WSOP: Main Event 2008 news (and scheduling change)

[Red Dog]

Looks like a change for the better IMO. I don't care about the 117 day wait.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/poker/2008-04-30-WSOP_N.htm

World Series of Poker stretches out Main Event
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY

You've just made the final table in July in the Main Event at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. You're one of nine players with a shot at millions. You're hot.

Now you have to wait until Nov. 9 for the next hand to be dealt.

No problem, says two-time Main Event champion Johnny Chan, who welcomes the WSOP's move to delay the final table to facilitate a Nov. 11 ESPN telecast within hours of the tournament's finish.

"Poker is a game of skill. The hands are random. … It's how you play your hand. I don't believe in hot streaks," Chan says.

Past final tables have been played in July, with ESPN airing its taped show in November.

Chan says the new format will allow players to connect with sponsors who "come to them and say, 'Hey, wear this patch or wear this logo. We'll give you X amount of dollars.' "

While poker pro Daniel Negreanu also applauds the timetable, he says it will make for a "different dynamic" at the final table. "You're going to see some really kind of more sophisticated play," he says.

The WSOP is a 55-event series of tournaments that begins May 30. ESPN will begin airing taped broadcasts of various events July 22. Negreanu expects players at the final table to monitor those.

"They're going to watch the ESPN broadcasts and go, 'Oh, did you notice that? When he does this, he's bluffing,' " Negreanu says.

He says players also can get coaching. He likens it to Super Bowl coaches getting two weeks to make a game plan: "Great players and amateurs alike will have an opportunity to really devise schemes and plans for how they're going to play."

In a news release issued by PokerStars, an online poker site, 2004 Main Event champion Greg Raymer says he is torn about the new format because of the potential for coaching.

"It might be huge for the continued growth of poker; however, the down side is this long gap allows the players to become completely different people between the time they make the final table and when they play it," says Raymer, a member of Team PokerStars.

For ESPN, there also will be a change in the dynamic. The title figures to be won in the early hours of Nov. 11, with the two-hour telecast of the final table set for 9 p.m. ET. "The champion will be crowned on the day of air. We're very excited about this change," ESPN senior producer Jamie Horowitz says.

ESPN will air a special Nov. 4 showing what the players have done between the July determination of the final nine and the final table.

"We want to detail that journey," Horowitz says.

What if something happens that precludes a player from playing at the final table? The WSOP has accounted for that. A player who does not appear will have his chips "blinded off," which means they will be paid into mandatory bets for each hand. When a competitor's last chip is played, he will be paid for where he finishes.

Two-time Main Event champion Doyle Brunson would prefer each player to be allowed an alternate, "somebody that's not considered to be a player with abilities above their own." Though Brunson, 74, has reservations about the delay being "overkill," he'd have no qualms about having to deal with it.

"No, I'll try to hang on another four months," he said, laughing.


TV implications:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/poker/2008-04-30-wsop-telecast_N.htm

New WSOP format allows for 'almost virtually real time' telecast
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY

The World Series of Poker is really going to put the hold into Texas Hold 'em.
The NFL has a two-week break before the Super Bowl. College football teams in the BCS championships get more than a month off.

This year's field of thousands in the WSOP's main event will get down the final nine July 14. Instead of playing it out right then in Las Vegas, final table action won't begin until Nov. 9, a hiatus of 117 days.

The past format has been to finish in July, with a tape-delayed telecast in November on ESPN. This year, the champion figures to be decided in the early hours of Nov. 11, with a two-hour taped and edited telecast of the final table set for 9 p.m. that night on ESPN.

Live airing would be complicated by the unpredictable pace of poker and block use of the hole-card camera, which gives a TV peak at the two cards dealt face down to each player in Texas Hold 'em.

Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP commissioner, says the new format allows for an "almost virtually real time" telecast. "This is no different than the final chapter of American Idol or The Apprentice. It's about building interest and excitement for the final chapter of this story," says Pollack.

The WSOP says its 15-member Player Advisory Council was consulted on the switch.

"It's going to create way more buzz. … It's going to be more like a live event," says Daniel Negreanu, a council member who applauds the move.

Says Doyle Brunson, two-time main event winner: "Frankly, I don't like it. … I guess it will create a lot of hype. ... It seems a little overkill or something to me."

[Deftones]

Interesting news. Obviously, if you are at the final table it allows you to read up, watch video of your opponents, possibly giving you an advantage. Of course that assumes those people are pros.

[namja]

Speaking of WSOP, anyone planning on going this year?

I might want to play one of the $1,500 NL HE events (and there are 7 of these):
Event 2 / May 31: $1,500 NL HE
Event 27 / June 14: $1,500 NL HE
Event 32 / June 17: $1,500 NL HE
Event 36 / June 19: $1,500 NL HE
Event 39 / June 21: $1,500 NL HE
Event 49 / June 28: $1,500 NL HE
Event 52 / June 30: $1,500 NL HE

Plus there are these with slight variations:
Event 9 / June 5: $1,500 NL HE (6-handed)
Event 17 / June 9: $1,500 NL HE (Shootout)
Event 41 / June 22: $1,500 HE (Limit/NL Mixed)
Event 44 / June 25: $1,000 NL HE (With Rebuys)

For reference, the $10,000 Main Event is:
Event 54 / July 3: $10,000 NL HE

[sauce07]

I like this, who cares if we don't get to read on the internet or watch a bootleg stream of the person winning in July. For the past few years the tourney has been stuck in neutral becasue you could go online and see who won 4 months before the broadcast.

[Red Dog]

I like this, who cares if we don't get to read on the internet or watch a bootleg stream of the person winning in July. For the past few years the tourney has been stuck in neutral becasue you could go online and see who won 4 months before the broadcast.


That's why I like the change. I can reasonably avoid the spoiler with this. It would also be nice if ESPN devoted a large undefined programming block to the final-2. With these ESPN packaged presentations, when it hit the :58 part of the timeslot, you knew the all-in player was going to lose on that hand.

[actyper]

As a player, this is simply retarded

[Spicollidriver1]

Speaking of WSOP, anyone planning on going this year?

I might want to play one of the $1,500 NL HE events (and there are 7 of these):
Event 2 / May 31: $1,500 NL HE
Event 27 / June 14: $1,500 NL HE
Event 32 / June 17: $1,500 NL HE
Event 36 / June 19: $1,500 NL HE
Event 39 / June 21: $1,500 NL HE
Event 49 / June 28: $1,500 NL HE
Event 52 / June 30: $1,500 NL HE

Plus there are these with slight variations:
Event 9 / June 5: $1,500 NL HE (6-handed)
Event 17 / June 9: $1,500 NL HE (Shootout)
Event 41 / June 22: $1,500 HE (Limit/NL Mixed)
Event 44 / June 25: $1,000 NL HE (With Rebuys)

For reference, the $10,000 Main Event is:
Event 54 / July 3: $10,000 NL HE


If I had the cash I would love to do some of the smaller events. Especially the 6 handed I really like playing six handed online.

[atari2600]

That's why I like the change. I can reasonably avoid the spoiler with this. It would also be nice if ESPN devoted a large undefined programming block to the final-2. With these ESPN packaged presentations, when it hit the :58 part of the timeslot, you knew the all-in player was going to lose on that hand.


i hated that too - happens with all poker shows. you know whos going to win by whoever is the chip leader with a few minutes left in the show.

anyways, im happy for the change because its become impossible to avoid spoilers from when the winner actually wins vs when its shown on tv. ive tried so hard the last few years and every year somehow i find out. either radio, tv, newspaper, internet...you cant avoid it.

[beesonosu]

So does this mean an end to the PPV? Or will they still have the PPV with the TV version to follow hours later? I was bored and actually got the PPV last year. I actually enjoyed it despite no cameras in the "hole". The best part of it was the commentary and frequent poker pros that would call in or visit to give their analysis on the hands. It was 100x better than listening to those two d-bags on the ESPN telecasts. I don't think I watched one event on ESPN last year.

[IntoMovies]

I can't make it this year but I'm thinking about playing there next year.

[SoSpacey]

As a player I would hate this but as a viewer I think it is awesome.

[LasVegasMichael]

The only event I am thinking of playing is the $1500 Razz event on June 13th.

Basically, I'm only going to play it if I can freeroll into it by winning/cashing in the Binion's Razz tournament on Wednesday of that same week, or win enough in the 15/30 Razz cash game that will start in early June.

[El Scorcho]

Name pros win WSOP bracelets so far:

Negreanu - Limit Hold em
Matusow - No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw w/ rebuys
Lindgren - Mixed Hold Em
David Singer - PL Hold Em

[Deftones]

Wow. Glad to see Lindgren get one. :up:

[El Scorcho]

A few more in the "year of the 'name' pro":


Max Pescatori - PL HE/Omaha
Kenny Tran - NL Heads Up
Barry Greenstein - Razz

[El Scorcho]

Huge final table that will almost definitely be shown on TV. Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys, $4700 buy-in:

Name pros battling:


Benyamine
Juanda
Chan
Hellmuth
Negreanu
Galfond

[Deftones]

Damn, did all the amateurs not show up this year?

[El Scorcho]

Well to be fair, most of the events the pros are winning are small-field, high buy-in events that most amateurs don't have the cash to put down.

[Deftones]

Count how many "pros" won last year. I don't know the exact count, but it seems like there are already more that have won this year as compared to last.

[Red Dog]

Huge final table that will almost definitely be shown on TV. Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys, $4700 buy-in:

Name pros battling:


Benyamine
Juanda
Chan
Hellmuth
Negreanu
Galfond



I don't think it will be televised. It's not on their TV schedule (beware spoiler-results in this link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker/news/story?id=3151500

Only 1 Omaha match is schedule to be aired (the $10K buy-in one).

[El Scorcho]

They'd be foolish not to televise that final table. It might be the most star-studded final table since poker hit its popularity boom. It wouldn't surprise me if they altered their schedule to adjust for that final table.

FWIW,
Galfond (aka "OMGClayAiken" in Full Tilt's high stakes games) won the event.

[Red Dog]

They'd be foolish not to televise that final table. It might be the most star-studded final table since poker hit its popularity boom. It wouldn't surprise me if they altered their schedule to adjust for that final table.

FWIW,
Galfond (aka "OMGClayAiken" in Full Tilt's high stakes games) won the event.


That's exactly what I said after Jennifer Tilly won the ladies event a year or 2 ago. That event was never shown. I think they pre-plan the events they show and only on those events do they have the whole production set up.

[El Scorcho]

There's a rumor flying around that


Negreanu rebought 15-18 times for the event. :lol:


Talk about the most degen tournament in the world.

[El Scorcho]

BTW for those who want to watch some of these tables live, ESPN360.com streams the final tables live without hole-card cams.

[wildcatlh]

There's a rumor flying around that


Negreanu rebought 15-18 times for the event. :lol:


Talk about the most degen tournament in the world.

According to PokerListings, he spent $85k on the tournament+rebuys (so 17 entries including the original $5k), but he made $125k for his finish, so it works out.

[El Scorcho]

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship results:


Scotty Nguyen becomes the first player ever to win the main event and the $50k HORSE event.

Good for him, especially after his meltdown at the final table bubble at last year's main event.

[Red Dog]

I don't think it will be televised. It's not on their TV schedule (beware spoiler-results in this link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker/news/story?id=3151500

Only 1 Omaha match is schedule to be aired (the $10K buy-in one).


First televised event is tonight, and I'm sure it will be repeated about a thousnad times.

The Main Event coverage starts Sept. 2.

[El Scorcho]

Here's the TV schedule for the next few months:

The following is the schedule of premieres:
Tuesdays on ESPN Date Time Event
July 22 8-10 p.m. ET $10,000 pot-limit hold'em world championship
July 29 8-10 p.m. ET $1,500 no-limit hold'em
Aug. 5 8-10 p.m. ET $1,500 pot-limit hold'em/$5,000 mixed hold'em
Aug. 12 8-10 p.m. ET $1,000 no-limit hold'em with rebuys
Aug. 19 8-10 p.m. ET $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. world championship
Aug. 26 8-10 p.m. ET $10,000 pot-limit Omaha world championship
Sept. 2 8-10 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Sept. 9 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Sept. 16 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Sept. 23 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Sept. 30 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Oct. 7 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Oct. 14 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Oct. 21 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Oct. 28 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event
Nov. 4 8-10 p.m. ET Main event final-table preview show
Nov. 11 9-11 p.m. ET $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event final table

I'm really disappointed that there's only 8 featured events. Although, if you add them up, 22 hours is dedicated to the main event. Would have liked to see the HORSE event split up into 2 2-hour blocks. I can understand why it's not though -- the HORSE event is continually one of their lowest rated TV poker shows.

[actyper]

Think my 3hr appearance made the cut? :)

[Jeremy517]

Would have liked to see the HORSE event split up into 2 2-hour blocks.

After editing out all of Scotty's drunken misbehavior and profanity outbursts, they didn't have that much footage left.

[Red Dog]

The one positive is that they are devoting a lot more coverage of M.E. than they have in previous years. 18 hours worth prior to the final table. If you are going to shove hold'em down my throat, might as well make it more of the M.E. than the lesser events.

But yeah, very little HORSE (and it will likely be 90% hold'em shown) :down:, no Razz :down:, only 1 Omaha event. :down:

I really don't like that they are setting a defined block for the final table because you'll know the last hand will take place (and that the higher chip stack wins) at 1:58 of the block. I was hoping with the change to the scheduling, they make it a little more open-ended.

[El Scorcho]

The problem is that most people that watch poker on TV don't know what the hell the non-hold-em events are, so they don't watch. Stupid simple-minded general public.

But agreed, if they're going to shove HE down our throats, might as well make it the Main Event.

It just sucks that they can't show more of the non-premier WSOP events during the day or something. God forbid they get rid of their 8 shows per day of people yelling at each other about sports (PTI, ATH, etc.)

[Red Dog]

I'll pretend that you didn't say get rid of PTI. :mad: ;)

[El Scorcho]

Kathy Liebert in HD tilts me. Tilts me bad.

[Deftones]

she's not that bad if you like man-ish looking butch dyke lesbian types

[Red Dog]

Yeah - she is quite ugly.

I was rooting for Sexton. Hard to believe he laid down that 2-pair vs. Bloch.

[El Scorcho]

The thing is, she's not only ugly as hell but her table talk and attitude are even worse. She's about as socially and physically awkward as they come.

[Red Dog]

"Jack one time!"

rotfl :lol: rotfl

[bigsoos]

Can't believe the head-to-head final hand. How lucky was that guy?

[Red Dog]

Limit hold'em is certainly boring to watch, but I have to say that Lindgren put on a clinic in Limit in that Mixed event aired last night.

[Red Dog]

Looking forward to seeing some Omaha in tonight's airings.

[El Scorcho]

Good Omaha episode, although I found it strange that they included bonus coverage of the $1500 HORSE event with Hellmuth and once he busted 3rd, never even went back to show who won the match.

Sadly, though, the HORSE and OMaha episodes are usually the lowest rating episodes of the series so we never get to see enough of them. The general viewing public can only handle games where there are 2 cards per player, I guess.

[Red Dog]

I've said it once and I'll say it again. Joe Hachem is a douchebag.

[Red Dog]

-rolleyes- at Phil Ivey's reaction after losing with the nut flush.

:lol: at General Patton.

[Red Dog]

I gotta say - I'm glad Hellmuth is making a deep run in the Main Event. He's an asshole but I can't stop rotfl every time he goes off on somebody.

[Deftones]

for comedic value, it's entertaining. in terms of the over all perception of poker, it's sad. he's one of the best players in the world and acts like a child. guess the same could be said about some professional athletes, but still.

[El Scorcho]

Seeing that douchebag Jean Robert Bellande go AQ against T9 for his tournament life and having the board run out in this fashion:

Ax8 (bellande gets excited)
6 (bellande celebrates because he thinks he has the hand won until someone alerts him that there's still a gutshot possible)
7 (roflcopters rise from the hills of Vegas)

[Red Dog]

Yeah, that was brutal. :lol:

[outcastja]

"To you this is poker, to me this is my life"

Loved the ending for tonight. I've been avoiding spoilers, so it sucks that Pokerstars commercial aired showing six players that made it to the final table.

[Phod]

That's why you shouldn't watch commercials.

[Red Dog]

They not only spoiled things with the Pokerstars commercial (how fucking stupid was that idea?) but during one of the get-to-know-the-player interviews, there was a spoiler (it was subtle, but I caught it) about the final table that ruined the excitement of one of the all-in hands last night. The irony is that I usually watch these things off the DVR and skip the get-to-know-you parts and the commercials. I happened to watch it live last night.

Speaking of the Final Table, I just realized that I'll be in Vegas (Nov 7-11) at the same time the final table is contested. I might have to check that out for a little bit.

rotfl at the 10-5 vs. Hellmuth. I can't believe that guy showed it. Matusow's reaction was priceless. :lol:

[Phod]

Red Dog, what was the subtle player interview spoiler?

[Red Dog]

Red Dog, what was the subtle player interview spoiler?

when Phamm (I think that's his name) was talking during his interview, he mentioned the first time he made a final table

So that led me to believe that he must have made a 2nd final table - this one, since these interviews are all done after the WSOP.

[Red Dog]

Hellmuth went pretty deep into the tourney. :lol: at his Q-10 rant.

Matusow had another good Main Event. That was a really tough knock-out hand.

[outcastja]

Tiffany is a bitch.

[Red Dog]

Tiffany is a bitch.

I agree.

Some of those beats in the 27-to-9 cut were brutal.

:lol: at that short-stack guy who was able to survive to the final 9. He had to be the happiest guy in the room.

I'm going to try to make it over to the Rio on the 9th and/or 10th when I am out there.

[Deftones]

wow, Tiffany Michelle is a fucking cunt. Calling the clock there was absolutely ridiculous. Glad the entire table is ganging up on her and calling her out.

[Jeremy517]

Tiffany gets owned by Craig Marquis (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/my-turn-tiffany-michelles-post-wsop-thoughts-332348/)

First, the Craig things was terribly edited... I'm pretty sure he'll even tell you that we were having a fun banter back and forth where I was picking on him (in good nature) about how long he took to make decisions every hand. He was laughing about it!

And I'm glad someone brought up the clock things. I'm shocked that none of you have EVER under ANY circumstance called the clock in the middle of a poker game...ever? Trust me, I don't make a habit of calling the clock on people. I think in four years of playing tournaments that was probably the second or third time I've ever done that.

Obviously ESPN doesn't show or tell you how long Paul Snead was taking to make a decision (it was a looooooooooonge time) and if it appeared that he was anywhere close to making a decision I would have stayed silent.... but you weren't there, I was and he wasn't anywhere close to a decision. I had been at the table with him for awhile and this was his typical process to make a bit of a fuss over his hands and his calls. He'd get up, pace around, talk to the audience and his friends on the rail. People forget that we're all on camera, we're at a featured table, player's games change soooooooo much under those settings and it becomes more 'acting' and soaking up your five minutes of fame than actually playing a game of poker. I can guarantee you that if the TV cameras weren't rolling it wouldn't have taken him half as long to make a decision there. So yes, I chose to hold him accountable to the game of POKER even if it made me look less classy than humor another 'Hollywood-er'.

Please don't forget that the two of us were playing the same game for the same stakes. He was taking his time to decide and I was practicing my right (within the rules people) to ask for the clock since I was getting short stacked and the blinds were increasing... MY tournament life was at stake just as much as his.

Yeah. This is all well and good after the fact, but you were extremely disrespectful and unbelievably rude while we were playing in just about every situation you could be. I feel like those 7 edited episodes accurately depicted your behavior during the tournament, and you can say it was "your table face" or whatever, but your calling the clock during the Paul Snead and Scott Montgomery hand in what is probably the most stressful situation the man has ever been just boggles my mind. Also this is coming from somebody who is judging you entirely on his personal experience with you, not from the any media-skewed perspective.

[Deftones]

she does make a good point in that ESPN likely edited the time frame of that one hand where she did call for the clock, making it look shorter than it really was. that still doesn't excuse her actions one bit.

[Red Dog]

I'd like to know what looooooooooonge time constitutes. I can understand the concern at that point of having a short stack, but I'd have to know how long we're talking.

[actyper]

she does make a good point in that ESPN likely edited the time frame of that one hand where she did call for the clock, making it look shorter than it really was. that still doesn't excuse her actions one bit.

Buddy said it wasn't very long at all and she definately deserved the berating.

[El Scorcho]

It also doesn't fucking matter when you still have 50 BB left in a tourney with the slowest increasing blinds in the history of poker. Her saying she was short was ridiculous.

That said, huge LOL @ getting $4M+ into the pot with J7hh, flopping top pair, and then tanking about calling something like $1.5M in a $9.5M pot. LOLOLOLOL.

Finally, the thing that speaks volumes about her moreso than her actions at the table and in that post Jeremy quoted is the fact that she's dating that Hollywood Dave fuckwad.


Ok one last thing -- how the hell did she make it that far by making moves like shoving with AJo when there's a raise and a call ahead of you?

[Wazootyman]

I agree.

Some of those beats in the 27-to-9 cut were brutal.

:lol: at that short-stack guy who was able to survive to the final 9. He had to be the happiest guy in the room.



It's my goal to be that guy. By sitting, he guaranteed himself another 400K... and I have a felling he's gonna finish 7th or 8th.

[Jeremy517]

The final table is going. http://www.bluffmagazine.com/blufftv/ for live audio coverage and a poorly designed graphic with some info.

[TheDude]

Sick beat to get the first elimination of the night.

[Jeremy517]

Sick beat to get the first elimination of the night.

It was a coin flip when all the money in, so it wasn't a bad beat. It was just an ugly way to lose a coin flip.

[madcougar]

Buddy said it wasn't very long at all and she definately deserved the berating.

But we would all agree we'd do her right? Right?

[El Scorcho]

But we would all agree we'd do her right? Right?

Hate-fuck perhaps

[El Scorcho]

So the final 9 played down to the final two yesterday. Spoilers within:



1
Peter Eastgate
79,500,000

2
Ivan Demidov
57,725,000

3
Dennis Phillips
$4,517,773
busted

4
Ylon Schwartz
$3,794,974
busted

5
Scott Montgomery
$3,096,768
busted

6
Darus Suharto
$2,418,562
busted

7
David Rheem
$1,772,650
busted

8
Kelly Kim
$1,288,217
busted

9
Craig Marquis
$900,670
busted

Denmark vs. Russia

[actyper]

But we would all agree we'd do her right? Right?

Only if I hate my penis

[bigsoos]

You mean you don't like her tilted brim and old lady jewelry?

[Jeremy517]

It might mean that he doesn't want Hollywood Dave's seconds.

[namja]

Guess it's ALL OVER now.
Eastgate wins to become the youngest main event winner.

BTW, when did Harrah's get control over the wsop.com domain? Even until last year, it was owned by someone else (World's Standard of Online Poker).

[El Scorcho]

LOLOLOLOL

Tax info on the winners:



The Real Winners at the World Series of Poker

This year's World Series of Poker concluded early this morning at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The winner of the main event won $9,152,416 but would he actually end up with all that money?

This year's winner was Peter Eastgate from Denmark. The United States and Denmark have a tax treaty. Because of the treaty Mr. Eastgate doesn't owe a penny to the IRS. That just leaves the Danish tax authorities.

Denmark's tax agency is called SKAT. Denmark, like the United States, does tax gambling winnings. For casino gambling (which is where I believe this will be classified) the tax rate is 45% on the first 4 million Danish Kroners; it's 75% on income above that. Today $1 is worth 5.88907 DKK; Mr. Eastgate won 53,899,250.70 DKK before taxes. Mr. Eastgate will owe about 39,224,438 DKK in tax ($6,660,545). Put another way Mr. Eastgate will keep 14,674,813 DKK ($2,491,871) of his winnings—just 27.23% of his prize. Yes, he faces an effective tax rate of 72.77%. Ouch.

Ivan Demidov of Moscow, Russia finished second and won $5,809,595. The United States and Russia also have a tax treaty and Mr. Demidov won't have any of his winnings withheld by the IRS. Russia has a 13% flat tax rate, so Mr. Demidov will owe about $755,247 to the State Taxation Service of Russia.

Third place went to an American, Dennis Phillips of Cottage Hills, Illinois. Mr. Phillips won $4,517,773 for his efforts. He's an amateur gambler so he won't owe self employment tax on his winnings. Still, he can expect to pay $1,568,950 to the IRS and $135,533 to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Ylon Schwartz of Brooklyn, New York, finished in fourth place for $3,774,974. He is a professional gambler so he'll owe self-employment tax on his winnings. He'll also owe state and New York City income tax. His likely tax bite is $1,396,304 to the IRS and $387,966 to the New York Department of Tax & Finance.

Two Canadians finished in fifth and sixth place. Scott Montgomery of Perth, Ontario finished in fifth place for $3,096,768. The US-Canada tax treaty specifies that 30% of his win will be withheld to the IRS. Thus, $929,030 was withheld. Mr. Montgomery is a professional gambler so he will owe tax on his win to Revenue Canada. However, he will be able to take a credit on his Canadian tax return for the money withheld to the IRS. As Canada's tax rate is 29% he likely won't have to pay any additional funds to Revenue Canada. However, when provincial taxes are included the tax rate becomes 46.41%. Thus, Mr. Montgomery will owe tax in Canada: about $491,728 after the credit for the tax withheld to the IRS. [My thanks to the commenter who pointed out the impact of provincial taxes.]

The sixth place finisher was Darus Suharto of Toronto. Mr. Suharto is an accountant, so he won't owe tax to Revenue Canada on his won. However, of the $2,418,562 he won, $725,569 was withheld per the US-Canada tax treaty. He may be able to claim a credit on his Canadian tax return for years to come based on this withheld money and eventually get it back.

The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) was rooting for David Rheem or Kelly Kim to finish in first place. These two Californians finished in seventh and eighth place, earning $1,772,650 and $1,288,217 respectively. Mr. Rheem will owe about $651,262 to the IRS and $170,302 to the FTB; Mr. Kim will owe about $470,995 to the IRS and $121,074 to the FTB.

Craig Marquis of Arlington, Texas finished in ninth place. He is also a professional gambler, and of the $900,670 he won he'll have to fork over about $328,911 to the IRS.

[sauce07]

Eastgate got screwed, he's walking out with less then 2nd and 3rd.

[actyper]

That is so sick, he should just leave Denmark forever and say fuck you to the gov. I'm rich beatch!

[El Scorcho]

There are reports that he moved to England this summer to avoid the taxes. Not sure what the repercussions are with that and if it actually will help.

[El Scorcho]

So anyway, things I loved about the WSOP main event (coverage, layoff, etc.):

1) buildup of drama
2) no spoiling of results (previously the event would end in july and the episode would finally hit in november)
3) Addition of chip count %s at the final table
4) The Penn & Teller theater at the Rio was a great choice. I love the raucous setup. I still can't imagine sitting down and watching people play poker for 12+ hours.
5) The quality of people at the final table. There were tons of bad beats and bad ways to lose a hand and 1/2/3/4-outers on the river and yet every one of them acted with grace and respect. Very good.

Things I hated:

1) 2 fucking hands of heads-up. They played for several hours and they boil it down to 2 hands. I listened to the audio feed and there was way more than 2 interesting hands.
2) The usual thing of knowing exactly what's going to happen before it does due to what time it is and how much longer the episode is going to last. The only question on the final hand wasn't whether or not the 4 would come on the turn (giving Demidov fours and twos and Eastgate the wheel) but what suit the 4 would be. Why? There was 2 minutes left in the episode so you know that a cooler was coming. I'm not sure there's a way around this short of airing it live which ESPN won't seem to do even though they have a complete channel called ESPN Classic that nobody watches in the first place that they could use.
3) 4 months of time span gives the players too much time to learn about their opponents and change their games. I can't imagine the Super Bowl being held in May and teams getting 4 months to revamp their offenses or change their entire defensive scheme in that time.
4) Too much airtime given to tools, as usual. It's just so god damn bad for the game to watch these losers suck out on someone (or get sucked out on) and act with so little dignity or respect.
5) Peter Eastgate experiences what is likely the greatest moment of his life and he looks like he just won $.42 in a freeroll. Show some personality. Oh wait, you have none.

[sauce07]

you are right about Eastgate, but the same can be said about Demidov. No emotion at all by either one when they flipped over their hands.

How long did the final table last?

[El Scorcho]

170 hands to get from 9 to 2
104 hands of heads-up

[Red Dog]

Didn't make the trip when I was in Vegas this weekend, but I did overhear some people talking about it and they said it was really boring to watch live.

Eastgate is probably the most emotionless person I've ever seen, poker player or otherwise. You couldn't tell if the guy won $1 or $9M. I suppose being emotionless is a great trait to have if want to play poker.

[namja]

1) 2 fucking hands of heads-up. They played for several hours and they boil it down to 2 hands. I listened to the audio feed and there was way more than 2 interesting hands.
5) Peter Eastgate experiences what is likely the greatest moment of his life and he looks like he just won $.42 in a freeroll. Show some personality. Oh wait, you have none.

Nice summary, BTW. It's a shame that we only got to see 2 out of 104 hands HU. That really sucked. I'd rather have the show be 3 hours instead of 2 so that we can see more hands. Maybe they'll have an extended version to air later (is this ESPN's version of double dipping)? And Eastgate? WTF? Not even a smile when he won, until his friends started yelling.

[mgbfan]

Managed to go all tourney long without any info. Then just passing by ESPN one night, they went and told me the final two. Crap. Of all places, ESPN should have been safe.

[mgbfan]

1) 2 fucking hands of heads-up. They played for several hours and they boil it down to 2 hands. I listened to the audio feed and there was way more than 2 interesting hands.

Agreed. Would have loved to see some back and forth.


2) The usual thing of knowing exactly what's going to happen before it does due to what time it is and how much longer the episode is going to last.

Yeah - I watched it all on DVR and made sure that I never knew how much time was left. That worked pretty well, actually.


3) 4 months of time span gives the players too much time to learn about their opponents and change their games. I can't imagine the Super Bowl being held in May and teams getting 4 months to revamp their offenses or change their entire defensive scheme in that time.

You don't need to go far to find an analogy. Most college football teams finish their seasons around Thanksgiving, and the national championship isn't until early January. Pretty much the same thing.

[J-Dubya]

I didn't like the long layoff. Waiting four months gives these guys too long to prepare. One of the demands of a WSOP champ is that they endure a brutal schedule and still succeed. I think were they given just a day off and then played we would have had a totally different outcome.