compare to helping people when they really need it.”

His golf tournament this year is at The Club at Emerald Hills on Jan. 23.

The Conine Clubhouse relies on donations. Families from more than 20 countries have used the Conine Clubhouse’s private rooms, playroom, playground, gardens, chapel, and family support area during times of medical crisis.

The foundation was established in 1994 and raises money to assist patients and their families and to underwrite hospital efforts.

To donate call 954-265-3454.

David Schwartz, known for supplying Twinkies to the tournament players, won the Dan LeBatard 790 The Ticket Poker Tournament at Dania Jai-Alai Wednesday night.

Schwartz (pictured with 790 The Ticket’s Roy Bellamy) took home $2,800 and the trophy, as the last seven players agreed to “chop.” The remaining six players each received $1,200 in the $79 buy-in tourney.

Dania Jai-Alai’s live jai-alai season resumed Thursday after a month-long layoff for fronton and court maintenance. Live performances are Tuesday-Saturday at 7 p.m. with matinees each Tuesday and Saturday at noon.

Dania Jai-Alai’s Poker Room is open Sundays through Thursdays from noon to midnight, Friday and Saturdays from noon to 2 a.m. The fronton is located at 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd in Dania Beach.

Rick Sessions won the main event of the Summer Classic at Palm Beach Kennel Club, although it looks as though he was the chip leader and there was a four-way chop because three other also took home the $18,655. They were Feguener Gay, Marisa Holdsteller and Stephen Bristow.

Meanwhile, player of the year points were:
Stephen Bristow 795.24
Rick Sessions 594.18
Scott Turner 549.22
Jason Reep 546.53
Ted Vidas 433.86
Feguener Gay 420.15
Mike Rosen 413.55
Matt Stevenson 377.81
Ray DelCueto 367.56
Marissa Holdsteller 343.05

Overall, here are the counts for the Palm Beach series:

Event Entrants Prize Pool
$10K 120 Buy-in 209 $20,900
$5K PLO $120 Buy-in 70 $7,000
$10K Bounty $170 Buy-in 150 $15,000
$5K HORSE $120 Buy-in 79 $7,900
$20K $230 Buy-in 168 $33,600
$15K $30/$20 Buy-in 191 $18,700
$100K MAIN $550 Buy-in 258 $129,000
TOTAL 1125 $232,100

I wrote about it earlier, but perhaps I did it too early: Anyway, the inaugural Jeff Conine Celebrity Poker Classic is Sunday at Studz Poker Club at Calder.

The tournament raises funds for the Conine Clubhouse at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

The VIP baseball-themed reception is at 6 p.m., followed by the poker tournament at 7.

Each table will feature a celebrity or Florida Marlins player, and Mike Lowell, Josh Johnson, Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, Mike Cameron and more Marlins are scheduled to appear along with Conine.

A silent auction will feature sports memorabilia with 100% of the dollars raised supporting the Conine Clubhouse. Players may also take out a $20 “bounty” on their favorite celebrity players for a chance to win a personally autographed item. Also go to ConinePokerClassic.org to see auction items.

The top three players get: $5,000 cash; a five-night stay at the Villages at Punta Gabriela, Costa Rica, with airfare courtesy of Spirit Airlines; and a Breitling men’s watch. Fourth through tenth places will receive cash prizes, and the top 10 players will receive an autographed baseball helmet.

Cost is $250, and those who don't want to play are encourage to donate.

The Jeff Conine Celebrity Poker Classic, which raises money for the Conine Clubhouse at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 4 at Calder Casino & Race Course.

Cost is $250. Each of the 20 tables used at the Studz Poker Club at Calder will feature a celebrity or Florida Marlins player. Mike Lowell, Josh Johnson, Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, Mike Cameron and more Marlins are all scheduled to appear. (Conine is "Mr. Marlin," and if I'm a player, I'd do whatever the guy asks; he's earned the respect.)

The top three prizes: $5,000 cash; a five-night stay at the Villages at Punta Gabriela, including airfare courtesy of Spirit Airlines; and a Breitling men's watch. Fourth through tenth places will receive cash, and the top 10 players will receive an autographed Marlins baseball helmet.

A 6 p.m. VIP welcome reception to introduce the celebrities will include an open bar and ballpark specialties. A silent auction will feature sports memorabilia with 100 percent of the dollars raised supporting the Conine Clubhouse.

Players may also take out a $20 “bounty” on the head of their favorite celebrity players for a chance to win a personally autographed item.

Visit ConinePokerClassic.org or call Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation at 954-265-7241.

The press release says families from more than 20 countries have used the Conine Clubhouse’s private rooms, playroom, playground, gardens, chapel, and family support area during times of medical crisis. Families with children being cared for at the hospital are welcome to stay free.

He has logged the outcome of his more than 2 million hands of poker played online and analyzed more than 10 million opponents' hands to find patterns of what successful players do.

So it's little wonder that 31-year-old Nick Brancato, a former high school computer science teacher, has the sobriquet of "Nicky Numbers."

Brancato, of Jersey City, N.J., was among the instructors at the World Poker Tour Boot Camp at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Aug. 13-15, offering advice to the sold-out crowd of 60 on how to maximize their profits.

Playing no-limit Texas Hold 'em in non-tournament "cash" games has ratcheted up since July 1, 2010, when the state lifted the cap on $100 buy-ins. So, with a lot more money going out onto Florida's poker tables -- and especially because players now have deeper stacks of chips -- he offered these insights:

Continue reading "'Nicky Numbers' gives tips at WPT Hard Rock boot camp" »

Is it the WPT brand name? The ballroom vibe? The right price point?

Whatever, the first event of the 2011 Seminole Hard Rock Summer Splash Poker Open broke -- no, smashed -- the state's previous high for number of players in a poker tournament.

Four flights of 400 -- 1,600 players -- filed into the ballroom at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Friday and Saturday to play in a $350 buy-in tournament that guaranteed $200,000 in prize money. It's expected to end Monday.

The previous high had been 1,035 at the Isle Casino & Racing just last month. And the high before that was at the World Series of Poker Circuit event at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in Februrary. Buy-ins for those were $330 at the Isle and $345 at the kennel club.

"Paying $350 to enter a tournament with a guarantee like that is a no-brainer," said Jacquelyn Scott, of Fort Lauderdale.

While pointing out that players are looking for value, director of poker operations William Mason said the idea of a tournament at the Hard Rock ballroom -- something different, with a great tournament feel -- and the World Poker Tour brand name's success at the Hard Rock also attracted players.

The Hard Rock had to turn away players at some sessions, and although I didn't see it myself, others people said they saw players selling their $350 seats for a couple of hundred dollars more because demand was that strong.

Updated: The payouts: First is $93, 024, second is $54,912; third is $40,656. Everyone 81st and about gets at least $1,000. Tournament pays 144, with the bottom nine getting $576.

Meanwhile, the cash game in the Hard Rock poker room was reported plenty strong, with a dozen or so $2-$5 no-limit games going, some $5-$10 action and even a $50-$100 game that started at 9:30 p.m. Saturday and didn't break up until 10 a.m. Sunday.

The Summer Splash continues through Aug. 22. The main event is a $2,200 buy-in with a $250,000 guaranteed prize pool. Here's an earlier article I did listing the tournaments.

So, looking to hear from players over the weekend. Why did you enter the tournament: a.) ballroom venue; b.) Reputation/success of earlier WPT-related Hard Rock events; c.) Good poker value. The comment feature is working a little goofy, but it's now linked to Facebook, which in some ways has its advantages.

Photo/Ralph Notaro/Seminole Hard Rock

Connor Drinan of Arlington Heights, Ill., was the big winner at the Florida State Poker Championship at the Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach.

He won the main event of the series of 17 tournaments, and $378,710. Buy-in was $5,300 and the main event attracted 283 players.

The tournament carried a $1 million guarantee, which was more than met. The prize payout was $1,415,000.

Among the notable names was Robert Mizrachi, who reached the final table, only to suffer a brutal beat. Getting pocket aces, he called and his opponent turned over ace-8, with an 8 on the board. Another 8 hit, and sent Mizrachi home.

Connor Drinan Arlington Heights, IL $378,719
Ganesh Letchumanan Falls Church, VA $223,550
Byron Kaverman Medina, OH $144,650
Mukul Pahuja Hicksville, NY $92,050
Samar William Plainfield, IL $65,750
Mark Hazlett Satellite Beach, FL $52,600
Matthew O'Donnell Lutz, FL $39,450
Robert Mizarchi Hollywood, FL $35,505
Sharon Levin Pembroke Pines, FL $32,875
Robert Zlatkiss Orlando, FL $30,903
Andrew Lictenberger Las Vegas, NV $28,930
Zach Milchman Boca Raton, FL $26,958
Mike Beasley Hollywood, FL $24,985
Gabor Peteri Kiskunhalas, Magyar, Hungary $23,670
Brian Hawkins Ft. Myers, FL $22,355
Cesar Fuentes MoncadaN. Lauderdale, FL $21,040
Norman Zapczynski Ft. Lauderdale, FL $19,725
Eric Andrews Lake Worth, FL $18,410
Ovenson Benoit Delray Beach, FL $17,095
Chris Dombrowski Wesley Chapel, FL $15,780
Christopher Bolek Boca Raton, FL $12,000
Luis Torres Las Vegas, NV $12,000
Noah Schwartz Sunny Isles Beach $12,000
Amir Ashmawy Coconut Creek, FL $12,000
Todd Terry Hoboken, NJ $12,000
Roger Goindoo Coconut Creek, FL $10,000
Nader Bahhur Hollywood, FL $10,000
Cong Pham Naples, FL $10,000
Sam Monks Wellsboro, PA $10,000

Continue reading "Isle main event winner earns $378K; Robert Mizrachi eighth" »

He seemed like a good guy, so I won't make the requisite "Cable Guy" joke: One of Comcast's top business sales representatives took home the trophy in the Dan Le Batard 790 The Ticket Poker Tournament at Dania Jai-Alai Wednesday night.

He's Daniel Pearlman of Dania Beach, who sells PRI, phones and internet for Comcast Business Class.

The last seven players chopped up a $12,850 prize pool, with Pearlman taking the most, $2,100. The other players in the $79 buy-in won an average of $1,800 each depending on their stack.

About 220 players attended the monthly Wednesday night tournament/party at Dania Jai-Alai with 790’s Marc Hochman distributing special “bounties” for knocking out designated celebrities. I made it to the final 24, and had Pearlman to my left as I got hit with a 10,000 blind while having 12,000 chips left. (He was happy to check it down, even though he had hit a pair and like a dummy, I threw in my last 2K holding nothing more than 5-6, no fold equity and four overcards on the board. Just didn't get what was going on...)

Even though Dania Jai-Alai will be closed for live Jai-Alai during the month of August, it'll still run its regular schedule, said Marty Fleischman, fronton assistant general manager. I wrote up Dania's schedule, and here's the link.

Dania Jai-Alai’s Poker Room is open Sundays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. The fronton is located at 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd in Dania Beach.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Summer Splash Poker Open is set for Aug. 12-22.

The 19-event series will take place Ballrooms at a variety of buy-in levels. The World Poker Tour Regional Main Event runs from Aug. 19-22 and carries a $250,000 guaranteed prize pool.

On-site registration for the WPT Regional Main Event is open until the end of Level 2 on each day (registration fee is non-refundable).

Continue reading "Hard Rock Summer Splash Poker Open is Aug. 12-22" »

It's one of the famous names in poker, that of a hall of famer. But this Mike Sexton is from Coral Springs.

Like the man who made the World Poker Tour what it is, though, this Mike Sexton is a champion: He won event No. 8, a $330-buy-in Texas Hold 'em event, on July 19.
The results:

Mike Sexton Coral Springs $12,500
Charley Sickmeir Evansville, IN $10,236
Preecha Taepakdee Boynton Beach $10,054
Zachary Stites Orlando $7,811
Tyler Denson New Smyrna $5,300
Steve Karp N. Miami Beach $4,943
Barry Smith St. Louis, MO $4,341
Jim Gibson Crystal River $4,140
Marty Markowitz Boca Raton $3,968
Austin Kempa Cocoa Beach $3,590
Leonard Pastan Palm Beach $1,682
Andrew Mullens Miami $1,602
Marc Duquette Boca Raton $1,522
Fabrice Mace Boca Raton $1,442
Richie Russ Hallandale Beach $1,362
Fred Allenspach Plantation $1,282
Abbey Daniels Coral Springs $1,202
Mark Levy Boynton Beach $1,121
Linda Lipkins Boca Raton $1,041
Nathan Adler Ft. Meyers $961
Tony Mariotto Ft Pierce $720
Chaim Halpern Boca Raton $720
Andrew Josephy Coral Springs $720
Kevin Larkin Miami $720
Neil Freeman Boca Raton $600
Trevour Samuels Miramar $600
Brenda Nelson Delray $600
Irving Rice Delray $600
Mike Orecchio Pompano $600

Continue reading "Mike Sexton (not THAT one) among Isle winners" »

Calder’s Studz Poker Club will host a $350 buy-in, $30,000 guaranteed tournament on Saturday, Aug. 6.

The single-day $25,000 guaranteed tournament on July 2 drew 241 players for a total prize pool of $48,200. The final 10 players agreed to a chop based off of their chip stacks.

“We're very happy with the turnout,” said Chris Trabue, Director of Poker for Studz Poker Club, said in a press release. “We look forward to offering our players larger guaranteed tournaments in the future.”

The Final Table:
1st - Harry Freeman - Palm Beach Gardens - $4,900
2nd - Brian Okeefe - Sunrise - $4,900
3rd - Alain Guilbaud - Miami - $4,900
4th - Julio Fernandez - Miami - $4,900
5th - Gerardo Marquez - Cuttler Bay - $4,900
6th - Maryon Harper II - Miami - $3,800
7th - Joseph Lachkovich - Sunny Isles Beach - $3,800
8th - Ivan Rodriguez - Seattle, WA - $3,114
9th - Alberto Garcia - Miami - $2,000
10th - Rosana Delarosa - Miami - $2,000

Also new for August, Studz will have $100 high hands every 15 minutes on Tuesdays. This is a new addition to their existing $200 high hands every 30 minutes Wednesdays and Thursdays, and $500 high hands every 30 minutes Fridays and Saturdays.

More Florida State Poker Championship events are in the books, and two big ones: Evan Snow captured the 1,100 sit-and-go bounty championship, and Doron Malinasky won a $550 tournament.

I like that sit-and-go format, and as Snow, who compares it back to home game days, says, "This one was circled on my calendar."

The results (provided by the Isle's Mike Smith and cut-and-pasted by me):

Event No. 6 $1,100 sit-n-go bounty:
88 players and $200 bounties
Evan Snow Coral Springs $22,000
Evan Teitelbaum Parkland $14,000
Bernard Aliberti Tamarac $9,000
David Bell Parkland $5,000
Todd Arnold Lauderdale By The Sea $5,000
Charley Alexander Coral Springs $5,000
Kevin Spires West Palm Beach $5,000
Dominick Minaya Tampa $5,000
Peter Han Boca Raton$5,000
Enrique Deahora Miami $5,000

Championship Event 5 $550 Buy-in 628 Players $314,000 Prize Pool
Doron Malinasky Hollywood, FL $70,000
Taylor Fortini Vero Beach, FL $29,787
Earl Carroll Lake Worth, FL $29,786
Robert Totalo Palm Bch Gardens, $29,237
Alcides Gomez ll Miami, Fl $12,450
Romel Nicholas Miami, Fl $10,707

Continue reading "Evan Snow, Doron Malinasky win big Isle State tournaments" »

This month, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is promoting $4-$8 limit Texas Hold 'em as its "Game of the Month."

Players get $5 per hour in Poker Rewards while playing with their Seminole Player’s Club Card.

Last month, the game was Omaha, and they also ran a Texas Hold 'em free roll. Errol Massey won the Omaha tournament, taking in $1,480 cash and a $230 tournament ticket. Paul Alfisi got $1,250 cash, and others got $230 tournament tickets: Chris Papastratis, Anton Grinkevich, Mary Plant, Mark Swanson, Sergey Khromov and Vincent Villers.

Ten players split $12,500 in the Texas Hold 'em free roll: Dino Nigro, Mario Defif, Charles Devito, Juan Manuel Rodriguez, Christer Andersson, Hai Dang, Ricardo Avril, Alan Kaplan, Scott Cowan and Marc Culberson.

The casino is also running High Hand of the Hour every day, every hour in July. Most days play begins at 2 a.m. and ends at midnight, paying $250 to $1,000 in cash.

There also are Splash the Pot Sundays, Mondays & Tuesdays, every hour from 12:30 – 9:30 p.m. Two Poker Room tables will be “splashed” with a $42 tournament ticket into a Super satellite for Event No. 1 of the Summer Splash Poker Open. Thursdays and Fridays, every hour from 4:30 – 8:30 p.m., three tables will be “splashed” with a $250 tournament ticket into a Super Satellite for entry into the Summer Splash Poker Open Main event.

Christopher Hice got the win, but looks like the cash was chopped in the Limit Omaha 8 tournament at the Florida State Championship. The $230 tournament drew 157 players.

Christopher Hice Panama City $4,900
Robert Rosengarten Aventura $4,900
Anita Pearl Coral Springs $2,700
Chad Eveslage Cory, Indiana $2,700
Pat Ritacci Las Vegas $2,700
Reinaldo Hermoso Miami $2,489
Gary Flur Plantation $2,489
David Steinberg Coral Springs $2,160
Eddie Siegel North Miami $2,160
Steve Knight Houston, T $691
Jesse Zeller Ft. Lauderdale $659
Morty Benowitz Lake Worth $628
Alan Phillips Palm Coast $597
Bobby Leff Plantation $565
Alan Finklestein West Palm Beach $534
Michael Deveronicka West Park $502

Another notch achieved in Florida poker's arms race: The first 1,000-player field.

The Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach set a state record for entries over the weekend, when it drew 1,035 players for the first event of the Florida State Poker Championship.

The previous state record was 877, for a World Series of Poker Circuit Event at the Palm Beach Kennel Club.

Buy-in for the Isle event was $330, and Isle Director of Poker Mike Smith said he was 'thrilled" with the turnout. The $310,500 prize pool more than doubled the $150,000 guarantee, he noted. Saturday, the last of three Day 1s, drew 445 players.

The series of 16 tournaments climaxes with a $5,300 buy-in that starts July 29 and carries a $1 million prize pool guarantee.

Roberto Riva (pictured) of West Palm Beach took home the trophy, in what looks like a three-way chop after Stuart "the Donator" Paterson of Boca Raton was ousted in fourth.

The series is called "the Florida State Poker Championship," but just to be clear, that's a made-up title -- it's not like the series is sanctioned by the FHSAA or anything.

Continue reading "Isle sets state record for entries with 1,035-player field" »

Jonathan Marks of Weston was declared the winner of the June 29 Dan LeBatard 790 The Ticket Poker Tournament at Dania Jai-Alai.

There was a 15-way “chop” for the prize money with each player earning $856. The 214 players were playing for their last shot at a WSOP $10,000 seat to the Main Event in Las Vegas that is held at the beginning of July. But, the remaining players agreed, instead, to split the prize pool.

Marks was the chip leader when the deal was cut. The fronton is located at 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd in Dania Beach.

Ramping up the high-hand mania that has hit South Florida card rooms, Studz poker room at Calder is offering $100 high hands every 15 minutes on Tuesday, July 5.

The first High Hand payout will be at 10 a.m., and will continue every 15 minutes until midnight.

"We always listen to the requests and ideas of our guests when planning our promotions" said Chris Trabue, Director of Studz Poker Club. "Depending on the turnout and popularity of the 15-minute high hands, it may be something that we will look at continuing in the future."

South Florida poker has gone to high hands everywhere, prompting what some call "bingo poker." But it's proving popular, so, there you go...

Meanwhile, Studz will host a $25,000 Guaranteed Deepstack at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 2.

The buy-in is $225, and the tournament features the custom deepstack blind structure that Studz created based off of player requests, according to the poker room.

All other Saturdays in July, Studz will host its normal $10,000 guaranteed tournament with a $100 buy-in at 11 a.m. The $10K headliner at Studz usually draws a field of between 130-150 players, and all tournament players are eligible for the $500 high hands every 30 minutes on Fridays and Saturdays.

Meanwhile, Calder also has a free-play "stickie" on the front of Friday's Sun-Sentinel. New members who bring in the sticker between now and midnight Monday get $20 in free slot play.

Felipe Macias (pictured at center) won the most recent edition of the Gulfstream Poker Challenge, outlasting Alfredo Vega (left) and Sergei Kirkonov (right).

Players earned "leaderboard points" by playing in the card room's nightly 6:30 p.m. multi-table tournament, or by playing in one-table tournaments held throughout the day. The top 50 played in the June 5 free-roll and the 10 players in the tournament got at least $500.

The final 10 in the June 5 tournament were: Felipe Macias, Alfredo Vega, Sergei Kirkonov, Bob Binsky, Jose Avila, Martin May, Sergio Cortella, David May, Shinthong Phen, Rolando Wong

The players made a deal on the prize money, but played out the tournament, as per Gulfstream's requirement. So Macias, who took the cash rather than the WSOP trip, really was the big winner, although he might have taken less than the advertised $10,000 for a WSOP seat and $1,000 for expenses.

The price of poker keeps going up. The Isle Casino & Racing's Florida State Poker Championships start July 7, and the July 29 main event carries a $1 million guarantee.

"We're thinking the World Series of Poker will be wrapping up, and poker will be at forefront," Isle Director of Poker Mike Smith said. "Hopefully, some players will come to South Florida."

The main event carries a $5,300 buy-in, the largest ever for an Isle event. (The state just lifted the $800 max on July 1, 2010.) The previous record at the Isle was a $3,200 buy-in for the Battles at the Beach main event in April.

The main event has Day 1A at noon July 29, Day 1B at noon July 30 and continues July 31 and Aug. 1.

There also are Omaha 8 or Better, Pot-Limit Omaha, seniors and women's events among the 16 tournaments. Buy-ins for tournaments other than main event range from $200 to $1,600.

Players can book seats via PokerTickets.com. For more information, call the poker room at 954-633-6680 or 954-633-6681.

The Magic City Casino Poker Room will have "the hot table 100" each Saturday beginning July 2.

Four times a day the casino will pick a "hot table" and deal out a five-card stud hand at the table. The winner of the hand then spins a wheel, which has notches for each card in the deck.

If they land on an ace, they get $2,500. If they land on a face card (valued as a 10 in blackjack), they get 10 x $100 = $1,000. Other cards will pay 100 times the card's value.

The promotion is at 2 p.m., 6 p.m.,10 p.m. and 2 a.m.

The card room is apparently doing something right. Recent stats show their business is up 24 percent, and they're the most lucrative pari-mutuel card room in South Florida other than the Isle and the Palm Beach Kennel Club.

The Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach is trying to bump up its Twitter traffic -- and is offering entry into a free poker tournament to do so.

They're running weekly tournaments offering $500 in prize money, but you gotta register via Twitter in advance.

The tournaments began June 11 and will run at 9:30 a.m. each Saturday through July 2.

The first 30 people to sign up via @IsleCasinoPP get in.

More details: The tournament will have $20 re-buys. Players start with 2,000 in tournament chips with a $5 dealer add-on option for 1,000 tournament chips. Re-buys are available for the first hour anytime a player is below 1,000 in chips.

The Mega Bad Beat is almost dead.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida capped its Mega Bad Beat jackpot at $125,950 on May 25, and once someone hits that, it is kaput.

The short reason: Too much bingo poker. So stopping it is good news for real poker players, except...

More bingo poker promotions are on the way.

For the uninformed: The Seminoles' Bad Beat jackpot pulled $1 from each pot across the tribe's seven poker rooms, and created one huge jackpot, which got paid out when someone with at least four 10s lost to an even better hand.

But in recent months, the jackpot has hit a ridiculously disproportionate amount at the Hard Rock Tampa (some say the players there just checked down non-eligible hands, chasing the Mega), and players at the other card rooms didn't like paying out to Tampa players, many of whom may not have been playing "real poker."

"Now each property will undertake their own bad beat programs, in combination with other poker promotions," the Seminoles' Gary Bitner said. "And those will be rolled out over the course of the next several weeks."

Bitner said the Mega "was a huge success when it was first launched, especially at the larger casinos, especially Tampa. They get more play."

By my math, the bad beat has hit 32 times: 17 at the Hard Rock Tampa, six at the Hard Rock Hollywood, five at Hollywood Classic, three at Coconut Creek and once at Immokalee.

"It just wasn’t hitting enough at smaller poker rooms, so the smaller poker rooms lobbied to do their own programs that would have a meaningful effect on their own players and that was logical to the people in gaming," Bitner said.

"In addition to the bad beat, some of those dollars will now go to more immediate gratification type promotional programs that will just be more exciting and more interesting to poker players."

In other words, they're going for the high hand promotions that have packed players into such places as Mardi Gras and Calder, and, more recently, Gulfstream and the Isle.

Scott Long, co-publisher of Ante Up Magazine, says Florida is jackpot-crazy, probably more so than any other place in the nation.

Continue reading "Seminoles drop Mega Bad Beat, but caught up in promo fever" »

Versus sports network is slated to air 10 hours of the World Series of Poker Circuit series this month at 9 p.m. Thursdays.

It'll be two one-hour episodes from the 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season, culminating with the national championship on June 30, which awards a WSOP gold bracelet.

The schedule: June 2: Harrah’s Atlantic City Eastern Regional Championship.
June 9: Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago) Midwest Regional Championship.
June 16: Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego) Western Regional Championship
June 23: Harrah’s New Orleans Southern Regional Championship
June 30: WSOP Circuit National Championship

The WSOP Circuit tour just completed its seventh season. It is a series of individual poker tournaments featuring 15 different tour stops from mostly Caesars-owned properties around the country (but also at the Palm Beach Kennel Club).

Buy-ins range from $200 to $10,000, and players amassed points for each recorded in-the-money finish they had. Those garnering the most points or winning or placing at the final table of select events, automatically qualified for the WSOP Circuit National Championship just held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas – just days before the start of the 42nd annual World Series of Poker.

Mark Migetz, of Wellington, was the chip leader at the conclusion of the May 25, Dan Le Batard Celebrity Poker Tournament at Dania Jai-Alai.

Migetz, pictured with Dorothy Huth, the tournament director, earned the 790 The Ticket “The Worst Trophy in the World” trophy for being declared the winner plus $805 prize money. There was a 21-player chop with each taking $805.

A total of 286 players were chasing a $10,000 seat to the July WSOP Main Event. However, when it came down to the final two tables, all players agreed to the chop.

Dania Jai-Alai’s Cardroom is open Sundays through Thursdays from noon to midnight, Friday and Saturdays from noon to 2 a.m. The fronton is located at 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd in Dania Beach.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino hit the Mega Bad Beat poker jackpot again, for $228,909.

The hand came at table No. 18 at 3:47 p.m. on May 19 . It was the second time in 19 days that the bad beat had been won there, and the fifth overall for the Hard Rock.

Fawaz Saleh of Fort De France Martinique won $114,454 with his losing hand of clubs straight flush ace to 5, beaten by Gary Robert Braeseke of Hollywood, who took home $68, 675 with a clubs royal flush (by my math that means the five cards on the board were two low clubs, two high clubs and the ace). The six remaining players at the table won $7,630 each.

A bad beat jackpot occurs when a seemingly unbeatable hand of at least four 10s loses to an even better hand. Once it’s won, the jackpot immediately resets at $100,000.

The bad beat has now paid players a total of $7,291,875 in 32 jackpots since it began in December 2009.

Mardi Gras Casino is holding its second tournament connected to WQAM-560 AM, the Sid Rosenberg touranment at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Buy-in is $150, and the tournament has a $10,000 guarantee. There's a $50 bounty for every player knocked out and knocking out Rosenberg pays $500. (Advice to players at his table: Headphones!)

Last month, Joe Rose was the celebrity, and the tournament results in a seven-way chop, with the survivors earning $992.

And earlier this month was the annual Hillel charity tournament, with all four Mizrach brothers as the celebs. The event drew about 200, and Marc Levy (pictured in center) was one of the winners.

Go to PlayMardiGras.com.

Jason Mercier of Fort Lauderdale, ranked the No. 2 poker player in the world, could have gone away mad after being knocked out early in the World Poker Tour/Hard Rock Showdown main event last week.

Instead, he stuck around to watch the final table.

But he was more than a fan. He had a stake in one of the players, Allen Bari.

Mercier's interest in two players -- Bari and Dan O'Brien -- was documented in a recent ESPN The Magazine report. The article, centered more on the idea of poker players backing players than Mercier and friends themselves, said Mercier stakes the two players, and gets half of their winnings.

So as he watched play on Wednesday night, it was a different feeling.

"I've never had a horse I've backed make the final table," Mercier said Monday night. "When you're actually playing, you're supposed to remain calm. But I was so excited I didn't sleep last night."

Although they didn't dispute the facts, neither Mercier nor Bari particularly liked the article -- sometimes seeing it in national print is just one of those things. But Bari said he'll always be a staked player.

"I have a girlfriend, an apartment, real-life expenses, so I can't put up my own money to play tournament poker," he said.

Bari finished fifth, earning about $211,997.

For World Series of Poker fans, there's even more TV to watch in 2011: ESPN and the WSOP announced that ESPN will offer "unprecedented access" to the 2011 main event July 14-19, including ‘live’ unedited hole cards on a 30-minute delay and more than 32 additional hours of coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For the first time, ESPN will offer daily coverage of the WSOP Main Event, where every hand will be shown unedited and hole cards will be available post-flop (for all players still in the hand), a press release says. The coverage will shift between two feature tables approximately every 30 minutes, and will show all “all-in” and “call” situations at both tables.

The release said WSOP “Grudge Matches” will also be streamed live (on a five-minute delay, no hole cards) on ESPN3.com beginning June 2, followed by the $25,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em Championship on June 3, and the $50,000 Poker Players Championship on July 6, all leading up to the Main Event.

The Tuesday night telecasts with McEachern and Norman Chad will begin July 26 on ESPN for 16 consecutive weeks leading up to the final table on Nov. 8.

The World Poker Tour main event, which took place this year for the first time in Florida, ended at 3:56 a.m. Tuesday. In our wrapup of the event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, we take a look at next year, the fan scene — and a very mean Tweet.

Best response: Taylor von Kriegenbergh, who endured 220 hands from Monday through Tuesday to win the $1.12 million first prize, said, “Clearly, 100 percent attributable to luck.” He added that his father, “my best friend,” died a year ago and that “the cards came from him.”

Line to merely draw traffic: I had to write something about the Royal Flush Girls, so I can use the photo. (Photo by Ralph Notaro) Also, the Hard Rock behind-the-scenes video.

Top locals: Abbey Daniels of Coral Springs (fourth place, $286,819); Noah Schwartz of Miami Beach (18th, $35,333); and Raj Vohra of Lake Worth (23rd, $31,176).

Bravest fans: The 100 seats available for the WPT final table TV taping filled up about 30 minutes before the scheduled 4 p.m. start on Monday. So overflow fans lined up in the Hard Rock Live concession area and watched what they could on a TV monitor. (Eventually they all got in, as people inside left.) (Photo by Bob Leff)

Next year: The Seminole Tribe of Florida has a five-year contract with the World Poker Tour, and although their agreement allows the WPT to have the event at the Hard Rock Tampa next year, it may return to Hollywood next year. “We obviously think this is a hot spot for poker,” the WPT’s tournament director Matt Savage said. More evidence for Hollywood is that the WPT announced an arrangement with Jacksonville Greyhound Racing & Poker to host a televised event, a non-televised main event ant a regional event next season. Tampa wouldn't make much sense.

Quality of play: The main event drew 433 players, a few more than expected, despite not having such big names as Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth or even Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.

Savage said he expects more of them to play next year, because this tournament had “players with a wide range of skill.” That’s code for: The tournament had some bad players, which the good players consider to be dead money, so it’s worth the trip.

Meanest Tweet: From Allen Bari, after being eliminated in fifth place: “Card dead for 6 hours watching morons smash buttons. GL Taylor [Good Luck to von Kriegenbergh], the rest can rot in hell.”

If you're waiting until July to see who won the World Poker Tour/Hard Rock Poker Showdown at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, click away quickly, and don't scroll down to the next item because I give you Abbey Daniels in the headline.

I'll give you this before the jump, though: The final table was an 11-hour battle.

Continue reading "Spoiler alert: Winner of World Poker Tour for Hard Rock" »

Abbey Daniels of Coral Springs finished fourth in the World Poker Tour main event Monday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, earning $286,819.

Daniels, 55, was among the six players at the final table.

Play started at 4:30 p.m. Monday and went five hours before a player, Tommy Vedes, was eliminated. Allen Bari was knocked out next, and at about 11:15 p.m. Daniels found herself with the shortest stack of just over 1 million chips.

With blinds at 40,000/80,000 and antes at 10,000, that meant she had to pick up some chips pretty soon. So she shoved her chips all-in three times in a row. The first two times drew folds from the table, but the third time, Curt Kohlberg called. He turned over a pair of 6s to Daniels' Ace-8, and she was unable to pair either card on the flop, turn or river, ending her final table stint at just under seven hours.

"I had my mind set on winning, but I feel great," she said.

Continue reading "Updated: Coral Springs woman finishes fourth in World Poker Tour main event" »

A Coral Springs "band mom" is hoping to march away with $1.2 million -- and a World Poker Tour championship -- Monday night.

Abbey Daniels, 55, of Coral Springs is among the six players who have survived five days of poker in the World Poker Tour/Hard Rock Poker Showdown. The final table play, which is being recorded for TV, begins at 4 p.m. Monday at the Hard Rock Live. Admission is free.

Daniels, the only local at the final table, already had developed a small fan base on Sunday, including friends she made because they all have children in the Coral Glades High School Marching Band. (Her son, Joshua, is a junior and plays euphonium.)

"A very sweet, warm lady," said Mitch Buntemeyer.

Band parent Chris Tritsch said all the parents, including Daniels, began playing in a home poker game a few years ago, although Daniels says she has been playing some kind of cards for much of her life.

"She was a tough player in those home games," Tritsch said.

Daniels said she has played in only three major tournaments before this: The World Series of Poker Main Event in 2010, the WPT Doyle Brunson event in November and the Beau Rivage WPT tournament in February.

"The money would be nice, but it's also about seeing if I can do this," said Daniels, who is CEO of a start-up medical device product and has time because it's still in research and testing. "I'm just trying to prove something to myself."

She said she's received some mentoring from Kevin Schaffel, the Coral Springs man who made the final table at the 2009 WSOP.

She also has a chance to make history: No female has ever won a WPT main event.

Continue reading "Coral Springs woman makes final table at World Poker Tour at Hard Rock" »

Anthony Spinella of Plattsburg, N.Y., won the main event at the 2011 Battles at The Beach at the Isle Casino & Racing.

There were 203 players in the $3,200 event.

The Isle's 23 events drew 3,369 players and $1,658,207 was awarded. The Isle's next tournament, the Florida State Championship will start July 7 with preliminary events. There will be 15 prelims with the Main Event starting July 27. It's a $5,300 buy-in and a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. (Full schedule to come.)

Prize Fund: Name Home Town
1st $174,870 Anthony Spinella Plattsburg,NY
2nd $102,510 Evan Dollinger Coral Springs
3rd $66,330 Matt Brady Havertown PA
4th $42,210 Adam Katz Delray Beach
5th $30,150 Allen Bari West Orange NJ
6th $25,929 Mike Tait Hallandale
7th $19,899 Gunnar Rabe Sweden
8th $14,472 Micah Smith Jupiter
9th $13,869 Brian Hawkins Fort Myers
10th $13,266 Harrison Gimbel Jupiter
11th $12,663 Dan Smith Las Vegas
12th $12,060 Sean Posner Miami Beach
13th $11,457 Phil Consolo Aventura
14th $10,854 Jeff Rine Coral Springs
15th $10,251 Robert Mclaughlin Washington, DC
16th $9,648 Michael Minetti Las Vegas
17th $9,045 Andrew FrankenbergerNY NY
18th $8,442 Wiliam Beasley Hollywood
19th $7,839 Phil Wasserman West Palm Beach
20th $7,236 Stuart Paterson Boca Raton
21st $6,000 Andrew Touchette Boca Raton

Continue reading "New York man wins main event at Isle; Next event starts July 7" »

Todd Terry, a 35-year-old former Manhattan attorney, leads the World Poker Tour/Hard Rock Poker Showdown after Day Two.

One bio says Terry has been playing poker professionally for the past few years and has already accumulated more than $1 million in live tournament winnings. He finished second in the $3,000 championship event of the 2009 Borgata Poker Open and in the 2007 WSOP in a $2,000 no-limit hold'em event.

In addition to his law degree from New York University (NYU), Terry also has a bachelor's in applied mathematics from Harvard University, the bio says.

Meanwhile, our Carey Wagner and Mike Stocker shot videos of the first day and second day. Mike Stocker also did a photo gallery.

The top 20:

1 Todd Terry 296,400
2 Charles Wiper 273,100
3 Steven Levy 247,300
4 Brandon Steven 237,600
5 Mike Beasley 231,000
6 Farhan Madhani 227,300
7 Brian Colin 224,500
8 Annette Obrestad 213,500
9 Jason Koon 207,700
10 James Mackey 205,100
11 Tyler Kenny 194,500
12 Raj Vohra 189,600
13 Matthew Ehrlich 188,600
14 Abbey Daniels 176,400
15 Timothy Miles 166,500
16 Charlie Fish 164,800
17 James Carroll 164,200
18 Randy Dorfman 164,000
19 DJ Blanchard 160,100
20 Elio Cabrera 160,000

Continue reading "Former Manhattan attorney leads after Day 2 at WPT/Hard Rock" »

A University of Miami graduate leads the World Poker Tour main event after Day One.

But he's far from a rookie. It's Randy Dorfman, 53, who finished second in the European Poker Tour High Roller event in 2009 and plays all over the world, including a $341K haul in January for finishing fifth at the Aussie Millions. He won $163K in Los Angeles this year and has fared well at the Isle and locally.

In an earlier article I did on him about two years ago, Dorfman talked about moving from South Florida to Las Vegas, and yesterday he told the WPT that he headed out west in 2010, but still has a house in Coconut Grove.

Dorfman has 160,000 chips, and there's still a long way to go.

The tournament has drawn 396 entries so far, and WPT officials are expecting a few more before the noon registration cutoff time today. That total has surpassed 385, which means that when the prize money is divvied up, it'll go over $1 million for the winner.

Lots of locals dot the list, including Matthew Waxman at No. 14, Steven Levy at No. 16 and Noah Schwartz at No. 4.

Dorfman made the video at WorldPokerTour.com, saying "I got lucky in a couple of spots," hitting a set of kings when an opponent had a pair. He also notes: "There were a couple of real amateurs at my table."

Meanwhile, our Carey Wagner and Mike Stocker shot videos of the first day and second day. Mike Stocker also did a photo gallery.

The top 10:
Randy Dorfman 160,000
Nicholas Grippo 149,375
James Caroll 130,925
Todd Terry 124,975
Seth Davies 115,225
Joe Serock 113,150
Marsha Wolak 106,350
Elio Cubrera 105,025
Jorge Chavez 104,525
Aaron Schaff 104,225

For faster updates, go to WorldPokerTour.com.

Spectator info: The World Poker Tour main event starts at noon each day at the Hard Rock Live through Saturday. Sunday it moves to the poker room and the final table -- with the bright TV lights -- is at 4 p.m. Monday at the Hard Rock Live.

Admission is free, but you can't walk around on the floor, where the players are. The players to take, breaks, though, and interaction in the concession area is pretty easy.

Update: Registration closed now, and it's a field of 433 with a total prize pool of $4,156,800 and a first place payout of $1,112,340.

Notable eliminations: Jason Mercier, Robert Mizrachi, Tony Dunst, Harrison Gimbel, Mike Sexton.

Years ago, Kathy Liebert, Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari and Gavin Smith were poker pros we saw only on TV.

Wednesday, they were among the almsot 400 players at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, vying for the biggest prize in Florida poker history.

The World Poker Tour's main event kicked off at noon at the Hard Rock Live concert hall.

"Shuffle up and deal!" proclaimed poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton.

Among the other notable players: John Dolan, Scott Montgomery, John Riordan, Dwyte Pilgrim, Stuart Paterson, David "Chino" Rheem, Robert Mizrachi, Frank Kassela.

The hometown favorite is Jason Mercier, who has won $5.4 million in the past three years.

"Hey, it's always good to have to travel 10 minutes instead of 10 hours to play poker," he said.

Matt Affleck, a Seattle pro who almost made the final table at the World Series of Poker, said: "I could see this being the biggest WPT tour stop within the next three years."

Tournament officials had 350 entries by 2 p.m. Wednesday and 396 by 6 p.m. Because entries don't close until noon Thursday -- the stakes are low early in the tournament so some players skip it and enter late -- the final entry total for the $10,000 event won't be available until Thursday.

Continue reading "World Poker Tour: Plenty of big names at Hard Rock as play starts Wednesday" »