PartyPoker and Matchroom Sports, who are the sponsors of the PartyPoker Premier League IV, have selected the M Resort & Spa Casino on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip to play host for what is recognized as one of the most prestigious invitational poker tournaments in the game today. The M Resort & Spa has earned kudos as one of the best new hotels in Vegas, with 92,000 square feet of casino area. Over this weekend, however, it will be the 14-table poker room that garners the attention of poker fans during the PartyPoker Premier League IV.

During the announcement of the venue for the latest occurrence of the Premier League, it was also disclosed that poker professional Phil “The Unabomber” Laak will be stepping in to replace the legendary Doyle Brunson in the $100,000 buy in tournament. Laak, who has won a PartyPoker event before when he captured the PartyPoker World Open V last year, steps in for Brunson due to the two time World Champion’s current health issues. Also confirmed for the PartyPoker Premier League IV are defending champion J. C. Tran, defending World Poker Tour champion Yevgeniy “JovialGent” Timoshenko, former World Champion Phil Hellmuth, Roland deWolfe, European “bad boy” Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz, Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Rousso, David Benyamine and the newest member of Team PartyPoker, Antanas “Tony G” Guoga.

Laak is excited about the chance to play in one of the biggest buy in tournaments in the world, but he is also aware of the stakes. “This is the most money I have ever wagered against the toughest field I have ever faced,” Laak said during the announcement. “Collectively my opponents have over $45 million in tournament winnings, so this will be the best ride ever.”

Laak also broke down the field that he will face during the event, offering critiques in his usual off-kilter manner. “I hear Tony G has a bike now,” Laak stated. “I hope he doesn’t send me off on it!” When the topic turned to Schwartz, whom Laak defeated for the PartyPoker World Open V championship and who is notorious for his antics at European poker events, Laak jabbed, “As for FullFlush, there will be free sandwiches.” Earning the most praise from “The Unabomber” were four opponents that he faces. “Negreanu and Hellmuth (are) ranked two and four on the all time money list. Truly amazing,” Laak observed. “Vanessa Rousso is always thinking while Roland de Wolfe is full of sharp wit and is amazingly entertaining, always.”

Laak himself has earned the right to be called “truly amazing” at the tables. He has earned over $1.8 million in his tournament poker career, according to the Hendon Mob database, with a World Poker Tour title among his achievements. His quirky style at the tables, where he will do push-ups and offer money for opponents to show their cards, is only topped off by his attire of a hoodie and sunglasses that earned him the nickname of “The Unabomber.” He recently also opened his own poker room, Unabomber Poker, which is a part of the Cake Poker Network.

The twelve player field for the PartyPoker Premier League IV will be filled out with two additional players yet to be determined. One seat is reserved for one of sixteen online qualifiers who will determine a champion prior to the start of festivities in Las Vegas. The second will go to the winner of a special tournament between Team PartyPoker members. The twelve players who make the PartyPoker Premier League IV roster will battle it out in two six handed semifinal matches and the Championship Event, which will be filmed for television.

With Laak replacing Brunson and the final players almost determined, the prize pool for the PartyPoker Premier League IV will reach $1.5 million, with the extra $300,000 contributed by PartyPoker. The action should be riveting, as some of the top players in the game today vie for a championship that has been won in years previous by such names as Tran, Irish poker champion Andy Black and Finnish poker star Juha Helppi. Poker News Daily will have all the results as the PartyPoker Premier League IV determines its champion starting this Friday.

Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises President Michael Speller commented in a press release distributed by Foxwoods, “We’re thrilled to add Bernard Lee to the Foxwoods team. Bernard is such a compelling figure on the poker landscape and we’re certain that his expertise and talent will bring even more excitement and energy to the poker experience at Foxwoods.” Lee has been a loyal patron of Foxwoods ever since the casino opened its doors 18 years ago.

To say that Lee has dominated the Foxwoods tournament poker scene would be an understatement. He claimed titles at the East Coast casino in back-to-back-to-back years from 2006 to 2008. He began his “three peat” in 2006, winning a $4,800 No Limit Hold’em event during the World Poker Finals for $368,000. Heads-up, Lee defeated one of the legendary names in the world of poker, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, and a top 10 that also featured James Van Alstyne, UB.com pro Michael Binger, Chris Bjorin, and “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande.

In 2007, Lee took down a $1,850 No Limit Hold’em event at Foxwoods for $239,000, outlasting a field of 406 players. In 2008, it was the same story, as the East Coast media personality came out on top of the pack in a $530 No Limit Hold’em Shootout for $22,000. Back in 2005, Lee cruised to a 13th place finish in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, pocketing $400,000; eventual winner Joe Hachem pulled down $7.5 million.

In the last three years, according to Foxwoods officials, Lee has hauled in $1.35 million and three titles in tournaments around the world. He’s a staple of the New England area, owning degrees from Harvard University and Babsen College. Prior to hopping over to the poker scene, Lee worked as a Senior Marketing and New Business Development Manager at a Fortune 500 company. Lee explained in the same press release why signing with Foxwoods was a no-brainer: “If there is such a thing as home-court advantage in poker, for me it’s at Foxwoods. I’m proud and humbled that Foxwoods would choose me to be their official spokesperson among the millions of poker players in the world.”

Lee has made his mark in the live media world. He serves as a co-host of the ESPN poker franchise “Inside Deal,” which emanates from Bristol, Connecticut, and authors a recurring column for the Boston Herald newspaper. Lee hosts the “Bernard Lee Poker Show” on the radio airwaves in Boston; accordingly, the series is now presented by Foxwoods. Poker fans can catch Lee on the radio on 1120 AM in the Boston area or tune in online at RoundersRadio.com.

Lee is an instructor for the WSOP Academy and a commentator for the WSOP and New England’s Eastern Poker Tour. According to Lee’s publicist, Tuesday’s story has garnered a considerable amount of interest from the Boston Herald, which published an article on its website about the poker player’s signing. Additionally, local papers near where Lee lives are also rumored to be penning stories. At the time of writing, neither CardPlayer nor Bluff had posted pieces relating to Lee’s signing.

Foxwoods offers the only World Poker Tour (WPT) branded poker room in New England. Last November, 353 players descended upon the rural casino for the annual World Poker Finals. In the end, CardPlayer Player of the Year finalist Cornel Andrew Cimpan bested Soheil Shamseddin in a tough final table that also included Lock Poker pro Matt “All In At 420” Stout, Eric “EFro” Froehlich. Curt Kohlberg, and Victory Poker pro Lee Markholt.

Congratulations from all of us here at Poker News Daily to Lee for signing with Foxwoods.

Poker News Daily: Do you believe that it was ever acceptable for MasterCard to process an online poker transaction after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in the United States in 2006?

It hasn't been legal for MasterCard or Visa for over 10 years now, so this is nothing new to U.S.-facing companies in particular. What is new is the way they have caught people who were circumventing their rules.

PND: Are all transactions related to internet gambling blocked or just credit card deposits?

They not blocked everywhere. Some seem to be operating MasterCard with no issues.

PND: Are daily transaction counts down as a result or are online poker players finding other ways to get money online?

From what I have been told, cash in is down significantly. Obviously, if you take a credit card channel as big as MasterCard away from your portfolio, there will be a big hit.

PND: Do players realize that their funds aren’t being deposited using credit cards?

The players are not notified. The deposits go through and they will still be billed for the transaction. The issue is that the gaming company never receives the funds, as they are "intercepted." The processor the gaming company used then has their account with MasterCard closed and they are fined; this is usually passed onto the gaming company directly.

PND: Does a player lose the intercepted funds?

If MasterCard closes the middleman down, they keep all funds frozen until they ascertain what happened. The player gets billed and knows nothing. The player gets his money in his gaming account and has his credit card billed. We basically just gave him free money. These companies do not settle instantly with the poker rooms and that is where the big risk comes. MasterCard doesn’t settle with the processor instantly either.

PND: How did MasterCard block internet gambling transactions?

Rumor has it that they audited thousands upon of transactions manually. They looked at coded declines and then at subsequent approved transactions. This would tell them that they were being "bounced" to another uncoded source. They deemed that these transactions were illegal and closed down the processing account attached to them.

PND: Is the recent MasterCard blocking due to the UIGEA, charge backs, or some combination of both?

I'm not sure about their motives. MasterCard has always been more aggressive than others with this. We have been warned for many months that this was coming, but there is no way of knowing until it actually happens. As always, this industry is resilient and will bounce back. It always has and it always will.

PND: What has been the reaction of players you've talked to at your site?

Players are used to cards being declined fairly regularly. Obviously, some want to know why, so we try to direct them to other trusted methods such as e-wallets wherever possible.

PND: Can online poker players use debit cards to deposit?

MasterCard does not run debit cards. Visa or the bank runs them usually. I know that Canada shut off most debit cards to poker companies last year. TD, Scotia Bank, and RBC all stopped too.

But there are days when I get really tilted by certain aspects of my industry.  Recently, what has put me on edge is the immaturity and small-mindedness of many people in the online poker community.  Since I am on the internet a lot for my job, I see the same tired act week in and week out, most recently in the first week of February.

Many of you may have already heard about it, but there was recently a bizarre incident on the Cake Poker network where a pot was shipped to the wrong player.  In a $0.02/$0.04 No Limit Hold'em game, the player in the big blind and the player on the button were all-in pre-flop, the big blind with K-K and the button with A-Q.  Once all the community cards were dealt, four hearts were on the board, giving the button the best hand, an cce-high flush.  Shockingly, though, the player with K-K was given the pot, even though he had just a king-high flush.

Of course, the internet message boards exploded once someone posted the hand history.  Players were renouncing their accounts at Cake Poker, players were claiming the site was rigged, that an investigation by a third party should commence, that Cake employees should resign.  The sky was falling!  The sky was falling!

I don't know if it's the young average age of internet message board posters, the overdone distrust of online poker rooms, or the ease with which one can make bold proclamations online that one would never make in person, but something causes mass panic and outrage when any little issue comes up at a poker room. It just tilted me to no end that more people flew off the handle than actually remained calm and thought logically.

Just because a computer is running the game doesn't mean that it's impossible for a mistake to happen.  "But, but, but, Dan," you may say to me, "if a life-threatening mistake like this could happen once, why should we assume it has never happened before?"

Well, I guess we can't assume with 100% certainty that it has never happened before at Cake Poker, but considering how glaring an error it was and how quickly it was caught, I think it's safe to assume that if something so obvious had happened previously, it would not have gone unnoticed.  Believe it or not, most people notice if they had the best hand and did not get the pot.

Fortunately, Cake Poker's Card Room Manager, Lee Jones didn't panic.  He quickly addressed the poker community, confirming that the mistake did happen, and vowed to get to the bottom of the matter.  And guess what?  The software team figured out what happened and it really was a "once in a billion" type event.  I won't get into the gory details, but basically there was some sort of lag between a player's client and server that caused the game to think there was a side pot between that player and the person with K-K.  The player with K-K won that pot and since there were no more chips for a main pot, the hand ended.  It was truly a freak occurrence and the bug has been fixed.

Jones has gone a step further in remedying the situation, though.  For their troubles, Cake is giving the player with A-Q $500, the person who reported the error $250, and the rest of the players at the table $250 combined.  Additionally, the poker room will give $500 to anyone who finds a future instance of this bug.

After Jones announced all of this, there were a good number of people who gave him the kudos he deserved for the professional way he and the Cake team handled the situation.  There were also a number of people who still wanted heads to roll, for some reason.  They just didn't understand that no matter how rigorously programmers test the software, there may be an unforeseen convergence of rare events that could still cause a glitch.  In this case, there was really no reason for any to expect this sort of error to happen.

There were even people criticizing Jones, essentially implying that he was being disingenuous and that the monetary offer was just a way to appease the mob.  One person actually asked anyone who was reading if they would be praising a bank manager for being honest about a glitch that caused a customer's money to go to someone else's account.  Uh…yes.  If a bank manager was upfront about what happened, apologized, assured me that the problem was fixed, and gave me 50 to 100 times the transaction amount to make up for it, then yes, I would extol his virtues to anyone who would listen.

Things happen sometimes, everybody.  Whether it is a software bug, a typo on a poker room's website, or a simple miscommunication, not every little issue you encounter in online poker is a huge deal.  If everyone would just act like reasonable adults and allow those who make the mistakes to correct them, we would all suffer fewer headaches and enjoy the game more.  And if you are one of those people who can't settle down, then just tell me your poker screen name so I can sit at your table, put you on monkey tilt, and watch you spew chips in my direction.

Poker News Daily: The final table of the Borgata Winter Open Main Event seemed to lack a little bit of the star power of other high-profile tournaments. Can you talk about its talent level?

Jeff Madsen: I didn’t think they were no-names or anything. There were a few online guys I had heard of like Ross “tysonduke23” Mallor and I had also heard of David Marchese. I had also heard of Matt Matros and Sirous Jamshidi before. There weren’t a lot of big names, but I knew it wouldn’t be an easy final table. There were a few soft spots, but by and large it was tough.

PND: You were even entering heads-up play against Sirous Jamshidi. What was your strategy against him?

Jeff Madsen: I knew I had him outmatched. He’s a good player, but he didn’t have an answer for my aggression. At first, I was being aggressive, raising pre-flop, and continuation betting. I knew he didn’t like to fold very much, so I just chipped him down until he was pretty low. He didn’t want to put his chips in bad and I put a lot of pressure on him to make tough decisions.

PND: You’ve had a solid last three months, with a deep run in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in January and a final table in a Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic preliminary tournament in December. Have you been feeling good on the circuit?

Jeff Madsen: I’ve been playing better in general. I had a good 2009 and just had one bad patch from the WSOP to December. Overall, I’ve been playing well now. I’m a streaky player, but I’m coming around. I’ve been changing some things about my game and it’s more about polishing things up and staying focused. It’s also about being even keel, even outside of poker.

PND: Is it weird describing yourself as a streaky player?

Jeff Madsen: It’s how I’ve always been. I came in and did well right away and then had a few rough patches. I have an aggressive style and I’m young. I’m getting more consistent too, which is good.

PND: Does the Borgata Winter Open Main Event retain some of its luster despite no longer being televised? Is it still prestigious to play in and win?

Jeff Madsen: I wish it were still a World Poker Tour (WPT) event, but it was a big tournament and had over 700 people. Plus, the Borgata is the premier place in Atlantic City. It’s still a very lucrative event and a lot of big pros turn out.

PND: Will we be seeing you in the $50,000 Player’s Championship during the 2010 WSOP?

Jeff Madsen: I want to enter it, but it’s more the money, not whether I think I’d do well. When the time comes around, we’ll see. I’ll try to get into it, even if it means having 25% of myself out there.

PND: Talk about your L.A. Poker Classic Main Event prop bet with Joe Sebok and Gavin Smith, which involves you guys getting tattoos of each other’s faces. How did that come up? Sebok wants to back out, but do you still want to go through with it?

Jeff Madsen: We’re all into prop bets. Gavin and Joe had this bet already and one day they told me about it and talked me into it. It sounded like a terrible idea, but seemed like fun anyway. I’m playing well and I think I’m a favorite not to get last. It’d be funny to see my face on someone else. I accepted it and I’m not backing out.

PND: You’re a Full Tilt Red Pro. Talk a little bit about Rush Poker on the site. What were your first impressions of it?

Jeff Madsen: I tried it when it first came out. It’s fun and ridiculous, but I’m not as huge of a cash game player in general. Rush Poker is a way different dynamic. I think it’d be sick if tournaments had it, but I don’t know what the format would be.

PND: What are your poker goals for 2010?

Jeff Madsen: I’m already doing well, which is good. I want to win a WPT event because I haven’t done that yet. I’d also like to win another bracelet. I have points now, so I could go after a Player of the Year title. I definitely have high standards. I think I can do everything I just said, but I have to focus.

Poker pro Jeff Madsen, fresh off his victory at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, was seemingly stunned with his first Tweet after the championship win. “Uhh. I won?” was the tweeted understatement by the former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year. After an hour, Madsen came back to the outgoing personality the poker world recognizes when he Tweeted, “I fuckin woooooon yeeeeeesssssss validaaaaaation weeeee were throwing a party in the graaaand canyooooon. Thx for all the support everybody!” Congratulations abounded, but tournament director Matt Savage took some time from his work at the L. A. Poker Classic to fire a Tweet to Madsen saying, “Congrats, but it’s all going to be forgotten if you have a tattoo of @OleGSmith (Gavin Smith) and @joesebok on your ass @LAPokerClassic!”

The winter storm that dumped nearly two feet of snow from Washington, D.C. to Pennsylvania reared its ugly head on Friday as well, nearly catching some of poker’s best Tweeters in the middle. UB.com’s Liv Boeree of recent Maxim fame picked up on the upcoming whiteout when she tweeted on Friday, “Snowmageddon is coming.” 2007 WSOP Final Table player Lee Childs was another player who escaped the snowstorm when he reported, “Snowme Sweet Snowme! Left Borgata at 5am. Back at home at 8:30am in time to get groceries with Jenny before the storm.” Another poker pro, Jena Delk, must have channeled her inner Weather Channel anchor when she tweeted, “It is taking four snow plows to keep the drive to the Borgata open in this driving snow. Neon lights of Harrah's just blew out. Blizzard.”

The legendary Doyle Brunson, who wasn’t near the snowstorm on the East Coast, kept everyone up to date on his health. As reported last week here on Poker News Daily, Brunson has some health issues that might sideline him until this year’s WSOP. Nevertheless, “Texas Dolly” was able to keep his humor about him as he tweeted on Friday, “I groaned in the middle of the night. My wife said 'what's wrong honey, is it your ankle? Your knee? Your hip? Your shoulder?' Lol. ”

Of course, the majority of the Tweeting over the weekend was about the Super Bowl.  Poker players assembled across the country in hotel suites and homes, even though some like Shannon Elizabeth thought about not watching the game. “Superbowl Sunday! I wasn't originally going today since Dallas is out, but I'm going to hang in my friends’ suite after all,” Shannon said in her Tweet. “Poker2Nite” host Scott Huff was able to get his fiancée to watch the game, albeit for who wasn’t on the field. “Fiancée will be watching the Superbowl today,” Huff Tweeted. “The teams: New Orleans Reggie Bushes vs. The Indy Hank Baskets. Will Kim (Kardashian) or Kendra (Wilkinson) win,” referring to the celebrity paramours of two of the players.

Also included in the Twitter reports were the different bets that poker’s elite were making on the outcome of the Big Game. Phil Hellmuth was saved from potential disaster: “I was going to bet BIG ($5,000) on Colts, but my boy EDOG (fellow pro Erick Lindgren) saved me! He liked Saints, so I bet small on them.” Daniel Negreanu placed a few bets and came out a big winner, reporting in his Tweet, “SCOOP! Made two bets: over 27.5 in the second half and NO + 0.5 second half. I'm such a genius ha!”

The two funniest Tweets from the Super Bowl festivities came from two of UB’s sponsored professionals, Adam “Roothlus” Levy and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian. “Congrats to the Saints and their Super Bowl MVP Mark Brunell,” Levy Tweeted. “He held those field goals in place superbly all game.” Ian went for the funny with a Tweet before the game, “What is this 'Superb Owl' everyone is talking about?”

With Twitter becoming the favorite method for poker pros and celebrities to keep in contact with their fans, Poker News Daily continues to watch for the best of their offerings. Twitter followers can also keep up with Poker News Daily’s activities by adding @pokernewsdaily to their favorites.

Annie Duke: It was really sudden and I was really sad about it. Amir was somebody who was genuinely a good person, had that booming laugh, and had that cigar. He was such a great character and a great ambassador for the game. He was very sweet to me and genuinely loved people.

PND: You had mentioned the possibility of going to Mexico for New Years. Did that pan out?

Annie Duke: For New Years, Joe and I went to an amazing restaurant in L.A. Then, we just went home. It was a very quiet night and the reason why is that I hate New Years. It’s honestly one of my least favorite holidays. For me, it’s illogical to celebrate. Somehow, the demarcation of that day is different than any other day. Why do you make New Years resolutions? If you make a resolution on January 1st, it seems like you’re setting yourself up for failure. That date seems very arbitrary.

PND: We heard you’re taking the kids to Mexico for Spring Break. Tell us about the trip.

Annie Duke: I diligently try to make sure that everything I do credits me miles. I use a credit card that’s an airline card and an American Express card that gives me points and it never occurred to me to use these miles. I checked and had, on one airline, 200,000 miles. On my American Express, I had over 200,000 points. That seemed like a lot and I thought I should do something with them.

I’m flying everybody round trip to Mexico for Spring Break, so I am very excited. The total that it cost me for six tickets was less than $1,000. I want to stay in a cute hotel with character when I travel. We picked the number one bed and breakfast on TripAdvisor. We had to get three rooms and the total cost was $250 per night. This is the number one rated bed and breakfast in this place! For six people for a whole week in Southern Mexico, it’s going to cost me less than $3,000.

PND: What are your plans for 2010 in the world of poker? We know you were interested in playing more this year.

Annie Duke: That’s the case, but every time a tournament comes up, it’s hard. I was offered to do a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Academy, but it conflicts with the L.A. Poker Classic HORSE event. This sort of education stuff has become super important to me as an individual and it really started with doing poker camps. I had to start refining the way I thought about the game so I could express it to someone else so they could improve their game. That’s very different than being a great player. I seem to be making choices to do that kind of stuff over poker.

I also want to play more poker tournaments and need to find a way to get both accomplished. I’m planning to play in the Main Event of the L.A. Poker Classic, the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, and I’ll be a bounty at Bay 101. I didn’t go to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) or to Australia for the Aussie Millions. It’s hard for me to justify traveling that far away because I want to be close to my family.

PND: Barry Shulman has been on a tear, taking down two $1 million paydays in four months in the 2010 PCA Main Event and the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event. Can you talk about his game?

Annie Duke: The thing about Barry is that he is someone who has very hyper-aggressive tendencies. He is super-aggressive and always was. I think when you’re that aggressive, you can accumulate a lot of chips, but you can also blow them back quickly. In the past, Barry hasn’t been that great at pulling back, but I’m guessing from his results that he’s gearing down. Now, people are very aggressive and you have to draw back. Barry always had the potential to have these types of results. Obviously, he’s a smart person.

PND: Is his son, Jeff Shulman, equally aggressive?

Annie Duke: Jeff was always super-aggressive until Phil Hellmuth got a hold of him. He had a style. He’s been at the final table of the Main Event twice. He hasn’t been playing a lot of poker recently, which is why people haven’t seen more of him, since he’s been involved with CardPlayer.

It’s interesting when you think about Jeff’s coaching in the Main Event. In three months, it’s hard to change someone such that they can assimilate what they tell you and fit it into their game. Coaching would not have helped somebody like Antoine Saout. He was a very good player and, in three short months, coaching can do more harm than good.

When I coach people, I tell them that out of the gate, they’ll start losing. You have to have a lot of practice, so I generally recommend that people step down at first. When you make big changes to your game, it can be very confusing. Where I think coaching can help an experienced player is having someone to study tapes with.

PND: Tell us how your new website, MyMixedNuts.com, is going. How is the custom trail mix business?

Annie Duke: We’re going to have a few guys help reorganize the pages on our site and do some PR and social media for us. So far, it’s been good, though. We’re adding Valentine’s Day offers and it’s a fun thing to do.

PND: Speaking of Valentine’s Day, what are your plans?

Annie Duke: We’re going to do to an Italian restaurant because Joe thinks that’s what you’re supposed to do. We always have a nice Valentine’s Day and I am looking forward to it.

“Poker2Nite” kicked off with highlights from the 2010 Aussie Millions, which featured Tyron Krost defeating a Main Event final table that included Betfair pros Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi and Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad. The festivities Down Under also saw 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey move to the top of the all-time tournament money list at $12.6 million by finishing second in a $100,000 buy-in event. A debate ensued between “Poker2Nite” hosts Joe Sebok and Scott Huff as to whether a six-figure buy-in tournament should count towards prestigious leaderboards like the all-time money list.

Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari joined the show via Skype to discuss his $1.4 million win in the 2004 running of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic, whose 2010 installment kicks off on February 26th from the West Coast casino. Esfandiari discussed his charge through the tournament six years ago: “It was a sweet victory… An unknown kid on the poker market taking down the LAPC was a life-changer.” Esfandiari was 25 years-old at the time.

Alexander joined the set to break down his Day 3 run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event. He explained, “What I’ve learned more than anything else over the last couple of years is patience.” Alexander also noted that a change in mentality was partly responsible for his recent success in poker: “I go into a tournament thinking not how long will I last, but how smart can I be.”

Alexander will take to the felts of this year’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship invitational tournament and noted that he felt no pressure to perform. He often tells his pro opponents, “If I lose to you, no big deal. If you lose to me, your career will never be the same.” Alexander fell to Huck Seed in the first round of the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship; Seed went on to reach the semi-finals.

Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo gave “Poker2Nite” viewers the nickel tour of the Panorama Towers in Las Vegas, home to world-class pros like Esfandiari, Bodog’s David Williams, PokerStars front man Barry Greenstein, Scott Seiver, UB.com’s Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Shaun Deeb, Evelyn Ng, and Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer. The complex features two gyms, two pools, game rooms, conference rooms, limo service, and even a pet park for dog-lovers. It also hosts a bevy of high-stakes poker home games.

Sebok broke down a hand against J.C. Tran during the 2007 L.A. Poker Classic in the debut of High Mistakes. Tran was the chip leader in the event when the hand occurred, while Sebok was second on the leaderboard. Sebok mistakenly limped pre-flop with Q-8 of diamonds after tossing in the wrong chips and Tran came along with K-10. Two other players also saw the K-10-5 flop with two diamonds, leading to a bet from Sebok and a call from Tran.

Sebok check-raised to 35,000 after a third diamond hit on the turn to give him a flush and Tran called. The river was a 10, improving Tran to a boat, and Sebok called all-in for his tournament life after Tran pushed. The hand was set up for Sebok to fold to an all-in river bet, but he failed to do so.

Dana Workman doled out the Weekly Misdeal, offering a satirical look at the week’s poker headlines. Workman poked fun at soccer star Charlie Davies playing at the Bellagio, embattled swimmer Michael Phelps taking to the felts at the Borgata, a poker table equipped with a built-in drink dispenser, and Doyle Brunson being named Best Poker Twitterer by Bluff Magazine’s readers for his parade of blonde jokes and Doyleisms. Brunson underwent dental surgery today in Las Vegas that may sideline him until the 2010 WSOP.

Sebok concluded “Poker2Nite” by breaking down his prop bet with Gavin Smith and Jeff Madsen that involves a unique last longer bet during the upcoming L.A. Poker Classic Main Event. Whoever busts first must tattoo the faces of the other two players on their body. Whoever busts second must ink the surviving player’s face. The “Poker2Nite” host is trying to get out of the prop bet.

Next week, “Poker2Nite” will feature a Best of Season 1 episode. The series has purportedly not yet been renewed for Season 2, although Huff and Sebok explained that “Poker2Nite” would go on hiatus during the L.A. Poker Classic.

The festivities kicked off at 10:00pm ET on the cable station, about the same time as the Super Bowl wrapped up on CBS. The first hour of coverage was dedicated to Day 1A and included UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth and DoylesRoom namesake Doyle Brunson at the feature table. Hellmuth arrived dressed as Caesar and flanked by a handful of scantily clad women. ESPN announcer Norman Chad quipped, “Frankly, I would revoke his passport.” All Brunson could do was shake his head.

Table 2 featured Full Tilt’s Andy Bloch, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, and Beth Shak. Bloch flopped a set of deuces against Robert Campbell’s straight flush draw, but an ace on the turn filled Campbell’s straight and the former MIT Blackjack Team member was crippled. Bloch was eliminated shortly thereafter from the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event. Reigning National Heads-Up Championship winner Huck Seed was all-in with K-J, but could not withstand Hoyt Corkins’ Q-J. The flop came queen-high and Seed was sent to the rails.

Hellmuth doubled through Gilbert Diaz after raising pre-flop with 10-7, shoving all-in on a 10-high flop with top pair against two pair, and promptly hitting a straight on the turn. Not so fortunate was Durrrr Challenge combatant Patrik Antonius, who held A-Q against an opponent’s A-6. The two got it all-in on a board reading 3-9-A-6 and the river blanked out, eliminating Antonius. Chad described Antonius’ physique as “exquisite” on multiple occasions. Also finding the rail on Day 1A were Phil Ivey, Jeffrey Lisandro, and Roland de Wolfe.

The second ESPN2 episode on Sunday night contained coverage of Day 1B, whose stacked feature table included Caesars Cup captains Daniel Negreanu and Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, Barry Greenstein, and Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania. Negreanu doubled after flopping a set with pocket twos and turning a full house. Also ascending the leaderboard was Freddy Deeb, who doubled up after turning two pair.

Former Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande hit the skids after failed run-ins with Scotty Nguyen and CardRunners instructor Eric Liu. On the opposite end of the spectrum was Victory Poker front man Antonio Esfandiari, who doubled up with A-Q of diamonds against an opponent’s A-J of spades when the board fell 2-7-6-2-K.

The hand of the episode was between retired tournament grinder Shaun Deeb and Negreanu. The Team PokerStars Pro member announced, “I’m going to pound you back a little more” and double-fisted raising chips into the pot. Deeb contended that Negreanu put in a string raise that shouldn’t count. Despite two bona fide pros competing in the hand, floor officials were called and ruled that the raise stood. Deeb retorted, “That’s a terrible ruling.”

The final episode of the evening featured coverage of Day 2, which saw the survivors of Day 1A and Day 1B take to the felts. Brunson scooped back-to-back pots with pocket kings to open play and a debate ensued between “Texas Dolly” and Hellmuth as to whether Hellmuth’s grand entrances are good for poker. Brunson contended, “I wish I could have applied for the role of Brutus.”

Hellmuth was eliminated with J-8 against Esfandiari’s Q-J. He called all-in on a board reading 8-10-Q-10-10, giving both players boats, and Hellmuth’s tirade began. Bystander Jeff Madsen lent his ear to Hellmuth, who complained, “How the fuck do you get so lucky and hit a 10 so you can move in there?” Esfandiari chuckled, “Nothing better than torturing Phil Hellmuth.”

After a commercial break, ESPN cameras found Hellmuth still barking at Esfandiari. The UB.com pro explained, “That’s why you don’t have as many titles as you should, because you play big pots with jacks,” referring to a previous hand. In an interview with ESPN hostess Kara Scott, Esfandiari issued a $100,000 heads-up challenge to Hellmuth where the winner would also shoot the loser with a taser gun.

One of the potential men behind the Isildur1 moniker, Viktor Blom, shipped a massive stack to Ian Munns. On a flop of A-A-3, Blom check-raised to 58,000 with K-2, Munns made it 116,000 with A-7, and Blom shoved over the top with air. Munns called as a 96% favorite to win the hand and a 10 on the turn sent Blom out. The rest of the table laughed at the hand and Munns became the overwhelming chip leader thanks to the blow up. Elsewhere, WSOP Main Event November Nine member Antoine Saout was crippled in a hand against David Docherty.

Curiously, eventual winner Barry Shulman’s name was not mentioned during the three episodes, although an image of him appeared in the closing montage. Five more episodes will air as part of ESPN2’s coverage of the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event, including three more hours on Valentine’s Day weekend:

Sunday, February 14th: 11:00pm ET
Monday, February 15th: 12:00am ET
Monday, February 15th: 1:00am ET
Sunday, February 28th: 9:00pm ET
Sunday, February 28th: 10:00pm ET

The name of the game in the High Roller Bounty Shootout will be No Limit Texas Hold’em. However, a variety of unique aspects to the tournament may make it one for the ages. First, a bevy of poker pros, whether associated with PokerStars or not, are expected to head to the Venetian for the NAPT event in Las Vegas. In the backyard of many of poker’s elite names, the NAPT Venetian Main Event serves as the finale of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza and will take place from February 20th to 24th.

The High Roller tournament kicks off on February 23rd and will conclude two days later. Players must win their tables in order to move on to the next round, as is typical in a shootout, and each contestant has a $5,000 bounty on their head. Text found on the PokerStars Blog adds another exciting feature: “Oh, and just to make things a little more interesting... PokerStars is adding $100,000 to pay off whoever scores the most bounties.”

On the new addition to the NAPT Venetian schedule, PokerStars Head of Global Events Jeffrey Haas commented, "We want to try new things, different formats, and unique events that make our players happy. This is sure to be a hit with both our players and the people who watch on television." As of the end of last week, the only player confirmed for the Bounty Shootout was Daniel Negreanu, a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro and main face of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Cash Game,” which aired on Fox during the 2009 NFL season. In addition to Negreanu, PokerStars is expecting “dozens of big-name players” to throw their hats into the ring.

Each player who reaches the final table of the NAPT Venetian Bounty Shootout will double their money and pocket $50,000. After the final table is paid off, the remaining prize pool, less the bounties, will be awarded entirely to the winner. Just like the NAPT Venetian Main Event, the Bounty Shootout will air on a yet-to-be-named network in the United States. It can also be seen online on PokerStars.tv.

The 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event marked the inaugural stop for the NAPT. Harrison Gimbel came out on top in the January poker tournament and earned $2.2 million. A total of 1,529 players turned out for the PCA Main Event, which was also a stop on the PokerStars-backed European Poker Tour (EPT) and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT).

Following the NAPT’s debut at the Venetian, the tournament series will travel east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. NAPT Mohegan Sun takes place between April 7th and 11th and features a $5,000 buy-in, the same price tag as the Venetian Main Event. Other stops on the kickoff NAPT season will be announced in the future.

As of February 3rd, a total of 235 PokerStars players had qualified for the NAPT Venetian Main Event. The tournament area will likely be packed to the brim with poker players shuffling their chips, dishing out bad beats, and vying for a life-changing top prize. NAPT Hostess Joanna Krupa will be the face of the tour after making an appearance on the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” as a celebrity challenger.

PokerStars happily accepts players from the United States. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the live poker circuit.