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The World Series of Poker Europe Main Event kicked off last Thursday at the Casino at the Empire in London, England. This event started with two Day 1’s as players looked to take down the last bracelet of 2011. Barry Shulman won this event last year and was looking for a repeat performance.

Day 1a started with 137 players and nobody made a bigger entrance than Phil Hellmuth. He entered the casino escorted by 11 Lady Gaga impersonators, one of which was singing “Poker Face.” Unfortunately for Hellmuth, his entrance didn’t bring him any luck as he was out on Day 1a.

Players that played during Day 1a included Michael Mizrachi, Chad Brown, Allen Kessler, Chris Ferguson, and Erik Seidel. Faraz Jaka, Nick Shulman, and Leo Margets were among those that went on to Day 2 action from this heat.

Day 1b drew out 209 players with Men Nguyen, Eric Mizrachi, David Benyamine, Tom Dwan “durrrr”, and Vanessa Rousso. Barry Shulman started his title defense in Day 1b and was still alive at days end. Phil Laak, Eli Elezra, and Antonio Esfandiari were among those that moved to Day 2 play from this heat. In total, only 195 players saw Day 2 action.

Two players that made Day 2 action that drew the biggest rail and the most headlines were Phil Ivey and Viktor Blom. Blom is the man everyone is claiming to be isildur1 and Ivey is of course, Ivey. In addition to these two big names, Daniel Negreanu was trying to make a charge at his 3rd straight WSOP Europe Main Event final table.

By the end of Day 2, only 69 players were left, but it was Viktor Blom that took over the chip lead. Phil Ivey was 6th in chips with Negreanu still in the hunt. Barry Shulman went down during Day 2 action, guaranteeing a new champion.

Day 3 saw the players make the money in the event. Daniel Negreanu fell short of the money. He moved in with A-K, but Darren Woods made a light call with pocket threes, and they held. Viktor Blom made the money and survived the day, but he had a real roller coaster type of day. After starting as chip leader, he dropped to 275k before moving back up to 657,000 by the end of the day. This was good enough for 5th place on the day. Phil Ivey was just behind him with 657,000.

Day 4 22 players return to play to the final table. Ivey made a misstep early on and wound up in 19th place. He shoved with A-10 pre-flop and ran into A-K from Ronald Lee. Viktor Blom did not fare much better. The dropped 2/3rd’s of his stack early on and put in his last 210k with pocket eights. Brian Powell made the call with K-Q, leaving Blom in good shape. That was until a queen on the flop and king on the turn left Blom with just two outs. An eight failed to fall, and Blom finished in 16th place.

By the end of Day 4, the final table was reached with Roland de Wolf the main headliner. Dan Fleyshman was the chip leader going into the final table. Here were the chip counts:

Seat 1: Roland de Wolfe 1,377,000
Seat 2: Marc Inizan 349,000
Seat 3: Nicolas Levi 428,000
Seat 4: Fabrizio Baldassari 677,000
Seat 5: Brian Powell 842,000
Seat 6: Dan Steinberg 1,520,000
Seat 7: James Bord 1,331,000
Seat 8: Ronald Lee 1,899,000
Seat 9: Dan Fleyshman 1,946,000

Fleyshman nosedived early and finished in 7th place. Roland de Wolfe made a strong showing, but failed to take down the event. With four players left, he shoved with K-Q and Fabrizio Baldassari made the call with A-8. Baldassari flopped two pair, and a deuce on the turn eliminated de Wolfe in 4th place.

James Bord and Fabrizio Baldassari played heads-up for the bracelet. Baldassari was the chip leader early, but a bad shove with Q-8 resulted in Bord doubling up with A-K. A while later, Baldassari and Bord was in a raising war that saw Bord move all-in with pocket tens. Baldassari held pocket fives and made the call. The board missed both players and James Bord is the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event Champion.

James Bord hails from England, and this is his first major tournament win. He took home the bracelet and £830,410 in prize money. Congratulations.

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This has been a hell of a year for Phil Laak.

On June 7, 2010 Phil Laak made poker history when he broke the Guiness Book World Record for Poker Endurance. Laak had played 115 straight hours of poker, dominating the previous record of 78 hours and 45 minutes.1
On August 5, 2010 Phil Laak suffered an accident while riding ATVs with friends in Oregon. The Dublin-born, U.S.-raised professional poker player was hospitalized with multiple injuries, including a severely broken wrist, rib injuries, a dislocated elbow, and a nasty blow to the eye that left Laak’s right eyelid barely attached. Laak was predictably candid on his highly active Twitter page,2 posting Twitpics gruesome and aplenty. These included shots of Laak in his initial hospital stay,3 before even having his eyelid sewn back on4 and later tweets chronicled his recovery.5 Laak’s August 5 tweet about the accident was especially poetic as the professional poker player took a picture of himself and sent a message from his hospital bed:
“Atv accident, massive arm injury and lacerations to eye in Oregon. Life is good http://twitpic.com/2byjbo 10:07 PM Aug 5th via Twitpic”

On September 8, 2010, Phil Laak turned 38 years old. He had undergone several surgeries since his accident. He had been on a tear in Europe, making money in several countries. On his birthday, Laak cashed for 52000 euros in London.
On September 16, 2010 Phil Laak won his first bracelet in Event 1 of the World Series of Poker Europe, a ?2,650 buy-in Six-handed No Limit Hold’em Event. At the final table, Laak eliminated Ilak Rouah and later Chris Bjorin. Phil Laak then took on Andrew Pantling heads up and Laak came out victorious, netting £170,802 (or $267,010). So, on September 16, a little over a month after posting a self portrait of the hospitalized poker professional, Laak tweeted a victory tweet:
“Maximum cheeze shippage.£170,802 ($267,010). Plus some gold! Holla!! http://twitpic.com/2p1mpp 4:54 PM Sep 16th via Twitpic”

The accompanying picture showed Laak with all the chips, his winning hand, and a WSOPE bracelet around his Yukon Jack decorated cast.
This newsworthy pro has been a media darling for a while in his poker career, appearing often on television and staying web savvy with his Twitter account (which boasts 15,019 followers), his website (phillaakpoker.com), and his online poker site (unabomberpoker.com), which includes Phil’s blog with hints and tips. Also, it doesn’t hurt that he’s dating Jennifer Tilly, who became famous as an actor and is now also known (in part due to tutelage from Laak) as a professional poker player.
Previous to his 2010 WSOPE win, Laak’s biggest tournament cash was in 2005, when he won the William Hill Tournament Grand Prix to the tune of £150,000 ($265,000).
According to Laak’s website, he grew up playing games and had a shrewd mind for numbers (especially when those numbers were counting money. Laak went on to earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts. After college and trips across the U.S. and then Europe and Turkey, Laak returned to the U.S. and found he could support himself by playing backgammon for money, which all lead to Laak’s eventual career as a professional poker player.6
Phil Laak has had highs and lows this year, but, with a famous girlfriend, his first bracelet, and big poker tournament cashes, and narrowly escaping serious injury and death, he is sure to be counted on the fortunate side, as long as he can only stay away from those ATVs.

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The World Series of Poker Europe is currently underway and so far, three bracelets have been awarded. As expected, most of the top players from around the world converged on the Casino at the Empire in London to take their shot at one of five WSOP-E bracelets. Here is a breakdown of what has happened so far.

Phil Laak Wins First Bracelet

Event #1 was the £2,650 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Event. 244 players put up the buy-in for this first event and by the time the final table was reached, all eyes were on pros Chris Bjorin and Phil Laak. Laak was still going after his first WSOP bracelet and was the victim of a serious ATV crash just one month ago. In fact, Laak played this event with his right arm still in a cast. However, at the start of the final table, Andrew Pantling started as chip leader with nearly a 2 to 1 lead over the field.

Chris Bjorin fell in third place and it was Phil Laak and Andrew Pantling battling heads-up for the bracelet. The two battled for a while, but Pantling was soon left crippled after a big pot with Laak. Laak had flopped two pair and Pantling held a pair with both a straight and flush draw. Laak moved in and Pantling proceeded to miss his draw. The very next hand then saw Laak’s K-5 outdraw the A-9 of Pantling when a five hit the turn. Pantling failed to catch on the river and Phil Laak won his first WSOP bracelet. In addition, Laak took home £170,802.

Jeff Lisandro Wins Fifth Career Bracelet

Event #2, £5,250 Pot-Limit Omaha, drew 120 of the world’s best PLO players looking to take the bracelet and £159,514. After two days, there were still 15 players left looking to take the bracelet. Chris Bjorin would make his 2nd final table of this WSOP Europe. Joining him were November Niner John Racener, 2009 Player of the Year Jeff Lisandro, Jeff Madsen and Joe Serock.

Eventually, it was Joe Serock and Jeff Lisandro that played heads-up for the bracelet. Jeff Lisandro took a commanding lead when his Ks-Kd-5c-2d spiked a king on the flop to outdraw Serock’s As-Ad-Jh-10h. Serock was crippled and eliminated the very next hand. Jeff Lisandro won his 5th career WSOP bracelet. This was his first bracelet in a variant of poker other than stud. He took home the bracelet and £159,514.

Scott Shelley Denies JP Kelly History

Event #3, £1,075 No-Limit Holdem, drew the largest crowd of this WSOP-E at 582 players. By the time the final table was reached, the poker world was watching JP Kelly. Kelly won this event last year and was looking to not only defend his title, but also to become the youngest player to win three bracelets. Phil Ivey is the current record holder.

JP Kelly would get a shot at winning his 3rd bracelet as he made it heads-up with Scott Shelley. Kelly led at the start of the match, but Kelley was able to overtake the lead. The match was decided when Kelley moved all-in pre-flop with Qd-Jh against the pocket threes of Shelley. A three on the flop gave Shelley a set and left Kelly needing running straight cards to win. The turn fell a seven and Kelly was drawing dead. Scott Shelley became the Event #3 champion, taking home the bracelet and £133,857. Viktor Blom, Erik Seidel, Scott Montgomery, Carlos Mortensen, Barny Boatman, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Jeff Lisandro, and Mike Matusow were among those that went out on Day 1.

Gus Hansen and Ram Vaswani Make Final Four of High Roller Event

Event #4, £10,350 NL Holdem High Roller Heads-Up started with 103 of the world’s best looking to take home £288,409 and the last bracelet before the Main Event. Play would continue down to 32 on Day 1 with many big names falling by the wayside.

Day 2 still started with a stacked field with Daniel Negreanu, Andrew Robl, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Ram Vaswani, Huck Seed, Howard Lederer, and Scott Fischman all still in the field. 32 would play down to 16 with Howard Lederer, Huck seed, Ram Vaswani, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Andrew Robl, and Daniel Negreanu still alive.

Lederer would face Seed, Robl faced Negreanu, and Hansen went against Ivey. Huck Seed’s dominance of Howard Lederer continued as he advanced to the round of eight. Gus Hansen dispatched Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu defeated Andrew Robl. Jim Collopy, Ram Vaswani, Kevin Eyster, Neil Channing, and Andrew Feldman rounded out the elite eight.

The following were the elite eight draws:

Huck Seed vs. Jim Collopy
Kevin Eyster vs. Ram Vaswani
Gus Hansen vs. Neil Channing
Daniel Negreanu vs. Andrew Feldman

Collopy defeated Seed to move on to the final four. Vaswani took out Eyster and Hansen took out Neil Channing. The final match between Daniel Negreanu and Andrew Feldman was the last one to finish. Negreanu was unable to make it to the final four as Andrew Feldman knocked him out when his K-6 flopped a king against Negreanu’s pocket queens.

The final four players will return on Thursday to play down to the bracelet. In the final four, Gus Hansen will battle Andrew Feldman and Jim Collopy will battle Ram Vaswani. They will not only be playing for the bracelet but the £288,409 in top prize money.

That is the WSOP Europe up to now. The Main Event also kicks off on Thursday and, as always, promises to draw out one of the stronger fields of the year. Stay tuned as we bring you all the remaining action from the 2010 World Series of Poker Europe.

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There always seems to be something going on in the poker world, and the last week or so is no exception. Below is some of the happening going on around the poker world:

Jeff Lisandro Wins 5th Bracelet

As many may remember, Jeff Lisandro won the 2009 WSOP Player of the Year for winning three bracelets and completing the lifetime stud triple crown. Well, now Lisandro has won his fifth career bracelet after taking Event #2 of the 2010 WSOP Europe, the £5,250 PL Omaha Event.

This event started with a start studded field of 210 players. After two days of play, 15 players returned for the last day. Lisandro made the final table, along with 2006 WSOP Player of the Year Jeff Madsen, Joe Serok, November Niner John Racener, and Chris Bjorin. This was Bjorin’s 6th career WSOP Europe cash, which is tops among WSOP-E participants. This was also Bjorin’s 2nd final table of this WSOP Europe.

Lisandro made heads-up play with Joe Serok and had to overcome a slight chip lead from Serok. Lisandro took a dominant lead when his K-K-2-5 flopped top against the A-A-J-10 of Serok. Serok was eliminated the next hand and Lisandro took home his 5th bracelet and £159,514.

Phil Laak Wins First Bracelet

The first event of the WSOP Europe was the £2,650 Six-Handed NL Holdem Event. 244 players took part in the event and after two days, we had a final table of six that included Phil Laak and Chris Bjorin. Laak had a severe ATV wreck last month and was playing one handed with his right arm in a cast.

Heads-up was between Laak and Andrew Pantling with Pantling leading . The battle between the two went back and forth for a while with both players holding the chip lead at one point or another. The turning point came when Laak flopped two pair with 6-7 against the 6-8 of Pantling. Pantling had both a straight and flush draw and could win if an eight hit. He missed all of his outs and Laak had a nearly insurmountable lead. The match was over with the next hand when Laak’s K-5 outdraw the A-9 of Pantling.

Phil Laak finally broke through to win his first bracelet. In addition, he took home £170,802.

Poker Hall of Fame Receives Ballots

The mixed panel that will vote on the nominees for the 2010 class of the Poker Hall of Fame have received their ballot. 33 members will vote on the panel with 16 living member of the Poker Hall of Fame and 17 members of the media receiving votes. The votes will be done on a 10 point must system with. Voters may not select more than 3 players and their point total must equal to ten.

The following players are being considered for enshrinement:

Phil Ivey

Barry Greenstein

Daniel Negreanu

Jennifer Harman

Chris Ferguson

Erik Seidel

Tom McEvoy

Dan Harrington

Linda Johnson

Scotty Nguyen

Ballots must be returned by October 1st and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on November 7th.

Shaun Deeb Wins 2nd WCOOP Bracelet

Shaun Deeb supposedly retired from poker earlier in the year, only to resurface at the WSOP and stir up controversy. Apparently, his retirement is over as he has now taken down his 2nd WCOOP bracelet after winning WCOOP event #28, the $1,000 NL 2-Day event. Deeb came out on top of a final table that included Greg “DuckU” Hobson and Shawn “buck21″ Buchanan. Deeb took home $243,610 for his win.

Plaza Hotel to Shut Down For Renovations and Name Change

A long time staple on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas is the Plaza Hotel and Casino. Well, the hotel portion of the property will be shut down in November for about a year as the hotel undergoes a complete renovation. Upon completion, the casino will be changing its name to Union Plaza. During the renovation, the casino will still operate, but the renovation will cost 400 employees their jobs.

Scotty Nguyen Skips WSOP Europe

Scotty Nguyen announced on his website that he was skipping this year’s World Series of Poker Europe to “tour for the fans.” He plans on going around the country and playing in smaller events to give the fans an opportunity to play with him.

Nguyen is not the only person to skip most or all of the WSOP Europe. Kathy Liebert is only planning on playing in the Main Event, and that is only if she does not do well in the WPT Borgata Main Event.

Borgata Poker Open Championship Underway

The WPT is in Atlantic City for the Borgata Poker Open. Preliminaries started on the 8th and continued through yesterday. The $3,500 Main Event kicked off today and will have two Day 1 starts. Saturday’s field included Steve Zolotow, Matt Stout, Mike Sexton, Will Failla, Bill Gazes, Adam Junglen, Maria Ho, and Roy Winston. This will be a televised event and cameras are on scene filming footage for use. For more about the event, follow Kaelaine Minton’s blog at http://borgatapokeropen2010.blogspot.com/.

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