Excalibur to make poker room all-electronic

Date: Thu, Aug 7, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Four Winds casino in New Buffalo, Mich., was the first casino to launch with a WPT poker room sans dealers. All tables are PokerTek electronic tables, with players depositing and withdrawing to cards at an in-room cashier.

Players have a love/hate relationship with the tables. On the one hand, it doesn't feel like a real poker game without the dealer controlling the table (not to mention no chips or cards). On the other hand, less rake and no tip is always good.

Mostly because of a delay in getting approved, Las Vegas hasn't seen the poker e-tables yet, but by the end of this month, one casino will be converting to all dealer-less tables.

Excalibur informed dealers that they will close their poker room on Aug. 18, then reopen Aug. 21 with all e-tables. Floor staff will be kept to a minimum, and obviously -- no dealers.

R.I.P., Excalibur. We remember you fondly when you were in the sportsbook area, we could get a free hotdog buffet in late afternoons, and we could spin the wheel.

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2008 WSOP Poker Faces

Date: Wed, Aug 6, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

I'm continuing work with the 2008 WSOP images so today's offering is more photos from the Big Poker Show. Most are up-close moments of concentration from some familiar faces and some not so familiar faces. This gives me an opportunity to display some of my favorite shots from the 47 days of big-time poker at the Rio resort in Las Vegas. All photos were taken at the 2008 WSOP at the Rio Resort Las Vegas.

Another dozen pics after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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Poker Chips Will Kill You?

Date: Tue, Aug 5, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Apparently the past rumors of poker chips containing lead are indeed true. Although the results of testing for lead content that was performed for a Phoenix TV station could not be duplicated and the dangerous levels they reported was never confirmed; but, it has been determined that lead is present. How much is too much? How about when it creates health problems?

The public was in an uproar when lead was discovered in children's toys coming from China and the government quickly decided that any lead was too much since "safe" levels have never really been defined and government standards continue to be lowered. Unfortunately, lead monoxide, PbO, is an excellent material to mix into ceramic products, especially ones that are going through a pill press and into a sintering oven or are mixed with an epoxy. They add weight, lubricate the dies, provide color, and react at low temperatures. Sounds like an ideal constituent for a poker chip material mix.

So are the poker chips at your favorite poker room going to kill you? You're more likely to die of clogged arteries from too many potato chips; but, you can practice a bit of lead exposure safety. When handling chips always wash your hands throughly and often, especially before eating or smoking. Never put chips in your mouth and never take them home or let the kids play with them. Adolescents are much more susceptible to lead exposure than adults.

Beginning November 1st, poker rooms in California will have to post signs stating informing customers that casino chips on the premises contain lead, a metal known to cause cancer, birth defects, and other health problems. This is the results of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Environmental Health against Gaming Partners International, previously known as Paulson Gaming, the Las Vegas based casino chip manufacturer.

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WSOP Poker on ESPN Tuesday Night at 8 PM EST

Date: Sun, Aug 3, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Prepare yourself for another two hours of poker from the 2008 WSOP at the Rio Resort in Las Vegas. This weeks offering of installment #3 features Event #4 - $5,000 Buy-In Mixed Hold'em. For those that don't know the mix its alternating levels of Limit and No-Limit Hold'em. Listed by starting chip count with seat number in parenthesis, Tuesday night's final table will showcase - (3) David "Chino" Rheem 885,000 - (6) David Williams 678,500 - (7) Justin Bonomo 517,500 - (9) Erick Lindgren 345,000 - (1) Howard Lederer 324,500 - (2) Roland de Wolfe 194,000 - (8) Andrew Robl 162,000 - (5) Isaac Haxton 115,500 - (4) Pat Pezzin 108,500.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The event attracted 332 hopefuls vying for a prize pool of $1,560,400. The winner will receive $374,505 and a coveted gold bracelet. With the likes of Howard Lederer, David Williams, and Erick Lindgren this final table promises to be a tough road for the eventual champion.

Erick Lindgren is often referred to as the world's best poker player without a WSOP bracelet; but, that all changes on this night. As the saying goes, "Every dog has its day," and this day belongs to E-Dog. Even though Justin Bonomo began heads-up play with a 1,983,000 to 1,340,000 chip advantage he couldn't overcome the hard charging Lindgren and had to settle for second place and $230,159.

More photos after the jump of some of the well known players that didn't make the final table

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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2008 WSOP Champions Gallery Now Available

Date: Fri, Aug 1, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The first 2008 WSOP Flipchip Photo Gallery is finally available. The 54 winners of the events can be seen in living color and hi-rez quality. For your convenience we've included the amount of prize money carted away by each of the 54 bracelet winners.

As always, all of the photos in the Flipchip Photo Galleries are available and offered per our Creative Commons License. Click the handy link above and check out the 2008 WSOP Champions. We'll be adding the final championship photo of the 2008 Main Event Champion on November 11th.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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Best Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory

Date: Thu, Jul 31, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Are you in Las Vegas, planning a trip to Vegas or looking for an excuse to enjoy some live action poker in Las Vegas? Look no further than the Poker Prof's Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory. It is the most up-to-date, comprehensive guide to Las Vegas poker to be found anywhere. Unlike print guides that offer month old info printed in a format guaranteed to confuse the Prof's schedules are updated daily so the information is as fresh and accurate as possible.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Need another reason to make the Prof's Poker Tournament Directory your exclusive poker planning tool? How about the easiest to use search functions currently available anywhere? Choose your input parameters - calendar dates, days of the week, clock times, casinos, formats, buy-ins - and and then quickly zero in on the events that fit your preferences, schedule and wallet. You can even custom tailor the resultant data in an easy to understand style of your choice.

It's time you stop squinting at the fine print of old fashioned poker tournament directories filled with out-of-date info. Use the Poker Prof's Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory and the only squinting you'll be doing will be recording the flash of your opponent's hole cards.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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Poker room offers at Station Casinos

Date: Wed, Jul 30, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

If you're in Las Vegas and play poker, it pays to sign up to the Station Casino's player's club.

We preferred the old Boarding Pass card to the new My Card, but that's just cosmetic. Either way, we received a flier in the mail for $10 off our next buy-in of $100.

Just two hours of play is necessary before claiming the $10, so it's basically $5 an hour to play a few hands.

The offer is good through Sept. 30.

You may already know about Station's Bad Beat Jumbo Hold'em Progressive, which starts at $150,000 at quad 10s beaten, then the hand requirement reduces every week until someone gets the beat.

And when it happens, everyone playing poker in every Station casino shares in the progressive... with a minimum of $200.

(This is aside from the in-house bad beat jackpot of $10,000 for Aces full of 10s beaten.)

Another offer is $250 for every royal flush.

And, in addition to the regular $1/hour comp for playing live poker, you'll receive $3/hour if you play between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Nothing beats playing poker on the Strip, but sometimes it's worth taking a drive to check out the local casinos (Palace Station is the closest Station to the Strip, but our favorites are Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch).

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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Ladies of the 2008 WSOP Part I

Date: Tue, Jul 29, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Sorting and cataloging the thousands of image shot during the 47 days of the 2008 WSOP is a mind numbing chore that requires hundreds of hours. I'm reliving the 55 events frame-by-frame so thought it would be appropriate to offer up some of my favorites gleaned from the mass. As expected from an old chauvinistic photographer, my choices trend toward the small percentage of females that take a seat at the tables.

I've selected a dozen or so images to spice up tonight's WSOP Poker Fest on ESPN. While you're watching the guys shove chips back and forth check out the ladies. Many more Flipchip WSOP photos will follow in the upcoming weeks.

Another dozen photos after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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2008 WSOP on ESPN TV Tuesday 8 PM EST

Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

WSOP Episode #2 premiers Tuesday evening on ESPN at 8 PM EST. Times vary depending on your location so be sure to check local listings for the exact schedule in your area. A record field for this first $1,500 buy-in No-Limirt Hold'em event finally topped out with 3,929 players to make it the largest non main event live poker tournament ever. It also set a record for the largest prize pool for a $1,500 buy-in event without rebuys at $5,363,085. Tuesday night's final table nine will take home $2,906,436 from the record setting purse.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Tuesday's final table is not just another table full of poker hopefuls wishing for a miracle. Included on the list of nine is the 2000 WSOP Main Event World Champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson looking from under the black hat to win his sixth WSOP gold bracelet. Under the other black hat at the final table is well known poker pro David Bach seeking his first WSOP gold. Poker millionaire Theo Tran will be there trying to strike the mother lode and carry away his first WSOP golden bracelet.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

This final table will go to the heads-up play for all the marbles after Jesus is eliminated in the third spot leaving a couple of relatively unknown players, Grant Hinkle and James Akenhead. For more than two hours the two tip toed around each other with neither willing to do much gambling. The first bet at the pot often takes it down with few hands going past the turn card.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The four day event finally comes down to the final hand and a most fitting finish to the biggest non main event poker tournament. With Akenhead all-in and covered by Grant Hinkle's call the showdown reveals Hinkle's hole cards of 10-4 of diamonds to Akenhead's favored Big Slick. The flop comes 10,4,10 giving Hinkle a full house and Akenhead a migraine headache. His only out is a miracle of runner-runner Aces or Kings. All his hopes are dashed when the fourth 10 comes on the turn to give Hinkle quads for the win and Akenhead second place.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Grant Hinkle takes home $831,462 and the bracelet. James Akenhead received $520,219 for his bad beat second place finish. Chris Ferguson drives away in his red Ferrari with $388,287 and Theo Tran takes $327,148 for his fourth place. David Bach collected $117,987 after going out in eight place.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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Online Poker Room Adds Bad Beat and Royal Flush Bonuses

Date: Thu, Jul 24, 2008

photo courtesy BodogLife.com

Bodog Poker recently added some value to their online poker room with Bad Beat bonuses and Royal Flush jackpots.

While few things hurt more than a serious bad beat, Bodog is easing the sting a bit. As of now, the Bodog poker room will pay out 100 times the big blind up to $1,000. All you need is to get beaten while holding at least a boat with aces full of kings.

On the flip side, when things are as rosy as they can be and you're holding a royal flush, Bodog will see that you make more than just the pot you're playing for. Their new royal flush bonus pays out the holder of the nuts of all nuts with 50 times the big blind up to $200.

Get the complete details on these promotions over at Bodog's online poker room.

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Tuesday Night is WSOP Poker Night on ESPN

Date: Tue, Jul 22, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Are you ready for some poker? The first installment from the 2008 World Series of Poker premiers tonight on ESPN at 8 PM EST. Join hosts Norm Chad and Lon McEachern as they provide the running commentary for the first of 17 weeks of WSOP poker. That's over thirty hours from the most exciting poker tournament in the world, the WSOP.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Tonight's episode will feature the $10,000 Buy-in Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship from the Rio Resort in Las Vegas. A total of 352 players vying for a prize pool of $3,308,800 in this first event of the 2008 WSOP. Supplement tonights viewing experience with Dr. Pauly's final table recap of the event right here on the Poker Prof's Poker Blog.

Set up the laptop, grab some brews, surround yourself with snacks and settle in for an evening of poker from the 2008 WSOP. This is great training for the soon to be here 2008 NFL pre-season games. So, are you ready for some football...and poker, too? The 17 consecutive weeks of Tuesday night WSOP poker on ESPN will take us to the November 9 same day coverage of the 2008 Main Event final tablewhen the November Nine will be competing for more than $9 million.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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November Nine...or Straight Eight?

Date: Sat, Jul 19, 2008

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, David "Chino" Rheem could be resolving an outstanding arrest warrant from Hollywood, Florida while the remaining eight 2008 Main Event finalist are vying for the $9 million. Rheem failed to show up in court for a misdemeanor trespassing charge from 2003. He also has prior felony convictions from Broward County Florida dating back 8 years.

So what does this have to do with the November final table? Nothing I hope. David Rheem is the early favorite to take it all and he is also the only recognizable player among the 2008 November Nine. Promoting this group will, at best, be difficult and to have David out would make it impossible..."Tune in November 9th to watch all the excitement of eight people you never heard of and aren't likely to hear from again going nose-to-nose for the title of World's Best Poker Player."

Following closely on the heels of the Tiffany Michele greed fest over the Poker News logos and the Ultimate Bet superuser cheating scam makes this latest revelation even more difficult to handle. Not exactly the publicity needed from the biggest spectacle in poker to provide a positive spin for the efforts to legalize online poker rooms. Does this mean next years WSOP entry form will come with a background check? Anyone want to venture an over/under on the number of felony convictions among this year's other 6,843 main event players?

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

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APT Macau Online Qualifiers at Bodog

Date: Fri, Jul 18, 2008

photo courtesy BodogLife.com

Bodog is now awarding trips and seats to Macau to compete in the Asian Poker Tour. The APT is taking place from August 26 - 31 in the Vegas of East, Macau China.

Score one of Bodog's four seats and you'll receive the Main Event buy-in worth $5,300, flight expenses, six nights' accommodation in Macau and $500 in spending cash.

Qualifiers are running from July 7 - August 3. But poker players looking for a shot at the APT can also get there on the cheap with Bodog's Seat Giveaway Series. The Seat Giveaway Series has buy-ins starting at as low as 5 Bodog Poker Points - so basically they are a series of freerolls. The top 25 players of each of these will get invited to the series finale freeroll which will award another APT Macau seat.

Learn more about Bodog's APT Macau online qualifiers.

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Bodog Announces Its Biggest Guaranteed Poker Tournament to Date

Date: Thu, Jul 17, 2008

Bodog has recently announced that its usual Sunday $100,000 Guaranteed poker tournament coming up on August 10th is getting a serious upgrade to $250,000 guaranteed.

The quarter of a million dollar guaranteed prize pool will be the richest Bodog poker tournament to date.

Between July 14th and the week of August 4th they will be offering hundreds of qualifiers with buy-ins ranging from $1+$0 to $54+4. Players will also be able to buy directly in for $250 + $20. No matter how many players show up first place will be guaranteed at least $55,000!

Get the complete details on Bodog's biggest guaranteed poker tournament to date.

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