Wicked Chops Poker

2012 WSOP: Selbst In Contention for Bracelet

Wicked Chops Entity — Wed, 30 May 2012 16:51:42 +0000

Vanessa Selbst is in contention to do what no woman has done since her.

And here we go…

Tuesday was the first “typical” WSOP day, with three major events concurrently running. Updates:

:: Event #2 ($1,500 NLH) – The field is down from 2,101 to 15. Jacob Bazeley is the big stack with 1,291,000. He’s followed by Ryan Schmidt with 1,193,000. In fourth is former bracelet winner JP Kelly with 721,000. Also alive in fifth overall is Vanessa Selbst, a woman who likes women, with 706,000. Vanessa Selbst is looking to become the first woman to win a bracelet since Vanessa Selbst did it in 2008. Phil Hellmuth went deep in this one, but was eliminated in 61st ($7,204). Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #3 ($3,000 NLH/PLO Heads-Up) – A total of 317 entered this first-time event. Matches concluded with 64 remaining. Plenty of notables are still alive, including David Chiu, Justin Bonomo, Annette Obrestad, a woman, Josh Arieh, David Williams, [..........], and of course, Ashkan Razavi. First place will pay $207,708. Get the full remaining field here.

:: Event #4 ($1,500 7CS 8oB) – An impressive 622 entered the final event of the day, with 210 surviving. William Carroll is the chip leader, stacked at 49,100. He’s followed by Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi with 41,500. Also alive, Phil Ivey with just over 10,000. Get full chip counts here.

Get more WSOP recap info and photos from BLUFF here.

* Image courtesy of WSOP.com.

2012 WSOP Underway, Over 2,100 Enter $1,500 Event, Including Phil Ivey

Wicked Chops Entity — Tue, 29 May 2012 16:53:10 +0000

We're as happy to see the 2012 WSOP get underway as we are to see a new Candice Swanepoel photo shoot.

The 2012 WSOP got underway Sunday.

As is customary, the $500 buy-in Casino Employees event kicked things off. A total of 732 entered, with Chiab “Chip” Saechao banking the $70,859 first place prize. Read more about Event #1 here.

The first open tournament started Monday with Event #2 ($1,500 NLH). An impressive 2,101 entered, creating a first place prize of $517,725. Play wrapped with 239 remaining. A total of 216 get paid.

There are a surprising large number of big names still in the field. Not among them is current chip leader, Sadan Turker, with 158,100. He’s followed by Eli Elezra (155,900).

Other big stacks remaining include but are certainly not limited to Brandon Cantu (130,100), Layne Flack (74,500), John Juanda (60,700), Vanessa Selbst (52,300), Phil Hellmuth (44,600), and Jason Mercier (41,900).

And yes, Phil Ivey did play, but was eliminated.

Get full chip counts here.

The new $3,000 buy-in Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em / Pot-Limit Omaha (512 player max) kicks off today at noon PT. Follow the updates here.

More Candice Swanepoel pics here.

The 2012 WSOP Is Here: Five Things to Expect

Wicked Chops Entity — Sun, 27 May 2012 17:20:56 +0000

The 2012 WSOP will look nothing like this.

Much like the Creeper before he was unmasked, the World Series of Poker always manages to creep up on the industry every year.

Here we are. It’s May. And the first event (Casino Employees) starts today.

Last year was supposed to be the Litmus Test year for the WSOP. Why’s It Gotta Be Black Friday had just happened. Early speculation was that the Main Event went drop to Greg Raymer 2004 numbers. But after a few strong turnouts at World Poker Tour events, people remained more positive about participation prospects. In the end, the WSOP had a record breaking year.

As it turned out, the 2011 WSOP was like a last hurrah for the industry. There was still a little bit of money left in the poker economy. 2011 proved that the WSOP brand was strong, and people’s appetite to play poker (and win a bracelet) had not been diminished.

But what about this year? Here’s how we see it.

1. Turn-out Drops Mildly Across the Board – We have no idea how precipitous the fall will be. But there will be a fall. This is no knock on the WSOP, it’s just the state of the State. First, turnout is dropping in events all over the globe. It’s called a trend. Second, the overall global economy still isn’t exactly humming, and the disposable income to drop $2,000 on travel and an event just isn’t there to boost numbers.

While pre-registration numbers are up this year–we still expect to see a 10-15% drop in overall participation this year in the pre-lim events. For the Main Event, look for a 2005-ish number of around 5,600 entrants.

2. New Look Media – Last year, there was still enough cash in various war chests to send the so-called poker “media” out in full-force. This year, we expect a scaled down media presence–and a different look at coverage.

The WSOP has (finally) adopted the idea of covering their events via handheld devices. This is a proposal we had out to them two years ago. Can’t believe it took two years for someone to give it a shot. We’ll see how it goes–but in theory–if the coverage is focused more on chip counts and less on hand recounts nobody will ever read or care about, the coverage should be better overall.

Otherwise, just expect less places to get solid coverage. There’s no money in it for blogs or independents to really dedicate the required resources needed to provide unique content.

3. Fewer “Big Names” Win Events – This is just a gut–but the loss of Full Tilt Poker has created a void in players with sponsorships, which leads to a lack of buy-in and backing income. That was the lifeblood to many-a-name’s ability to enter multiple events. With that money gone, it opens the door for more who-the-fuck-is-thats to win events. Expect this year to be the Not Year of the Pro.

4. But Phil Ivey Wins a Bracelet – Motivated Ivey (playing poker only source of income) = Ivey making many bracelet runs.

5. Full Tilt Will Dominate the News…Again – Almost from Day 1, the roller-coaster that was Full Tilt Poker dominated the WSOP poker news cycle. Phil Ivey sued! White Knight deal fell through! New buyer! Licensed revoked! Insolvent! Our traffic (and other’s) for the first time spiked way more in the summer months from NON-WSOP news.

Expect the same this year.

The PokerStars-Tilt acquisition is still on target to happen. The devil is in the details, and it’s taking longer than some hope to announce, but as of today, it’s still on track. Once it goes through, expect the deal details, repayment plans, and relaunch plans to completely dominate the headlines.

And if something absurd happens to collapse the acquisition? Watch out.

Marvin Rettenmaier Wins 2012 WPT Championship

Wicked Chops Entity — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:56:30 +0000

In her last event with the WPT, Jess Welman interviews the champ, Marvin Rettenmaier.

Marvin Rettenmaier entered the 2012 WPT Championship final table as the massive chip leader.

Then he lost it.

Then he went on to win anyway.

At one point in heads-up play, Rettenmaier was at a 4-to-1 chip disadvantage. But he battled back, defeating Philippe Ktorza to win the title.

For the win, Rettenmaier banks $1,196,858. This marks the second lowest ever WPT Championship first place prize (Season 1, won by Alan Goehring, was for just over $1M). Ktorza earns $805,310 for second.

Along with Goehring, Rettenmaier joins the following WPT Championship winners: Martin De Knijff, Tuan Le, Joe Bartholdi, Carlos Mortensen, David Chiu, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, David Williams, and Scott Seiver.

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi finished third ($424,618), Nick Schulman fourth ($256,235), Steve O’Dwyer fifth ($192,176), and
Trevor Pope sixth ($155,571).

Get a full recap here.

Tom Marchese Wins WPT Super High-Roller; Rettenmaier Big Stack at Championship

Wicked Chops Entity — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:22:35 +0000

Marvin Rettenmaier looks to solidify his status as one of the game's top players with a WPT Championship win.

Tom Marchese outlasted a stacked field of 34 players to capture the WPT $100,000 Super High-Roller event.

Marchese banked $1,308,405 for the win, the biggest score of his career. He defeated Andrew Robl ($822,375) heads-up. John “Fuck” Juanda finished third ($526,320).

Get a full recap here.

In related news, Marvin Rettenmaier will take a massive chip lead to the WPT Championship final table on Saturday. The German is stacked at 6,715,000. He’s followed by Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi with 2,560,000. Steve O’Dwyer is third (2,035,000) and Nick Schulman is fourth (1,555,000).

Follow the final table at worldpokertour.com on Saturday afternoon around 4pm PT.

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