 It's amazing to walk into the Amazon Room at 12 noon local time on a Sunday and see just 3 tables in action. Only 27 players took to the felt early on this day, as the other event restarts didn't begin for a few hours.
But you knew it was no ordinary day. The ESPN production crew was buzzing around like bees on a springtime morning, preparing, surveying the landscape and putting all the finishing touches on their pre-production.
Today was the start of the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, the All-Star event for the game of poker.
All the faces were familiar. And the names are the Who's Who of this great game. Brunson, Cloutier, Negreanu, Hachem, Duke, Grospellier, Esfandiari, Ivey, Lederer, Hellmuth, Sexton, Seed, Harman, Farha, Ferguson, Cada, Chan, Cunningham, Greenstein, Harrington, Juanda, Matusow, Raymer, Nguyen, Seidel and Shulman. The only unfamiliar name was one Andrew Barton, the UK sponsor exemption who's first time in Las Vegas couldn't be more star-studded.
When you scan the tables, you can't help but think, whomever survives this event to make the final table and become poker's 2010 All-Star TOC Champion, will be a well-deserving victor.
The $1 million prize pool to be shared among the final 9 is no chump change either. This event was a freeroll for all players. The WSOP put up the prize pool and the winner walks away with a cool $500,000.
Each player started with 30,000 in tournament chips, and with blinds at 50 and 100, it would take a while before we would lose our first competitor.
But it did happen about one hour into play when Jennifer Harman and John Juanda tangled. After Juanda re-raised all in after the river card was dealt, Harman thought for a long while before making the call. The board showed 7c,Kd,4s,6h,Js and Jennifer showed her pocket Jack's, for three of a kind. Juanda mucked, graciously bid the others good luck, and just like that Harman was the early chip leader and we had our first elimination.
Shortly after the very first break of the day, we lost our second player. Greg Raymer got mixed up with Mike Matusow, and the mouth is still talking. Raymer was chasing a flush draw and Matusow had Ace-Queen. Raymer missed his flush and we were left with 25 players.
Next to go was reigning-WSOP Europe Main Event Champion Barry Shulman, who never seemed to be able to get anything going all day, and was the 25th place finisher.
The 24th place finisher was the debonair Sammy Farha, who despite capturing another WSOP gold bracelet this summer, couldn't catch the cards he needed to survive the TOC.
The great Phil Ivey was the next one to go. Despite a slow start, Ivey was slowly chipping up and was slightly above average when a fateful tussle ensued with "Jesus" Chris Ferguson. After several raises pre-flop, Ivey shoved with Pocket Kings while Ferguson called with Pocket Queens. This is poker folks, and you can probably fill in the blanks. The flop was 6h,3h,10d but the Qd on the turn gave Ferguson trip Queens, and the harmless 2d river was no help to Ivey and he was gone.
And after the fourth and final level today, everyone else remained. So we will return with 22 players for tomorrow's play with Erik Seidel holding the chip lead, followed closely by Johnny Chan and Mike Matusow. For the tournament portal page for this event, including updated chip counts, click HERE.
Play resumes Monday at 12 noon Las Vegas time, where all the surviving players return, and set their sights on the final table, which will begin on Sunday, July 4.
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by WSOP STAFF
 Harold Angle was the winner of the $1,000 buy-in Seniors No-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker. This marked his first career WSOP gold bracelet victory. Angle won the biggest seniors poker event ever on record, as he came out on top of a field numbering 3,142 entries. No senior's-related poker tournament has ever broken the 3,000-player mark prior to this monster-sized attraction. In fact, this year's record turnout eclipsed the previous 2009 record mark by 16 percent. The prize pool amounting to $2,827,800 was also a record.
Angle is a 78-year-old retiree from Sun City, FL. He formally worked in sales for a major shoe manufacturer. He was the eldest of nine players at the final table. In fact, some of the players who were in their 50s were "young" enough to be Angle's children. Angle's victory illustrates many truisms, the most obvious of which is, one is never too old to be a poker champion. First place paid $487,994.
Angle's stunning victory was unthinkable on the first day of play. At one point on Day One, the Floridian was down to just 400 in chips. The starting stacks were 3,000 in chips. Angle later stated he did not win a single pot during the first two levels of play (2 hours). At one point, he held up the paltry few chips and showed his son-in-law who was watching at the rail. "I'll be out soon," he said. Three days later, Angle was still playing and ended up as the champion.
The top 324 finishers collected prize money. Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included Tom Schneider (14th), Fred Berger (42nd), Eddy Scharf (73rd), Susie Isaacs (78th), Dao Bac (199th), T.J. Cloutier (225th), Randy Holland (246th), Howard "Tahoe" Andrew (286th), "Captain" Tom Franklin (312th), and Hoyt Corkins (288th).
One of the most interesting stories of any player at this year's Seniors Championship was told by a player named Jeanne Nelson. She is a 60-year-old accountant from St. Paul, MN. This was Nelson's first time ever to play in the WSOP. One year ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. Her husband bought her into this tournament as a birthday gift. She stated that playing in the WSOP was on her so-called "Bucket List." To play was her dream come true. Not only did Nelson enter this tournament, she also cashed in 12th place, which paid $28,221. The entire WSOP family wishes Jeanne Nelson well and believes she is a true inspiration for everyone to follow their dreams.
The Seniors Poker Championship has been largely successful due to the efforts of "Oklahoma" Johnny Hale, who is known as the "Elder Statesman of Poker." Hale has organized many senior's poker events over the years. Prior to the start of this year's Seniors Championship, Hale addressed the large crowd. He conducted the annual "Roll Call," which provides for a moment of silence and reflection on behalf of many deceased poker greats, such as Benny Binion, Johnny Moss, Stu Ungar, and others. Hale is also the caretaker of the Seniors Poker Hall of Fame. During a break on the first day of play, all living members of the Seniors Poker Hall of Fame were photographed as a group on the main stage inside the Pavilion.
This year's tournament awarded the famous "Golden Eagle" trophy, which is engraved with the winner's name(s). The trophy is a keepsake that is passed forward from champion to champion, similar to the tradition of the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League.
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by Nolan Dalla
 There is no one in the poker world quite like Sammy Farha. Dashing and debonair, Farha is part James Bond, part Humphrey Bogart, part Hugh Hefner, all wrapped up into a five-foot-nine dynamo of a man with an unrelenting passion for fast living and high-stakes gambling.
Farha initially burst upon the poker scene a decade ago when he won a gold bracelet in the Pot-Limit Omaha championship at the 1996 World Series of Poker. But it wasn't until his alluring television appearance on ESPN in the 2003 Main Event championship that Sammy Farha became a household name. Indeed, if the World Series was all about style, then Farha would have been its grand champion a long time ago. Farha blitzed through 837 players that fateful year. All that stood in the way of Farha and a $2.5 million cash prize was a previously-unknown accountant from Tennessee named Chris Moneymaker.
What happened at that final table seven long years ago is no mystery. Moneymaker won. But in many ways, Farha won also. Love him or hate him, Sammy Farha became a bona fide poker celebrity.
Farha has played in many poker tournaments and high-limit cash games since, with mixed results. Six-figure money swings are not only common, but a daily occurrence whenever Farha chooses to take a seat in any game. The Lebanese-born self-made multi-millionaire is an instant attraction to any table, which is why he is perhaps television's favorite poker face.
In one of the tougher fields in poker history, 212 players, the vast majority of them top-notch tournament players and high-limit cash-game specialists, entered the $10,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker. After two long days, 203 players had been eliminated and the final table was set.
Farha's competition was formidable. The biggest menace was British bad boy James Dempsey, who won his first WSOP gold bracelet just two weeks ago. Two other former gold bracelet winners graced the felt, Michael Chow and Abe Mosseri. Indeed, Farha later said, there were no weak players in this tournament.
Farha ultimately triumphed in a brutally-tough finale that was just as much a test of mental stamina as it was poker skill. The win proved to be one of his most satisfying victories. The final table lasted nearly 13 seemingly endless see-saw hours, including five nerve-racking hours between Farha and James Dempsey, who ultimately went down in a gallant, yet emotionally-shattering defeat.
Farha may be Lebanese by birth, but he is unquestionably an American success story. Farha left his birthplace of Beirut and arrived in the United States in 1978 to attend college. He graduated from the University of Kansas. Farha was a successful pool player before becoming a full-time poker pro. In fact, he has played just about every kind of game for big money, including video games, pinball, and backgammon. But poker has proven to be Farha’s game, and he is now indelibly linked to those who have mastered it best.
Given Farha's enigmatic character, it is impossible to measure the true impact or meaning of a third WSOP victory. On one hand, Farha was overjoyed to win his first gold bracelet in four years. On the other hand, the prize money he received, the mere pittance of $488,241, is roughly equal to the typical buy-in at Farha's regular poker game.
That makes this World Series of Poker victory but a pit stop in the fast-lane that is Sammy Farha's life.
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by Nolan Dalla
 Vanessa Hellebuyck was the winner of the $1,000 buy-in Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker. This marked not only Hellebuyck's first career WSOP gold bracelet victory, but was also her first time ever to cash in Las Vegas.
Hellebuyck lives in Paris, France. She is married and has two children. She final tabled three major events on the European Poker Tour (EPT) held earlier this year, in Berlin, San Remo, and Monaco. Her best finish to this point had been a fifth-place showing in Monaco. In addition to being a serious part-time poker player, Hellebuyck is also an accomplished pianist.
Hellebuyck collected $192,132 for first place. She also became only the second non-American ever to win the Ladies Championship. The first was Svetlana Gromenkova from Russia, who won in 2008. Hellebuyck also became the fifth gold bracelet winner in WSOP history from France. The other four winners were David Benyamine, Patrick Bruel, Claude Cohen, and Gilbert Gross.
This year's Ladies Championship attracted another strong turnout, as 1,054 players attended. The tournament began with former WSOP gold bracelet winner Linda Johnson, the "First Lady of Poker," welcoming the huge field and encouraging more women to participate in and enjoy the game of poker. Johnson also mentioned the WSOP Ladies Championship held 30 years ago was a turning point in her life. After cashing in that 1980 competition, Johnson decided to play poker professionally and went on to pioneer many important causes that improved the game for everyone, male and female alike.
Indeed, the World Series of Poker is proud to honor women in poker and will maintain the tradition of holding a Ladies Championship event, which dates back to 1977.
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by Nolan Dalla
 Pascal Lefrancois was the winner of the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #8). He is a 23-year-old college student from Montreal, Quebec. He is currently pursuing a business degree at Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montreal (HEC), which is affiliated with the Universite de Montreal. The Canadian victor collected $568,974 in what was display of total dominance, particularly at the final table. Lefrancois earned his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Lefrancois topped a huge field of 2,341 players and won the game's most coveted prize. The tournament began on Wednesday June 2nd and ended at 2:00 am on Saturday June 5th. His victory was cheered on at the Rio in Las Vegas by a rowdy group of French Canadians, who ringed the final table and roared every time Lefrancois won a big hand. Indeed, a World Cup atmosphere prevailed most of the night, as six different nations were represented at the final table, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Israel, and the United States.
The runner up was Max Josef Steinberg, a 21-year-old poker pro who cashed at the WSOP for the first time. Among those who also cashed was 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. With his 15th-place finish, Hellmuth extended his lead as the all-time WSOP leader in cashes, currently at 76.
For official tournament results and additional details, please CLICK HERE
Moments after winning Lefrancois ripped off his shirt and pose bare-chested for the traditional WSOP portrait: "It was an inside joke with my friends. We always laugh about our v-necks. We are "Team V-Neck," because we wear those kinds of shirts. They were all cheering for me to take off my shirt. I was excited, so I did it."
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by Nolan Dalla
 What do you consider to be the worst hand in poker? Don’t tell me it's the 7,2o because that's not where I'm trying to get to. Sure the 7,2o is the worst possible starting hand from a mathematical perspective, no one can argue with that, but is it really the hand you lose the most money on? That's right, for every poker player, the worst possible poker hand is not the one that carries the most abysmal mathematical odds, but rather the one on which he drops the most money.
If you look at things like that, the 7,2o is not such a bad starting hand at all. The decision you're faced with on your 7,2o is quite probably the easiest one in poker. Most people muck that hand without a second thought. Sometimes you do get a free ride with it in the BB when everyone else at your table decides to either fold or to limp along, in which case you either fold it just as easily past the flop, or you hit something like trips or two pair and you go on to trap an opponent with top pair. In that case, it makes you money. This is the very reason why most reasonably good online players actually make money on the 7,2o in the long run, or break even on it.
The truly worst poker hand has to be searched for somewhere else.
The worst hand has to be one that makes you shove a lot of money into the pot and then gets you stuck on a nightmarish decision past the flop. Think about the J,J. It's pretty good hand, and in just about any late stage of a poker tournament it begs for an all-in. This is exactly why it's such a good candidate to became the worst hand. Think about the following scenario: you shove some money into the middle preflop and you see a flop of A,8,Q land. One of your opponents places a bet. What do you do? The K,Q is a similarly vulnerable starting hand which is behind any pocket pair to start with, and which will give you the sweats when you see an A hit the board.
The thing about the worst poker hand is that only you can determine which one it is for you. Depending on your style of play, it can be any one of the above or another hand. The worst poker hand for you is the one that gives you the most trouble when it comes to playing it. The mathematically abysmal hands are not likely to get you into trouble. The true culprit is likely to be a relatively good starting hand, which has a knack at getting you into marginal decisions on a large variety of possible flops.
Any two unpaired big cards carry great potential for such trouble. Take the K,10 or the Q,10 for instance. If you pair your low card, you're not exactly in a favorable spot. If you happen to pair your big card, you're seemingly better off but the possibility of kicker trouble will cast a dark cloud over your decision-making. The bottom line: only you can determine which the worst hand is for you. Know your style of play and pay attention to the way you play your hands.
Remember: the hands most likely to hurt you are the ones that will leave you with a difficult decision to make it past the flop.
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