Featured Articles Archive - Page 104

Around the WSOP: Meet the Uber driver John Hesp hired as his new agent

Editor's note: Two days after this article was published, John Hesp decided not to use the services of David Perry as his agent. The original agreement between the two men was "purely verbal," according to Hesp's son, James, and they have parted ways...read more

WSOP Main Event final table predictions

Kara Scott (photo by WSOP)LAS VEGAS – John Hesp and his now-infamous multicolored jacket and Panama-style hat are the surefire sentimental favorites heading into today's World Series of Poker Main Event final table at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.That is the resounding reoccurring theme we saw when we asked a panel of poker pros and media to make their picks for how this year's final table will play out.Below, is a sampling of those picks and analysis from this esteemed group...read more

WSOP Main Event Final Table questions and answers

LAS VEGAS – On Thursday afternoon, more than 40 hours after the final table bubble burst dramatically at the World Series of Poker Main Event early Tuesday morning, the nine players who scratched and clawed their way through the third-largest field in tournament history will return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.Cards go in the air for the final table at 5:30 p.m...read more

Top 10 random observations from the WSOP Main Event

LAS VEGAS -- Spend more than 50 hours over six consecutive days watching the spectacle that is the World Series of Poker Main Event, and you're bound to come away with a notebook bursting with random thoughts and observations. Here are just 10 of the many items that drifted through this poker-overloaded brain over the last week while I was roaming around the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.10...read more

WSOP Director Jack Effel talks Main Event mayhem

LAS VEGAS – As Jack Effel instinctively recites the numbers off the top of his head, even he is impressed by the magnitude of it all.516 poker tables. 2,000 temporary employees. 300,000 transactions at the cage, worth $250 million. Participants from 111 different countries...read more

Around the WSOP: Hallaert trying to buck astronomical odds; plus, tequila shots and Superman

LAS VEGAS -- As the number of tables in play and participants in contention continued to plummet rapidly on Saturday night at the World Series of Poker Main Event, Kenny Hallaert sat in the middle of it all, smiling and collecting chips.Just like he has the last three years.In a profession where surliness and antagonism are prevalent, the 35-year-old Belgian thoroughly enjoys himself at the table...read more

Scotty Nguyen still a fan favorite, despite WSOP Main Event bustout

LAS VEGAS – It was early on during Day 4 of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino when Scotty Nguyen got his hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar. A bluff gone bad at the ESPN featured table cost him a 500,000 pot, and suddenly his once-healthy chip stack had dwindled from 600,000 all the way down to less than 60,000."I've been playing really good for three days," he explained during the next break in the action, which came just minutes after the crushing blow...read more

Life coach and poker author Phil Hellmuth aiming to 'change humanity'

LAS VEGAS -- Love him or hate him, Phil Hellmuth never disappoints.Whether it's sitting at the ESPN featured table under the hot lights or bumping into a reporter in the hallways of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and taking part in an impromptu interview, Hellmuth's bravado gauge is always on full.You want salacious statements and audacious assertions? President Trump has got nothing on the Poker Brat.Hellmuth busted in the World Series of Poker Main Event on Day 2C, but was back at the Rio on Thursday for a book signing...read more

Around the WSOP Main Event: Money bubble drama; Matusow 'retires'

LAS VEGAS – The tension created by the World Series of Poker Main Event money bubble is unlike anything else in the world of gaming.It was clearly evident early this morning inside the walls of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino Amazon Room, when the countdown to making the money for the 48th annual playing of poker's most prestigious tournament generated the type of pressure-cooker situation that is, quite simply, hard to fathom.As we have described in past years, the WSOP Main Event money bubble is a true $15,000 swing...read more

Expectant mother Natasha Mercier adjusting and contending at WSOP Main Event

LAS VEGAS – Twenty-eight weeks into her first pregnancy, Natasha Mercier is battling fatigue, her ever-changing hormones and a fickle appetite, just like any other expectant mother.The difference between Mercier and most other women in her condition? She's not only going through her third trimester while sitting on the biggest stage of her profession, but she's doing it quite well...read more