In Event 11, the final prelim before the main event, Lee outlasted 240 players only to be beaten by Dale Robinson in heads-up play.
Lee has been working on the tournament circuit for some years now as a blogger for ESPN and is one of the most well-known guys on the circuit. He came to fame when he finished 13th in the 2005 WSOP Main Event and cashed for $400,000.
Approximately one year later Lee proved it was no fluke by winning the $4,800 No-Limit Hold'em event at the World Poker Finals in Mashantucket. He took down $368,919 for his efforts in the 'tucket. In 2007 he won another big event at the World Poker Finals and it seems only a matter of time before he takes down a major poker tournament.
Lee appeared primed to win the WSOPC Caesars Indiana Event 11 outright and held the chip lead at the final table numerous times. Instead it was Robinson, an insurance man from Otisca, Ind., who managed to pull ahead after winning the majority of the later hands at the final table.
Robinson entered heads-up play against Lee with nearly $1 million to Lee's $193,000. After making a private arrangement the two played the required final hand and Robinson's 605 beat Lee's 105.
Despite coming in second, Lee has had an incredible start to his 2008 poker season. He's already made three final tables and cashed a total of four times, which has earned him over $100,000 in poker winnings this year.
Here's a look at the complete final-table payouts for Event 11:
| Player: | Prize: |
| 1. Dale Robinson | $73,154 |
| 2. Bernard Lee | $40,237 |
| 3. David Dao | $20,576 |
| 4. Jason Benanzer | $16,003 |
| 5. Ed Koppe | $13,717 |
| 6. Matt Sterling | $11,431 |
| 7. William Johnson | $9,145 |
| 8. Caleb Banks | $6,859 |
| 9. Mike Aberle | $4,572 |
Related Article:
- Doug Carli Comes close at WSOPC Caesars Indiana
- Two More Winners at WSOPC Caesars Indiana
- Tim Vance takes down WSOPC event
- Fast play, major comebacks at Indiana WSOPC
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WSOP Academy announces advanced course
The WSOP Academy is heading back to Vegas for another edition of its popular poker training courses. This time around experienced players may want to take note, as for the first time an Advanced No-Limit Hold'em Academy is on offer.
There will be no shortage of poker talent there, either. Well-known players Howard Lederer, Phil Gordon, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke and Alex Outhred will all be taking on teaching roles, while poker tells expert Joe Navarro will also be in attendance to shed some light on the psychology of the game.
This is the first WSOP Academy that will concentrate exclusively on advanced No-Limit Hold'em theory and strategy. It is set to take place April 18-19 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and participants will get a chance to learn firsthand from some of the world's top pros how they took their game up a notch or two.
"If you've ever attended a poker camp before or you're a serious student of the game, now is the time to graduate to the next level," said Jeff Goldenberg of Post Oak Productions, the company that produces the WSOP Academy. "With our team of world-class instructors, our No-Limit Hold'em Advanced Academy is the sure-fire way to elevate your game to new heights."
The seminars have proven extremely educational in the past. Last year, Sally Ann Boyer took what she learned from the WSOP Ladies Academy and parlayed it into WSOP gold at the ladies event in 2007.
The WSOP Academy goes beyond just poker instruction, in-depth seminars, live hand analysis and interactive workshops: it actually gives away two $10,000 Main Event seats to winners of private tournaments held at the end of each day of classes.
The WSOP Academy's No-Limit Hold'em Advanced Academy is expected to sell out well in advance. For more information or to register for the course go to www.wsopa.com.
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- WSOP Academy Returns to Indiana
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- WSOP Academy to Host Ladies Camp in Las Vegas
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#362 – NBC Heads-Up Championship #12 – Highlights from High Noon
In the second pair of brackets today, Clubs/Spades, all but one of the matches ended in 70 minutes and without as much weird action has the Diamonds/Hearts round of 32. I was saving up my round-up notes for the end...
Freeroll Your Way to Fame at Hollywood Poker
The promotion began March 19 and will run through May 31 with a weekly freeroll for depositing players running each Saturday at noon (EDT).
The freerolls require no fee or points to play; according to Hollywood Poker, they are simply a special "thank you" to all of the poker site's depositing players. And that "thank you" comes with a $300+$20 qualifier ticket to get the freeroll's winner into three weekly WSOP Package give-away events.
The rest of the players in the weekly freeroll final table will also receive a $30+$3 qualifier ticket, giving them a free shot in the WSOP qualifier event.
Hollywood poker has a couple different WSOP packages up for grabs. The first is the $16,000 Premium Package that includes:
- $10,000 WSOP Championship buy-in
- 12-day extended accommodation at the Venetian
- Airfare
- Transportation
- HollywoodPoker Clothing and Merchandise
The site also has $13,000 WSOP Side Event packages that have all the same travel and accommodation coverage, but give the winner $8,000 for WSOP side tournament buy-ins instead of a Main Event buy-in.
"It's all about star treatment at Hollywood Poker, and this is our way of rewarding loyal members who do what they love with us," said Vince Van Patten, Hollywood Poker spokesperson.
Poker players at Hollywood Poker will want to sign up for the weekly freerolls quickly. Space is limited to the first 4,000 players to sign up, and there are probably a lot of players hoping to get their hands on a qualifier ticket to potentially win one of nearly 40 WSOP packages offered at the poker site.
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- Hollywood Poker Puts Up WSOP Packages
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England wins PartyPoker.com Poker Nations Cup
Captained by Rolande de Wolfe, Team Great Britain steamrolled their way to victory at the 2008 PartyPoker.com Poker Nations Cup and overcame upstart Ireland in the heads-up finale of the prestigious poker tournament.
The team event featured line-ups from Germany, Holland, Sweden and the USA but no one could beat the England team which featured recent Irish Poker Open winner Neil Channing, Surinder Sunar, Joe Beevers, Ian Frazer and PartyPoker.com online qualifier Charlie Durbin.
Indeed it was the man of the moment, Neil Channing, who eventually brought the cup home for jolly old England after a tense heads-up battle with Ireland's Donnacha O'Dea.
"I'm absolutely delighted," said team captain de Wolfe. "In many ways it is even better to win a team event for your country than win an individual title. I am so proud that the selections of my team were vindicated."
All six teams competed in a "tag" final were each team captain's judgment was vital as it was up to them to make tactical substitutions and strategic time outs.
Channing was positively brimming with excitement over the big win.
"I am as proud of this as I am of my win in Ireland," Channing said. "It was an honor to be picked to represent my country and great to be chosen to play the crucial final leg for the team.
After six heats Britain arrived at final table sharing second place in chips with Holland just behind leaders Germany. Things got off to a bang with Holland's Quirijn Van der Peet winning a massive pot against Germany's Benjamin Kang which ended up changing the dynamics of the final table.
Ireland used their entire quota of substitutions in short order and it nearly paid off with Donnacha O'Dea playing the majority of the final table.
Surprisingly Team USA, which seemed stacked with the likes of Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Robert Williamson III, Chad Brown, Montel Williams, Thomas Keller and Jamie Gold was sent to the rail first.
Defending champions Sweden were next to go and after and Germany shortly after them. Holland was the next go when their dramatic swings in play finally caught up with them. Holland team captain Marcel Luske was in the game for their final hand which was #10s-#9s against O'Dea's A-K. Despite just missing the money Luske was pleased with his team's performance at the international poker competition.
It was Ireland vs. England in the final and, with Channing's help, England walked away the victor. This is the second time England has won the Poker Nations Cup as they did it in 2006 as well.
The event will be produced for Channel 4 in the U.K. with the likes of Vicky Coren, Joe Beevers, Jamies Gold and Paidraig Parkinson all handing the commentating duties.
Related Articles:
- Countries Begin Battle in Poker Nations Cup
- Montel Williams Makes European Poker Debut
- Sweden Defeats U.S. to Win Nations Cup
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The next poker movie in the works, Deal, starring Bret Harrison, Burt Reynolds and Shannon Elizabeth, will see a limited release on April 25.
The film features a slew of cameos by, among others, Antonio Esfandiari, Joe Hachem, Phil Laak, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Vince Van Patten.
No poker movie since the release of Rounders in 1998 has been able to come close to truly capturing the essence of the game. Deal has already been reviewed as "the best poker movie since Rounders" and "the real deal" by some of the poker stars who appear in it, who also claim that it "captures the poker world like it is."
It remains to be seen whether people involved in the making of the movie are an unbiased source of reviews.
The plot of Deal is as follows: As an ex-gambler teaches a hot-shot college kid some things about playing cards, he finds himself pulled into the World Series of Poker, where his protégé becomeshis toughest competition.
It sounds like a solid pitch, as the same plot formula worked rather well in the 1986 film The Color of Money, starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. (The cast of The Color of Money also featured John Turturro, better known as "Joey Knish" from Rounders.)
It will be interesting to see if this movie can come through with a real, accurate and entertaining view of the poker world, or if it will fall flat like another recent film that didn't get so lucky.
Watch the trailer on the movies official website http://www.dealthemovie.com/.
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#359 – NBC Heads-Up Championship #10 – Spades Wrap-Up
We’re less than an hour from starting the second round (a/k/a “round of 32”) and I still want to post a preview of the coming matches, so let me summarize very briefly how the Spades bracket sorted itself out last...
#372 - Chris Ferguson has won the NBC Heads-Up Championship
Details to follow immediately, 9 44 PM....
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