Steve Marcus / Las Vegas Sun
Pius Heinz of Germany holds up stacks of cash after defeating Martin Staszko of the Czech Republic to win the championship bracelet and $8.7 million in first-place prize money during the World Series of Poker Main Event early Wednesday morning, Nov. 9, 2011, at the Rio. In the background are 2010 winner Jonathan Duhamel and ESPN reporter Kara Scott.
Pius Heinz aces World Series of Poker Main Event
German is fourth consecutive Final Table champion to be 22 years old or younger
Nov 9, 2011 (2:45 a.m.)
By Case Keefer
Pius Heinz's mother rushed down to the Penn & Teller Theater lobby with outstretched arms ready for a congratulatory embrace approximately 15 minutes after her son won the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event. She had left the theater long ago, finding it too stressful to watch Heinz compete in the biggest moment of his life for so many unimaginable goals and $8.7 million. Heinz himself was never nervous.
World Series of Poker live blog: Pius Heinz shifts fortunes, wins Main Event
The Main Event bracelet in the hands of Pius Heinz is a testament to how quickly things can change in poker. Heinz returned from a level break less than a half an hour ago at a chip disadvantage to Martin Staszko and searching for a sudden change of fortune. He found it.
Three players still in WSOP head to finale with most info ever
By Oskar Garcia
LAS VEGAS — The three top finishers at the World Series of Poker are preparing to settle an $8.72 million title armed with more information than ever before, adding a significant new layer to what's already a thinker's game.
Ben Lamb justifies hype at World Series of Poker final table
Ben Lamb has already succeeded where his predecessors failed by advancing to the final day of the World Series of Poker Main Event.
World Series of Poker live blog: Final three are Heinz, Lamb and Staszko
Pius Heinz has the chip lead. Ben Lamb has the momentum. Martin Staszko has the unpredictably. That's where things stand in the World Series of Poker Main Event after nearly 11 hours of play Sunday. The three finalists will meet at 6 Tuesday night in the Penn & Teller Theater to determine poker's 2011 world champion.
Three like-minded locals go after poker's world championship this weekend
Poker's unprecedented popularity surge in the past decade created a subset of young men who quickly found success in the game and turned it into a lucrative career.
New poker slot machine aims to simulate a human brain
By Delen Goldberg
Your poker opponent pauses to think, stalls, then raises. You aren't sure if it's a bluff. Good luck charms sit on the table. It sounds like virtually any poker game, and it is. Except for the fact that your opponent is a computer, and you're playing on a slot machine.
Reintroducing the final nine players in the World Series of Poker Main Event
The World Series of Poker implemented its November Nine format four years ago so that fans could get to know the players competing at the final table for the game's biggest prize. But the four-month layoff between the last day of play in the summer and the final table can work the other way, too. If fans followed the tournament while it happened but failed to watch ESPN's ensuing weekly episodes, they have likely forgotten about the nine men who emerged out of a field of 6,865 players.
Internet gambling's new best friend? Conservatives
By Liz Benston
The argument that regulated online gambling could raise millions of tax dollars and generate thousands of jobs has gained steam with fiscal conservatives opposed to raising taxes.
How you could win $$ on World Series of Poker final table
Unfamiliar names like Martin Stazsko and Matt Giannetti that have recently started flashing across betting boards in Las Vegas sports books don't belong to race car drivers or golfers. They're card players. Sports books have made the World Series of Poker the first nonsporting competition available to bettors since the Nevada Gaming Control Board approved amendments to allow event wagering this year.
Betting on Oscars and reality TV are no-nos, but what about on the end of the world?
Wynn Las Vegas made headlines for offering real-money odds on who would win the World Series of Poker. It's the first Nevada casino to take advantage of a change in state regulations allowing wagers on nonsporting events. The Wynn isn't the first Nevada casino to take bets on offbeat events, however.
Meet the World Series of Poker's November Nine
World Series of Poker Main Event players have started with 30,000 chips at the beginning of the tournament for three years. In that time, the discrepancy between the chip leader and shortest stack at the final table the past two years was an average of 55 million chips.
World Series of Poker final table has international and local flair
Poker is a global game with Las Vegas acting as its international capital. This year, it's a fact that will be best illustrated in poker's most grand moment. The nine players who came out of a field of 6,865 players in the World Series of Poker Main Event to make up the tournament's "November Nine" final table represent seven nations. The United States is the home to only three of the finalists who will reconvene Nov. 5.
World Series of Poker live blog: November Nine final table set
Ten players remain in the World Series of Poker Main Event after a long day at the Rio to trim the field from 22. One more elimination is needed to establish the November Nine final table. Three 26-year old locals are still in the tournament. They are WSOP Player of the Year leader Ben Lamb, Internet poker extraordinaire Phil Collins and cash game specialist Matt Giannetti.
An intro to the final 22 players in the World Series of Poker Main Event
A 21-year-old Ukrainian playing in his first ever World Series of Poker tournament seized the chip lead of the 2011 Main Event early Tuesday morning at the Rio. With 22 players remaining from a starting field of 6,865, Anton Makiievskyi is at the top of the leader board with 21 million chips. Makiievskyi stole the lead after winning the tournament's biggest pot in the final level of play during Day 7.
WSOP Info
What: 2011 World Series of Poker
When: Tuesday, May 31 to Tuesday, July 19; Hold 'em Championship final table is in November
Where: Rio Hotel & Casino
Official site: http://www.wsop.com/
WSOP Main Event Quick Facts
Schedule: The Main Event is officially a 13-day tournament. Players can choose between four starting days, Thursday-Sunday, which consolidate into two Day 2s. The fields are combined for the third day and play will run until July 20, when nine players survive to move onto November's final table.
Last Five Champions: 2010- Jonathan Duhamel 2009-Joe Cada 2008-Peter Eastgate 2007-Jerry Yang 2006-Jamie Gold
Last Established Pro to win: Although both Duhamel and Cada were poker professionals at the time they won the Main Event, a well known player hasn't become the champion since Juan Carlos Mortensen in 2001.
Winningest Hand: Pocket 9s is the only starting hand that a player has used to win the Main Event on three different occasions. It happened most recently when Joe Cada used his pair of 9s to beat Darvin Moon's Queen-Jack two years ago.
Doyle Brunson: The 77-year old "Tex Dolly" is the only player to have won the Main Event twice and made the final table five times. Brunson had said he wouldn't play in this year's tournament, but announced a change of heart via twitter Wednesday evening.