Annie Duke Attacks Joan Rivers For Charity

When Duke and Rivers squared off on the last season of Celebrity Apprentice, the two butted heads. Rivers had a few "not so nice" things to say about the good-natured Duke, including a subtle comparison between her and Hitler (yes, that Hitler).


























But, wait... there's more. Good 'ole Joan went further in saying that any money that poker players donated to charity was "blood money."

The poker world gasped and the Sucking Out On The Rivers charity poker tournament was created. The proceeds from the event will go to Refugees International, a group that helps folks who have been displaced throughout the world.

Gosh Joan, that doesn't sound like something a Nazi would do (we don't know any).

To kick off the charity event and poke a little fun, Duke is inviting over 20 Rivers impersonators. If you're in Las Vegas tomorrow (Wednesday, May 27th), drop by the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to enjoy the fun. It starts at 6:00 p.m.

Way to go Annie!


The 2009 WSOP Is Starting Tomorrow!
















Duke's charity tournament isn't the only event kicking off tomorrow. The 2009 WSOP launches! Technically, it begins on May 28th with a $40k No Limit Holdem tournament. But, there's an opening tourney for casino employees on Wednesday.

This long-anticipated affair is bound to keep a lot of us on the edges of our seats. We're looking forward to seeing a few surprises and bad beats.

If you're going to be in town, take a quick look at this list of the local Las Vegas restaurants to guide your taste buds.


durrrr Vs. Ziigmund: The Battle Heats Up

We like the $2/$4 tables. When we're really feeling aggressive, we'll hit the $10/$20 games. Well, that's not nearly spicy enough for Tom Dwan and Ilari Sahamies. They recently went for each others jugulars at $3,000/$9,000 Pot Limit Omaha.

At first, Sahamies didn't want to play (chicken). But, at Dwan's behest, he jumped on the table for an hour and came out ahead. Is it us or does Ziigmund always look as if he wants to sucker punch someone?




















In other "durrrr" news, the young poker phenom cleared over $500,000 on High Stakes Poker during one hand.

That's a drop in the bucket compared to what we're used to, but good for Dwan.
















With half a million burning a hole in his pocket, surely he can afford a mild tan (boy, he's white).

Another week, another wrap. To recap...

1. Annie Duke gets the last laugh on Joan Rivers. Actually, everyone at the event will have the last laugh after seeing the impersonators.
2. The first official event of the 2009 WSOP is kicking off Thursday.
3. Ziigmund and durrrr have more guts than most of us. (And durrrr is a lot whiter.)

As always, bringing you the poker news that's fit to print.

See you next time...

Ziigmund Demolishes durrrr In 2-Day Upset

Tom Dwan has been having trouble keeping his head above water lately. He was riding high into 2009 after crushing the competition during 2008. This year has been a different story.

For awhile, it seemed as if he were racing to purge as much cash as possible on the Full Tilt tables (see our Full Tilt review). He busted out of the gate at the beginning of 2009 and spent no time hemorrhaging nearly $4 million.

As of the first part of this month, Dwan had miraculously managed to recoup a major chunk of his losses. That was until Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies got ahold of him. In a heads-up $500/$1000 PLO match, Ziigmund dismantled durrrr and swiped at least $1.5 million from him.























Dwan is no stranger to major moves of cash across the table. But, the cash usually moves toward him, no away from him.


Paris Hilton: Cars And Poker Don't Mix

Good thing Paris Hilton has a few bucks in her bank account. With her taste in Bentleys matched only by her inability to hold onto them for long, she'll need the cash.

























Or, a little charity from PartyPoker (read our PartyPoker review).

The poker site offered her a deal back in 2006 when Hilton lost her Bentley in a poker game: Beat company spokesman Mike Sexton in a NL Hold'em heads-up match and PartyPoker will buy her a new one.

























She passed on the deal at the time. Apparently, she had things to do, people to meet, and hard-to-see home videos to make.

But Hilton's current Bentley was recently egged while she played in a private game. So, PartyPoker took the opportunity to remind her that their offer was still on the table.

Frankly, seeing as how she's mostly famous for being famous, it couldn't hurt her image.


Phil Hellmuth Immortalized... Sort Of

What can we say about Phil Hellmuth that he hasn't said himself? He's obviously a fantastic poker player with a "small" dose of chutzpah and personality.

















A brand new book called "Deal Me In" is in production to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his victory at the 1989 WSOP. The book will let Hellmuth and 19 other poker stars (including Annie Duke) describe their rise on the circuit.

It will be sold at PokerBrat.com, which is an oddly fitting domain name given its star.

Another week, another wrap. To recap...

1. Tom Dwan continues to ride the poker roller coaster. At this point, it's impossible to tell whether he'll end the year as a star or casualty, but it'll be fun to watch either way.
2. PartyPoker throws Paris Hilton a bone.
3. Phil Hellmuth rides high with a new book that features his sparkling personality.

As always, bringing you the poker news that's fit to print.

See you next week...

Daniel Negreanu's Big Swing

Say what you want about Daniel Negreanu - and many people have - the guy has an enormous heart. On June 25th, he's holding a charity golf event for the Lili Claire Foundation.





















The event will blend Negreanu's passion for golf and poker, and bring together 30 teams. A celebrity poker pro will be assigned to each foursome though it's unknown which pros will be participating. Also, it's worth noting that the poker pros will be assigned by live drawing. So, you might hope to be paired with...
























... only to discover you're paired with...















We're just sayin'.

Anyway, each foursome will pony up $3,000 to participate and the proceeds will go to a fantastic cause. You can find out more info by visiting http://www.bigswing.org/.


The durrrr Chronicles

It's time for a quick check on our friend Tom "durrrr" Dwan. You might remember that he's been having a little trouble on the tables lately. And by "little trouble," we mean he had thrown it into fifth gear and was giving money away faster than the federal government.

Well, the roller coaster ride continues. He took on a trio of superstars (Gus Hansen, Sami "LarsLuzak" Kelopuro, and Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies) and brought in over $1.5 million. Then, he proceeded to lose a cool $1 million to Ziigmund before pinching Phil Ivey for $300,000. Interestingly, Ivey doesn't look too bothered by the loss...


















As for the infamous durrrr Challenge, it continues to crawl along at a snail's pace. Seriously guys if you need a break I can suggest blowing a few grand playing roulette online, you never know you might hit it big.


The River(s) Busts The Duke

We've been avoiding The Apprentice for awhile even with Annie Duke going deep into the show's competition. Frankly, Trump's hair scares the crap out of us (as oddly mesmerizing at it is).

























But, the season finale recently aired with Annie Duke and Joan Rivers battling for the top prize, so we felt obliged to mention it. Rivers won. Now, we want to be happy for Rivers. After all, she's been around forever (seriously... forever).















Then, she called poker players "trash" and called Duke a Nazi. Now, c'mon. That's uncalled for and seems far lower than the high standards of etiquette for which Rivers is known.

As for Duke, we would have loved to see her beat Rivers (in more ways than one), but we're proud of her all the same, and here is a comparison of Annie Duke vs Hitler.

























Another week, another wrap. To recap...

1. Negreanu has a heart and will be showing it off June 25th.
2. Tom "durrrr" Dwan continues to battle his way up from the poker poorhouse.
3. Annie Duke proves she can go head-to-head with a mouthy rant-prone Joan Rivers.

As always, bringing you the poker news that's fit to print.

See you next week...

Clonie Gowen Lawsuit Dismissed!

This just in...

The case between Clonie Gowen and Full Tilt Poker has been officially dismissed. If you're just joining the poker world (where have you been?!), let's get you up to speed.

Former Full Tilt player and sexy promoter Gowen said she was promised 1% of the company a few years back. That little slice of the pie was estimated at $40 million.





















Of course, the promise wasn't written down. Because, y'know... getting it in writing would be silly, right? Full Tilt predictably said, "Clonie who?" and they were off to the races.

We imagine a few phone calls, screaming matches, and insults about the respective parties' mothers ensued. Finally, a lawsuit was filed by Gowen against Full Tilt Poker, its sister companies, a bunch of people including Phil Ivey (hey, leave our guy alone!). Full Tilt filed a motion to dismiss it.

And that brings us to today. The case has been dismissed, but it's still alive in a smaller form. Gowen's still going after Tiltware and a couple of the principles, including poker pro Howard Lederer.


The EPT Grabs The Spotlight

The European Poker Tour has taken center stage, knocking the WPT off the 2nd place block to line up behind the juggernaut WSOP. We're mentioning this for two reasons. First, it's our job to keep you informed about the poker circuit. Second, it's another opportunity to mention lovely Vanessa Rousso...

























Whoa. Uhhh... where were we? Oh yeah...

Rousso nudged out Randy Dorfman (who is not nearly as lovely) this past weekend to become the EPT High Roller Champion. She walked away with the €720,000 top prize for that event.

Our congrats to Rousso.


Hansen Continues His Surge

Last week, we mentioned that Gus Hansen is a hard guy to track on the tables. The way he wins and loses truckloads of money, his bank must think he launders cash through his account.





















True to form, he turned in a $3 million bump for the last week in April. You can see some of the hand details here. We'll say one thing for the guy... he ain't boring.

Another week, another wrap. To recap...

1. Clonie Gowen must be bummed these days. Of course, the Full Tilt folks must be pretty jazzed.
2. When Vanessa Rousso isn't curing poverty, she's kicking ass at the EPT (and making it look easy).
3. Gus Hansen continues to show us that he has a pair (figuratively speaking, thank goodness).

As always, bringing you the poker news that's fit to print.

See you next week...