TYLER "TYDEAN" SMITH ..."TYLERIZES" THE FINAL TABLE OF THE BAYOU POKER CHALLENGE

12.13.10

LOCAL POKER PRO CONTINUES HIS SICKO WAYS AND SNAPS OFF BAYOU POKER 2010 MAIN EVENT:  Kenny "Trucker Kenny" Milam has a new verb in his vocabulary..."Tylerized"...it's when your in a hand with Tyler Smith... and no matter what it is he wants you to do...you do it. Kenny was busted on the bubble of the M.E. where he got it in as a 65-35% dog...and Tyler put him in the "Trance of ...Call...Call....Call". Kenny swears that he had decided several times in his 3 to 5 minute tank session to fold but...somehow ...he just stood up and said "I call". Tyler has busted Trucker Kenny of numerous Main Events and usually its on the money or FT bubble...Kenny has been "Tylerized"...many times. (Kenny and Tyler on right playing Texas Holdem poker.

Well People..."The man...the myth...the legend" has taken another poker tournament main event...and mid -5 digit score with his win yesterday at the Bayou Poker Open. You guys want to hear some of the responses I got from my text today (This is GeneD) that Tyler had won..."Unreal"..."Unbelievable"..."The kid is 5th and 6th leveling the world"...you get the drift.

We at GCP.Net apologize for the late news post, but we both do have children/jobs. Tyler finally finished off the final table about 8pm last night with the final table going 8 handed read out:

1st Palce: Tyler Smith $66488...2nd place: Ronnie Haines...3rd Place: David Holmes of Lafayette, La for over $26k...4th place went to Gary Friedlander from Texas...and 5th went to Duane "REM" Remington for a cool $17,563...Allen Kessler got 8th for $8781...and South Louisiana's own Jeremy "Thechemist83" Gaubert picked up over $7500...Bryan "MaravichLSU" Lanoix pulled down rich over $5000.00 for 15th place

CONGRATS TO ALL...and especially Tyler...your on a sick run kid..."Sky's the Limit!!!!!

LOCAL POKER PRO JACOB "NOCKO" NAQUIN TAKES DOWN 5TH PLACE IN A SUNDAY MAJOR YESTERDAY:  Local poker pro Jacob "Nocko" Naquin scoops 5th place in the "Sunday Brawl" on Full Tilt yesterday taking in a nice 5 digit score of over $27k. Jacob is known for putting himself "in good spots" whether playing or backing in the poker world...and this couldn't be a better spot to be in. Of course he is not happy about getting 5th...but he has just been playing/backing seriously for a few years now...you will see his name in some bigger headlines soon...you can count on it. (Pic of Jacob in action to the right with 2010 WSOP Final Tableist John "JRD312" Dolan in the background)

CONGRATS GOES OUT TO MICHAEL "KINGS POKER" KING FOR WINNING THE SENIORS EVENT: Local poker media person Michael "Kings Poker" King wins the Seniors...with a huge chop it looks like. Local Players who also cashed...Ken McAllister in 4th place and Houma Attorney Barron Whipple takes home 7th. Please check out Mike's syndicated poker radio show once a week...do a quick Google search and you should be able to find it.

FELTSTARS BUYS REEFER POKER:

There are a bunch of Gulf Coast players already playing on Feltstars...and we have several bloggers that are sponsored players. Notice that in the pic above...both Tyler and Trucker Kenny are "rocking" the Feltstars gear. Look for an affiliate code soon with Gulf Coast Poker Magazine/GCP.Net:

Press Release below:

FeltStars.com is proud to announce the acquisition of ReeferPoker.com. FeltStars management states that the player accounts at ReeferPoker will be absorbed into the FeltStars skin and player balances and affiliate earnings will be honored 100%. The acquisition of ReeferPoker will enable FeltStars to more effectively serve the players and expand their player base. With this larger player database, the FeltStars brand can now be more creative in presenting unique player opportunities. FeltStars is the fastest growing skin on the expanding Merge Network. We offers generous deposit bonuses as well as several creative tournaments that feature our own site pros. Players will have opportunities to represent FeltStars at the Aussie Millions Event as well as the 2011 WSOP Main Event along with several other LIVE Poker tournaments.
FeltStars joined the Merge Gaming Network in September of 2009 because of their world class software. Since then, we have become one of the largest sites on the network. This is due to our commitment to provide our players with a unique game playing experience whether it is in our poker room or in our full casino.
The rewards start right away. Using Coupon Code: FELT150 earns you a 150% FIRST DEPOSIT BONUS, (up to $1,500). Your first deposit also gets you into our $500 First Time Depositor’s FreeRoll. You will find many more ways to earn deposit rewards while you play at FeltStars. FeltStars will also give a 20% instant deposit bonus if you use moneybookers, pic-club, and mypaylinq.
 

KAI LANDRY, TIM BURT,  VITALIE CAT, AND JONATHAN JUNCA PICK UP RINGS

12.11.10

GCP-ER KAI LANDRY IS OFF TO PLAY WITH HIS LITTLE PONY:  As the talented Nolan Dalla detailed in his tournament report:

"Kai Landry, who says he has no skills and no ability to hold a real job, was the winner of Event #9.  The modest semi-pro has an incredible track record at tournaments throughout the South.  He has won more events and made more final tables than any player over the past two years.  Landry's two previous wins were at the WSOP Circuit Main Event in Tunica (2009) and a WSOP Circuit win here at Harrah's New Orleans (2009).  When asked what he liked to do in his spare time, he replied:  "I like to play with my little pony."  At press time, it could not be determined if Landry actually owns a horse." 

What could be determined was the Biloxi native added more than 7k to his lifetime winnings which are almost 1/3rd of a million.  Congrats Kai!

Ronnie Hoover of Baton Rouge won a little over 2k for 4th, and John Julien of New Orleans was third for 2.7k. Anita Vasquez, a Lake Charles rounder finished 6th. Captain Tom Franklin came to the final table with the chip lead but he couldn't hold off Landry and ended up 7th for 1k.  Tai Cao of Lafayette, LA was 9th.  Bobby Mayfield of Lafitte 12th.  David Babin of Norco, LA and Brian Franklin of Gulfport, MS were 14th and 15th.  The last to cash, actually the first to cash was BJ McBrayer who got the min cash in 18th.

TIM BURT MISIPIMACHINE WINS MIXED GAMES CHAMPIONSHIP:  Don't think you want to play Mr. Burt in a Horse Championship or Mixed games tournament.  He's making a habit of winning these things.  He bagged up 2.9k for first.  His second title in the last couple of months.  Matthew Bourgeois of Baton Rouge was second for 1.7k.

VITALIE CAT UPENDS RICHARD BERGER IN HEADS-UP PLAY:  The two locals battled it out, but it was the youngster from Metairie, Mr. Cat that got the ultimate glory.  Richard Berger collected his third cash and third final table of the week winning 4.3k.  Cat slurped up 6.9k for first.  Robert Quin of Metairie, LA finished in 4th place after his pocket rockets were cracked by Cat.  Paul Distafano of Plaquemine, LA won 1.5k for 5th.  Charles Chan of Panama City, FL was 6th for 1.3k.  Andrew Becker of Chalmette won 1k for 7th place.  Brian Hennick of Franklinto, LA was 8th for just under 1k.

JUNCA PUTS A RING IN HIS TRUNK:  New Orleans native Jonathan Junca won 3.1k for first in the Pot Limit Omaha/8 Championship.  David Key of Baton Rouge won 2k for 2nd and Franklin Dawkins of Lafayette, LA 1k for 4th. 

ALSO CONGRATS TO SOFA KING WE TODD DID:  He enjoyed a chop at the nightly.  Go to his blog to read the details.  Apparently, the Baton Rouge native is makng a habit of winning the nightlies.  A habit of winning, no matter the event, is a good thing.

MCBRAYER, LITTLE, LEE, AND TALLEY WINNING RINGS IN WINTER BAYOU POKER CHALLEGE

12.09.10

LITTLE SHORT-HANDED CHAMPION:  Bruce Little won the 6 Handed No Limit Hold'em event for 6.5k.  He bested Dustin Wertz of New Orleans (2nd 4k), Charles Morris of Harahan (3rd 2.5k), Joshua Billingsley of Houston (4th 1.6k), Owen Bradley of New Orleans (5th 1.1k) and Ruven Rivera of Houston (6th 843).  Little has proven again he is one of the better local tournament players.  After a 9th place finish in event one Little has been on a bit of a heater.

A WIN FOR BJ:  BJ McBrayer (pictured) won his fourth tournament title and denied Metairie's Curtis Lee his second of the series (keep reading to find about his first).  McBrayer pocketed 7k for first, Lee 4.4k for 2nd.  Bill McClary was fifth for 1.6k.

Caufman Talley also came up just short of another bracelet finishing in sixth for 1.3k.  Ruven Rivera cashed again (7th for 1.1k).  Two other locals Hedgemann Carter (Slidell) and Danny Dorcey (pictured and from Chalmette) came in 8th and 9th.

CURTIS LEE TAKES RING IN EVENT 1:  Curtis Lee of Metairie, LA, ended up with the ring after a deal was made with second place Huy Nguyen.   This is the tournament Gene D kicked off with a cash.  Congrats also to Blake Barouse of the APP who finished 10th.  The final table was a locals affair with Bruce Little of New Orleans first one out for just over 1k.  Brian Champagne of Metairie, Josh Rosto of Baton Rouge, and Ralph Reid of Meridian, MS went out 8th, 7th, and 6th.  William Prejean of Gonzales, LA, Ron Held of Metairie, and Danny Doucet of Lafayette were 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

NO RALLY FOR TALLEY TO WIN EVENT TWO TITLE:  Lafayette, LA's Caufman Talley won 14.8k for first in the $500 buy-in No Limit tournament.  He pretty comfortably went wire to wire with the chip lead at the final table.  He edged Frank Alpandinar (Baton Rouge 8.9k) in heads up play.  Bill Hobbs (New Iberian) finished third for 5.7k.   Congrats to APPer Alex Tassin for coming in 14th.  Corrie "Slim" Wunstel of Baton Rouge was 5th for 2.8k, Michael Dufrechou (Baton Rouge)  6th for 2.2k, Kip Scarsone (Plaquemine, LA) 7th for 1.8k, Gerard "Tree Dr" Rodriques of NOLA 8th for 1.5k, Greg Benoit of Lake Charles 9th for 1.2k.  Wendell Salley of Mobile won 1.2 for 10th.

WORLD WIDE POKER UPDATE

12.08.10

VANESSA ROUSSO AND JOHN RACENER HEADLINES DOYLE BRUNSON 5 STAR DIAMOND WPT CLASSIC FINAL TABLE:  The all star affair is the best WPT TV table in a long, long, long time.  Fans of live poker will enjoy seeing Antonio Esfandiari, Ted Lawson, Kirk Morrison, and Andrew Robl duke it out for the title.  Speaking of Duke, Vanessa went there, and Annie Duke may have to accept that Vanessa has surpassed her as the World's best female poker player.  The two Floridians, Rousso and Racener have 5.8 million and 3.3 million respectively and are 1st and 2nd in chips. 

ONLINE POKER BILL IN CONGRESS:  We tend to ship you to Pokerati a lot because they seem to have a better grasp on the bills than anyone else.  The latest tidbit they offer is that Reid's Bill would block the existing online offshore sites, like FullTilt and Pokerstars, from legally getting into the American market for two years.  Meanwhile the land based casinos will have first crack at the American gamblers.  Hardly seems fair right?  On one side, you could argue they are punishing the existing poker sites for operating when maybe they shouldn't have, though skilled lawyers at Full Tilt and elsewhere would tell you it's legal to play online in the States. 

So, the other side is they are giving their fat cat casino friends first crack at an enormous market.  Wonder how high the rake will get to when the land base corporations take over?  To be an optimist, perhaps this just increases competition and actually favors the players over the next two years.  Realistically, it just means in two years the online sites will be merging with land based casinos.  For better, more informed analysis head over to Pokerati.

ISILDUR1 SIGNED BY POKERSTARS:  The masked (by the Internet) man, who made his name battling Durrrr in high-stakes action is going to Pokerstars.  It's almost consensus that Isildur1 is Viktor Blom, a young Swede, but Pokerstars is going to make a show of announcing his true identity.  Which is smart because they basically get to do two rounds of PR for one guy.  Question is will people flock to Stars to play high stakes cash games or tangle with Durrrr on our favorite American online poker room Full Tilt.  

TOURNAMENT POKER NEWS, GCP BLOGGERS ON FIRE UPDATE

12.07.10

CONGRATS TO GENED:  The co-owner of the site, and not the guy writing this so don't think he's patting himself on the back, has been on a bit of a heater.  Gene has been assaulting  the Harrahs Bayou Poker Classic Tournament Challenge MidWinter World Series of Poker Satellite Whatever The Name of It In New Orleans Tournament Challenge fields.  Gene won one of three Main Event seats in the opening Mega-Satellite and then cashed in his very next tournament in Event one.  GeneD just missed the final table coming in 12th and Southpaw Rounder also enjoyed a deep run. 

Like all of us Gene has endured some heartache on a lot of bubbles so it's nice to see the cards hold up for once, the bluffs prevail, and the better hands get paid off.  Continued good luck to Gene.  By the way, in that mega the Honest Player, J. Parfait took a break from dodging the minefields in online poker, also bagged a seat by being Johnny on the Spot and getting a more than 50% discount on the seat.  Lots of ways to win in and around poker.  We'll have more coverage of the Harrahs events as the information comes to us in the coming days.

WILL SOUTHER GETS A SMALL STEP CLOSER TO WSOP CIRCUIT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FREEROLL WITH AC CASH:  Monkey finished 19th and in the money to gain some more WSOP satellite points in his quest to join blogger Shannon Shorr in the National Championship.  Considering the field was 1250 players it's another monumental accomplishment for the Biloxi, native.  Think he'd have a shot in the swollen WSOP Main Event?  We do too.  Hopefully, we'll see him there this year.

JONATHAN LITTLE 12th IN CHIPS AT WPT 5 DIAMOND CLASSIC:  After Day three at the WPT No Limit Hold'em Championship at the Bellagio,  the ;eaderboard is a Who's Who of tournament poker with Antonio Esfandiari the chipleader, 2+2's favorite toolbox (their name for him, not ours) Doug Lee in second, Vanessa Rousso third, and Freddy Deeb fourth.  Little is just ahead of Doyle Brunson, Sorel Mizzi, Andrew Lichtenberger, and Kirk Morrision.  John Racener and Allen Kessler are on the short side of things with 54 players left.  Friend of GCP, Dwyte Pilgrim, regional "locals" Keith Lehr, Hoyt Corkins and Jason Mercier finished in the money but are out of the tournament.

FIRST THE BAD THEN THEN THE GOOD UPDATE

12.02.10

THANKSGIVING POKER MURDER IN FLORIDA:  Two brothers were killed playing poker on the front porch of their friend's house.  A man who identified himself as a police officer and was wearing a sheriff's T-shirt told everybody to lie on the ground.  Then he started shooting.  Read here for more.

IF YOU NAME YOUR BOOK "DON'T LISTEN TO PHIL HELLMUTH"  CAN YOU SELL IT FOR $50?  Apparently if you are Dusty "Leatherass" Schmidt you can.  Well at least you can list it on your website for $50, not sure how many copies he's actually peddled.  Does sound interesting though.  Go here for more.

JEREMY "THECHEMIST83" GAUBERT CASHES IN USA COOP:  Gaubert finished 6th and won 5.9k.  The $50_$5 Buy-in over-reached the guarantee of 150k buy almost 50k.  Not that there weren't overlays in other USA COOP events on PokerStars.  John Racener and Shaun Deeb were busy cashing again with Racener winning 3k for 19th and Deeb 2.6k for 32nd in the USA COOP $320 NLHE event.  The guarantee wasn't met in that prize pool, and Christina Lindley who came in first reaped the benefits.

Noah Schwartz and Matt Graham both cashed in the USA COOP $320 PL OMAHA 1R1A.  Graham pocketed 2.6k for 12th and Schwartz took home 9k for 5th.

WELCOME BACK TO SOME GCP BLOGGERS THAT HAVEN'T POSTED IN A WHILE:  Fresh goodness from Shannon Shorr, Bobby Toye, and Brandon Jarrett.  Lots of interesting reads.

POKER NEWS UPDATE

12.01.10

POKERNEWS DECLARES A NOREASTER OF POKER EVENTS:  Likely with the Jersey Shore and up fragmented with the Harrahs WSOP Circuit Regional Championship, the Borgota December Mini-Series, and the Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge all overlapping, we won't have too many visitors down from the frozen Northeast to our little Harrahs satellite event.

Go here for those tournament structures, but why when you should just go to the Harrahs New Orleans event (but don't start comparing the "juice" because it's a lot cheaper elsewhere).  You won't see Darvin Moon (pictured) despite his fondness for New Orleans  as he is hosting one of the Norester's event. 

BTW, weigh in on your favorite dealer at Harrahs, or your least favorite as some have chosen, on our facebook page.  One of our bloggers (former blogger?  future blogger?) had some interesting (surely tongue-in-cheek) ideas about dealers.  Maybe he's just mad they banned whipped cream there.  Wonder if he's heard of this new alcoholic whipped cream--sounds perfect for Irish coffee.

OLD NEWS, YOUNG HARRISON GIMBEL TOOK DOWN HIS SECOND MAJOR TOURNAMENT:  He's not even 21 yet and can't play the WSOP until 2012.  Don't you feel old and unaccomplished?  Gimble adds another 500k to the 2.2 million he won at the PCA.  No telling how much he wins when he sits down to play online poker too.  This was the tournament that Shannon Shorr and Allie Prescott also went deep in at the Seminole Hard Rock (WPT Regional Series).   

WANT A BRUSH UP ON ONLINE GAMING LAW?  First step head to Pokerati, they consistently have the best updates about where the industry is headed.  Recently they steered us to this Motley Fool article which was a worthwhile read. 

DURRRR CHALLENGE REBOOTS:  Durrrr made some headway on Daniel "jungleman12" Cates.  Hand of the night was Durrrr cracking Cates' pocket kings with 36.  Must be fun to flop 366 with that.  Go to Bet and Win Poker for more on the challenge.

LOCAL POKER STARS ONLINE UPDATE

12.01.10

DOLAN AND EYSTER JUST MISS SUNDAY MILLION GLORY:  November Niner John "JRD312" Dolan was 10th in the PokerStars Sunday Million winning 9.1k.  The $200 +$15 tournament (imagine that a 7.5% juice, if only live poker was anywhere close to that) had 8,653 entrants and a prize pool of 1.73 million.  Kevin "1$ickDisea$E"  Eyster finished 18th for 4.4k.

DEEB DEEP AGAIN:  What a way to come out of young retirement.  Shaun Deeb has lost none of the magic.  Another top ten finish, this time in the PokerStars $215+R NL Hold'em event.  Deeb finished seventh for 6.8k in a field of 231.  Jason Mercier 25th for 1.7k.

RACENER WINNING MORE RACES:  November Niner and Main Event runner-up John Racener cashed in the PokerStars Sunday 500 winning almost 1.9k for 32nd.  1,081 entrants created a prize pool of over half a million.

LOCKDOWNTEX CASHES IN UB $200K GTD:  Justin Allen (pictured) finished 33rd out of 1,022 players to win about $900.  Congrats to Justin, and all the Gulf Coasters making a splash online this past weekend.

POKER AND BRACELETS UPDATE

11.30.10

HARRAHS WSOP SATELLITE STARTS THURSDAY NIGHT:  Action begins with a $300 + $5 Mega Satellite.  They will be running single table satellites throughout the event.  Starting as low as $35.  Friday's first event starts at 1 pm (1 pm?  Yes, schedule says 1 pm) with a $300 +$45 event.  A six handed event is on Sunday.  PLO w/rebuys on Monday.  PLO 8/B Tuesday, Mixed Game Wednesday, and next Thursday is a Mega Satellite day.  For hotel call 1800-Hiltons and mention WWS for a $70 daily rate.

PETER EASTGATE BRACELET BIDDING:  A couple of days ago it was up for sale for more than 100k.  Now the bidding has concluded with the Main Event's bracelet fetching $147.5k.  Proceeds go to UNICEF.  Wonder if Eastgate is rethinking giving ALL proceeds to charity.  Even for a Main Event champion 147k is a lot of money.  That's a healthier profit than most make at online poker.  Makes you wonder if other players are going to get in on the act....

ESKIMO CLARK AUCTIONING OFF BRACELET:  Okay, sounds like it's not Eskimo doing the auctioning but a third party.  His 1999 WSOP bracelet has 13 bids, and is up to $3.85k.  It's less extravagant than Eastgate's but it may come with that authentic pre-owned smell which is hard to put a price on.  Interesting in bidding?  You only got about a day left.  Go here to get in on the action.

TK GOES DEEP AGAIN IN FULL TILT TOURNAMENT:  It's easy like Sunday Morning for Timkrank.  He bags a 4th place finish for 41k.  He's pretty good at that online poker thing.  Thanks to Ross Leitz for the heads-up on this on our facebook page.  Incidentally, you can go there and weigh in on our query of the week, your favorite Harrahs dealer.  Click our facebook badge below to get there.

WEBSITE NEWS UPDATE

11.23.10

GULF COAST POKER TOURNAMENT?  BG Lanoix suggested it on our facebook page and it's not a bad idea.  Head over there to join the conversation if you are interested in playing.  We'll probably also do a lower buy-in starting in December so we can get more entrants.  Let us know what you think by joining the conversation.  Follow the facebook badge to get there...

BLOGGERS STILL BLOGGING:  Sorry we had some server issues last week, but that didn't keep a lot of folks from blogging even if the front page wasn't as lupdated as often as we would have liked.  Check out Scotty, Poker Monkey, Wild Bill, the Poker Bat, Heptinstall, Benton, Jena, and Bobby Toye's latest entries in either column.

WE'VE UPDATED OUR WHO'S WHO PAGE:  Congrats to Jared Ingles for taking down the Pot Limit Omaha event at the NAPT Los Angeles and for making Who's Who.  He and Jackson Niolet are two of our latest editions.