Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Poker Stars - WSOP changing 2008 schedule

WSOP changing 2008 schedule

The $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. event was originally scheduled to kick off at noon on Sunday, June 22, but will now begin at 5 p.m. Wed., June 25. The switch will change the $2,500 2-7 Triple-Draw Lowball contest to June 22 at noon.

The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. is considered by many to be the most elite poker tournament in the world. Because every contestant must try their hand at every major poker variant, it's seen as the acid test for well-rounded players. The past two years it has been held in the Amazon Room and was packed with players like Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and T.J. Cloutier.

In 2006 the late Chip Reese conquered all challengers in the epic tournament while in 2007 Freddy Deeb took down first.

The changes were made to enable ESPN to film extensive coverage of the H.O.R.S.E. event. ESPN is expected to begin airing footage of the 2008 WSOP action in July.

The 39th edition of the WSOP will run from May 30 through July 16, 2008 and will include 55 bracelet tournaments. Buy-ins for the open events will range from $1,000 to $50,000. The buy-in for the Main Event will remain at the same level it's been at since the tournament's inception: $10,000.

Click here to see the complete schedule for the 2008 WSOP.

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Hat trick for Obrestad at poker awards

The Norwegian sensation finally came of age in 2007 and it's apparent the poker world will never be the same.

At last night's Scandinavian Poker Awards, Obrestad cleaned up, taking home the Norwegian Golden Hand as well as awards for Best Female Poker Player and Best Performance of the Year, the latter for her victory at the World Series of Poker Europe.

Obrestad shocked the world when she outlasted 361 players to win the WSOPE, becoming the first female player to win a WSOP Main Event as well as the youngest. Proving her victory was no fluke, just one month later she battled her way to second place at EPT Dublin.

Obrestad cashed for nearly $2.5 million in 2007 and shows no signs of slowing down with significant finishes at EPT Dortmund and the Partypoker.com European Open VI in 2008. She is currently sponsored by online room Betfair.com.

The Scandinavian awards are not the first accolades Obrestad has received. She was presented with the award for Tournament Performance of the Year at the European Poker Awards in December.

The Golden Hand, or "Gullhånda," is the only poker award in her native Norway and to win it she had to beat Trond Erik Eidsvig in a heads-up match after being nominated in an online vote.

Obrestad had some fantastic company at the Scandinavian Poker Awards with Gus Hansen winning Best Live Player, Jonas "Nebuchad" Danielsson winning Best Online Player, Eidsvig winning Rookie of the Year and Thor Hansen receiving the lifetime achievement award.

Even before Obrestad was a celebrated online player she was renowned for her killer online game. There was a rumor swirling around the Internet that Obrestad had played an entire online tournament without looking at her cards and she later confirmed the report in interviews after she won the WSOPE Main Event.

Astonishingly Obrestad will not be able to play in the actual WSOP in Las Vegas until 2010 when she is finally of gambling age in the U.S. Until then she'll likely stick to terrorizing opponents on European soil.

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