This year at the World Series of Poker there are a lot of multi- bracelet winners, and Brandon Cantu recently joined that club. When he won Event 48, the pot limit Omaha High-Low Split-8 tournament, he picked up his second cash of the 2009 WSOP season. His first bracelet came in 2006 when he won event 39, one he almost won again this year but took second instead. The group of multi bracelet winners is very small compared to the number of players who have one only a single bracelet, much less to the huge fields of players who compete and don’t win or cash

Time to reread your favorite poker books and polish your chip protectors as the World Poker Tour has revealed the twelve stops for their eighth season. Vegas residents should note that a record four events will be held at the Bellagio this year, so plan your season accordingly.

Bellagio Cup V
July 13-19, 2009 Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $15,400

Legends of Poker
August 22-26, 2009, Bicycle Casino, Los Angeles, CA
Buy-in: $10,000

Borgata Poker Open
September 19-24, 2009, Borgata Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ
Buy-in: To be determined

Festa al Lago
October 20-26, 2009, Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $15,400

Foxwoods World Poker Finals
November 5-10, 2009, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, CT
Buy-in: $10,000

Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic
December 13-19, 2009, Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $15,400

Southern Poker Championship
January 24-27, 2010: Beau Rivage, Biloxi, MS
Buy-in: $10,000

L.A. Poker Classic
February 20-25, 2010, Commerce Casino, Los Angeles, CA
Buy-in: $10,000

WPT Celebrity Invitational (at L.A. Poker Classic)
February 27 – March 1, 2010: Commerce Casino, Los Angeles, CA
Invitation-Only Event

Bay 101 Shooting Star
March 8-12, 2010, Bay 101, San Jose, CA
Buy-in: $10,000

Hollywood Poker Open
March 20-24, 2010: Hollywood Casino, Lawrenceburg, IN
Buy-in: $10,000

WPT Championship
April 17-24, 2010 Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $25,500

The fight is on, but it has nothing to do with a hand of poker or floor ruling. It is a boxing match set to pit two female poker personalities against each other in a no-holds-barred fight to benefit charity. The “Rumble in the Rio” will feature Liv Boeree and Melissa Castello and take place on July 1st, with $1,000 being donated to the charity of the winner’s choice, and $500 to the second place finisher’s chosen organization.

Sponsored by PokerBattle, UltimateBet, and PokerNews.com, the pre-match press conference/weigh-in was held at the Rio on June 23, with the two opponents ready for a staged interview in front of ESPN cameras. Boeree is an UltimateBet-sponsored poker pro, and Castello is a video hostess for PokerNews.com, and both women came to the conference with attitudes to match their warm-up outfits. They jokingly spoke about their workout routines and readiness for the July 1st fight.

The location of the fight will be Wand Fight Team Mixed Martial Arts, a gym facility owned by MMA fighter Wanderlei Silva, located just south of the Rio on Dean Martin Drive. At 1:00pm on July 1st, the two women will take to the ring to fight for the win in front of ESPN cameras, presumably for a segment in an upcoming WSOP broadcast, and for PokerNews cameras, as the fight is supposed to be broadcast live on the internet. PokerRoad Radio is also scheduled to do a live podcast on the day of the fight.

Three rounds of three minutes each will determine the ultimate winner, and charities will be chosen beforehand. There will be seats available for members of the media, though it is not known if the general public is welcome to attend.

The winner of Event 39 at the 2009 World Series of Poker is Jay Foley, a 37 year old poker player from Northville, Michigan, and new owner of a WSOP gold bracelet. The event was a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event, one of many, and in the end it got down to Foley and pro poker player Brandon Cantu, who was the favorite. In the end Foley rode a wave of good cards to pick up $657,969. Cantu took $403,951 for second. This year is the 40th anniversary of the World Series of Poker.

If you are an online poker player, you should already know about the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and all the hard work they do on your behalf.  Not only should you be aware of this great organizations efforts to preserve the great game of poker, you should be grateful that they work this hard for you – the American Poker player.

The PPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the game of online and live poker, its integrity and the rights of American poker players to play poker when and where they choose. This dedicated group works tirelessly around the country and in Washington, DC, to repeal the UIGEA and give us back our freedom to play poker online. As poker players who want our freedom back, we should do all we can to help and support the PPA in their freedom fight. If you are not a member of the PPA yet, stand up and be counted, by becoming a member of the PPA and offering whatever support you can. Now is the perfect time to join the fight because the PPA and PokerStars have a deal just too good for you to pass up!

The PPA has teamed with PokerStars to get the word out and gather signatures for a petition that will be submitted to President Barack Obama to repeal the UIGEA. And to thank you for signing the petition, PokerStars will credit your player account with a FreeRoll ticket to one of the special ‘PPA Petition Freerolls’ which will be held every Saturday from June 27th until July 25th. By signing the petition, not only will you be doing something good for all poker players, but you will be helping yourself too – by winning your share of a $3,500 prize pool!

All you need to do is fill out this form using the same email you have registered with PokerStars.  The PPA will then forward your email address to PokerStars confirming that you have signed the petition. PokerStars will then credit your account within 48 hours with a special PPA FreeRoll ticket that you can use in any one of the Saturday freerolls which will be held at 14:30 ET on:

•    June 27th
•    July 11th
•    July 18th
•    July 25th

These PPA FreeRolls can be found in the PokerStars lobby under the ‘Tourney’ and ‘Special’ tabs. Seats are limited to 20,000 entrants, but registration is open now, so be sure to sign-up early!

Help in the fight to win back our freedom – the freedom of choice – to play poker – when and where we choose! Sign the petition today which states:

*President Obama – Poker is Not a Crime
I am a voter and a fellow poker player asking for your support of my right to play games of skill like poker on the Internet.

This issue is not lost on the American public. We recently made our desire for this liberty known through your Citizen's Briefing Book website. Of the thousands of proposals submitted, a proposal supporting Internet poker rights was the number one issue on technology policy.

What's most important to me is your support for my rights. Please: 1) exempt poker from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and 2) license and regulate internet poker in the US. 3) Respect the rights of law-abiding Americans who love to play this great game of skill.*
  
As a member of the PPA, you can also get in the action next month as the freedom fight continues, when they celebrate National Poker Week July 19th-26th.  The PPA will be encouraging all of their members to send letters to Congress in support of the Barney Frank initiatives and repeal of the UIGEA. Watch your inbox for a special email from the PPA the week of July 12th, because if you participate by sending a letter to your State Senator or representative, you’ll receive a ticket to an exclusive $10,000 FreeRoll on PokerStars!

There is still plenty of time to make the drive/flight down to the Vegas for the World Series of Poker, and it’s a trip I strongly suggest you consider. I’ll be heading down there myself from June 18th – 22nd, and although the WSOP can’t compare in grand overall scale against some mega events like the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup, there is no shortage of reasons to attend this epic poker extravaganza.

Here are 5 of those reasons:

1. Meet the pros, get their autograph.
2. Freebies from many different poker companies and online card rooms.
3. Play in some of the juiciest side games in the world. The cash game tables during the WSOP are loaded with fish.
4. Play in an inexpensive satellite for a chance at making it into one of the larger tournaments.
5. Bare witness to the largest gathering of poker players you’ve ever seen.

Bonus Reason: The chance to be berated on live television by Phil Hellmuth.