Heading into Monday evening July 12, 2010, the 2010 WSOP was looking quite impressive. 

Outside of the usual USA-based poker players, two of the top 10 were Russians, another came to us from Denmark and another could actually be considered "homeless".

That would be Robert Mizrachi, who made headlines a few months back after he and his poker player brother Michael (also winning big in recent months) foreclosed on their Hollywood, Florida home.  Mizrachi must have done something right in the eyes of God or otherwise made a deal with the devil. 

Mizrachi has been absolutely superb at this year’s World Series of Poker coming into the main event.  He cashed out five times and finished 5th in Event #2 – the WSOP Players Championship.  That placement netted Mizrachi enough to buy a new home in Hollywood, Florida in cold hard CASH:  $341,429.

Meanwhile, two more Russians continued to excel at this year’s WSOP main event:  Alexander Kostritsyn and Mikhail Shalamov. 

Then there is big name poker pro Johnny Chan as the 6th biggest chip leader.  His appearance among the top 10 is remarkable and could prove one of the biggest poker stories of the year if he is to make the final table.

(Read the full post about ’2010 WSOP Update: Russians, Mizrachi Among Chip Leaders’…)

Suffering from various ailments, the Godfather of Poker, the legend himself, Doyle Brunson has bit the dust, and this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

When one’s beloved old pooch is suffering from illness, the proper thing to do for most people is to put him down, not have him run in a bobsled race .    

Doyle was suffering greatly these past few days and his bowing out of the 2010 World Series of Poker main event on Saturday after holding his own among the top 100 chip leaders will lead to much needed rest and recovery.  The Texas Dolly had been playing through severe pain brought on by gingivitis (inflamed gums).  But the WSOP is a most grueling experience even for the youngest most healthiest of people. 

Brunson did not include himself among a team challenge with fellow poker player Daniel Negreanu coming into the 2010 WSOP main event, citing poor health. 

With his Saturday World Series of Poker demise, Brunson joined the likes of Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Jeff Shulman (one of last year’s final nine), Josh Arieh, Ylon Schwartz, Freddy Deeb, Darvin Moon and Layne Flack (who had been among the top 10 chip leaders at one point early in the tournament). 

"My chips are like me, in the 4th quarter," Brunson commented on this Twitter page just prior to busting out. 

Be sure to check out DoylesRoom.com here for some of the best free cash bonuses in online poker today.

Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

PokerStars newest pro David Williams ranked among the top 5 chip leaders during Day 3 play of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event. 

Williams Tweeted earlier in the day:

"Got up to 140k but lost two big hands. Down to 107k but still going strong."

PokerStars made its official announcement regarding Williams on Wednesday as he got set to play.

The company said in a statement:

Williams is one of the most successful poker players of all time, with big results in both No Limit Hold’em and mixed games. He has performed well playing in the biggest cash games around and to date has acquired $7,923,630 in live tournament winnings.

(Read the full post about ‘David Williams, Daniel Negreanu Make Strong Start at 2010 WSOP’…)

Peru prisons are among the world’s worse.  There is no denying that.  Joran van der Sloot, who confessed to the murder of a young Peruvian student Stephany Flores while attending the Latin American Poker Tour nearly two weekends ago, is currently awaiting trial in solitary lockup.  There is high fear that the Dutchman will be murdered if assimilated into the rest of the prison population at Peru’s Castro Castro facility.  That fear is well grounded.

In some ways van der Sloot lucked out.  Many pundits expected him to be locked away in the more notorious Lurigancho Prison.

Then again, he didn’t catch much of a break.

"It’s not any better than Lurigancho," Michael Griffith, senior partner at the International Legal Defense Counsel, tells AOL News. &quot

(Read the full post about ‘Warden at Joran van der Sloot Peru Prison Killed First Day On Job’…)

Norwegian poker sensation Annette Obrestad is not making much of a mark so far at her first World Series of Poker.

Through the first 23 events at the ongoing 57-event WSOP in Las Vegas, the chunky poker wunderkind has finished in the money just once–and that was just by the skin of her teeth!

Her cash came in 2010 WSOP Event #17, a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament that had a $5,000 buy-in, 792 entrants and a total prize pool of $3,722,400.

Payouts went to the top 72 finishers in the tourney.

Obrestad finished the event in 72nd place and collected $10,497.

"I’m going to enter as many events as I can," Obrestad, from Sandnes, Norway, said in a newspaper interview before the WSOP started.

Apparently that strategy isn’t working too well.

Obrestad splashed onto the world poker scene when, at the ripe young age of 18, she won the Main Event of the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe in London, England, in 2007.

Although European poker tournaments only require participants to be age 18, American poker tourneys have a minimum age of 21, so Obrestad wasn’t legally allowed to participate in the WSOP until this year.

Much of pokerdom had waited breathlessly to see how she would do at the WSOP–it was one thing to succeed at a smaller WSOPE that had few top American participants, it was quite another to enter the larger WSOP with all its top American pros.

Is Obrestad choking, or is it just a case of a minor leaguer trying to hit major league pitching?

Only time will tell, but it’s running out fast.

By Tom Somach

Gambling911.com Staff Writer

tomsomach@yahoo.com

Almost immediately following breaking news Wednesday afternoon that Joran van der Sloot was wanted for murder in Peru, the online poker community began asking what handle van der Sloot used on various card room sites upon learning he had flown to Lima for the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT). 

"AANOTILTKK" has come up repeatedly and some have said he’s won enough money playing online poker to sustain a pretty nice lifestyle. 

Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalie Holloway, is being sought in the Sunday killing of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in a Lima hotel.  Casino video surveillance showed Van der Sloot with the woman, whose father is a well known race car driver in Peru.

(Read the full post about ‘Was Van der Sloot AANOTILTKK on Poker Sites?’…)

Rousso resurrected the Betcha.com case as an example of the law’s inequitable and sweeping nature in the appeal case of Rousso v. Washington State, supported by a small but vociferous demonstration outside the court by Poker Players Alliance members.

Rousso will probably have to wait for months for a decision on the case as he attempts to strike down the state’s harsh law against online poker.

Washington law allows people to go to land casinos to play poker, but won’t let them play it online in their homes on pain of serious Class C felony punishment.

(Read the full post about ‘Poker on trial in Washington State’…)

The opening weekend promises to be full of action; starting at midday in Vegas is the annual $500 Casino Employees NLHE, won by Andrew Cohen last year, who bested an entry field of 865 other hopefuls.

Also kicking off Friday – at 5pm – is the inaugural outing of the new and ESPN televised $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship. Contestants will be playing Limit Hold ‘Em; Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better; Seven Card Razz; Seven Card Stud; Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better; No Limit Hold ‘Em; Pot Limit Omaha; and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball for some seriously big money in an event that is certain to draw the big names in the game.

(Read the full post about ‘Thriller weekend for poker as WSOP opens in Las Vegas’…)

Leading online poker site PKR.com has revealed that armchair sportsmen and women from all over the world can now finally realise their dreams of representing their country thanks to its World Cup promotion.

While the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo and Torres do battle in South Africa, the Alderney-licensed next-generation site revealed that its players will take to the felt to play for their own shot at glory and the chance to win cash and signed football memorabilia.

PKR.com’s World Cup promotion began on Saturday with a series of six tournaments that see players score points that count towards a qualification leader board. (Read the full post about ‘Win the World Cup with PKR.com – Online Casino News’…)

The Antigua-licensed online poker offering from Bodog.co.uk has unveiled a pair of new games for its players to enjoy, Freaky Wild West and Casino Hold’Em.

Bodog.co.uk stated that both new titles benefit from its updated random number generator certification from Technical Systems Testing, an internationally recognised testing facility that provides fully independent and impartial results, and joins its other new games including the China Megawild, Atlantic Dive, Hockey Potshot and Bingo Scratch.

Freaky Wild West is a western-themed online slot with 30 paylines that takes players on a tour of different locales denoted by colourful animated symbols. (Read the full post about ‘Get Freaky at Bodog.co.uk – Online Casino News’…)