The 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is just six weeks away. The world’s most prestigious tournament series took center stage on this week’s episode of the UB.com sponsored poker news show “Poker2Nite,” which airs on Wednesdays at 11:00pm ET on Versus.
The episode began with discussion of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event, which Vanessa Selbst took down for $750,000 on Sunday. Selbst, a WSOP bracelet winner, had recently taken a year off from poker to attend law school at Yale. “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok gave his take on Selbst’s future in the game: “I think she’s an incredible player. Women don’t win these open events very often. It’s never happened on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Look for her to be there.” ESPN “Inside Deal” officials noted that Selbst’s win marked the first victory by a female in a major tournament since Annette Obrestad won the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event.
Discussed next was the new Full Tilt Poker commercial featuring Tom “durrrr” Dwan, the newest sponsored pro of the site. On whether Dwan has the staying power to warrant his own commercial, Sebok told “Poker2Nite” viewers, “I think he’s on the cusp of making that jump into poker superstardom.” Other players who Sebok believed could follow Dwan’s lead include Selbst, Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, and Tristan “Cre8ive” Wade.
Last week, mystery Swedish online poker pro Isildur1 backed out of the PartyPoker Big Game IV with a curt text message to Tony G that read, “Sry for not coming, take care bud.” The pullout pushed Sebok over the edge, as he told “Poker2Nite” co-host Scott Huff, “I’m so over this. If you’re going to do a deal to come wear a mask, show up.” Isildur1 is purportedly Viktor “blom30” Blom and has dropped $2.4 million at the tables since mid-September, according to PokerTableRatings.com.
This year, the WSOP in Las Vegas will benefit from added space in the convention center, previously the site of PokerPalooza and the Gaming Life Expo. Sebok was looking forward to the change: “The fans are going to benefit so much from the sites and the reporters, who are going to get all of their information in one spot without moving around.” Previously, tables were spread out throughout the Rio and sprawled as far as Buzio’s restaurant, located near the main casino. Other changes include the final table of the $50,000 Player’s Championship being played all No Limit Hold’em.
Poker Pro Magazine now sponsors “P2N Online,” which covers the latest in the world of social media and poker forums. Topics covered included the “Day in the Life of” video of David “The Maven” Chicotsky and a corresponding parody by Jason “Jaspuduf” Lee. Also highlighted were poker couple Lex Veldhuis and Evelyn Ng suffering injuries, as Veldhuis fractured his ribs and Ng bruised her tailbone. The Tweet of the Week went to DoylesRoom pro Todd Brunson.
Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment Vice President Ty Stewart then joined “Poker2Nite” and gave his take on last year’s WSOP Main Event Day 1D debacle, which left 500 poker hopefuls unable to register for the Big Dance: “If we left last year’s champion outside, that’s really heartbreaking. We have more capacity now.” Up to 400 poker tables can be used this time around, compared to only 290 last year. In addition, the Main Event no longer falls over July 4th and instead begins on July 5th, which could increase the number of entrants on each of the four starting days. Pre-registration for the 2010 WSOP has been open since December.
Finally, the “Girls of Poker” segment continued with Full Tilt Poker babe Erica Schoenberg, who was in the midst of a round of golf. On her passion for the outdoor sport, Schoenberg told “Poker2Nite” cameras, “It’s like combining the best of all of my favorite things: nature, sports, drinking, and gambling.” She’ll enter 15 to 20 tournaments during the 2010 WSOP and revealed that she greatly respects the games of Erick Lindgren, David Benyamine, and Jennifer Harman. She has been romantically linked to the former two.
“Poker2Nite” airs at 11:00pm ET on Wednesdays on Versus and replays throughout the week.