Online Gambling News» Doyle Brunson

EPT/GSOP Prague; WSOP-C AC; Bellagio Super High Roller; EPL honors Brunson

Peter Amsel — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:40:15 +0000

Martin Finger’s friends and relations are no doubt expecting something extra special under the tannenbaum this Xmas after the German player won the European Poker Tour Prague main event over the weekend. Finger earned a whopping €720k for outlasting his 721 opponents to take the final EPT title of 2011. Also finishing out the year strong was runner-up David Boyaciyan, who added €535k to the €382k he earned last month for winning the Master Classics of Poker. Nicholas Levi of France took third and €270k.

Elsewhere at the Prague Poker Festival, Estonian Raigo Aasmaa took the Grand Series of Poker Prague main event title. From a starting field of 500, it came down to Aasmaa and Belgium’s Roger Hairabedian, who started heads-up play with a 2:1 chip advantage over Aasmaa. But by the end, it was Aasmaa breathing the sweet smell of success and the €80k in prize money. Hairabedian settled for €70k, while Finland’s Kimmo Kurko took third and €60k.

Across the pond in Atlantic City, Tuan Phan showed 617 other players who was the boardwalk emperor at the World Series of Poker Circuit AC main event. Phan earned over $188k and his first WSOP-C gold ring for prevailing in what was the second-largest WSOP-C field of the season and the largest WSOP-C main event field ever held in the eastern seaboard’s gambling hub. In true ‘there can be only one’ fashion, Phan eliminated eight of his nine final table opponents, including runner-up Hao Le, who earned $116k, while Marc Roy finished third, collecting $85k.

Elsewhere in America, Jason Mercier earned a cool $683k at the Bellagio $100k Super High-Roller Event in Las Vegas this weekend. Mercier also earned a $25k seat at the WPT World Championship, to be held at the same venue in May 2012. A field of 29 deep-pocketed players took part in the event, including Daniel Negreanu, Ben Lamb, Erik Seidel, Sorel Mizzi and Sam Stein. However, only five players would finish in the money, and none of those big names made the cut. In the end, it was David Sands earning $619k for finishing second, Isaac Haxton in third (($582k), Justin Smith in fourth ($289k) and Roger Sippi pleading the fifth to earn $192k.

Andy Lee has triumphed at the inaugural Star Poker Summer Series main event, earning $270k for besting a 164-strong field. (If you’re wondering whether that’s a typo, it is indeed summer in the tourney’s host city of Sydney, Australia.) The field was a disappointment for the organizers, who’d guaranteed a $1m prize pool, meaning there was a $221k overlay. Tom Rafferty withstood Lee’s will to win longest, earning $170k for his second-place finish. Matviy Bilenky took $100k for finishing third.

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour will add a stop in Seoul, South Korea at the Paradise Walker-Hill Casino between March 7-11, 2012. The main event will be a KRW 3m (US $2,600) buy-in. A source at Crown Poker told PokerNews.com that the Aussie Millions intends to stage a repeat of the $250k Super High Roller event this January. The 2011 version attracted 20 participants, including eventual winner Erik Seidel, who took home a hefty $2.5m for a hard day’s work.

Finally, Doyle Brunson has been granted a “lifetime player card” by the Epic Poker League. The 78-year-old Texas Dolly had already qualified for a two-year eligibility window based on his past accomplishments on the tournament scene, but he’s yet to take part in either of the EPL’s first two events. Brunson told the Associated Press that while he appreciated the honor, he found “tournaments are getting too hard to come through … I don’t plan on playing a whole lot of tournaments the rest of my life.” Bottom line, nice gesture to a poker icon, but, given Brunson’s apparent disinterest, what’s the point, besides earning the EPL a little midweek press? Oh, right…

Poker News

DoylesRoom changes name; Daniel Negreanu calls Annie Duke names… again

Peter Amsel — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:12:03 +0000

In May, iconic poker figure Doyle Brunson publicly distanced himself from the online poker site that bore his name. Following the DoylesRoom operators’ decision to continue serving US customers post-Black Friday, Brunson announced he would “terminate my endorsement contract with DoylesRoom.com … Although they believe they have the right to market the name DoylesRoom and to use my name and likeness for a period of time, I have asked them not to.” On Wednesday, Texas Dolly will finally get his wish. At 7am EST, DoylesRoom is rebranding itself as America’s Cardroom (AmericasCardroom.eu). Because nothing says America like a .eu domain.

Brunson is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. The nominees for the Hall’s Class of 2011 were announced last week, and among them was current Epic Poker League commissioner Annie Duke. Daniel Negreanu would likely be nominated for the Hall, only they changed the rules a while back so that you had to be 40 to get in. Not that Danny’s bitter, mind you. Asked by PokerListings.com to comment on this year’s nominees, Negreanu questioned the reasoning behind Duke’s presence on that list.

“For what? Robbing people at UB? Owing Russ Hamilton money and never paying him back? For stealing money from people at the poker table? For representing poker in the worst light imaginable when she was on Celebrity Apprentice? For all those things, then yes. If you took out the ‘F’ and added a “Sh’ in the word ‘fame’ then yes, I think she should be inducted.” Hey, at least he didn’t use the C-word this time. “Along with her brother [Howard], the Lederer family would be the king and queen of the poker Hall of Shame.” And just in case you think Danny was merely having a bad day, here’s another Howard Lederer dis from just last month (the ‘buffoon’ and ‘arrogant idiot’ comments begin around the 1:15 mark).

Poker News

WSOP: Brian Rast, Maxim Lykov latest winners as Main Event kicks off

Peter Amsel — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:49:52 +0000

Brian Rast has taken the closest thing the World Series of Poker has to the decathlon, the Poker Players’ Championship. Winning Event #55 requires competitors to display their skills in eight variations of poker, and the $50k buy-in attracts only those with some serious poker chops (or extremely reckless financial backers). Over the course of five days, the 128-strong field narrowed to an elite eight, including 2011 bracelet winners Ben Lamb and Owais Ahmed, plus 11-time bracelet winner (and two-time 2011 runner-up) Phil Hellmuth.

When heads-up action commenced, the Poker Brat held a chip edge of about 1m, a gap he proceeded to stretch to almost 13m, putting Rast on the brink of elimination. But Rast clawed back, doubling up twice in quick succession to pull even with Hellmuth, before delivering the coup de grace after Hellmuth went all-in. Despite having now finished second three times at this year’s WSOP, Hellmuth was histrionics-free in defeat, no doubt assisted by the knowledge that he’d made his biggest career tournament cash at $1.063m. Rast earned $1.72m, a swanky trophy and his second bracelet of 2011 (the only double-gold winner thus far). The rest of the eight cashed as follows: Minh Ly ($665k); Owais Ahmed ($482k); Matt Glantz ($376k); George Lind ($300k); Scott Seiver ($244k) and Ben Lamb ($201k).

In slightly less dramatic fashion, Maxim Lykov has taken Event #54, the final $1k NLHE event of 2011. The 23-year-old Russian pro outlasted a field of 2,644, personally eliminating five of his eight final table opponents, to take his first bracelet and just shy of $649k, bringing his lifetime tournament winnings over $2.5m ($1.5m of which has come this year). Dror Michaelo earned $400k for finishing second. In typical Russian fashion, Lykov was matter of fact about his triumph. “I have more money, but now I need to win the Main Event.”

Ah, yes… The $10k Main Event kicked off on Thursday, with none other than Doyle Brunson doing the ‘shuffle up and deal’ honors before taking his seat at the featured table. Earlier in the week, Brunson had claimed he was skipping this year’s ME, but must have woken up in a particularly good mood or something (although he’s since busted out, so kiss that good mood goodbye). So far, WSOP organizers are saying over 3,200 players have registered for the 2011 ME, with just under 900 of those taking their seats on Day 1A (compared to 1,125 last year) including Jason ‘Costanza’ Alexander. Serenity, now!

Poker News

WSOP: Matt Matros, Marsha Wolak earn gold; Doyle skipping Main Event

Peter Amsel — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:16:32 +0000

When the final table assembled for the World Series of Poker’s Event #53, the Ladies’ $1k NLHE Championship, female poker fans must have been especially nervous to see a dick at the table. Jonathan Epstein, one of 15 male players who dared risk never getting laid again by taking part in the event, was still very much in contention when it came to the final nine. Fortunately, he was sent swiftly packing, earning almost $14k and this quote from the WSOP announcer: “He’s single and unemployed. No surprise on either count.”

With the dickishness out of the way, the ladies got down to business. In the end, real estate investor Marsha Wolak took top honors, dispatching heads-up opponent Karina Jett in a single hand. Jett, who has previously recorded two fourth-place finishes in this event, took home $119k for being Ladies Championship bridesmaid. Wolak earned $192k and the eternal gratitude of women everywhere for not being Jonathan Epstein.

Matt Matros has taken Event #52, the $2,500 Mixed Hold’Em. This is the second bracelet for 34-year-old pro Matros, who took a $1,500 Limit Hold’Em event title in 2010, and had just missed two final tables (finishing 11th and 12th) at this year’s tourney. Matros earned $303k for besting a 580-strong field, including heads-up opponent Jonathan Lane (who earned $187k). While Matros is obviously thrilled by his victory, he was candid enough to admit that there was no way to “repeat the feeling of winning your first bracelet.”

That sentiment must be well understood by Doyle Brunson, who has 10 of the shiny gold things on his mantlepiece. After busting out of the $50k Poker Players Championship, Brunson tweeted “No main event for me. Maybe the DOJ will stake me.” Brunson subsequently announced that he wasn’t done with tournament poker, but that he had “lost a lot of passion for the game since Black Friday.”

The Main Event gets underway Thursday (7th) and prognosticators are out in force, trying to guess whether the 7% increase in attendance witnessed so far at the 2011 WSOP will produce a larger ME field. WSOP tournament director Jack Effel told the Associated Press that there “aren’t empty tables this year. We’re at capacity nearly all day, every day. What we’re seeing is a lot of the real poker players, the guys who play poker regularly … we’re seeing those guys more prominently than we have in the past. I think the big thing is that people want to win a seat for the main event. They want to get in – they’ve got to have some way to do that.”

Of course, many players were hoping their way in would come via online satellites, a strategy that went ‘poof’ after the Black Friday indictments knocked PokerStars, Full Tilt and the Cereus sites off the grid. Though the WSOP has added additional satellite events this week, Greg Raymer, 2004 WSOP ME champ, expects this year’s ME to fall below 6,000, after hitting 7,319 in 2010. While that would mean this year’s top prize would fall shy of the $8.9m Jonathan Duhamel earned for winning it all last year, Raymer was philosophical. “It’s not like [previous winners] were disappointed winning $5m and $7.5m.” Touché.

Poker News

Doyle’s Room leaving Cake Poker Network for Yatahay

Steven Stradbrooke — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:02:58 +0000

Confirming rumors that began circulating earlier this month, Doyle’s Room has officially left the Cake Poker Network for the Yatahay Network. Yatahay is the US-facing home of True Poker and BetCRIS, and the company that put forward its name to bolster iMEGA’s claim to standing in the Commonwealth of Kentucky domain name case.

On Friday, Doyle’s Room issued a press release stating: “We’re launching our brand new poker software. We’ve chosen to move to the Yatahay Poker Network. The new platform offers a completely new poker experience, and you’re going to appreciate all of the changes that are ahead.” The release goes on to quote Doyle himself as promising “a more tailored poker experience with more rewarding promotions and incentives,” such as a $65k Race To The Top launching in February and a schedule with $500k in monthly guarantees.

The release makes a point of stressing that “your players and all affiliate payments are safe. In fact, today’s announcement means that we’ll be able to bring all outstanding payments up to date … The new DoylesRoom is built with integrity, honesty and security, and both players and affiliates are going to love it.”

Precisely what the departure of its most prominent skin means for Cake is as yet unknown. Neither side offered any justification for the split, and a spokesperson for Cake issued only the following statement: “The Cake Network is working with DoylesRoom.com and True Poker in an effort to ensure their transition is as smooth as possible.”

Poker News

Doyle Brunson on the move; hissy-fit Hamilton; hip-hop Hellmuth

Peter Amsel — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 05:23:38 +0000

Doyle Brunson is much in the news these days, following his recent blog post that painted Las Vegas as “becoming more and more a not very desirable place for a poker pro to live.” Calling the outlook of Vegas’ live poker scene “bleak,” Brunson is pondering a move to California, where “at least there are a few mid level games that are played regularly.”

Brunson may not be the only Doyle currently considering a change of address. The anonymous chatter in online poker forums suggests Doyle’s Room is preparing to leave the Cake Poker Network, possibly ending up at Cereus. A few days prior to his blog post, Brunson was in Costa Rica, home to the Cereus Network’s UB.com. Doyle’s Room has been with Cake two years now, following Microgaming’s decision to pull out of the US market, and is the largest skin on Cake. CalvinAyre.com promises to keep an eye on the situation.

Speaking of UB.com, a 2+2 poster is claiming that Russ Hamilton, alleged perpetrator of Ultimate Bet’s $20m ‘superuser’ scandal, threw something of a tantrum at Florida’s Gulfstream Park poker room the other night. According to poster “Slif”, after he and his buddy took their seats, they recognized Hamilton at their table and began “an array of subtle verbal abuses” about the scandal, prompting the following outburst from an enraged Hamilton.

“You are a fucking dick…. a fucking dick. If you believe everything you read you are just stupid, just a stupid fucking dick. You do not know what you are talking about, you were not there. You just read about it and think you know…” Security arrived, so Slif and buddy proclaimed loudly that they didn’t want to play in a joint that “caters to this type of cheating scum,” then took their chips and bolted, leaving Hamilton with “a beaming bright red face and the veins on his neck popping out.” What does a stroke feel like?

Also beaming is Phil Hellmuth, the proud papa of a new mobile phone game featuring his likeness. Hellmuth’s High-Stakes Hold’Em is a collaboration between the poker brat, Oasys Mobile and Connect2Media that allows you to play tournament style with Hellmuth’s coaching, or go heads up against the man himself if you think you’ve got the cards (and the balls). But really, to best appreciate the product’s qualities, check out the pasty white guy ‘freestyling’…

Poker News

Was 2010 the year women ran poker?

Dan Taylor — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 08:04:31 +0000

Annette “The Huntress” Obrestad had a hell of year. Though she got in a verbal slap fight with Doyle Brunson (which Texas Dolly totally came out on top of, in my opinion), the bulldog faced Norwegian delivered this year, taking home healthy paydays in both the Aussie Millions main event (where she finished 7th) and the Heads Up Poker Championship (9th).

Speaking of the Heads Up Poker Championship, Annie Duke had a hell of a 2010. She clinched the title (and $500,000 prize) in that event, earned the distinction as the woman with the most in the money finishes at the WSOP and exposed what an asshole Daniel Negreanu is by being the bigger man when Kid Poker labeled her a C-word.

Other ladies making a splash in the year of the Tiger include: Jen Harman, who made two final tables at the WSOP; Vanessa Rousso, finished third in the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Classic; and online player Christina Lindley, who won the $300 No Limit Hold’em at the USACOOP.

Poker News

Does Doyle Brunson have a new squeeze in his sights?

Jamie Hinks — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 09:54:27 +0000

Being globally recognized as the godfather of poker basically puts you out there as someone who’s been to their fair share of parties, have got a fair bit of dollar in the bank account, and is something of a chat up line that will work with quite a number of women. So at 77 years young Doyle Brunson has got it quite good, and if the latest news is anything to go by then it may well be about to get even better for our favourite over 70 year old.

After opening a Twitter account, something I’m sure most over 65s haven’t a clue about, the online poker room owner asked his followers which poker player they’d most like to make whoopee with, and the answer was unanimous – Shannon Elizabeth.

Elizabeth beat out competition from Vanessa Rousso and Jennifer Tilly to take the crown of “Doyle Brunson Number One Whoopee Target,” and thanked Brunson via Twitter, to which he responded “You had it wrong about me voting you #1 fav for sex. I didn’t vote, but I can’t argue with so many (5300) voters:).”

Think someone was thinking about Jim, Nadia, and all that pie, weren’t they?!

Lifestyle News

77-year-old Doyle Brunson refuses to die in a hospital bed

Steven Stradbrooke — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 02:50:35 +0000

Doyle Brunson turned 77 years young a couple days back, an age that finds most people slowing down considerably, or even ceasing forward motion altogether. Not our Doyle. If anyone on this earth is determined to die with his boots on, it’s the Godfather of poker. In fact, he hired a lawyer to put that in writing. We here at CalvinAyre.com hope it’s a very long time before anyone pries those pocket aces from his cold hands. Read more.

Poker News

Global Gaming Event’s Win Dinner with Doyle Brunson League

Press Releases — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 05:52:15 +0000

August 8th, 2010 – Global Gaming Event and Doylesroom Win Dinner with Doyle League Series continues in August. Win Dinner with poker legend, Doyle Brunson

Global Gaming Event’s Win Dinner with Doyle Brunson League at DoylesRoom second of three event series continues in August and features a $1,000 Freeroll on August 14th at 3pm EDT. Then on Sunday, August 15th 3pm EDT is the Buyin Event including $1,000 cash added to the player prize pool as well as $1,000 in tournament tickets. Both events also include forum prizes – $250 for the top 3 forums for the freeroll event and $500 for the top 5 forums for the buyin event.

“This is a new type of tournament series for Global Gaming Events with an incredible opportunity for the winning player to win dinner with a poker legend! I can’t wait to see who wins!” says Tara Wilson, Director of Global Gaming Events support.

Even if you have missed the first event – no worries! You can still have a chance to Win Dinner with Doyle. The top 2 scores count towards the leaderboard rankings.

Don’t have a DoylesRoom account? Then head over to your favorite forum, download DoylesRoom poker client from your forum’s banner and open an account. Then head over to http://www.globalgamingevents.com and pre-register. Please pre-register with your LOGIN name and also make sure to use the email address you used when you signed up for your account. Then, in the drop down menu, choose your favorite forum. You’re all done!

Your forum not in the dropdown menu? Then add it! Global Gaming Events loves adding new forums! Just let them know by emailing support@globalgamingevents.com with the name of the forum, the contact email of the admin and then the URL. They’ll take care of the rest.

Pre-registration for this second set of Win Dinner with Doyle League Events closes August 11th at 3pm EDT. After pre-registration closes, watch for the reminder email as well as a link to get the screenshot to find the tournament on DoylesRoom.

The Freeroll event is restricted list and the buyin event is password protected. This password will be available when registration opens for the freeroll and will be included in the reminder email as well as be available on the site (http://www.GlobalGamingEvents.com).

Once again, hurry up if you haven’t already pre-registered! Tell your forum! Tell your poker buddies! Mark your calendar! This is an awesome event that shouldn’t be missed! Global Gaming Events wish you good luck to you and to your forum!

Press Contact:

Tara Wilson
Tara@Globalgamingevents.com
702 533 6000

http://www.GlobalGamingEvents.com

Press Releases

Are Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson drugged up to the eyeballs?

Ed Drake — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:56:36 +0000

We all know that poker players will try anything to improve their physical edge on their opponents. Joe Hachem, for example, works out religiously, while Jennifer Tilly likes to spill out of low-cut dresses that are too small for her but Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson insist on using Endura Strips. But aren’t these artificial alertness heighteners just tantamount to performance-enhancing drugs? Read more.

Poker News

Female poker players suck, says Annette Obrestad

Dan Taylor — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:34:16 +0000

Bit late for shades, Annette

Miaow! The nails are being sharpened in the bitchy world of female poker, where Annette Obrestad has unleashed her ire on members if the weaker sex. I say weaker because the Swedish poker ace has said that women play like a bunch of girls – or words to that effect. “I’ve always said that girls suck at poker,” says the player also known as Annette_15, who is clearly unconcerned about being snubbed in the ladies room at the WSOP. Or Doyles Room come to think of it – as she’s also had a pop at Texas Dolly himself, claiming that Doyle has a large ego. Hmm, humble words of wisdom from the vastly experienced, erm, 21-year-old. Read more.

Poker News

Laak A Surgeon: Unabomber taking scalpel to opponents

Steven Stradbrooke — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:21:17 +0000

Phil ‘Unabomber’ Laak continues to slice and dice his PartyPoker Premier League IV competition, having just won his third heat (out of three played). Even more amazing than this 1.000 batting average is that Laak wasn’t even supposed to take part in this year’s event, and only signed on when Doyle Brunson bowed out due to dental woes. With Laak apparently determined to kick all his opponents in the teeth, dental chairs across the globe might be so full of poker pros that the rest of us will be relegated to the old ‘string-tooth-doorknob’ school of oral hygiene. Read more.

Poker News

Unabomber replaces Brunson at Premier League IV

Peter Amsel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:22:39 +0000

One man’s dental woes might be another man’s new gold teeth. With Doyle Brunson forced to bow out of PartyPoker’s Premier League IV due to his upcoming five-hour stint in the dentist’s chair, Phil ‘Unabomber’ Laak has been selected to fill Doyle’s seat, and potentially line his gums with some of the mega-pots up for grabs. Read more.

Poker News

Doyle Brunson: don’t tell the wife I’ve lost millions

Peter Amsel — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:46:50 +0000

If you’re like the rest of us, you woke up Monday morning in a post-Super Bowl fog only to be gripped by the sudden realization that Valentine’s Day was only a week away. So will your lazy arse get any more creative than last year, when you grabbed the first heart-shaped box of chocolates you found on the supermarket shelf? Perhaps it’s time to take a tip from people like Mr. Brunson, who believes the secret to making a relationship work has a lot to do with maintaining separate bank accounts. Read more.

Sports News

Ivey and Brunson: Super Bowl losers

Dan Taylor — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:02:23 +0000

If I were Phil Ivey or Doyle Brunson – and unfortunately I’m not – I would stick to poker. Not just because they are among the world’s best – and in Ivey’s case – the world’s best - but because when it comes to betting on anything else, they suck.

Take Brunson. Looks like he lost $100,000 on the Colts, but then that may not come as any great surprise given that he thought they were playing the Patriots.

And as for Ivey, word has it he had $2m riding on Peyton Manning and Co. Ouch!

Admittedly, the only reason I’m being so smug is because I backed Drew Brees for MVP – but if you can’t brag when you’ve outfoxed those two, when can you? Gents, don’t give up your day jobs. Read more.

Business News

Doyle cancels trip to tournament, books trip to dentist

Peter Amsel — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:01:03 +0000

Okay, which would you rather endure – a five-hour stint in the dentist’s chair, or sitting through the entire five-hour Super Bowl pre-game show? According to his blog, Doyle Brunson will be skipping the PartyPoker Premier League IV tourney, in part because he has to endure some major dental work. Doyle also reveals he’s got $100G (the Premier League buy-in amount, incidentally) riding on the Super Bowl. To get Doyle’s pick on the big game, click here.

Poker News

Full marks for FullTilt in Bluff Reader’s Choice Awards

Peter Amsel — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:18:12 +0000

The Bluff Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards are out for another year. FullTilt took Top Poker Site, Doyle Brunson was named Top Twitterer and Phil Hellmuth was dubbed Favorite Poker Villain, but as far as that last ‘prize’ is concerned, it’s worth noting that this poll was conducted before players started spitting more than insults at each other. Read more.

Conference News

Slow news day = Doyle Brunson Twitter ‘scandal’!

Steven Stradbrooke — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:56:15 +0000

You know those signs they used to have in pubs, the ones prohibiting any discussion of religion or politics? Apparently, some people are under the impression that there’s a similar sign hanging around the Twitter bird’s neck. In a clear indication that nothing much is going on today, Doyle Brunson is being assailed for his recent Tweet about Barack Obama. Read more.

Lifestyle News

Doyle Brunson publishes autobiography

Dan Taylor — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:58:35 +0000

The Godfather of Poker

If anyone’s autobiography is worth reading it’s Doyle Brunson’s, who’s been there, done it and bought the Stetson.

He reckons he has already played longer at the highest level than any person alive or dead. In fact he’s been playing so long players have even died at the table with him. Read more.

Poker News