Poker News Daily has learned that former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco has entered the third Dream Team Poker tournament, which will be held on July 12th and 13th during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Canseco, whose book “Juiced” helped fuel the steroid hunt in professional baseball, will take to the Dream Team Poker felts along with teammates Shane McDowell and Josh Clark. Canseco’s team, dubbed “On Tilt,” is one of over 100 that have already registered for the event, which will be the first of its kind at the WSOP. Each three-man Dream Team Poker squad will battle for individual and team prizes in the two-day contest, which comes with a price tag of $560 per person.
Attendees of PokerPalooza, formerly the WSOP Gaming Life Expo, will notice a wall of jerseys hanging outside its entrance. The spectacle has been on display all week, runs from floor to ceiling, and has become a popular stop for poker fans. Dream Team Poker officials are expecting over 300 players total at the Rio, including Daniel Negreanu, whose Team Poker VT has already paid its buy-in. 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang will be in attendance, as will Team Bodog, which includes Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams.
Last time out, Dream Team Poker held its first open tournament at Caesars Palace. The event attracted 148 teams and 444 players, selling out the Caesars poker room. In the end, Team ACED, led by 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold, took down the title. Although Gold has since parted ways with the Merge Gaming Network site, his name is forever entrenched in Dream Team Poker history. Gold and company pocketed $59,000 for recording the top team finish and Danny Nelson from Team BikerHaven.net grabbed $24,000 for claiming the individual title.
Coming in second place at Caesars in the team competition were the Claddaghs, who earned $33,000. Other top finishers included The Clones (third place for $15,000), Party at the Mansion (fourth place for $10,000), and the Hellmuth Busters (fifth place for $6,000). One-third of the 2008 WSOP November Nine turned out at Caesars, as did Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Paul Wasicka, Mike Matusow, Erica Schoenberg, and T.J. Cloutier. Also in attendance was Bonomo, who along with Matt Parvis and Eric Morris took down the inaugural Dream Team Poker event as part of Team Bluff.
Each player will begin with 10,000 starting chips and blind levels last 40 minutes. The price of poker begins at 50-100 and antes kick in at Level 3, when blinds are 150-300. A 10 minute break occurs after every three levels and teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain. Teams that registered prior to July 1st received a customized jersey and play begins at 2:00pm Pacific Time on both July 12th and 13th. Individual payouts amount to 40% of the prize pool, while team payouts make up the remaining 60%.
Other players slated to enter the third Dream Team Poker tournament include Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok (Team PokerRoad), Gavin Smith (Team Zurvive), Pamela Brunson (Team Pushers), Liz Liu (Team Chili Poker), and Barbara Enright, Paul Darden, and David Levi, who will make up Team Bookmaker Poker.
July 12th also marks Day 5 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, which kicked off on Friday with the first of four starting days. A total of 1,116 entrants took to the felts on Day 1A, down from 1,297 last year. Today’s field is expected to be smaller due to the July 4th holiday in the United States. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will play down to its final table on July 15th, when it will be paused for four months. Last year, Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate earned $9.1 million for the victory and became the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever at age 22.
The Dream Team Poker event will be held inside the Amazon Room, home of the 2009 WSOP. Registration is now open at the Rio cage and can be paid via casino chips, cash, or cashier’s check. We’ll have full tournament results for you right here on Poker News Daily.
