The battle for the bracelets starts May 27th.

This year, a total of 61 bracelet events will comprise the schedule with every major form of poker being spread in tournament format.  In addition to the bracelet events, daily deep stack tournaments will also be held three times a day and range in buy-ins from $135 to $235.

Several changes are in place for the 2012 schedule.  First, there has been an increase in table capacity.  There will now be 470 tables in use this summer, an increase from the 378 tables used in 2011.  In addition, the WSOP Main Event will only have three starting days due to increased capacity.  The Main Event kicks off on July 7^th and will continue through July 16^th.  This year, there will be no scheduled off days, and as such the Main Event will be three days shorter.

The November Nine has been eliminated this year, but not the delayed final table.  The final nine players will return to the Rio on Sunday October 28^th and play down to heads-up.  Those players will return on Tuesday, October 30^th to play for the bracelet.

Numerous new events have been added to the schedule this year including the Big One for One Drop, the $1 Million event that will donate 11.1% of the prize pool to One Drop.  There will also be a $2,500 Four-Handed NL Event as well as a $3,000 Heads-Up NL Hold’em/PL Omaha Event.  Both are never before held events at the WSOP.

A couple of other changes include the Seniors Event start time being moved up to 10 a.m. and starting this year, Caesars is legally able to enforce the “Ladies Only” portion of the Ladies Event.  They have even listed the event as the Ladies-Only No-Limit Hold’em Championship.

More information about the 2012 WSOP as well as the complete schedule can be found at WSOP.com.

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Thor Hansen won 2 WSOP bracelets and over $2.9 Million in his poker career.

The announcement was made on twitter by Andreas Høivold who said that “It is a very sad day for Norwegian poker. The world’s best Thor Hansen has terminal cancer. He is now in a hospital recovering from surgery.”

Considered by many to be the “Godfather of Norwegian Poker”, Hansen is among the most respected poker players on the planet.  For his career, Hansen has amassed $2.9 Million in tournament winnings dating back to 1987.

Hansen won his first major title in 1988 when he took down the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Event at the 1988 WSOP.  He would go on to win the 2002 $1,500 Ace to Five Draw event to give him his 2nd WSOP bracelet.  In addition, Hansen finished 8th in the 2007 WSOP $50,000 HORSE Event.  He also had an impressive five cashes in the WSOP Main Event in 1990,1998, 2007,2008 and 2009.  His best finish in the Main Event was 21st in 1998.

The news came as a huge shock to many in the poker community as Hansen seemed fine to many people just weeks before this announcement.  Ten-time bracelet winning and two-time WSOP Main Event champion Doyle Brunson said on twitter that he ” Just got the news that while Thor has terminal cancer, he will probably make it for 3 years or more.”

News regarding what type of cancer that Hansen has, nor his prognosis for how long he has is known at this time.  Former WSOP Europe Main Event winner Annette Obrestad was quoted on TwoPlusTwo forums as saying ” “I seriously cried when I read [about] this. I don’t know anyone like him. He truly is one of a kind. All the best Thor, ur an inspiration for us all.”

We here at thewsopblog.com wish Thor Hansen well and send our hopes for a miraculous recovery.

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Epic Poker League could be sold within 60 days.

In a story broken by Wicked Chops Poker, it was reported that Pinnacle Entertainment is currently in talks with the Epic Poker League about a potential sale.  According to details, it appears that if talks prove successful, the EPL could be owned by Pinnacle within the next 60 days.

According to reports, the acquisition could have come about partially in part due to a business relationship in the past between EPL co-founder Jeffrey Pollack and Pinnacle’s Director of Marketing Ginny Shanks.  The two worked together when Pollack joined Harrah’s back in 2005 and took over the WSOP.  Reports also credit Shanks with coming up with the Tournament of Champions freeroll that Annie Duke won in 2004 for $2 Million.

Should this sale go down, it would be a major acquisition for Pinnacle and could spell financial security for the Epic Poker League.  There have been concerns about the EPL’s solvency from the beginning with former WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu being among the strongest critics of the league.

The fourth and final event prior to Season 1 championship was delayed until a still to be determine date somewhere around April or May.  This move was said to be due to player requests, but now some wonder if the sale talks were the real reason behind the move.

No further details have been reported about what, if any, significant changes would happen in the league as a result of the sale.  Annie Duke is the current commissioner of the EPL with Matt Savage at the Tournament Director.  We will bring you more on this story as details develop.

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WSOP dates have been released.

According to the job ad, the 2012 WSOP will be held from May 31st, 2012 through July 20th, 2012.  A schedule for the event has not been released as of yet, nor has there been any type of announcement regarding whether the November Nine concept will be used once again.

The WSOP is also doing something a bit different this year.  For those wanting to deal at the 2012 World Series of Poker, Caesars is offering a dealer academy for those wanting to work the event this summer.

The academy is broken up into two parts.  First, dealers can be trained on how to deal in Texas Hold’em games for a fee of $600.  The sessions are 5 hours long and look to run about 18 days in length.  Once a dealer has completed the NL Hold’em academy, they can register for the “Advanced” academy where they can learn to deal non-Hold’em games.  This academy costs $300 and dealers must have completed the NL Hold’em portion.

Now, we realize that $900 is a bit steep for many to pay for training, but the WSOP does offer full reimbursement to dealers that work at least 40 hours during the 2012 WSOP.

This academy should help the WSOP to resolve issues that sometimes arise due to not being able to find enough suitable dealer candidates.  In addition, it may help to resolve certain player complaints from last year’s WSOP.  There were many complaints over the quality of the dealers, not just in the non-Hold’em games, but also in the standard Hold’em games.

As stated earlier, a schedule for the 2012 WSOP has yet to be released.  We will provide that once it becomes available.

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Doyle Brunson receives lifetime Epic Poker League players card.

The Epic Poker League started play in 2011 and is setup as the “PGA of professional poker.” Players earn player cards, typically ranging from 2 to 5 years, based on their performance in recent events and certain criteria. When the league was formed, commissioner and formers WSOP bracelet winner Annie Duke stated that there would be a limited number of lifetime cards awarded. Brunson was awarded that card on December 14th in recognition of his lifetime of achievement in the game.

Of the honor, Brunson told the Associated Press that, “It’s unnecessary but I guess it’s nice to be remembered for what we went through to get poker to this point. Most people just don’t realize exactly what all transpired … but we went through some pretty adverse things.”

Duke stated of Doyle’s accomplishments, “He just has this secret sauce of every accomplishment you can imagine, big generosity to the poker community, incredible longevity, amazing ambassadorship. And then on top of that he’s just an easy guy to really like.”

Brunson’s legacy is known by most that follow the game of poker. Starting originally as a road rounder, Brunson took part in games in just about every legal poker game and many of the illegal underground games of his era. Brunson was part of the first ever World Series of Poker back in 1970 and has played in almost every WSOP in existence.

Brunson won back to back WSOP Main Event titles in 1976 and 1977 and won both titles with a 10-2. The 10-2 is now known as the Brunson. Over his career, Brunson has won titles in just about ever variant of poker spread in casinos, and some that are no longer spread.

For his career he has won over $6 Million in verifiable tournament results. Of course, many events prior to the late 1990′s were not recorded. Factor in the countless Millions that Brunson has won in cash games, he is probably one of the biggest winners in poker of all-time.

Brunson has stated that he will not be increasing his playing time in EPL events due to his card. He stated that at his age, playing tournaments is too much of a grind. As has been his tendency in the past, he much prefers cash games. Of course, as long as Brunson is able, we will continue to see him at the poker tables.

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Duhamel's Rolex has been recoverd, but not his WSOP bracelet.

According to the police report on December 21st 2011 at about 9:15, two men approached a house in Boucherville and rang the doorbell. When the door was opened, the men assaulted and robbed the Mr. Duhamel and then left. When originally reported by Police, the simply referred to the victim as “a person” but as further details leaked out people were able to determine that the person was in fact World Series of Poker winner Jonathan Duhamel.

The two men arrested on December 26th, John Stephen Clark Lemay, 22, and Andre Perron, 26, were arraigned on Wednesday the 28th and charged with forcible confinement, assault, robbery, and breaking and entering. Also, 20 yr old Bianca Rojas-Latraverse was arrested in connection with the crime on the Saturday after the break in. She was the only suspect with any kind of personal connection to Mr. Duhamel. Apparently she had dated him for a short period of time. The last suspect, currently under investigation is 20 year old Anthony Bourque.

Following the attack, Jonathan Duhamel, released a statement in which he described what he had gone through. He said that after being beating him up and then tying him up, the 2 men took some cash and two of his most valued possessions. His WSOP Champion’s bracelet, and a Rolex watch that he received from PokerStars in recognition of his win. Jonathan had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the return of his two cherished items. The Rolex, with a retail value of about $5000 was recovered, but authorities have given no indication of where they discovered it. The bracelet, still has yet to be found. As it is a one of kind item, it will be difficult for anyone to sell or pawn the item without attracting attention.

After his attack, Mr. Duhamel is recovering from his injuries. Although there were no reports of serious injuries, in his statement Jonathan said that he “feared for his life” and that he was black and blue all over. The good news is that after a trip to the hospital he reported that there were no broken bones or blood clots. He is continuing to recuperate and plans to hit the tournament poker circuit when it starts up again in January.

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Duhamel's 2010 WSOP bracelet was among the items stolen.

Duhamel, who resides in Quebec was the victim of the home invasion and was injured during the attack. Authorities did not confirm that the victim of the home invasion as Duhamel, the news was confirmed by his agent after the fact.

Police Spokesman Mark David, released this statement to the press on the subject of the break-in “We are not talking about kidnapping, but of aggression. He was a victim of assault. He was wounded.” Duhamel was injured during the break-in and sustained injuries, of which the details have not been released.

News broke through the popular media source, Cyberpresse, who reported that there were two men that entered Duhamel’s residence in the morning, before the hours of 9:15 am. The two men entered the home, and attacked the poker champion.

Duhamel update his personal website with the following statement:

“Hi,

First I want to sincerely thank my family, friends and the numerous medias. Everyone gave me an incredible support since yesterday morning. This helps me tremendously and warms my heart in this difficult period.

As police reported, I was victim of an home invasion early yesterday, as two persons forced my entrance and beat me up and robbed me. After they threatened to kill me I gave them all I had. They then tied me up and beat me, hitting me in the face and all over my body before leaving my house. I’m glad to tell you that I did not sustain any major injuries. I spent yesterday at the hospital and I’m black and blue all over but no broken bones, no blood clots, nothing to worry about. Today, I am exhausted, both physically and mentally but I’m happy to be alive.

The thieves stole some money, but mainly my WSOP champion bracelet and the Rolex watch that my sponsor PokerStars gave me to commemorate the event. I won’t hide the fact that these two items have a much larger value for me than their commercial value, and I really hope we will be able to retrieve them in a near future.

My bracelet is unique in the world. My name is engraved on its back. My watch is a black Rolex Submarine also with my name engraved. As for the money, it was mainly 500 Euros bills, these being quite rare here.

I would humbly appreciate it if anyone having information regarding either of these items took the time to contact the police at 1 450 463 7211.Any information will remain anonymous.

As for me, I will now try to step back during the Holidays and spend time with my family and close friends. I hope to get back to the tables soon and keep representing poker, my sponsors and Québec well on the international scene and bring back another bracelet home soon.

Thank you all,

Jonathan Duhamel”

Taken from the Boucherville, Quebec home during the arrest was the poker player’s World Series winning bracelet and a large amount of 500 Euro bills as well as a black Rolex watch that was engraved with Duhamel’s name and the date of the WSOP win.

The bills taken from the home are considered to be rare and law enforcement personnel are working with local businesses and banks to determine whether the bills are being converted in the local area, in hopes of tracking down the assailants.

There have been no arrests that have been made in the case, as of yet.

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Joe Hahem no longer a PokerStars sponsored pro.

Here is the press release directly from PokerStars:

PokerStars and veteran pro player Joe Hachem have agreed to part ways following the recent expiration of their PokerStars Team Pro contract. Hachem, one of poker’s best-known players, joined Team Pro immediately after his life-changing 2005 win. Ever since, he has been instrumental in promoting PokerStars and the sport to a world of poker-hungry fans.

“It’s been a great run with PokerStars and I’m proud of my association with the people and the company,” Hachem said. “But it’s time for me to pursue other career opportunities and it will be fun to have some down time to spend with my family. I look forward to the future with much excitement and anticipation and will always have fond memories of my time at PokerStars.”

“Joe has been a terrific endorser for PokerStars over the years, and while we are sad to see him leave the Team we are looking forward to continuing to watch him play,” commented Eric Hollreiser, Head of Corporate Communications for PokerStars. “We thank him for all he’s done for our brand and for poker and we wish him all the best at the poker table and in life.”

Joe Hachem is one of the biggest names in poker, with an incredible list of achievements that includes winning the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2005 for $7.5 million. Proving to be no fluke, Joe came close to winning a second bracelet in 2006, and rounded off the year with another huge win, this time at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, good for $2.2 million. He’s continued to win big since and is now one of the highest-earning poker players of all time with over $11 million in tournament earnings.

As you can read from the press release, the dissolution of the relationship was amicable. Actually, Hachem’s contract had expired and parties agreed not to renew the deal. Hachem’s departure is the 2nd one this year by a big name sponsored pro. Greg Raymer left PokerStars earlier in the year when reports claim that certain pros were told to either accept less money or their contracts would be terminated. Raymer reportedly chose to walk.

Hachem currently is pursuing other interests and spending time with family. It is hard to say where he may land, but many expect him to be sponsored again at some point. Unlike many Main Event champions post Moneymaker, Hachem has put together a solid poker resume with a WPT title and $3.5 Million in earnings since his title win in 2005.

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Jonathan Duhamel will donate 5% of his winning at the event to One Drop.

The event is schedule to take place from July 1st through 3rd, 2012 at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  Out of each $1 Million buy-in, $111,111 will be donated to One Drop, an organization whose purpose is to fight poverty by providing access to water.  The charity was founded by Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil.

At present, the following players are participating. (List taken from WSOP press release on the event.)

Guy Laliberté, ONE DROP Chair and founder of Cirque du Soleil

Bobby Baldwin, 4x gold bracelet WSOP and CEO of MGM-Mirage Resorts

Phil Ruffin, owner of Treasure Island Resort of Las Vegas

Andy Beal

Patrik Antonius

Gus Hansen

Daniel Negreanu

Johnny Chan

Tom Dwan

Tony Guoga

Jonathan Duhamel

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier

The Montreal Group seat (Sean O’Donnell)

Daniel Shak

Loto-Québec satellite seat

Caesars satelite seat

European satellite seat

The tournament was the idea of Laliberté and he presented it to Caesars Interactive Entertainment CEO Mitch Garber with the idea earlier in the year.  He wanted to combine poker’s charitable nature and the WSOP, and the Big One for One Drop was born.

Jonathan Duhamel, the 2011 WSOP Main Event Champion, not only committed to play in the event but also pledged 5% of his winnings.  He stated during the WSOP Main Event last month that, “I am absolutely thrilled to participate in the biggest poker event ever organized.  One million dollars is a lot of money but my participation comes naturally, being a spokesperson for ONE DROP and because of my attachment to such a great cause.  Life starts with water and because of its uneven distribution, a person dies every 20 seconds. The Big One for One Drop will raise $111,111 per participant, which will definitely prove the poker community attachment to ONE DROP. As for me, I personally commit to give 5% of my winnings from this tournament to ONE DROP.”

The event is capped at 48 players and around 30 players are expected for the event.  This event has the potential to be the first poker tournament in history to eclipse the $10 Million mark for first place prize money.  ESPN plans to broadcast the event, and the winner will receive the first Platinum WSOP bracelet in history.

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Duke will contribute a weekly blog on BigLeadSports.com.

Of the new venture, Pollack stated, “Our work with the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Big Lead Sports will help drive poker deeper into the mainstream news cycle and further position the game right alongside other professional sports content.”

The GPI is a ranking system that tracks the performance of the top 300 live tournament poker players each week.  USA Today will post the GPI standings each week and will be listed as the “USA TODAY Global Poker Index.”

In addition to publishing the GPI weekly, the EPL will team up with Big Lead Sports and will serve as the exclusive source for poker news and information.  Thebiglead.com draws 20 million visitors monthly.  Duke has agreed to contribute a weekly blog exclusively for the site.

According to Big Lead Sports CEO Chris Russo, “Partnering with Epic Poker will enable us to offer our fans top-notch coverage and insights into everything happening in the world of poker.  Epic Poker’s pool of talented poker feature writers will be providing coverage of all the world-class players and tournaments and will complement the already growing archive of poker news content found on EpicPoker.com.”

The EPL is currently in the middle of its first season and has two stops left before the Championship on February 13th.  Each event has a Pro-Am, a Charity Event, and a $20,000 rake-free Main Event.  Only players with league cards can play in the Main Event.  Players who make the final table of the Pro-Am are given a one-event exemption and buy-in for that events Main Event.  League cards are normally based on a set of pre-defined criteria listed at the Epic Poker website.

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