ESPN will begin broadcasting the 2008 WSOP with tournament coverage of the World Championship Pot Limit Hold ‘Em tournament.  For the next couple months they will be showing additional coverage of the World Series of Poker leading up to the main event.

If you can’t wait, check out all of the 2008 WSOP Results.

ESPN Broadcast Schedule of the 2008 WSOP

July 22: Pot-limit Hold’em World Championship - Buy-in: $10,000

July 29: No-limit Hold’em - Buy-in: $1,500

Aug. 5: Pot-limit Hold’em - ($10,000)  & Mixed Hold’em - ($5,000)

Aug. 12: No-limit Hold’em with rebuys - ($1,000)

Aug. 19: H.O.R.S.E. World Championship- ($50,000)

Aug. 26: Pot-limit Omaha World Championship ( $10,000)

Sept. 2: 2008 WSOP No-limit Hold’em Main Event ($10,000)

Sept. 9: Cont. No-limit hold’em Main Event

Sept. 16: Cont. No-limit hold’em Main Event

Sept. 23:Cont. No-limit hold’em Main Event

Sept. 30: Cont. No-limit hold’em Main Event

Oct. 7: Cont. No-limit hold’em Main Event

Oct. 14: Cont. No-limit hold’em Main Event

Oct. 21: Cont. No-limit hold’em Main Event

Oct. 28: Cont. No-limit hold’em Main Event

Nov. 4: November Nine Main Event Final Table Preview

Nov. 11: November Nine WSOP 2008 No-limit hold’em Main Event Final Table

Harrah’s the current owner of the WSOP decided to try this new format and wait until the two weeks of WSOP Main Event play (prior to the final table) to be aired on ESPN before playing to see who the winner of the $9.1 million dollar first prize.  The delay of the tournament and the airing of the shows is due to thousands of hours needed to be edited along with announcers norm and chad to add their wsop commentary.

With the final table not being played for 3 months it is a gamble for the WSOP. They are hoping that it will create buzz and will lead to a high number of players watching the final table after seeing how the rest of the tournament played out. It is too early to say if the gamble will pay off but for now …. who is your pick for the 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion?

2008 WSOP Final Table Players and Chip Counts:

Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
Chino Rheem - 10,230,000
Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000

If you are curious on who the other 54 wsop event winners were you can find the 2008 WSOP results here at Poker Splendor.

Tiffany Michelle is currently 7th with 6.5 million in chips at the 2008 WSOP. Tiffany started playing poker in 2005 when she began playing in celebrity poker tournaments. After playing in the events she decided to play in cash games in Los Angeles and elsewhere. On her website she states that she won her first tournament she entered in Las Vegas and was able to hold her own at the poker table.

Tiffany then started to enter and play in WSOP and WPT events. She has never had a major cash in either tournament series but this may change with the 2008 WSOP. The main event is the largest event in the poker world and could be a huge stepping stone for her career because of the media coverage and going so deep in a tournament so far won my men.

TIffany Michelle’s nickname is “Hot Chips” and does on camera hosting for pokernews and has been on several radio shows: Bluff Radio, Hold ‘Em Radio and Rounders Radio. She has also appeared on GSN World Series of Blackjack.

Looks like I will need to add a page for Tiffany at the Poker Girls section. If she does make the final nine players it will be interesting to see which poker site will pay the big bucks to sponsor her.

The World Series of Poker had 58,720 entries which is the most ever over the 55 event tournament. It increased by 8% from last year partly due to the increased international participation. The event attracted a number of international poker players with over 118 countries having at least one player participating which is an increase of 36%.

Source:

Review Journal

The 2008 WCOOP tournaments can be found under the ‘events’ tab. There will be 33 tournaments starting September 5th and running through September 21st. The WCOOP poker series has a guaranteed prize pool of $30 million dollars. The No Limit Hold-em main event will be a $5,200 buy-in with a guaranteed prize pool of $10 million dollars! This is double the guaranteed prize pool of the main event in 2007.

There will be a variety of poker games played in the tournament including Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, HORSE and 2-7 Draw.

Absolute Poker Fame Benefits

Silver - Points Required: 50, CREDIT Multiplier: X2

• credit tournament buy-ins, buy gas with credits, custom table skins, 24/7 customer support

Gold - Points Required: 500, CREDIT Multiplier: X3

• credits for special events, create own tournaments, loyalty store

Platinum VIP - Points Required: 2,500, CREDIT Multiplier: X4

• Exchange credits for cash, 10% off loyalty store, VIP customer support, exclusive tournaments

Diamond Elite - Points Required: 10,000, CREDIT Multiplier: X5

• 9% interest bearing account, special event invitations, 10% discount loyalty store, VIP customer support

How to Earn Absolute Poker.net Fame

Ring games - Depends on the stake but .25/.50 takes 6 hands for 1 point, .50/$1 takes 3 hands and $1/$2 to $3/$6 takes 2 hands while $5/$10 takes 1 hand.

Tournaments -  Every 30 cents paid in tournament fees equals one point of fame

Blackjack - Every $25 wagered gets 1 point.

Poker Stars has announced that they will be doubling the VPP points for all the WSOP Satellites! This is a unique opportunity to win a seat to the most prestigious tournament in the world and earn a large amount of VPP points while you are at it.

When you qualify with Poker Stars you will be given $10k for buy-in to the main event and $2.5k for expenses (plane) and $1k for hotel. Even better, If you decide to wear poker stars gear while playing in the tournament you will also be given $1 million dollars if you make the final table (nice chunk of change considering you will probably be getting another million by getting 9th or better).

What are you waiting for? Check out our StarsPoker.com review and start playing qualifiers!

Though they haven’t established themselves as a market leader but are always striving to change that. They are currently in beta testing of new poker software that allows players to re-size tables which is a very important aspect that poker players look for when playing at an online poker room. This allows them to fit multiple tables in their browser to play at various tables at the same time.

If you would like to play with the new bodog poker software then follow this link to Bodog and find where it says: Bodog Poker Beta Download and that will take you to the beta download page.

*Also you can have the beta version and the old bodog software installed at the same time.

Other features that Bodog Poker currently allows players to test who are currently running the Beta software:

• Full Screen Mode
• Resizable game play windows
• Embedded chat and game details
• On demand player tools (like ‘em? hate ‘em? do what you want with them, it’s all up to you)
  • Chat
  • Game Details
  • Stats
  • Notes
  • Profiles
  • Tournament Details

They are mirroring all the events that are played at the 2008 WSOP only with smaller buy-ins.

FullTilt Poker.com - They are currently running their 2008 Mini Series of Poker , it started on May 30th and runs through July 5th. The buy-ins are 1/100th of the normal WSOP buy-ins. The winner of each tournament will get a Full Tilt Poker Championship along with the prize money. They

BodogPoker.com - They have their own Mini-Sop tournament that is running from May 30th to July 10th. Each buy-in is 1% the original cost. The top  players on the Mini-Sop leaderboard will receive entry into a final tournament where the top 3 finishers are 2009 WSOP Main Event seats.

Absolute Poker.net - Their tournament is called the World Series of Absolute Poker and will run from May 30th to July 3rd.  They have a leaderboard with the winner receiving a free entry to their Aruba Classic. Players that win 3 tournaments in a row also get a free entry into the Aruba Classic poker tournament. And finally the most final table finishes gets a 4 week pass to the $150k weekly tournament.

The allegations proved to be correct and investigators were able to find evidence that their was a breach in their security. The unfair play happened between March 7, 2006 to December 3, 2007 during high limit games.  The cheating players were able to see players hole cards because of an auditing program that was not secure. The security hole has since been fixed but the damage has been done. Players from2+2 forums have been calling for an announcement from UB management ever since this was brought to their attention in January 08 because of the player “NioNio”.

Ultimate Bet has taken full responsibility for what happened and is planning to repay all players that were affected. Some players have reported (unverified) that 6 figures have shown up in their account since the announcement.

Sources:

Ultimate Bet Summary Thread 2+2

After Press Release 2+2 Forums UB Thread