Tom “durrrr” Dwan is a man that certainly needs no introduction. As one of the finest and most feared poker players in the world, Dwan, 25, has become the face of the young poker generation, an online legend that has won and lost millions, played in the richest cash games in the world, and has earned the respect of just about everyone in the poker community.

Recently, Dwan made his first stop in Manila to compete in the 2012 APT Philippines Manila Millions Event. In that event, considered as the biggest in APT history, Dwan was joined in the felt by a number of other poker heavyweights, including Phil Ivey, Elton Tsang, Johnny Chan. Unfortunately for “durrrr”, his time on the table was short-lived after busting out second in the entire field.

In between hitting the tables at the 2012 APT Philippines, Dwan sat down with the eternally gorgeous Tatjana Pasalic of CalvinAyre.com to talk about a slew of important subjects, including his experience in Manila, the rise of the Asian poker market, the future of a pro poker league, and his thoughts on the state of Full Tilt Poker, the very site that gave birth to the “durrrr” legend.

As somebody that has been forced to leave behind online poker, Dwan has become a fixture on the poker road, having made frequent trips to Macau to play with some of the best Asian players in the world. It’s through these trips that Dwan has come to appreciate the rise of poker in Asia, something that he’s looking to be a part of.

“Definitely the amount and stakes in Asia are growing, where the amount and stakes in the US and Europe, if anything, are declining, maybe staying the same in some places.” Dwan said.

“In Asia stakes are getting bigger everyday and more people are playing everyday.”

Despite having made good money on live games all over the world, Dwan is still an online poker player at heart and the aftermath of Black Friday hasn’t been easy for him, forcing him to go out on the road to play poker a lot more than he’d prefer.

“I’m ready for some online play again,” Dwan said with an exasperated smile.

Dwan also said that the traveling for games can become a little too taxing and is something that isn’t a problem when playing online poker. He also talked about how its easier to play online because of the ease of access involved and the fact that you can sit on any table you want without having to wait too long for somebody to stand up.

“With live, it matters more trying to get into games whereas in online, you can enter any game by just clicking sit,” he said.

Tatjana also broached to Dwan the subject of Epic Poker, a series of poker events that had a pro league feel to it and carried a stringent requirement of being available only to onlyto poker players who have met certain qualification criteria for multi-million dollar lifetime earnings, multiple wins and/or cashes at high level tournaments. After three events, the people behind Epic Poker, Federated Sports + Gaming, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Despite the short-lived state of Epic Poker, the concept of a professional poker league is something that Dwan is optimistic will happen, if not now, then sometime in the future.

“The overall premise is something that 30 years from now, will almost definitely be happening,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if its going to be this iteration that’s called Epic Poker, but the premise of a pro league with money added is something people would like to see.”

As with any conversation that involves somebody that was previously involved with Full Tilt Poker, Pasalic asked what he learned from the FTP debacle.

“There’s a lot of possibilities that could happen that would depend on some things,” Dwan said. “Definitely, I’ll be a lot more careful on any site that I join in the future to make sure they have all the money and that there’s no risk for the players to not get paid.”

So is Dwan ready to rejoin Full Tilt Poker if, somehow, the online poker site comes back?

“Unless they have the money to pay the players, I would never rejoin the site.”

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Jay Tan is, without question, one of the most beautiful poker pros in the circuit today. But more than her stunning good looks and unyielding charm, Tan’s poker prowess have also turned some heads, none more so than Bodog, who officially made her a member of Team Bodog.

Recently, the newest member of Team Bodog sat down with our very own Tatjana Pasalic, herself a member of Team Bodog, to discuss a wide range of topics, including her entrance into the world of poker, breaking down poker stereotypes, and her involvement with Team Bodog.

Growing up in Sydney, Australia, Jay Tan was in the middle of finishing her masters degree in banking when she decided to focus most of her time in poker. “I used to work really hard studying for my masters in banking, but on the side i was always  playing poker and I kind of just thought that I’m doing better at poker so why not give it a shot,” Tan said.

Despite the success she’s had playing poker, Tan, just like anybody else, had to go through a lot of obstacles to get to where she’s at now. “There were a lot of sacrifices,” she told Pasalic. “Being Asian [and playing poker] is something that’s not widely known yet. There were some culture conflicts there too because my parents were unsure about what poker is so there was a little sacrifice to get them to understand what poker is all about.”

Tan’s slow but steady rise up the poker ladder didn’t go unnoticed by a lot of people, including Team Bodog. Whether it was destiny or a sheer stroke of coincidence, the stars really did come together for both Jay Tan and Bodog.

Ever the humble lady that she is, Tan said that she was just lucky to be chosen as a member of Team Bodog, despite the well-known belief that her skills, more than anything else, was the driving force behind Team Bodog’s decision to sign her up as an ambassador. “One of my friends in the poker community referred me to an agent and by chance, there were looking for somebody to join you,” she told Pasalic.

“So I applied and here we are now!“

It didn’t even take long for Tan to prove that Team Bodog struck gold in its decision to sign her up as its newest member. At the recently concluded 2012 Asian Poker Tour Philippines, Tan scored a third-place finish in the $550 Heads Up Asian Championship event.

And even before the 2012 APT Philippines, Tan has already scored plenty of impressive finishes on her resume, including a fantastic showing at the Macau Poker Cup last February that included a second-place finish in the Red Dragon KO Bounty event and a fifth place finish in the Red Dragon Main Event.

One look at Jay Tan and it’s easy to excuse yourself for being mesmerized by her beauty. But once you sit down on the felt with her, it won’t take long for you to realize that this Asian stunner has the poker skills to back up her charm.

And at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing. For all her beauty, Jay Tan plays a mean game of poker, something a lot of other players, be it male or female, should put into their heads before sitting on the same table with her.

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“Hi Ma’am! I like your makeup, Ma’am!” – are the words I hear every day as I enter the Genting club at the Resorts World here in Manila, Philippines. Asian women love their makeup and I don’t blame them, I love it too!

I came to The Philippines a week ago to cover the APT Manila Main Event and this has been my first trip to Asia. From the moment I landed until the very last moment I leave, this has been such a unique experience that I will never forget.

I have been all over the place, but The Philippines is one of the friendliest countries I have ever visited.

Everyone, from the girl that works at the cafe, the cab drivers, hotel maids, people at the street market, to the casino staff, are always smiling. 8AM or 3PM, everyone is welcoming and helpful.

We arrived the day before the start of the Main Event and got mind blown by the size and the looks of our hotel. The Marriot at the Resorts World complex is complete with shops, restaurants and facilities that are better than some Vegas hotels.

Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, Chinese restaurants, open their doors almost 24/7 and it was hard to decide where we will have our first meal. But there was not much time to spare, the tournament was starting tomorrow and we already had crew meetings lined up.

The second I finished those up, I called up the local masseuse – the girls showed up to our room and literally massaged me to sleep. Best feeling ever after a 24 hour trip.

The next day was very exciting as I got to meet Jay Tan. She just joined our team and I was so happy to welcome her. Unfortunately, she felt a bit sick so her Main Event performance got affected, but she showed her teeth for sure finishing third in the Heads Up event. Way to go, girl!

The Main Event attracted over 250 people, which was really awesome, but the biggest attraction here was the Super High Roller. With over $120k for the buy in, I was getting dizzy seeing all these players come to register and sit down.

Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan showed up and a lot of commotion started – everyone wanted to take a picture with their heroes.

Unfortunately, they left as they busted but I managed to grab Tom to talk about his opinion on the EPIC poker drama and how will that affect the US market. We also spoke about his plans and I asked him if he would resign with FTP2 in case they offered him a deal. The video should be out really soon, so I will not spoil it for you, but he did give some interesting answers.

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After the whole High Roller and Super High Roller buzz settled, we decided to explore the area. McLean and I went to visit the night market. Being foodies, we tried EVERYTHING!

Oh man, there were some crazy things to eat and, yes, we ate them.

I had chicken intestines, pork face and cheeks with egg and rice, shrimp balls (not testicles, just puffy balls of dough, duh!), milk tea with pearls…I was just stuffing my face like there is no tomorrow. But there was tomorrow and me not eating for the next two days cos I was so full!

Since the previous day was packed with food, the next day had to be packed with drinks. My lovely CalvinAyre.com crew took us to the “Hobbit House” in Manila.

Yes, it’s a bar with over 250 kinds of beer and all the staff is very small. I mean, very small. Unbelievably friendly, nice and smiley though.

Seeing McLean, who is 6’4 in the Hobbit House was just silly.

As soon as we walked in, we noticed the great music – the live bands that were coming on stage were some of the best performances I have seen.

We were introduced to the owner and were served some “Flaming Frodo’s”. Basically, they made like Jaeger bombs but with beer and some strong ass grappa. One of those each and we were laughing at McLean’s ‘Dad jokes’ about short staff.

“It’s really impressive that we have gotten such good service, despite the fact that they are such short staffed.”

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The next day, clearly, had to start easy, due to the amount of the beer we tasted so we hung out by the Maxim pool, which is a super nice pool area with great fruit platters and I found out I will be doing a photo shoot at a hotel resort in Thailand. Obviously, I had to go and buy a dress.

Now, that was an adventure! I walked into a shop and spotted the perfect one, but it was too big and it was the only one.

The guy said: “Don’t worry, Ma’am. Come back in 20 minutes, Ma’am!”

I did as told and when I came back the fixed it for me so it fit perfectly. The dress was so pretty they asked me to take pictures with them and asked if they can post them on Facebook. We giggled and took pictures pretending like we are at a fashion shoot.

I did not have much time for messing around though, the schedule was packed – I had only 3 days left and the email with the plans was not even close to the end. Visiting the Bodog88 HQ, hanging out with the Bodog live dealers, interviews, a photo shoot…This week should have 8 days!

To be continued….

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Photo courtesy of WPT Europe

There are so many beautiful things about this city – the architecture, the music, the schnitzel and strudel…this is, without doubt, one of the most romantic cities in the world. However, Vienna brings memories that are more than just food and romance related – I have covered many tournaments here but this was the first time I played one as well.

Spending my Easter holidays in Zagreb wasn’t such a great idea after all – my Mum is an Eastern European woman; which means I was force fed for a week all sorts of hams, cured meats, baklavas and cakes. Boot camp exercise, here I am again. This week I need to up my cardio to 60 minutes per day just because of her! One cannot say no to an Eastern European Mum, even Eugene Katchalov (@eugenekatchalov) will confirm that!

Driving to Vienna was really pleasant, I enjoyed the fact I didn’t have to go through the plane security and weigh my bags. Four hours later and we were at our apartment – offloading and preparing for another adventure.

I decided to play Day 1A because my cousin is in town and I wanted to show her around. Learning from my previous playing experiences, I took some people advice and decided to calling McLean (@mcleankarr) to a last longer. I lasted way longer than him in the last 3 events, why would this time be any different.

Lee Davy (@chingster23), the official WPT blogger and a dear friend described our bet:

When we already started playing, we found out that the event is a re-entry. We never changed the rules so I assumed we keep them as they are. McLean busted not long after the 3rd level and I was pump fisting the air laughing at him imagining him in a Simba suit. However, he came and claimed that he did not bust because it’s a re-entry and he still has a chance to win.

I tweeted the issue and got some confusing answers so we are still in the limbo on what we should do. In the mean time, I am looking at some costumes in case I have to wear one since I busted late last night. Any suggestions are welcome!

My first table was really fun – I had Jason Wheeler at the table and we spent the majority of the first level giggling and talking about food and recipes. Then Eugene Katchalov sat to my immediate left. Not the best left to have, IMHO but he was a true gentleman and very nice to me even when he took 3k chips from my stack. I had A9 and two nines on the board. He turned over his pair of fours and smiled: “I will put your 3k to a good use.” He did keep his word, he is still in the Main, as opposed to me; busted to Bodo Sbrezny 99 vs. QQ.

My day finished by dragging myself home at midnight after a long session and packing to go to Zagreb for the morning to get my Thai visa but I am now on my way back to Vienna and ready for new experiences.

Hugs,

Tash xxx

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After jumping back and forth between poker and law school for several years, 27-year-old Vanessa Selbst finally set poker to the side long enough to graduate from Yale’s prestigious program earlier this year. She isn’t actually an attorney yet since she hasn’t taken the bar exam, but when she does – most likely in the next year or two, she says – she’ll be able to punch her own ticket to a long and fruitful career, if her poker results are anything to go by.

There’s plenty of reason to think those results are a good barometer of a future law career for the Brooklyn-born, Yale-educated Selbst, who says she sees a lot in common between poker and law since they both rely on analysis and deductive reasoning. Her record of $4.9 million in tournament winnings since 2006 speaks to an uncommon talent for that kind of thinking, as does the fact that she built that total, the second-most ever by a woman, despite devoting herself to the game on just a part-time basis as she pursued her law degree. And then there’s her consistency: all those winnings have come over a six-year span rather than being clumped all together in a single year of run-good. (The bit of run-good that was thrown in there – three major wins for $3.36 million over the course of a single calendar year – just makes her accomplishments that much more impressive.)

For the time being, though, law is heading to the back burner and Selbst is going to focus on poker once again. The WSOP is coming up in just a few months so she’ll be able to focus on trying to win her second bracelet in an open event, which would tie her with Kathy Liebert for the most ever by a woman. She’s also within a million dollars of surpassing Liebert’s total of $5.82 million to become the winningest woman in the game’s history. With plenty of opportunities after the WSOP to play both in the US and in Europe – where she won the Partouche Poker Tour main event a few years ago – it’s not a stretch to think that she could add both of those accomplishments to her resume by the end of the year.

With a little more time on her hands now that law school is out of the way, she’ll also be able to jump back into cash games. That’s where she got her start nearly a decade ago, playing her way up the ladder to big-bet games with blinds as high as $25-$50 and $50-$100 before she began splitting all of her time between tournaments and studying. Though she admits to bit of rust having crept into her game over the last few years, Selbst is confident that she’ll be able to return to form.

At the end of the day, confidence has been the key to Selbst’s success – wherever she’s focused her efforts. And wherever she focuses them in the future, whether on the felt or in the courtroom, that’s likely to remain the case.

Poker News

When the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event kicks off later this summer it will be over a year since the Black Friday indictments were handed down. Attendances are one of the main parameters observers look at to say whether or not the WSOP is a success or a dud. Rather surprising then that figures for the 2011 WSOP saw a drastic improvement as it grew 3.7 percent over the previous record as it rose to 75,672. Most people were befuddled as to why Black Friday didn’t have more of an effect. This year could be different.

A year ago most of the court cases and enquiries were at an early stage and players were still hoping to see some all of their money from the Full Tilt Poker shutdown. It’s been a year now and in that space of the time the “shit has hit the fan” so to speak. It goes to explain why almost 42 percent of the pros in the above video agree the attendance will drop in 2012. That’s in contrast to just a quarter thinking the amount will increase and 33 percent thinking there will be a very marginal move in either direction.

Most of those thinking it’ll increase are pinning their hopes on the event retaining its luster as the biggest and best the poker world has to offer. This is definitely the case but the loss of money amongst players will make it all the harder for them to jump on a plane all the way to Las Vegas. The chance to show off the bracelet to your nearest and dearest is always there as a motivating factor though and anyone hungry enough for one will still attend.

Poker News

If and when online poker is legalized and regulated in the United States, there’s are few poker pros better poised to take advantage of the game’s almost-certain explosive growth than Phil Hellmuth.

The Poker Brat would be in excellent position to become the online face of the World Series of Poker. Few players in its history have been as successful at the WSOP as Hellmuth; his $7,808,281 in winnings there ranks ahead of everyone but the last seven winners of the Main Event, whose individual prizes are the seven largest in the game’s history. He has 11 WSOP bracelets and 84 cashes – both records – plus 45 final tables and the 1989 Main Event championship to his credit. It’s a resume that might even be enough to convince you that at least some of those grandiose Main Event entrances he’s made over the years were justified (though if you’re like me you’re still trying to forget him wearing that General Patton get-up).

Even away from the WSOP, consistency has been the hallmark of Hellmuth’s poker career. His first tournament cash came way back in 1987. In every year since then he’s tallied winnings worth at least five figures, with all but three of them worth six figures or more. Add them all up and he’s taken home more than $13.1 million from tournaments, good for more than anyone else in the game aside from Erik Seidel, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu. Put all of that together and you have an obvious choice for selling an online WSOP-branded poker room to the masses.

Of course, Hellmuth has been the face of someone else’s poker room before. It’s certainly possible that he could have an opportunity to start up his own brand instead, and his marketing potential would seem to be a perfect fit for such a venture. He’s been a regular on TV poker programming since the early boom, having cultivated a larger-than-life image that goes over well with producers looking to spice up what can sometimes be a dull game on the small screen. If there comes a resurgence in cable channels catering to poker fans, it’s likely Hellmuth will continue to be such a presence since his antics are the kind that audiences either love or love to hate. Throw in his penchant for self-promotion – he has his own branded clothing, his own type of Oakley sunglasses, and a gift for always knowing where the nearest camera and microphone are – and it’s hard to imagine him not resuming his old place as a TV poker fixture.

Hellmuth is also a lot more likely than most of the game’s older players to continue to be a force in open tournaments that get TV air-time, given that his single most successful year ever in terms of winnings came just last year. He finished 2nd in three different WSOP events – the $50K Poker Players Championship, the $10K Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo, and the $10K Deuce-to-Seven Lowball – on his way to winning $1,652,521, nearly $400,000 more than his previous high back in 2006. If he were to have his own branded online poker room, getting face time on ESPN at WSOP events like those would essentially be free advertising for that room.

While Hellmuth’s winnings in 2011 were impressive, they were still relatively small compared to what some far less accomplished players have taken home in a single year over the last decade. That’s not to take anything away from him – his career has obviously been one of the game’s greatest and it’s highly likely that he’ll continue to win for the foreseeable future, probably even surpassing his 2011 winnings at some point. It’s just to say that for Phil Hellmuth, the real money in a legalized and regulated US poker market is going to be in the rake, not on the tables.

Poker News

I remember when my agent called and said we have sealed the deal – I was jumping up and down, calling my friends and family, and more importantly, thinking how I’m gonna treat myself.

Ever since, I have had nothing but fun with Bodog – playing my first WSOP Main Event – that excitement is hard to describe!

Sitting with some of the best players in the world, talking strategy with my friends every break, becoming a part of the community…then, just as I thought things can’t get better, I got an invite to go to Dominican Republic and meet up with Amanda and Evelyn for a glamorous photo shoot.

Boy, were we treated like royalty! Makeup artist, stylist, photographer…we spent the week being pampered with champagne, massages and I felt like a real supermodel – the only job that week was to be happy.

Unfortunately, I did not make the money in Punta Cana, but our qualifier did and it was so much fun to rail him throughout his final table. Even though he finished second, we celebrated as if he won because that’s what our team does – we support each other in good and bad times.

Of course, you might ask yourself – but where is the playing part? And you would be right after all, I am the Team Pro.

After a few months of coaching, I came back to the tables in Dublin and outlasted over 200 players – one loose call and I lost my coin flip. But, I will win my coin flips one day and you will see me on some final tables before you know it!

So, why am I reviewing my year now? No, I am not leaving – I am inviting a girl to join me. Yes, that’s right; Bodog is looking for another girl to join our fabulous team. We need somebody who is fun, plays poker and lives outside of North America because I need some backup – Amanda and Evy have taken that part of the world!

So, if you think you can handle our poker, party and travel lifestyle, send us and email and join Team Bodog! I cannot wait to get another sister.

Tash xxx (@tattytats)

Editors Note: Bodog Poker is looking for a new Poker Pro to join Tatjana on Team Bodog but they aren’t looking for just anyone. Like a good dating profile, they were pretty specific in the type of person they want to join the Bodog Poker Pro team.

Bodog is looking for an attractive female poker player who is a fresh face in the industry. Bodog is not looking to teach a playboy model how to play poker so poker experience is necessary. 

One last thing, sorry this invitation is not open to Americans.

If you or someone you know wants to apply to be the newest member of team Bodog send an email to Pro@bodogbrand.com to find out all of the details.

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Two players, both on my left and right together with me were confused – what was he doing calling my raise before flop with 4,5 off?

I asked him in the break as it was killing me – I went through scenarios of my raise being too small, having some sort of a tell, anything… “The board before the hand we played was 4445 so when I picked up the 4 and the 5 I decided the fate is giving me a sign. Nothing to do with you, girl.”

I stood there with my mouth open – the fate??

And that is one of the stories from the tables of the WPT Dublin. The overall tournament was so much fun, as usual. I have been to Dublin a few times now, last year I hosted the Irish Open and I loved every second of it. The hosting, of course, because it is my job and I enjoy it, but Dublin itself has a vibe that is hard to explain but it drags you towards a glass of whiskey and a beer every time you are awake.

I’d gladly share some more stories but they are all hazy!

Unfortunately, I did not get to stay there long because it was time to pack for the Aussie Millions but it was nice to meet up with some of my working colleagues from the WPT circuit and catch up at the hotel bar.

Ah, if the hotel bar chairs could only speak, I wonder what poker stories they hide. I also met a lot of new players, Twitter followers and I got picked up by the Irish Independent that did a page 5 story on me, which was pretty damn awesome.

I accidentally slow rolled Dermot Blain, which was a total mistake and I apologised so many times for it but still feel bad so if you ever want to hear about the Q2 hand in Dublin, just tap me on the shoulder at my next event.

All in all, I left Ireland with a giant grin on my face after outlasting over 200 players; reading yet another poker book and poking McLean on the back every three seconds with questions about strategy. I hope that his coaching brings some bacon from my side in 2012.

Now it is time for some sun and tennis – I just got to Melbourne.

Tash xxx (@tattytats)

Poker News

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you most likely already know that I have spent 8 days in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with Evelyn Ng, Amanda Leatherman and the Bodog crew. It was one of the most awesomest times I have had in my poker career.

We split the visit in two parts – shoot and poker.

The first 3 days were exhausting but worth it. We got a great photographer and Bodog put together their best team to organise the team photo shoot. I arrived to a room full of clothes and makeup and two stylists ready to doll us up.

I have done a few photo shoots in my career (FHM, KLIK, WPT Magazine) and it’s always so much fun but it’s also a lot of work – long hours, a lot of waiting. However, in the end, it is all forgotten when you see the final product.

It was fun to see the three of us being transformed with makeup and hairstyles. We laughed our butts off trying to pose and keep a straight face.

I bonded so much more with Evelyn and Amanda in those 3 days! It almost felt like a 3-day slumber party – most of the time we were all just walking around in our underwear sipping on cocktails and giggling like three little girls.

During the shoot, I tweeted a few pictures from behind the scenes and I got a lot of great feedback about the whole setup but I cannot wait to show you all the final pics – they will blow your mind!

I walked into Amanda’s shoot and just stood there with my mouth open – she looked so glamorous!

We also did a group shot where I just kept staring at Evy. She has so much confidence about her. No wonder she is on every hot chick list in poker – she is one sexy mamma!

So, yes, you are right, I am being a bad girl for teasing you so much but I’m not allowed to show the pics just yet!

Instead, I am giving you some more behind the scenes and inviting you to stay with Calvinayre.com to read a full report on the poker tournament we all played in Punta Cana.

Love,
Tatjana

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Being away from the computer gave me more time to hang at the casino and socialize with the poker players as I was in Malta for the WPT. It’s a gorgeous location, I must say. I used to live there and actually, my first live event I ever worked on was in Malta. Since then I always wondered when will a big poker tour come and take a shot at this stunning place and here we are!

Besides visiting the restaurants as usual, I managed to squeeze in a lot of time for the gym – gotta get back in shape for Punta Cana! – And talk to the players about a little phenomenon.

When I started working on the live events, about 4 years ago, apart from the EPT, poker tours were all still very small. WPT was huge in the States, Unibet didn’t even start…and look at us now – our calendars are bursting with events. However, after Black Friday and the death of Full Tilt, a lot of the pros had to stop travelling the circuit. Hotels, flights are expensive and those all buy-ins add up…

Chatting to one of the players, an interesting fact popped up: High Roller tournaments only started a little while ago but they are getting bigger than ever!

Everyone is saying the economy is going down, no more big games since Black Friday, things are tough. But for some reason, the High Roller fields are getting bigger no matter the buy in.

I can still remember the 250k High Roller in Melbourne – we all stood and stared like we have seen an alien mothership just land in the middle of the casino as the crème de la crème registered and played this prestigious event. Not long before EPT had their versions of 10k buy-ins – regular, turbo, 6 max, then WPT started adding theirs. And just as everyone, I thought that after Black Friday things will go down, but no.

The last WPT High Roller with the buy-in of 20k was one of the biggest they had!

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for such big events – they are much more fun to rail, it’s really great to support your friends who are playing but we started to wonder: Why are they becoming so popular?

So, since I didn’t know the answer myself, I asked my tweeps. Here is what some of them said:

@bigacsiga84 - everyone that is rolled now wants to push out the ‘young kids’ out of the equation, cause the game might not last forever so they are basically organizing a private game and making the buy-in as high, that as if they were deciding who to allow

@pokergob - recreational players were never part of the high roller event. Black Friday had a greater impact on those players

@boyand1 - besides the WPT Bellagio one, but it’s confusing to remember them all when Seidel wins them all. But about the 15k+ ones most main events are boring for online players, the high rollers go fast, have small fields and yet the payouts are great

@JamesDaBear - Lack of online high stakes action… they needed something to replace their constant $5k Turbo HU SNGs.

Bartek Pałka – Quality of the field, good structures, nice pay-outs

Peter Blackhall – It was well promoted…& after the success of the HR tournament at the Aussie millions why wouldn’t it be well received…IMO black Friday had little impact on the HR event at the WSOP

Robert Stone – The ‘local businessman’ is a big draw for some of the pros in the field. Lots of people had money in bank accounts with nothing to use it for, so finding people to buy some of your action was much easier. Also, coverage of events was good; TV time is a big factor, especially when there are only 30 runners.

Kevin Mathers from 2+2 Poker forum – @kevmath – Venue certainly helps, especially if there’s already a major event being held. If you’re not a sponsored player though, expect players to have pieces of each other to reduce the variance. Bellagio had a 100k in May during the WPT World Championship, getting 29 players. There is another 100k scheduled for the Bellagio in December, but will they draw similar numbers? Besides the $1m One Drop event scheduled for next year’s WSOP, the only other place that could realistically hold a six-figure buy-in event is Aussie Millions and hope a few of the Macau “businessmen” turn up.

And my favourite: Aaron Gale – The free dinner token.

What do you think? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!

Until next time,

Hugs and love from Tash xx @tattytats

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Since then, I have been touring around the USA – Los Angeles, Denver, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and I am not even sure I have listed all of the cities I went to in August! But one city was a longer stop than the rest – Las Vegas was once again the centre of attention at the beginning of the month with the Epic Tour being held at the Palms.

I must admit, I was very excited about the event for a long time. I went over to the Epic Poker offices where Annie Duke (@annieduke) told me all the plans. It sounded like they have everything worked out to perfection but I was still wondering how it will be in real life. From my experience, something ALWAYS goes wrong when you prepare such a big event.

Anticipated for months, a tournament run by one of the best tournament directors, Matt Savage (@savagepoker), consisted of the best players in the world; this was a big circle on my calendar.

I went there to support my boyfriend, McLean Karr (@mcleankarr) as he is in the top 15 players on the Global Poker Index (GPI) list; also to hang out with some of my media friends who were in charge of the coverage.

It was pretty nice to sit down and catch up with Al (@alcanthang), Jay Newnum (@whojedi) and Michael Reed (@merchdawg). The media bar is always the most fun place during the event, I assure you! This crew is so awesome, so time went by very quickly.

It all started with a drive from LA and arriving just in time to play the charity event day prior to the Main Event. The cause this time was for the victims of the hurricane that hit Joplin Missouri. It was really touching to watch a video showing all the kids that needed help with recovering their homes and schools so we all re-bought as much as we could in the first two levels.

If you were there that night, you could hear people saying: ‘Rebuy, it’s for the kids!’ The guys were big gentlemen and very often they would rebuy the ladies at their tables if they busted them.

It was so much fun to be a part of the event which raised over $50,000! WELL DONE, poker community!

As I said – it was fun but it was also time to get serious the next day and get into the action for the players. You would think I was bored with all that action there and not being a part of it but Annie Duke made sure we are all covered so I got a sneak preview of the final table stage as it was being built. IT WAS AWESOME! I loved the whole idea of combining basketball and poker and creating an arena. Great job by the creative team.

I was truly impressed by the whole tournament – walking upstairs, seeing the best poker players in the world sitting down at noon to give us some of the best poker action we have ever witnessed was truly an amazing experience. I anticipated every break to hear new hands and stories from the felt. For a second I felt like a total groupie, I got so carried away.

All good things come to an end and so did my trip. McLean unfortunately busted on day 2 and it was time for us to head to another destination but the impression with the Epic stayed with me for a long time.

It was a bit unfortunate that the winner of the first tournament was scandalous but it made a lot of people happy when they saw how the committee handled the case and I think it is a huge step forward to regulating the poker community.

After everything, I would like to thank Miss Duke for finding time to email me a few words because she is busy with the whole team preparing the new event that starts in just a couple of weeks.

“Epic Poker League’s Inaugural Event truly exceeded expectations. The Main Event attracted 137 runners and first place was $1,000,000. More importantly, the players had a great time and felt like they were treated well and, for me, that is the true measure of success. We will only get better in that regard as we get passionate feedback from those who play in the events. The comments during and after Event One were very helpful in making positive changes in operations and player experience for our upcoming event in September.”

I wish I could join them again in September but my calendar is booked for another cool event – I will be hosting ‘Poker in The Park‘ for CalvinAyre.com so make sure you do not miss me!

If you are in London around September 2nd – come and say hi! Tatjana Pasalic (@tattytats)

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Of course, this year has been specifically intense because of Black Friday.

Spending my time with a lot of the American pros and I found out that they were treating this WSOP as their last shot at making some money before they all go out and get ‘real jobs’. Wow – that sounds…well, scary!

It reminds me of the film “Wall Street” when Michael Douglas says – you are the ninja generation – No Income, No Job, no Assets. Still, a lot of the media and players predicted bad numbers in Vegas this year but we were all surprised by the volume of WSOP entrants.

This year broke almost every record from last year and the WSOP Main Event had the 3rd most players in its history. Was it because players were playing for the last time, the number of first time players, the fact that the economy is recovering or something completely different, it’s hard to say but the tables were completely full every day.

This year it was amazing to fly into Vegas, come to the Amazon room to feel the atmosphere, feel the buzz that started with the first event, railing friends when they got deep in tournaments, making new friends and finally – preparing for my very first Main Event.

When I first came to Vegas, 6 years ago, I came to support a few friends who played the Main Event. If anyone back then told me I would be sitting at the same tables just a few years later, I would tell them to stop joking. But, a few summers later and a big sponsorship deal, I got the opportunity of the lifetime.

Players always talk about how table draw is important; I never gave it much thought until I sat down at my first table and started meeting people. Poker is such a great game and a great opportunity to make friends from all over the world.

Unfortunately, after a great start on Day 1, my Day 2 did not go so well – my first all in and I was out. My QJs vs. 55 QJ couldn’t get there. “CANNOT WIN A COIN FLIP” – I always thought it was annoying to hear and then I caught myself saying it and it made me laugh. However, I had something else to look forward to after I did my interviews – I was invited to be a guest on the ESPN live stream!

This year, in a way to help spark interest and boost ratings for the World Series of Poker, starting with Day 3 ESPN decided to offer “live” coverage (airing on a 30-minute delay) of the Main Event. Lon McEachern, Norman Chad, David Tuckman, Brandon Adams, Antonio Esfandiari, Olivier Busquet and Phil Hellmuth were among the players providing analysis and commentary for the poker fans watching on the ESPN Channels and online at WSOP.com. Action consisted of two tables alternating every 30 minutes with the feature table located in the “Mothership” of the Amazon room with the second table nearby.

The online forums and Twitter were mostly positive of the coverage, with Esfandiari and Busquet getting especially good marks. Unsurprisingly, Hellmuth’s appearances sparked intense debate (standard for the Poker Brat) from both sides.

The dozens of hours of coverage is a far cry from the early 2000′s, when just an hour or two was dedicated to the Main Event. 2003 was a watershed year for televised poker, especially in the US. After the early success of the World Poker Tour, ESPN dedicated 7 hours of coverage to the WSOP Main Event, won that year by Chris Moneymaker. It helped spark the poker boom in the US, both live and online.

In 2004, ESPN aired over 20 hours of the World Series of Poker, including showing preliminary bracelet events in Pot Limit hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Stud, even Razz!

It was more of the same in 2005 with more preliminary events, but no Razz along with extensive coverage of the Main Event.

Eventually, the number of preliminary events would dwindle to just a couple of events, with more hours given to the Main Event. However, ratings started to slide in 2007, the year Jerry Yang won.

The following year, the WSOP November Nine concept was developed to help raise interest and ratings for the Main Event as well as increase mainstream publicity for the final nine players. Ratings went up in 2008, and Phil Ivey’s appearance at the 2009 final table expected more of the same. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and the 2010 November Nine final table saw numbers fall to 2007 levels.

Returning to the present, ESPN held a similar experiment earlier this year with the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, considered a success by all involved, leading the network to take the bold step of offering extensive coverage of the Main Event as it happens, as well as producing their standard edited coverage starting July 26 with “Grudge Matches” featuring Johnny Chan v Phil Hellmuth and Chris Moneymaker v Sammy Farha, the heads-up duel that launched the poker boom 8 years ago.

The coming two weeks will feature the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship as Jake Cody becomes the youngest player to earn poker’s Triple Crown and the $50,000 Player’s Championship as Brian Rast defeats Phil Hellmuth heads-up, denying him his 12th WSOP bracelet for the third time this series.

When the announcement came of “live” coverage of the Main Event, some people were sceptical, especially when it was announced that hole cards would be shown (when a hand makes the flop) on ESPN and ESPN2. Player’s speculated that even with a 30-minute delay, it would give some players an unfair advantage. The opinion was that players at the table could relay an opponent’s hole cards in a particular hand to them via text or Twitter, leaving less technologically savvy players behind. This development adds a new dynamic to the game, creating an “informational war” as a professional poker player related on Twitter.

According to Sports Business Journal, the gamble paid off for ESPN as ratings were up substantially over the previous year’s programming. The World Poker Tour has been reluctant to offer live coverage of their tournaments with any streaming done for European WPT events. Will the success of the WSOP mean changes for the WPT?

Yes, it was sad to bust this event but it was amazing to take part in it. The hype, the experience, the people, the game – it is something every poker player should try once in their life.

After the number of entrants and of course Black Friday, the hot topic dominating players and fans Twitter and Facebook updates was ESPN’s Live coverage of the Main Event.

I think ESPN did an amazing job to bring all of us to your screens every day. They worked hard to keep everything in perfect order – so they deserve a huge thank you together with @kevmath who helped me with all the facts about the WSOP coverage.

I asked two players what is their opinions on ESPN live stream.

First one was Jean Robert Bellande, who played various TV tournaments and also at this year’s ‘Mothership’:

“This is pure raw tournament poker with superb commentary. Poker Productions and ESPN took a big gamble that will pay-off Huge!”

The second one was by Daniel Negreanu:

“It creates an unfair playing field. Being at the featured table is a competitive disadvantage, especially for the amateur player.”

But, as we say in Croatia, 100 people, 100 opinions, It’s always good to have different opinions and I would like to hear yours, so do not hesitate to respond via Twitter to @BodogPoker or @Tattytats.

Until next time,

Bok Bok! Tash xx

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