The WSOP Video Game Might Not Suck On The PSP (If You Have Eight Similarly Equipped Friends And Time On Your Hands)

READ MORE: Poker, Video Games, WSOP 2005

Yesterday, we told you that the WSOP-brand video game from Activision was terrible. Faithful reader bcd from Sell The Kids agrees, but points something out we didn’t consider:

as mentioned in my review of Activion’s WSOP game for the PSP i whole-heartedly agree with your opinion that the game sucks.

- BUT -

having spoken again yesterday with several NFLers who were traveling this week, the PSP version is kick-ass for setting up ad-hoc wireless games, where you can substitute real dough for playdo.

Good point. We don’t have the PSP, and if we’re going to play poker online, it’s going to be at Full Tilt for real cash. But a long plane flight after getting your ass kicked at Mile High? Eight guys using the Wi-Fi around the virtual felt sounds like it might be fun.

Sell the Kids
The 2005 World Series of Poker: The Game [Activision]
Previously: Five Reasons The WSOP-Brand Video Game Effing Sucks [Oddjack]

Hellmuth’s TV Meltdown, In Case You Missed It

READ MORE: Phil Hellmuth, Poker, WSOP 2005

Goddammit, does Phil Hellmuth make for interesting TV sometimes. Last night in hour #1 of the WSOP telecast on ESPN, Hellmuth called an amateur’s all-in pre-flop holding Ace King. The amateur was thoroughly dominated, holding King Jack of Hearts. No flush draw going into the river, but do we need to tell you what spiked on fifth? Cribbed post-hand table talk right from the telecast:

This fricking donkey stuck fifteen thousand with King Jack. I mean, the guy can’t even spell “poker.” I re-raised to let him know what I had… He peeled a King off - a Jack off for the sucker. You don’t know how to fold a hand. Some of the worst players in the world, I can’t believe this is the World Series of Poker. (Amateur adds, “Yeah, go figure huh?”) I threw away all those hands just to make it look like they could move in on me… What a terrible play. If I ever stick all my money in with King Jack… Pfft… Of course, that’ll never happen in a million years. (Amateur chirps up, “Yeah, I’ve seen worse.”) Not from me, buddy… That’s why I’m the nine-time World Champion of Hold ‘Em, ‘cause I always have the best hand. You found a Jack for the live one, huh?

Classic meltdown, hope you didn’t miss it.

Phil Hellmuth dot com
WSOP Home
ESPN

WSOP 2005: New ESPN Episodes Tonight

READ MORE: Greg Raymer, Poker, WSOP 2005

Two new WSOP episodes on ESPN tonight, and it should be good television. The first hour is Event #22, the $1500 buy-in No Limit tournament, where Minh Nguyen, Greg Raymer and Mark Seif get to see if Devilfish Ulliott does indeed prefer the company of men. Not to spoil anything - and this may or may not be a clue - but Raymer comes in swinging the big chip stack. Hour two is Event #23, the $5K Seven Card Stud championship. Chip Jett’s probably the biggest name, but John Phan and Joe Awada aren’t exactly anonymous their damn selves. Dr. Pauly live blogged both events, and Las Vegas Vegas has your recaps.

Event #22 [Tao of Poker]
Event #23 [Tao of Poker]
2005 WSOP Events 22 & 23 on ESPN Tonight [LasVegasVegas]

WSOP 2005: The Old Guard Fights Back

READ MORE: ESPN, Poker, TJ Cloutier, WSOP 2005

Tonight’s 9PM EST ESPN WSOP televised event is June’s $5K No Limit Hold ‘Em final table featuring the likes of Todd Brunson, John Hennigan, Dustin “neverwin” Woolf, and active seniors John Bonetti and T.J. Cloutier. No spoilers here, but if we head back to Dr. Pauly’s live blogging of the event, we can assure you of a dramatic ending:

11:19pm… $5K NL Final update: (OneGuy) reraised preflop about $250K and (OtherGuy) went over the top all in. (OneGuy) who was pot-committed called. (OneGuy) had A5 and (OtherGuy) had AK. The flop was: 6-8-9. The turn: J. (OneGuy) had seven outs… and a 7 spiked on the river for a straight. (OtherGuy) won $352,620 for second place. He played amazing poker for three days and it took a suckout to prevent him from winning… (a) WSOP bracelet. (OneGuy) won $657,100.

By the way, the mullet in the picture? Todd Brunson baby. That’s a good look for him.

Event #13 Final Table [Tao of Poker]
2005 WSOP on ESPN TV Tonight [LasVegasVegas]

Josh Arieh: Promises More Cinnabon Tantrums on TV

READ MORE: Cinnabon, Josh Arieh, Poker, WSOP 2005

Josh Arieh has awakened from his pastry-induced slumber and given us a great entry today on his blog about watching himself in the Pot Limit Omaha tournament on the ESPN’s World Series of Poker. He reminisces about last year’s outing by wormy Norman Chad as poker’s new King Twat, questions the generous amount of coverage to Chris Ferguson, and then, in what surely must’ve been a Jesus toast-like epiphany, he considers how he comes off on television:

Anyway…. I have come to realize that being an asshole on TV is much more entertaining. Maybe Phil Hellmuth was on to something when he thought of being a baby…..

Where do I go from here??? I dont know… I’m not sure what to do… people say that its always easiest and more entertaining to just be yourself…. I think that being myself was extremely boring and dull to watch. Maybe next time I will throw a chair or something or trip and fall when coming back from the bathroom….

That sounds like pay-per-view material to us. What would even be better is if he actually ate the chair. That’d be something. But, anyway, welcome back, Josh. Oh, how we missed your soulful musings and backfat charm.

Thoughts of 2005 PLO @ WSOP [Josh Arieh]
Previously: Josh Arieh: Earnestness to the Point of Nausea [Oddjack]

Famous People Are Better Than You - Especially Jennifer Tilly

READ MORE: Jennifer Tilly, Poker, WSOP 2005

It’s a blessed life for Jennifer Tilly. She’s aging, but her looks haven’t left her. Her talent and, um, talents, are enough to keep getting her work around Hollywood. Then again, if recent results are any indicator of future performance (ask your broker for a prospectus), maybe Jennifer Tilly’s ride into the cinematic sunset takes her from La-La-Land to Sin City to wipe the floor with Texas Dolly. Yeah, Tilly won herself another poker tournament. From Las Vegas Vegas:

Jennifer Tilly wins another final table and captures her second title of the summer at the World Poker Tour Ladies Night III at the Bicycle Casino in LA. The actress turned professional poker player is proving her ability to play the game and win tournaments. Jennifer’s interest in poker was originally sparked by her chance meeting with Phil “Unabomber” Laak at the Hard Rock’s 2004 Pro-Am Celebrity Tournament. Apparently, the Unabomber is one great playing coach. He brought Jennifer along rather quickly; attesting to his ability to teach poker’s winning fine points while Jennifer’s “quick read” talents allowed her to rapidly grasp and master advanced elements of the game. Her acting experience plays perfectly at the poker table, where the art of deception is an essential element of winning.

Somewhere this weekend Phil Hellmuth was signing up for lessons in the Strasberg Method and trying to orchestrate a lesbian sex scene with Gina Gershon. Maybe that’s the secret.

Tilly Wins #2, Violette Finishes #2 + WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s [LasVegasVegas]
Previously: Jennifer Tilly Wins WSOP Bracelet [Oddjack]

WSOP 2005: Events #7 and #9 on ESPN

READ MORE: Poker, WSOP 2005

Tonight’s ESPN coverage of the WSOP features two hours of No Limit Hold ‘Em events. The first hour is Event #7, the $1K NL Hold ‘Em with rebuys, and the second hour is Event #9, the $2K NL tournament - which conveniently ignores the Seven Card Stud event in between. At least we get plenty of name players tonight, with Phil Gordon, David Pham, Mike Gracz, Erik Seidel, Perry Friedman, Harry Demetriou, and Cyndy Violette all taking a crack at earning a bracelet.

As always, Las Vegas Vegas has the rundown, along with links to the Dr. Pauly live blogging of each of these final tables.

WSOP on ESPN tonight [LasVegasVegas]

Not WSOP 2005 - Tunica’s Main Event Wraps Up

READ MORE: Poker, Tunica, WSOP 2005

Jason Kirk had a late night last night. The Main Event final table from the WSOP Circuit Series Event in Tunica, Mississippi was underway, and they were going to play until John Juanda picked off the other eight players one-by-one. Problem was, JJ finished in eighth, running into pocket Aces with King Six offsuit. Still, they had to crown a champion at some point, and Jason captured the action:

2:29 AM - Hand #27. Gregg raises 40K. Bobby re-raises all-in, and Gregg calls. 55 for Bobby and A7 for Gregg. Flop comes Ah8d3c and Gregg is now ahead. Turn comes 4d, giving Bobby more outs. River comes 8s, and we have a WSOP Circuit Grand Tunica Main Event champion - Gregg Merkow of Plano, TX.

We can’t wait for this to be on TV, it seemed like a… what? This isn’t going to be on TV? Fine, forget we ever had this conversation.

Main Event Final Table [Jason Kirk]

Not WSOP 2005: Tunica Plays To The Wee Hours

READ MORE: Poker, Tunica, WSOP 2005

Meet Kathy Liebert, who only looks like that because she finished 12th last night in the WSOP Circuit Series Main Event in Tunica when her Ace Queen suited ran into a pair of sevens. Kathy and John Juanda were the only two pros left at the table, and that dazed look from Kathy just says “I can’t believe I didn’t wipe the floor with these knuckleheads.” Your final ten, courtesy of Jason Kirk:

Jeff Wood - 212K
Brian Ahern - 38K
John Juanda - 140K
Bobby Law - 260K
Johnny Clements - 240K
Sonny Perry - 75K
Darrell Struck - 85K
Gregg Merkow - 175K
Bryant King - 352K
Steve Rassi - 200K

If John Juanda doesn’t take down the title, we’re losing all faith in poker pros entirely.

Main Event, Day Three [Jason Kirk]

WSOP 2005 - ESPN Hits The Rio, No More Fake Poker

READ MORE: Joe Hachem, Poker, WSOP 2005

ESPN is back tonight with another WSOP episode, but this time they’re not just teasing us. This broadcast of Event #2 marks 2005’s first telecast from the Rio, and the beginning of the run through the events to Joe Hachem’s eventual victory.

Shit, did we just ruin the main event for you? We forgot to say “Earmuffs.” Anyway, a couple of big names made Event #2’s final table you’ll see tonight, including former tubbster Allen Cunningham, Scott Fischman, Devilfish Ulliott, and poker hottie Liz Lieu. Hour two? Reserved for a little $1,500 Pot Limit action, giving you a bonus final table tonight - not to mention more big names in Gavin Smith, Tony Ma, and Layne Flack. We won’t spoil it for you, but Las Vegas Vegas might.

2005 WSOP Debuts on ESPN Tonight! [LasVegasVegas]

Not WSOP 2005 - Tunica’s Main Event Kicks Off

READ MORE: Cinnabon, Poker, Tunica, WSOP 2005

After well over a week of watching roadkill-eating yokels knocking out victories in Tunica’s WSOP Circuit Event, poker reporter Jason Kirk must be as thrilled as we are to finally have a few pros showing up to try and take down the Main Event’s $572k top prize.

“The list of players who began reads like a Who’s Who of Poker: Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Tex Barch, Amir Vahedi, John Juanda, John Myung, Chip Jett, Barry Greenstein, Robert Williamson III, Carlos Mortensen, Josh Arieh, Freddy Deeb, Erick Lindgren, Scotty Nguyen, Hoyt Corkins, Eskimo Clark, Eric Cloutier, Erik Seidel, Mark Seif, Mimi Tran, James Van Alstyne, Kathy Liebert, Steve Zolotow, Glyn Banks, and Mike Sica are all here looking to rack up leaderboard points.”

Day one brought the field from 179 down to 71 players looking to make the money (top 18 cash). Our boy Cinnabon is supposedly sitting on an average chipstack, but you know how us guys like to over-estimate the size of our stacks.

Main Event, Day One [Jason Kirk]

Not WSOP 2005 - The Pro Players Trickle In To Tunica

READ MORE: Barry Greenstein, Poker, Tunica, WSOP 2005

The WSOP Circuit Series from Tunica, Mississippi has finally started to show promise, with Jason Kirk (pictured) chronicling the arrival of various pros as he spots them. What? Recognizable names in Tunica? Thank god.

While you were drunk this weekend, the $1,000 No Limit event (#8) paid off some dude you’ve never heard of, the $1,500 No Limit event (#9) was won by a guy named Fledderman, and a fat guy in a motorcyclin’ t-shirt ended up taking the prize in the $2,000 No Limit event (#10). We did, however, see a few recognizable names including Karina Jett, Mark Seif, and Barry Greenstein getting ready for the bigger buy-in events. Hopefully, this starts to get more lively from here.

Event #9, Day Two [Jason Kirk]