Ace High Poker News

The craze over poker games in the United States reached a whole new level with the announcement of the first ever World Series of Poker Consumer Retail Show.

That's right -- a trade show for poker fanatics.

According to a news release, the four-day long show, to be held at the Rio Suites hotel July 6-9, will 'enable poker enthusiasts to learn about, experience and purchase many of the latest products that fit the lifestyle of the poker aficionado.'

Felt vests? Poker chip earrings? I don't know.

But since it's open to the public and is being held during the fever pitched final weeks of the World Series of Poker, you can expect major crowds carrying away their 'Poker Players Do It Without Bluffing' t-shirts. (The Poker Gazette)

A global poker tourney has proven very popular in the state. But here's the kicker: It's illegal, an official says.
By LYNN CAMPBELL

University of Iowa freshman Lindsey Negaard was drawn to the online poker tournament by the free entry and thousands of dollars' worth of prizes.

'I really like to play poker,' said Negaard , 19, of Bettendorf. 'It's hard to find places to play on campus because it's not allowed in the dorms. It's also hard to play without putting a large sum of money down.'"

Read complete article here.

23 March 2005 – One hour into the final day of the Shooting Star Bay 101, the San Jose, California, leg of the 2005 World Poker Tour (WPT), the entire no-limit hold'em poker championship tournament was over. Bay Area poker dealer Danny Nguyen became the latest rags-to-riches story in the high-stakes world of tournament poker, winning $1 million and besting top poker players Gus Hansen and “Miami” John Cernuto.

Would-be poker millionaire Danny Nguyen established himself as the reckless player at a final table that included poker star Gus Hansen. Taking a dangerous way to play, the local dealer proved that a bit of luck can go a long way. All-in and facing elimination in fourth place, Nguyen caught a miracle running 7’s to double up and stay alive – at a point when nothing but running 7’s would have saved him). In the span of ten hands late in the tournament, Nguyen went from $1.1 million up to $2 million, down to $1.3 million, further down to $550,000, and then rebounded to $1.1 million. It was then that the new poker champion caught those two 7’s – not only to survive but especially to regain the chip lead with $2.2 million.

In an unbelievable run at the final table of the WPT 2005’s Shooting Star Bay 101 poker tournament, Danny Nguyen caught the cards he needed and managed to eliminate every player without ever establishing chip domination. The final hand was pretty much what one would expect on a poker night like this: Danny Nguyen’s 4-3 was dominated against Jay Martens’ K-4. But somehow, Nguyen’s lucky shooting star pulled a 3 out of the deck on the river to cap the new poker champion’s amazing run.

Second place finisher Jay Martens, a doctor from Vancouver, British Columbia, had never played poker before in a brick-and-mortar casino. Martens won his seat in the Bay 101 Shooting Star poker tournament of WPT for a mere $8 on ParadisePoker.com, and in the end walked away with $600,000. Finishing in third place to earn $320,000, top poker pro Gus Hansen had started the final table with the second highest chips but was back in the pack near the bottom for most of the night. Hansen actually took over the chip lead near the end before he folded his hand to Danny Nguyen’s.

Local high-stakes poker player Shandor Szentkuti placed fourth, and walked away with $280,000. Twenty two year old Corey Cheresnick from Florida, who earned his entry via a $25 satellite poker tournament on ParadisePoker.com, placed fifth and earned $240,000. Rounding up the roster of players at the final table is Men “The Master” Nguyen, another star poker player, who placed sixth.

A total of 440 entries provided excitement at the no-limit hold'em poker championship on the final day of the Shooting Star Bay 101 poker tournament at San Jose, California. The poker tournament had a buy-in of $10,000 and total prize pool of $4,070,000. The Shooting Star Bay 101 poker tournament is part of the 2005 World Poker Tour, the highest rated series in the history of the Travel Channel. Presently on its third season, the World Poker Tour airs on Wednesday nights at 9 pm ET/PT while the Shooting Star Bay 101 leg of the WPT will air on June 8, 2005.

13 March 2005 - World Poker Exchange, one of today’s popular online poker sites, announced recent plans to endorse pro poker player and World Series of Poker (WSOP) champion Susie Isaacs at major poker tournaments, beginning with the week's pro poker tour, the 2005 Bay 101 World Poker Tour (WPT) in San Jose, California.

In the course of her 15-year career as a professional poker player, poker champion Susie Isaacs has earned a good number of poker wins and titles in various, prestigious poker tournaments. Among her most notable poker event championships, Isaacs is the first woman to have won back-to back victories at the World Series of Poker, which is considered as the world’s biggest and most prestigious poker tournament event. Isaacs won the WSOP Ladies’ Event championship in 1996 and 1997. In 1998, the indefatigable Isaacs placed 10th at the WSOP Main Event.

At present, pro poker winner Susie Isaacs contributes actively to a variety of poker and gaming publications, including the Casino Journal, Strictly Slots, Poker Player, and Card Player magazines. Isaacs also writes columns regularly for the Poker Player newspaper, Women's Poker Player, as well as Fifth Street magazine. In addition, Isaacs will soon be seen on sports television network Fox Sports' Poker Beat and Final Table Challenge.

The World Poker Tour, the highest rated series in the history of the Travel Channel, is presently on its third season, which will culminate with the WPT World Championship at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18 to 24, 2005. The WPT airs on Wednesday nights at 9 pm ET/PT.

07 March 2005 - Immediately following a high-profile, televised poker championship win in early March, Kathy Liebert has joined the world’s largest online poker room as spokeswoman. Fresh off a $100,000 stunning victory in GSN’s poker television show, Poker Royale : Battle of the Sexes, Liebert is the latest poker champion to endorse the top Internet poker site, PartyPoker.com.

Kathy Liebert, among the all-time leading female money winners in pro poker, has vaulted into the public eye with her decisive win at GSN’s Poker Royale : Battle of the Sexes, a televised poker tournament that aired on March 4. Liebert prevailed over 11 men and women poker players, claiming a $100,000 championship prize and, not to mention, female supremacy in the traditionally male bastion of professional poker. Liebert will once again take to the felt against a formidable lineup of poker pros when the next round of television network Fox's Poker SuperStars airs on March 13.

Poker Royale: Battle of the Sexes is far from being Kathy Liebert's first taste of poker tournament championship. At the inaugural PartyPoker.com Million in March 2002, Liebert became the first woman poker player to win a poker tournament with more than $1 million in prize money.

In 2004, Kathy Liebert won the $1,500 Hold 'Em Shoot Event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), deemed as the world’s biggest and most prestigious poker tournament. Joining the elite circle of WSOP bracelet winners, Liebert claimed a $110,180 paycheck at the 2004 WSOP poker event. In addition, Liebert has been in the money at over two dozen major international poker tournaments and has amassed over $2 million in poker tournament winnings in the course of her seven-year history of playing poker.

Poker champion and WSOP winner Kathy Liebert joins PartyPoker.com as a spokeswoman in time for the leading online poker room’s PartyPoker.com Million IV, which is set to take place on a ship cruising the Mexican Riviera. PartyPoker’s flagship poker tournament will feature Liebert and 750 other pro poker hopefuls vying for a prize purse in excess of $7 million. PartyPoker Million IV is being filmed for the World Poker Tour (WPT), the highest rated television series in the history of the Travel Channel. The annual PokerParty.com poker tournament cruise departs from San Diego Harbor on March 19, 2005, on Holland America's ms Oosterdam.

Launched in August 2001, PartyPoker.com is the world's largest multi-player poker room, accounting for more than five million Internet poker site users. Offering online poker players a safe, secure, and friendly environment in which to play poker, PartyPoker.com has emerged as a market leader in the popular and fast-growing market of online poker games. The online poker site hosts over 70,000 simultaneous poker players at peak times, playing an assortment of classic poker games such as Texas Hold 'Em, Omaha Hi/Lo, and Seven Card Stud, on both single-table and multi-table poker tournaments.

28 February 2005 - A satellite tournament of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), touted to be the world's biggest and most prestigious poker tournament, is part of an upcoming poker showdown of women poker players staged by the Women's Poker Club (WPC). Dubbed as the WPC Atlantic City Showdown, the poker event will be held on April 14 to 16, 2005, at Trump's Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The poker showdown may be entered via winning designated online poker satellite tournaments. Up for grabs is the coveted entry to the WSOP Ladies' Event.

The WPC Atlantic City Showdown promises to be the among the most exciting and anticipated events for women's poker this year. Four poker tournaments comprise the Women's Poker Club showdown, along with optional poker classes, a seminar, and a satellite poker tournament for the World Series of Poker Ladies' Event.

Women poker players have the opportunity to win their trip to the WPC Atlantic City Showdown for as little as $5 through competing in online poker satellite tournaments that are available exclusively at Pokerhost.com. The WPC online poker satellites are being held through February and March.

April 16th, Saturday, is the big day at the WPC Atlantic City Showdown. On this day will be played the women's poker showdown's main tournament event - a No Limit Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament with a buy-in of $150 + $20. The prize pool is estimated at $15,000. Omaha Hi-Lo, Limit Hold 'Em, and 7-Card Stud poker tournaments will preclude the main event. Entrants can play to win their entry at the Ladies' Event of the World Series of Poker.

Poker is one of the hottest sports trends to emerge in America in recent years. The Women's Poker Club was formed to encourage more women to enter the sport of poker by providing them with a supportive and congenial environment in which to improve their poker skills. Now accounting for over 1,800 club members worldwide, the WPC offers peer mentoring, free poker classes, and league events for women only.

"Even though more women are playing poker now then ever before, some men still feel that women are easy targets and don't have the ability to finesse their opponents at the tables," according to Women's Poker Club President Maryann Morrison. "The WPC Showdown gives women an opportunity to show their poker playing talent by competing in major poker events, while having a tremendous amount of fun."

The Women's Poker Club Atlantic City Showdown, with the World Series of Poker Ladies' Event satellite poker tournament, is open to all women.