 Harrah's New Orleans is hosting the 2010 Bayou Poker Challenge, which is taking place in the heart of the downtown district adjacent to the French Quarter. The two-week tournament series takes place from December 2-12, 2010.
This marks the fifth year of the Bayou Poker Challenge, which is held annually each December, at Harrah's New Orleans. It is one of the south's largest and most successful poker tournaments, and has awarded in excess of $10 million in prize money since its creation.
This year's schedule includes something for just about every poker player. There are 14 major tournaments, with buy-ins ranging from $150 up to $2,500 for the Main Event Championship. There are also mega- and single-table satellites running for every event.
Most poker tournaments begin at 1 pm daily and are played as two-day events. Most day ones play down to a final table; then, the finale takes place on day two. An added bonus this year: All players who make it to a final table (Events 1-10) have a shot to win a free seat in the Main Event via a freeroll tournament, taking place on December 9th.
There are also five 5 pm tournaments on this year's schedule, as well as nightly 7 pm No-Limit Hold'em tournaments, which cost only $150 to enter.
Cash games are also expected to be busy. The Harrah's New Orleans poker room, with 23 tables, has a reputation for some of the best action in the country. Games run 24/7 and regularly include Limit Hold'em, No-Limit Hold'em, and Pot-Limit Omaha.
A Short History of the Bayou Poker Challenge
The first major poker tournament held at Harrah's New Orleans was called the "Cajun Poker Classic" which took place in early 2004. The three-day tournament attracted 536 players and inspired the casino to host more poker events in the future. Later that year, the first Bayou Poker Challenge was held, which consisted of six tournaments.
Next, Harrah's New Orleans became a charter member of the World Series of Poker Circuits, which officially started play in 2005. Since then, New Orleans has hosted the final stop on the circuit each year, which takes place in mid-May just prior to the start of the WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas. The first two WSOP Circuit championships held at Harrah's New Orleans were televised by ESPN and were among the most exciting tournaments broadcast at the time. They still occasionally appear in re-runs to this day.
WSOP Circuit events in New Orleans proved to be so successful that a second tournament series was created, starting in 2007. This became known as the "Bayou Poker Challenge" (a.k.a. the Winter Bayou Poker Challenge), which has since become a December attraction. This tournament series is categorized as a World Series of Poker Satellite, since its Main Event winner earns an entry valued at $10,000 seat (plus expense money) into the WSOP championship, held the following year. This year's Bayou Poker Challenge Event Champion will win a seat into the 2011 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.
Bayou Poker Challenge results and statistics are not included in the historical records of WSOP Circuit events. Nonetheless, the Bayou Poker Challenge (BPC) has proven to be a popular attraction for many poker players, who mostly come to the Crescent City from the states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and surrounding areas.
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by Nolan Dalla
 Jonathan Duhamel is the winner of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship.
Duhamel, from Boucherville, Quebec became the first Canadian citizen in history to win poker's world championship. Two Canadians had previously finished in the runner-up spot in the 41-year-history of poker's undisputed world championship. Tuan Lam took second place in 2007, to Jerry Yang. Fellow Canadian Howard Goldfarb did the same in 1995, losing to Dan Harrington.
Duhamel, a 23-year-old poker pro, collected a whopping $8,944,310 in prize money. He was also presented with the widely-cherished and universally-revered gold and diamond-encrusted gold bracelet, representing the game's sterling achievement.
The triumph was not easy. Duhamel overcame a huge field of 7,319 entrants who entered what was the second-largest WSOP Main Event in history. The tournament began on July 5th, and took more than four months to complete, including the customary recess prior to the November Nine.
Duhamel's route to victory was a determined one, albeit peppered with a few unwanted detours. He arrived at the final table -- which began on Saturday, November 6th -- with the chip lead. He held about one-third of the total chips in play. Duhamel lost some of his momentum during stage one of the finale, which included the elimination of seven players playing down to the final two. Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi seized the chip lead at one point during play, but ultimately finished fifth. Joseph Cheong also proved to be a formidable foe during the long battle, but ended up as the third-place finisher.
Stage two of the November Nine's grand finale was played on the main stage inside the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas. The final duel was played to a packed house of nearly 2,000 spectators and a worldwide audience following the action over the Internet. Millions more will watch the final crescendo of the WSOP Main Event on Tuesday night, when the championship premiers on ESPN television. The two-hour program will debut at 7:00 pm PST.
The runner up was John Racener, from Port Richie, FL. Despite the disappointment of defeat, he could take great pride in a noble effort that resulted in overcoming all but one of the more than 7,000 players who began the pursuit of ever poker player's greatest dream. Racener collected poker's supreme consolation prize -- $5,545,955 in prize money.
As the Canadian champion, Duhamel was only the sixth non-American to ever win the WSOP Main Event. He followed in the hallowed footsteps of Mansour Matloubi (UK -- 1990), Noel Furlong (Ireland -- 1999), Carlos Mortensen (Spain -- 2001), Joe Hachem (Australia (2005), and Peter Eastgate (Denmark -- 2008).
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by WSOP
Putting Things into Proper Perspective in a Post-UIEGA Poker World.
The World Series of Poker Circuit is back! In fact, it's bigger and stronger than ever!
If anyone would have made a friendly wager that a tournament series that had pretty much been flat for more than three years could double the buy-in of one of its premier events, and then actually increase attendance over previous years, many critics would have either laughed or gladly faded the proposition. Or, both.
But pay off all the "yes" bettors. That's exactly what happened at the first-ever World Series of Poker Circuit Regional Championship, held in Chicago.
The $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Regional Championship which began on Monday attracted 226 entries. That's not the biggest field ever for a WSOP-related tournament. It may seem rather small compared to the monster-sized numbers that came out of the WSOP in Las Vegas during the summer. It's not even the biggest WSOP Circuit event. But, the number "226" may be one of the most impressive numbers of any poker tournament held anywhere this year.
There's no other way to interpret the number "226," other than being a spectacular figure and major accomplishment that benefits not just the revamped and much-improved WSOP Circuit for this season, but poker players all over the nation who enjoy experiencing the excitement of the game's premier tournament series. First off, many critics suggested that this was the wrong time to introduce a new mega buy-in poker tournament, even something sounding big like "Regional Championship." Many observers questioned whether or not the launching of another $10,000 buy-in competition to a schedule that seems already saturated with big buy-in poker events would be possible, particularly in the midst of comparatively tough economic times and in the midst of a post-UIEGA climate.
Indeed, perhaps this pessimism was even justified. The national poker tournament series that began six years ago has certainly endured the inevitable ups and downs which go along with being the industry leader. But bold new initiatives are the trademark that have made the WSOP into poker's biggest global attraction. While poker tournament attendance elsewhere has declined at some venues and remains stagnant at others, the numbers coming out of Chicago these past two weeks suggest the WSOP is bucking the odds and continues to exceed even the most optimistic expectations.
Consider the overall attendance numbers here at the Horseshoe Casino (Chicago). The first tournament (Event #1) set an all-time record for the biggest turnout in the entire history of WSOP Circuits, with a whopping 1,611 entrants. Next, the Main Event Championship not only shattered the old record set three years ago, it more than doubled the previous high mark at 872 players.
But the real test of success and benchmark of public perception was the $10,000 buy-in Nationally Televised Regional Championship. This was the first tournament of its kind and was the largest buy-in tournament on the WSOP Circuit since the height of the poker boom, back in 2007. The question everyone was asking was, would they come?
Players not only came, they surpassed all expectations. The number "226" is pretty much in line with the average number of players who attended televised $10,000 buy-in WSOP Circuit Championships during the boom era from 2005 to 2007. Even during its heyday, when ESPN was televising similar WSOP Circuit Championships, most of those tournaments drew in the 200-250 range.
The 226-player field created a total prize pool amounting to $2,101,800. That is the biggest prize pool in more than three years. The payout nearly quadrupled the size of the average WSOP Circuit Main Event last year, which averaged just under $600,000. This took place, not in Las Vegas or Los Angeles, both proven poker markets with an enormous player pool of prospective entrants who live in the vicinity, but near Chicago, which is a great American city, but not exactly the first place that comes to mind when one thinks of the perfect place to stage a $10,000 buy-in poker tournament in its first offering.
The Nationally Televised Regional Championship is a bold new idea. It was admittedly, very risky. Nothing like it has been tried before. Had only a handful of poker players turned up in Chicago for major poker tournament, the end result would have been, well, embarrassing. Instead, the only embarrassment rests with those who did not show up, missing on the golden opportunity to compete for a multi-million dollar prize pool on national television. Players will not only compete for more than $2 million in prize money. The final nine will automatically win seats into the $1 million freeroll tournament called the WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in Las Vegas next May, just prior to the start of the 2011 WSOP. Only 100 players will qualify to play in what will be a Gold Bracelet event, making it one of the most attractive overlays ever in poker. Many of game's top players arrived in Chicago to show their support. Among the well-known names which entered the Regional Championship were, Barry Greenstein, Gavin Smith, David Baker, Chris Bell, Chad Brown, Nick Binger, Matt Brady, Doug "Rico" Carli, Eric Froehlich, Matt Glantz, Blair Hinkle, Frank Kassela, Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, Kathy Liebert, Jeff Madsen, Jason Mercier, Sorel Mizzi, Tony Rivera, Vanessa Selbst, Dan Shak, Shannon Shorr, Justin Smith, Matt Stout, and Steve Zolotow. There's no doubt that the 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season is going to be a smashing success. In fact, it already is. All three Circuit stops held so far have enjoyed a dramatic rise in attendance, not just for preliminary tournaments, but for Main Events, as well. Overall prize pools are also up at all three WSOP Circuit stops, thus far. So one thing bears repeating, The World Series of Poker Circuit is back! In fact, it's bigger and stronger than ever. The next WSOP Circuit stop will take place at the Imperial Palace Casino Resort and Spa, in Biloxi, MS. The ten-event schedule will take place October 28 through November 10. The next Nationally Televised Regional Championship is set to take place at Harrah's Atlantic City. The tournament runs December 4-22. The $10,000 buy-in Regional Championship runs December 19-22. ___________________ by Nolan Dalla
 The fourth annual Caesars Classic poker tournament has commenced, hosting tournaments in the beautiful Caesars Palace Poker Room. Poker players of all skill levels, novice to professional, are invited to join in the daily events set to run from Oct. 21st to Nov. 7th, 2010.
"We are excited to launch the fourth annual Caesars Classic Poker Tournament," said Andy Rich, director of poker operations at Caesars Palace and Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. "Players travel from all over to join in the Classic. The feedback regarding our starting stack sizes, blind levels, double stack turbo tournaments, re-entry policy and extended length of play at the final tables has been overwhelmingly positive."
The tournament kicked off at noon on Oct. 21, with a $230 buy-in. The first event of the Classic drew a field of 232 players including Filippo Candio, who will return to the Rio for the World Series of Poker Final Table on Nov. 6. Players 21 years of age or older may register throughout the duration of the Classic. Tournament Buy-ins range from $150 - $1,070 with cash games running around the clock as well. Single table satellites for all events will run daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
There are several special events scheduled as well, starting with the Oklahoma Johnny Hale Seniors Event on Sunday morning, Oct. 24 at 10am. Caesars Poker Room is a Charter Member of the Oklahoma Johnny Hale Seniors Poker Club. The champion of this special event will walk away with entry into the 2011 WSOP Seniors championship Event, along with the cash prize from the tournament. There is also a Ladies Event on Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 11am, and a very special Poker Hall of Fame Open Tournament which will be attended by some special guests, such as 2010 Poker Hall Of Fame inductee and 1995 WSOP Main Event champion Dan Harrington. Harrington will be inducted into the Poker Hall Of Fame on Nov. 8, 2010 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
The Caesars Palace Poker Room features a selection of the most popular poker games including Texas Hold'em, Stud and Omaha. With more than 14,000 square feet, including a 6,000 square foot tournament area and 33 tournament tables, it is the largest poker room on the Strip. More than 20 large-screen high-definition TV sets ornament the walls, along with original Leroy Neiman artwork and Neil Leifer photographs. An extensive menu and dedicated cocktail service allow players to have food and beverage delivered directly to the tables during play.
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by Nolan Dalla
 So, Joe Cada won the World Series of Poker main event at age 21, and Annette Obrestad took down the first WSOP Europe championship at 18. Big deal. These players are old fogies compared to Alexa Fisher, who began playing poker at age 3 (a year, even, before Barbara Enright), and before long had mastered every form of poker dealt at the WSOP.
Ask any 6-year-old kindergarten kid where he or she would like to go during summer vacation, and the answer is almost sure to be Disneyland. Alexa's choice was the WSOP.
She got her wish last year, and while she didn't win any tournaments, she sure made her mark there. She was asked to make an announcement during one of the poker Web broadcasts, was profiled in the Las Vegas Tradeshow Lifestyles newspaper, got her tee shirt signed by lots of her women poker player idols, played "rock, paper, scissors" with Annie Duke and won, and later, wearing her autographed shirt and poker cap, made an appearance on a San Antonio morning TV program, Great Day SA, which was looking for kids with talent.
During that show, she was shown several times sitting at a table with cards and chips before being interviewed. She then showed two of the hostesses how to play the game, explaining blinds, checks, betting, raises, and so on, remaining calm and collected throughout. She also demonstrated a mature diplomacy. When asked if her parents played better than her in family games, she replied, "Maybe."
She was less reticent in her Tradeshow story, headlined, "6-Year-Old Future Poker Champion." In that article, which featured a photo of her with Barbara, she said, "I know how to shuffle and deal the cards, raise, check, fold, and bluff. I also know how to play deuce-to-seven lowball, H.O.R.S.E., and badugi. I can now play any poker game with the best poker players in the world!"
(Can you imagine how Phil Hellmuth would carry on if he played this kindergarten kid heads up and lost?)
And she almost certainly set an age record when she played in a live tournament, a $30 buy-in/donation event benefiting Homes for Pets, in Schertz, Texas, in February. She outlasted well over half the field (including her father) and became an instant celebrity, the talk of the tournament, with cameras flashing and people asking to have their pictures taken with her. She reportedly played very professionally with the proper poker etiquette, managed to bluff a few pots, and when she got knocked out, showed correct sportsmanship by shaking everyone's hand.
So, just who is this confident prodigy, and how did she learn the game? Well, Alexa Fisher, now 7, is a straight-A first-grade student at Sippel Elementary in Cibolo, Texas, a small town near San Antonio, where she lives with her parents and younger sister. She showed an interest in counting at the age of 3, and her father, Justin Fisher, not sure of how to teach counting, picked up a deck of cards and showed her that way with the ace being 1, and so on. Alexa soon joined her father watching poker on TV, noticed that the cards were the same, and enjoyed people "clapping and being happy."
The next step in teaching counting, her father explained, was buying poker chips to show numbers in another form, $1, $5, $500, and so on. "Her math skills went through the roof," he said.
This is further verification of an earlier column of mine called "Poker Belongs in School," in which I argued that having students learn the odds of making a flush or straight would be more instructive than studying useless things like "pi," the mathematical relationship between the circumference and diameter of a circle.
As instruction continued, Justin made her aware of relative values in poker. "It helps her understand that if I push 500 $1 chips into the middle of the table, not to be scared. It's just a single $500 chip."
From there, Justin explained that matching numbers are called "pairs," and to make it fun for her, he used such expressions as "run and flush the toilet" when she made a flush. Most challenging to explain was a straight, although eventually, Alexa would make a king-high straight flush, her highest hand to date. When Alexa's interest in playing the same hold'em game waned, her parents started to play for things like toys and ice cream. "This taught her honesty, as in keeping one's end of the deal," her father pointed out.
Next came plastic playing cards, chips with value on them, and a dealer button. By age 4, she was shuffling and dealing and learning about basic tell signs and bluffing strategy, and by age 5, she knew no-limit hold'em solidly.
From there, Justin introduced her to other games, limit and pot-limit, and by age 6, she knew all of the WSOP games, along with badugi, double-flop hold'em, crazy pineapple, and ace-to-five and triple-draw lowball.
At school, her father noted, she is close to a third-grade reading level and fifth-grade level in math. Her kindergarten and first-grade teachers know that she plays poker, and her fine-arts teacher even showed the class her Great Day SA TV segment. Most of her friends know that she plays, but not understanding poker's complexities and subtleties, it's just another card game to them, like "go fish."
Alexa's father maintains a close balance for her between poker and school. If she gets ready early enough before the school bus arrives, they'll play a couple of hands of poker. In the evening, there's no poker with school the next day, but she is allowed to watch poker on TV if it's not too late and all homework is done. Alexa even managed to work poker into her schoolwork when she had a class assignment to write about a military soldier she knows or a hero in her life. Not knowing anyone active in the military, she selected poker, finally narrowing down numerous candidates to her hero, Barbara Enright, because she is the only woman to make a final table at the WSOP main event.
For now, Alexa plays only at the house with her parents, while her little sister, Arianna, is allowed to take care of the chips in the pot; they also played family poker while in Vegas. As far as her parents know, she doesn't play poker with her schoolmates. She is allowed to play for money, her cash allowance for doing chores around the house, because it teaches her money management. "How much are you going to risk?" asks her father. "Going to make a rebuy if it allows? What are you going to do with the cash?"
They gave her some money to start with, and now she has a bank account. Her first win from a major cash game was $42, and her first loss was $25, while in Vegas. Her specialty is tournament-style poker, with blinds and antes increasing. She also learns by watching her father play online.
Alexa's ambition is to be a professional poker player, and her father feels that she has what it takes. "She goes in levelheaded, and leaves levelheaded." She has an autograph from Greg Raymer on her hat that reads, "See you in 2024!" That is when she'll be of legal age and have her chance to tie Cada for the "youngest champion" title.
Alexa knows, her father concluded, that someday, some little girl age 5 or 6 will see her in the hallway at the Rio and will yell out, "Alexa," ask for her autograph, and take a picture with her.
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by Max Shapiro
 The 2010 edition of WSOP Europe blasted off in stellar fashion today, as the first tournament was a complete sell out.
The £2,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event attracted 244 entries. This is the first time a Six-Handed tournament has been played as part of WSOP Europe. Based on the overwhelming enthusiasm, it most certainly will not be the last.
Indeed, all tables at London's swanky Casino at the Empire were filled to capacity, which required the taking of alternates to fill empty seats as players were gradually eliminated. By the middle of the second level (about 80 minutes into the tournament) all players had been seated and were in action. Remarkably, the tournament began just a few minutes after the scheduled noon start, despite an overflowing casino jammed with poker players. By 12:15, all that could be heard were the echoing sounds of poker chips being rattled and stacked (and Mike Matusow, talking incessantly to an unfortunate table victim).
The tournament began with a short pre-game ceremony. WSOP executive Ty Stewart introduced WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel, who has overseen operations during all four years of the London series. Effel welcomed the crowed and then said he expects this year's turnout to be the highest ever. Based on the early numbers, Effel's zeal appears quite justified.
The biggest events are yet to come. The upcoming £1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament which starts this Friday is projected by many to be the biggest WSOP Europe tournament in history. Excitement is so strong that three starting days will be required to accommodate the huge field that is expected.
This is the largest WSOP Europe series ever held in London. In 2007, there were three gold bracelet events. In both 2008 and 2009, four gold bracelet events were played. This year's schedule includes five gold bracelet events.
A complete schedule with additional information about WSOP Europe can be seen HERE.
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by Nolan Dalla
 It's been a long-time coming, but Daniel Negreanu has finally been nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame.
But the Pokerstars pro's recent four-letter outburst against Annie Duke could scupper the chance to see his name immortalised alongside other legends of the game.
The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council has strict criteria that successful nominees have to adhere to.
They include the proviso: "A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition; played for high stakes; played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers; stood the test of time; or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results."
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 The $1,500 main event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs attracted a number of big-name pros such as Vince Burgio, Bernard Lee, Dwyte Pilgrim, "Tahoe" Andrew, and "Woody" Moore. But in the end it was Blair Hinkle, a 24-year-old student turned pro bracelet-holder from Kansas City, Missouri who emerged victorious. The win earned him $88,553, a massive diamond and gold trophy ring, a $10,000 buy-in into next year's WSOP main event, and, last but not least, a seat in the million-dollar Circuit National Championship in Las Vegas next year.
In addition, the 100 points he got for his main event win overtook Rob Georato's 90 point lead in the Casino Champion race for a National Championship seat. Because of the duplication, there will now be 37 seats awarded in the all-casino race instead of 36.
Hinkle said the key to his win was trying to keep one step ahead of everyone else at the final table by knowing how they would react to whatever he did. Another important element was a good read on his final opponent, Shiva Dudani. He detected that when Dudani was making small bets he was bluffing. He sensed that Dudani, not getting anywhere, realized that Hinkle was on to him, and was ready to try a big-bet bluff. So, when Dudani bet 400,000 into a board of 10c-9s-5s-9h, Hinkle called with just ace-high, and after a blank came on the river, he beat Dudani's king-high and moved into strong chip position.
Cheering him on ringside was his mother, who is now two-for-two being there when he won events.
In this tournament, Hinkle had a roller-coaster ride at the final table because he was playing so many pots. But he then tightened up after he thought his opponents had him pegged as a loose player.
Hinkle, who began playing in home games and online four years ago, was a chemical engineering student, later became a business finance major, and then left school when he fell in love with poker. He plays 30 to 50 tournaments a year and now has more than a million in cashes, half of it coming from a $507,000 win in a $2,000 WSOP no-limit win in 2008.
Also, Doug "Rico" Carli, had another cash-out to extend his lead as the player with the most Circuit cashes. He now has 44, close to twice as many as anyone else.
This event drew 255 players and had a prize pool of $361,440. Total for all events was 4,056, a 12 percent increase over the last Circuit series here. Because of the revamped structure giving players so much more time, there were still 16 players left at the end of day two. When they returned for the final day, Dwyte Pilgrim, who started as chip leader yesterday, was still in front with a healthy lead of 822,000 chips, 242,000 more than his closest competitor, Kevin Calenzo, and well over twice the average stack. Final-table action began with blinds of 5,000-10,000 with 2,000 antes.
It wasn't until after 6 p.m. before we got to the final table. Bernard Lee went out 10th when he raised under the gun to 199,000 to go all in with A-K. Dudani came over the top to get heads-up holding pocket kings. The board came 10-10-4-3-J, and the multi-talented Lee went out 10th, paying $6,582. Lee is a poker writer for the Boston Herald and ESPN, a poker radio host, instructor, author and official spokesperson for Foxwoods Casino. This is the third consecutive year he has a made the main event final table here.
Players went on dinner break, returning to blinds of 10,000-20,000 and 3,000 antes, playing 90-minute rounds. At this point, Hinkle had moved slightly past Pilgrim to take the chip lead.
During heads-up, Hinkle had a modest lead with 2,722,000 to 2,349,000 for Dudani. Then, after picking off Dudani's 400,000 bluff, Hinkle was in strong position. On the final hand, Dudani, down to 1.4 million, tried an all-in move after he missed his straight draw. The board showed 9h-7c-6c-4s-Kd and all he had was Jc-8d. Hinkle called with Ks-6s for two pair, and the victory was his. Dudani, 24, is a student originally from Numbai, India now living West Des Moines, IA. He began playing four years ago with fellow students and his biggest cash was $16,859 for winning a mega deep stack event in Vegas.
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by Max Shapiro
 Kevin Marcus is a 25-year-old accounting student from Massapequa, New York whose normal style of play is tight. But two situations presented itself in today's H.O.R.S.E. tournament, the fourth ring event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, that allowed him to bully his way to victory, earning $6,885 and a diamond-encrusted gold trophy ring.
The first came the night before, with nine players left, one away from the final table. Playing a hand against Betty Davidson, he had her down to 2,000 on the river and was pretty sure he had her beat with two pair. But he just checked. Was he playing partners with her? No, not exactly. There were two other short stacks at the table, he was the chip leader, and he knew they were trying to make the final table and he could bully them and steal blinds and antes if play were to continue. He did just that, and was able to considerably build his stacks.
At the final table, he went down a lot in early action. Then with six players left and sensing that two short stacks were trying to move up another notch or two, he began pushing them around, picking up 20,000 or 30,000 chips six or seven times in a row, and moved up from 300,000 to 450,000 chips, After that he was unstoppable. "It only works when you're a big stack," he explained.
Marcus began playing poker 13 years ago with friends. He prefers tournaments, but ends up playing mostly cash games because of the underground clubs in New York. He has one prior small cash in Atlantic City. Asked for any final thoughts, he exclaimed "Let's go, Islanders!" cheering on his favorite New York hockey team.
This event drew 75 players with a $31,825 prize pool. Play commenced in a razz round at level 16 with five hands left and 20:34 on the clock. Antes were 2,000, the bring-in 4,000, blinds 5,000-10,000, and limits 10,000-20,000. Marcus was now well in front with 246,000 chips, nearly 2-1/2 times as much as anyone else. And Davidson (at least due in part to Marcus' strategy) became the first lady to grace a final table in any of the noon or 4 p.m. events thus far.
The two remaining players went on break, returning for their final match-up, with Marcus holding a 425,000 to 325,000 chip advantage over Cutler. Play started in an Omaha round and ended during stud high play. On the final hand, Cutler, reading his opponent as weak, raised all in on fifth street holding (4-7) Q-5-7, and was surprised when Marcus, showing 5-3-A, turned up 5-3 for two pair. Marcus didn't improve when a king and six were dealt to him, but neither did Cutler when he got a 10 on sixth street and a 6 on the river. For second, Cutler, 52, whose nickname is "Chgocut," picked up $4,260. He is a CPA from Vernon Hills, Illinois who learned poker as a kid in home games and has been playing professional-level tournaments since 2006. Cutler has a WPT bracelet at the Bellagio in $1,500 no-limit, a $225,000 final table cash in $2,000 no-limit at the WSOP, and a H.O.S.E. title at the Majestic Star in Indiana. The father of four children, he also likes golf and movies.
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by Max Shapiro
 David Finney, a dispatcher for a wholesale fuel company, started today's final table last in chips with only 175,000, well under half average. But by carefully picking and choosing his spots, he worked his way up and finally won the second ring event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, $300 no-limit hold'em. "You can't be too aggressive when you're the short stack forever," he explained. Victory brought him $22,879 and the coveted diamond and gold trophy ring. He had plenty of time to be patient, because the final table lasted close to eight hours, largely due to the new structure giving players lots of room with plenty of chips and slowly escalating blinds.
Finney, 48, is from Council Bluffs and plans his vacation time to play tournaments at his "home casino." He's been playing poker for six years, splits his poker time between cash games and tournaments, and three years ago won a second-chance event here.
This event drew 350 players and the prize pool was $101,850. Twenty-five players returned on day two. It took two hours to lose 15, and then another hour to lose one more and get to the final table of nine. Action started with blinds of 6,000-12,000 and 2,000 antes, 37:27 left on the clock at level 25. Brian Brashaw had the lead with 716,000 in chips.
In heads-up, Finney had around 2.1 million chips to 1.4 million for Roth.
Blinds were now 6,000-12,000. On the last hand, the flop showed 9s-6h-7c.Making top pair with 9c-8s, Finney bet 500,000 and Roth, later explaining that he lost his patience, moved in with Kh-Qc. He couldn't hit anything when a 5h turned and a 6c rivered, and Finney had hit an outside straight for the win. Roth, getting $14,141 for second, is a 57-year-old corn and bean farmer from Ravenna, Nebraska who's played eight years. He's had a cash in the last two Circuits here. His hobby is golf.
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by Max Shapiro
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