Bird on the Rail
Michael Phelps Makes a Splash in Vegas
The Caesar’s Poker Classic in Las Vegas got a serious celebrity injection when fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps sat down to play. Along with 186 other hopefuls, the swimmer bought in to the $1,570 No-Limit Hold’em event and surprised everyone by making the final table. Phelps ultimately busted out in ninth place, collecting $5,213 for his finish. The following day, Phelps was spotted milling around the tournament area on Day 1A of Bellagio’s $15,000 buy-in Festa al Lago WPT tournament. Phelps chatted up a number of pros, including Phil Hellmuth, and rumor had it that he was considering taking the plunge and buying into the event’s second starting flight the following day. Phelps, though did not end up playing the Bellagio event, choosing instead to party it up at one of the property’s nightspots with poker pros Jeff Madsen and Maria Ho.
Schwartz for Sale on eBay
What do a swath of Ylon Schwartz’s shirt and Sarah Palin’s private plane have in common? Both were unsuccessfully auctioned on eBay! For over a month leading up to his nationally televised appearance on ESPN as a member of the 2008 WSOP Main Event’s November Nine, Schwartz was auctioning off the opportunity for a single bidder to advertise their brand on a ten-inch-square patch to be placed on his “arm, chest, hat or other mutually agreed upon location or a branded item to be placed on his chips or cards.” Schwartz’s first two auction attempts ended without a deal, necessitating that Schwartz go for a third try – this time with a “Buy it Now” price of $100,000, no reserve, and the promise that 50% of the auction’s proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity. In his sales pitch to potential bidders, Schwartz reasons that he’s a good investment as he is fifth in chips, one of the more experienced players at the final table, and that the broadcast will air endlessly in repeats for years to come. Porn sites beware, though. Schwartz makes it clear that he reserves the right to reject certain themes and products should they conflict with his existing agreements with ESPN and PokerStars.
Who’s Got Sponsorship Now?
While most of the poker world was opening their umbrellas under the London rain during the WSOP Europe or sampling Seoul’s local cuisine on South Korea’s APPT stop, two of Ultimate Bet’s newest signees enjoyed their coming-out party on the white sands of Aruba. Prolific online tournament player Adam “Roothlus” Levy and 2008 WSOP Main Event seventeenth-place finisher Tiffany Michelle officially signed sponsorship deals with the embattled online site, and the Aruba Poker Classic marked their first major tournament since the WSOP as representatives of the brand. Over at Full Tilt, they made another flurry of signings this month as they colored the names of veteran U.K. pros Dave “El Blondie” Colclough, Roberto Romanello, and Ali Sarkeshik in red, as well as that of Londoner Adam Noone, who recently won Full Tilt’s Million Pound Challenge in London. Noone pocketed £200,000 in the televised tournament, after defeating two out of three Full Tilt pros in heads-up matches. Though Noone was victorious against both Phil Ivey and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, his fellow countryman Roland De Wolfe ended up getting the best of him. Also playing in red is poker journalist turned poker pro Jeremiah Smith, Sao Paolo, Brazil’s Leandro “Brasa” Pimentel, who just last month won $184,000 for taking down the FTP $1 million guarantee, and online MTT star Matt “Plattsburgh” Vengrin who has had multiple final table finishes in the online Sunday majors. And perhaps most notably, legally blind player Hal Lubarsky, whose impressive 197th place finish in the 2007 WSOP Main Event was heavily featured on the event’s ESPN broadcast, is also a new red pro, and has been spotted regularly playing up to eight tables of $2/$4 and $3/$6 PLO-8.
Sorel Mizzi Suspended from PokerStars
It seems like yesterday that we were reporting a strikingly similar story, but here we go again. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi has found himself embroiled in yet another online poker scandal. While at the Barcelona Airport waiting for a flight to London, Mizzi apparently realized that he had registered for the $320 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys WCOOP Event on PokerStars, but would be unable to play the tournament since he’d be 30,000 feet in the air. He phoned a friend and asked him to log into his account and play the tournament for him until he landed in the UK and was able to take back over. His collaborator agreed, and Mizzi got on the plane, arriving at his London hotel about ninety minutes into the tournament. Mizzi then took over and finished it out… only to be greeted by an email from PokerStars that his little switcheroo had been discovered. Mizzi’s initial punishment was a six-month ban from playing on PokerStars, which was later reduced to a three-month ban after some heated negotiations. As many of you probably remember, the Canadian pro was permanently banned from playing at Full Tilt Poker last year after it was discovered that he “bought” another player’s account during the late stages of their Sunday $500,000 guaranteed tournament, taking over play from the original entrant. As of press time, accusations against Mizzi were still flying around the poker forums, with online pro Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen confirming that Mizzi had approached a player by the name of “ckingusc” who had made Day 2 of the WCOOP Main Event to see if he’d be interested in having Mizzi “ghost” him during the tournament. That player, however, ultimately (and rightly) declined the offer.
Tiffany Michelle Tops Charity Tourney, Gives Back
The Road 2 Recovery Foundation recently hosted its fourth annual charity poker tournament at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. The $300 NLHE with Rebuys event raised over $43,000 for their Injured Riders Fund, which provides assistance to licensed motocross members who sustain career-ending injuries. The tournament drew a who’s who of poker including Howard Lederer, Layne Flack, Jeff Madsen, Robert Williamson III, Hoyt Corkins, Todd Brunson, Lacey Jones, Jennifer Harman, Marco Traniello, Brandon Cantu, Maria Ho, and Jamie Gold. It was Tiffany Michelle, though, who came out on top during the poker portion of the evening, defeating Jeff Madsen heads up to win the tournament. Michelle, who rebought nineteen times during the course of the event, earned herself a $10,000 seat into next year’s WSOP Main Event and pledged to donate 5% of her winnings back to the Road 2 Recovery Foundation.
The Real Deal Opens at Venetian
At one point or another we’ve all fantasized about sitting down at a poker table with the likes of Daniel Negreanu or Jennifer Harman — and on your next trip to Vegas, you actually can. The Real Deal, a show combining Texas Hold’em with comedy and audience participation, has just opened at the Venetian Hotel & Casino. Hosted by comedian Vinnie Favorito, the show features a 90-minute, nine-handed No Limit Hold’em tournament comprised of two pro players and six lucky audience members, while the ninth player’s actions are controlled by the audience via remote controls. At the end of the show, one amateur and one professional will square off to decide a winner. Random giveaways to audience members happen throughout the show, with prizes ranging from free T-shirts to plasma TVs. Already signed on to participate in the show are ten top poker pros including Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, and Doyle Brunson. The show runs eight times a weç with tickets starting at $75.
