Poker Condoms

Barry Shulman: The 2009 WSOPE main event champ.Barry Shulman became more than just the owner of CardPlayer Magazine and father of 2009 November Niner Jeff Shulman in London early Friday morning.

He became the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe main event champion, beating a final table that pundits are labeling one of the best the WSOP has ever seen.

“When I moved to Vegas, I took up poker to try and prove I could beat the best in the world,” said Shulman, who won a Stud 8 bracelet in 2001.

“I got pretty good for a while and I proved it about 10 years ago. I haven’t been playing very hard since then. (Read the full post about ‘Shulman ships 2009 WSOPE title’…)

November Niner James Akenhead.Rife with intriguing story lines, a dream final table was set at the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe main event in London Wednesday.

Featuring two members of the November Nine and the father of a third, one of poker’s hottest young players and one of the game’s most enduring superstars, plus three more previous WSOP bracelet winners, Thursday’s final nine at the Casino at the Empire appears to be an instant classic.

Ivan Demidov shocked the poker world making the final table of the 2008 WSOPE main event just a few short months after booking his seat in the WSOP’s first November Nine.

Now, British pro James Akenhead and French Everest Poker qualifier Antoine Saout have matched that feat.

“Just to make the World Series final in Vegas is obviously massive,” Akenhead told PokerListings. (Read the full post about ‘November Niners, superstars fill dream WSOPE final’…)

As the third annual World Series of Poker Europe progressed, the buy-ins for the events rose and the fields grew tougher. Thus was the case for Event 3, the £5,000 pot-limit Omaha tournament. In the last one before the Main Event at the Casino at the Empire in London’s Leicester Square, players gathered for their second-to-last chance at a gold WSOP bracelet.

The first day of the event saw 154 players enter the tournament for a £770,000 prize pool, and each competitor was given 10K in starting chips and a 10K chip for rebuying more chips during the first three levels if needed. The interesting structure spurred the usual thinning of the field, and only 36 players were still seated at the end of the day, including Sandra Naujoks, Tom Dwan, Noah Boeken, and Howard Lederer. But (Read the full post about ‘Vilmunen Defeats Lederer to Win WSOPE Event 3 PLO’…)

So I was just reading this interesting article about the future of casino gambling if California and Nevada decide to legalize marijuana. You can read it here:
Will Casinos Cater to Pot-Smokers in the Future?
There is a pretty big debate heating up over this case, with both sides adamant that their views are correct. Despite the popularity that the controversy has created, it will be no small task for both states to “pass legislation that allows them to tax and regulate the drug.” Apparently, the western states are suffering heavily from the economic downturn, and the legalization of marijuana is one of their proposed cures.

This comment from the article’s author has me eager to learn where he pulled his facts:
“Numerous poker players already smoke marijuana regardless of the plant’s legal status, so, realistically, it makes sense for casinos to adopt tolerant policies toward pot-smoking players once pot is legal. (Read the full post about ‘Casino states want legal marijuana’…)

Isabelle Mercier has left Team PokerStars Pro.

After five years as a member of Team PokerStars Pro, the French-Canadian poker superstar said she is saying goodbye to one of the most lucrative sponsorship deals in the poker industry to “take on new projects.”

Following a series of emails back and forth with PokerListings, Mercier sent out a press release claiming she “currently has extensive projects, both nationally and internationally, in the world of poker,” and, “is not about to give up her life’s passion.”

No specific details regarding the projects were included.

However, after the French-language release of her autobiography Profession: Bluffer in 2008, Mercier did tell PokerListings she was seeking an English publisher and interested in selling the film rights.

A law school graduate from the University of Montréal, Mercier’s first foray into the poker world was a night shift job at the Aviation Club de France where she quickly ascended to the position of poker room manager.

Eventually, Mercier sold everything she owned to bankroll herself as a professional player, stepping into the spotlight when she won the World Poker Tour Ladies Night II event in 2004.

Since then, Mercier has amassed more than $1 million in career live tournament earnings, most recently following up a final table appearance at last year’s EPT London High Roller tournament with a win at the EPT Monte Carlo Ante Up for Africa event to benefit Darfur, where she donated the entire €250,000 first-place prize to the cause.

Taking on new projects.

Her biggest online score is a third place finish in the PokerStars Sunday Million this past July for $115k.

Mercier had lived out of a suitcase the past four years before finally buying homes in both Monaco and Montreal this past year. Sh (Read the full post about ‘Isabelle Mercier quits Team PokerStars’…)

Do you like Sit ‘n Go tournaments? Would you like to play in them AND have the chance at a big payday of $50,000? If so, you can do just that – at Titan Poker!

Yes it’s true – you could walk away with $50,000 or more by participating in the Fort Knox Jackpot Tournaments. The six-player, $50 + $9 buy-in Sit n’ Go Fort Knox tournament begins just as soon as six players take their seats at the table. With only six players, the non-stop action is super hot as you battle for the gold and that is what makes the Fort Knox tournaments special.

The Fort Knox tournaments offer you a shot at the Fort Knox progressive Jackpot that grows bigger each week until a lucky player wins it. Tit (Read the full post about ‘Players Grab the Gold in Titan Poker’s Fort Knox Jackpot Tournaments’…)

After being somewhat of a ghost on Full Tilt for the past few months, Gus Hansen took a $300/$600 Pot-Limit Omaha seat last night and started gambling.

It seems wherever Hansen goes, gamble is quick to follow. In his usual style Hansen was involved in 7 out of 10 of the biggest pots of the night.

He won the night’s largest pot, worth $200,000, by flopping a boat and with both of the other players in the hand holding each other’s outs, they where all but drawing dead.

The second largest pot of the night saw Hansen flop a wrap draw, but this time he was drawing dead when Ashton “theASHMAN103″ Griffin turned the big full: Aces over sixes.

Surprisingly, the third largest pot of the night had Hansen fold pre-flop letting Brian Hastings get his double-suited kings all in against Di “Urindanger” Dang’s aces. (Read the full post about ‘Gus Hansen brings some gamble to the tables’…)

The case started with a shocking announcement that left the poker community a bit overwhelmed, but it will end with the highest court in the state of Kentucky hearing the Commonwealth’s own appeal in the case. A (Read the full post about ‘Kentucky Domain Case Goes to State Supreme Court’…)

Will FullFlush bring it?Some of the best poker players in the world will be facing off at the PKR Heads-Up Grand Slam tournament now set for London this October.

The invitational event will take place at 3 Mills Studio Oct. 8-10 with 32 players battling it out for a first-place prize of $100,000.

Organizers are promising a deep structure that will let skilled players rise to the top.

“We have been looking at creating a heads-up event for a while now and I’m excited that we have the formula just right,” said Eddie Hearn, managing director of organizer Matchroom Sport.

“Shows such as the NBC Heads-Up Championship have attracted huge ratings and we expect this event to continue that trend.”

A broadcast of the draw for the event will be shown on both MatchroomPoker.com and PKR.com Oct. (Read the full post about ‘FullFlush, durrrr headline PKR heads-up tournament’…)

With the primary focus of PokerStars on its WCOOP tournament series, regulars on the Sunday schedule like the Sunday Warm-Up, Sunday Million, and Sunday 500 were removed temporarily. For those looking for more than WCOOP tournaments, they went elsewhere, though the overall numbers didn’t seem to be much higher – if at all – than usual. Regardless, Full Tilt Poker had the highest numbers for the week with regards to its Sunday regulars, with the highest first prize going to hAAydon for winning the $750K Guarantee. L (Read the full post about ‘SUPER POKER SUNDAY – Full Tilt Gets Boost With WCOOP Canceling Stars Majors’…)