Featured Articles Archive - Page 331

Poker player Esfandiari poised to pounce

Strange is it sounds, winning a record poker jackpot of $18.3 million might seem like chicken feed over the next few years for Antonio Esfandiari.Brian Balsbaugh, the CEO of Poker Royalty, the Las Vegas-based firm that manages the careers of poker players, said Esfandiari's victory in the World Series of Poker's $1 million buy-in "Big One for One Drop" event last week at the Rio "catapults him into the stratosphere of poker celebrity."Thanks to victories on the televised World Poker Tour and a stint behind the microphone as a television color commentator for ESPN's World Series of Poker Main Event coverage last year, Esfandiari was already a high-profile poker commodity.That recognition rose even higher when he topped a field of 48 players and a final table that included 12-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth Jr., 2011 Poker Players Championship winner Brian Rast, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and MGM Resorts International executive Bobby Baldwin - winner of the 1978 World Series of Poker.Now, Esfandiari, 33, can cash in outside the poker room."Antonio was already one of the game's most recognizable A-list players," Balsbaugh said...read more

Dutch player knocks out Georges St. Pierre at the WSOP Main Event

LAS VEGAS -- The early days of the World Series of Poker Main Event are about more than winning and losing. Yes, players care about winning. But for most, cashing is a pipe dream. So playing in the Main Event becomes a bucket list item -- the experience of a lifetime.Stephan Patz is getting the most out of his experience of a lifetime.I ran into Patz while eating dinner at the TGI Friday's in the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino during Sunday's dinner break...read more

How does edge on Pass and Come bets at craps change during the game?

If you play craps and bet Pass or Come, which are identical except for the stage of a hand when they’re made, the edge you’re fighting is among the lowest in the casino. Blackjack with decent rules has less of a house advantage, assuming you follow Basic Strategy reasonably closely or, better, get a leg up on the bosses by counting cards...read more

Analyst: Taiwan casinos could be at least five years away

Residents on a small group of Taiwanese islands approved a casino referendum over the weekend, paving a way for Taiwan’s first legal gaming establishment. The Matsu island chain of Taiwan approved the government’s plans to build a casino by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin...read more

NHL star tries to score at World Series of Poker

Playing goalie in the National Hockey League is a lot like playing high-stakes tournament poker. One mistake can cost you dearly .Roberto Luongo understands pressure in both the hockey and poker arenas.On Saturday at the Rio, Luongo took on the poker world, playing in the World Series of Poker's $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Championship.His entry was funded by British Columbia Lottery Corp., which operates legal online poker games in the Canadian province.Seat No...read more

Phil Hellmuth eliminated on opening day of WSOP Main Event

LAS VEGAS -- The $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event began Saturday, with 1,066 players beginning their quest to win poker's most important tournament.Saturday's Day 1A field was the first of three starting days. The fields will combine for the first time on July 12.An interesting mix of players elected to play Saturday, with pros like Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Andy Black and Joe Hachem sharing the felt with poker amateurs like Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, Norwegian cross-country skier Petter Northug and actor Kevin Pollak.Luongo acquitted himself nicely and ended the day with 41,000 in chips, while Hellmuth and Hachem were eliminated from the event...read more

Billionaire businessmen handle risk just fine at WSOP Big One for One Drop

LAS VEGAS -- The best poker players in the world are professional risk takers. They risk their own money on high-variance outcomes and usually walk away winners.The reason top poker players consistently win is their ability to evaluate risk, and determine when to gamble and when to fold...read more

Esfandiari wins $18.3 million, Big One for One Drop title at WSOP

Sam Trickett really wishes Antonio Esfandiari had won the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout at the World Series of Poker two weeks ago.Esfandiari, who held 80 percent of the chips in play with three players remaining, got extremely unlucky and ended up finishing third in the event...read more

Tale of the Tape: Butler vs. Chef

LAS VEGAS -- At some point in almost every poker tournament, play starts to slow down. Instead of eliminations every few minutes -- or every 10 minutes -- long stretches of time can go by between either bust outs or dramatic hands.The $1 million Big One for One Drop tournament at the World Series of Poker reached that point around 6:43 p.m...read more

Even split between businessmen and poker pros at One Drop final table

LAS VEGAS -- One of the aspects of the World Series of Poker's Big One for One Drop that has been the most fascinating to watch is the battle between professional poker players who leaned on friends to gather up the cash to get into the $1 million buy-in event and the professional businessmen who plunked down $1 million of their own money like it was nothing.The vast majority of poker cognoscenti assumed that the poker pros would have a huge edge in the tournament...read more