Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 24 December 2009 / Leave a Comment

It's that time of year. No, I'm not referring to the giving of gifts, the singing of songs, or whatever other activities you might first associate with the winter holiday season. I'm referring to that custom we seem unable to resist when we notice one year ending and another about to begin -- the making of lists.

Just as poker players will soon be tallying up their final wins or losses for the year -- those who keep records, anyway -- so, too, are those who write about poker using this time to look back and provisionally decide how history will ultimately reckon 2009.

In the spirit of the season, then, I thought I'd offer a list of the top poker stories from the year. The rankings are highly subjective, of course, but made with an eye toward what stories will be thought significant to those looking back on 2009 some years down the road. To be extra provoking, I have arranged a top 10, to which I've added a second 10 without assigning those stories a particular ranking.

1. Joe Cada becomes youngest-ever WSOP Main Event winner
A week away from his 22nd birthday, Michigan native Joe Cada managed to combine some remarkably good fortune and savvy play to negotiate a field of 6,494 players and win the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. Already a seasoned online pro, Cada defeated the amateur Darvin Moon of Maryland in a tough heads-up battle to claim the $8,547,042 first prize.

2. Phil Ivey wins two WSOP bracelets, makes Main Event final table
One of the most feared and respected players on the professional circuit today, Ivey claimed his sixth and seventh bracelets at this summer's WSOP, winning Event No. 8 ($2,500 no-limit 2-7 draw) and No. 25 ($2,500 Omaha-8/Stud-8). Then, to top it off, Ivey made a deep run at the Main Event title, becoming part of the "November Nine" and ultimately finishing in seventh.

3. The "Isildur1" saga
Within just a few weeks of his first appearance on Full Tilt Poker, the still-unknown online player (apparently from Sweden) with the username "Isildur1" was taking a seat at the highest stakes games being played online. Even more surprising was how quickly he began winning, taking over $5 million off Tom "durrrr" Dwan alone during one week in early November. Isildur1 was soon spotted playing multiple tables versus Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Dwan at the same time. His run continued into December when a $4.2 million losing session versus Brian Hastings sunk him deep into the red.

4. Father and son Shulmans make WSOP and WSOPE final tables
In July, Jeff Shuman fought his way through thousands to reach the final table of the WSOP Main Event, and as players waited until November to finish the tournament, Jeff sat in fourth-place of the remaining nine. It was the second time he'd made the final nine of the Main Event, having earlier finished seventh in 2000. Then, in October Jeff's father, Barry, won the WSOP Europe Main Event title, defeating Daniel Negreanu in heads-up play. Jeff would subsequently finish fifth in the WSOP ME.

5. Jeffrey Lisandro takes three WSOP bracelets in stud games, wins Player of the Year
Jeffrey Lisandro's prowess in all forms of poker had been well established prior to the 2009 WSOP. However, his particular dominance in stud games was proven once and for all as he took three bracelets in three different stud variants, winning Event No. 16 ($1,500 seven-card stud), Event No. 37 ($10,000 seven-card stud hi/lo), and Event No. 44 ($2,500 razz). Those victories plus three more cashes were enough to net Lisandro WSOP Player of the Year honors.

6. Deadline for UIGEA enforcement extended six months
Although a seemingly U.S.-centric story, the implications of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (discussed here) extend well beyond America's borders to affect all of online poker. More than three years since its passage, the law designed to prohibit U.S. banks and other financial institutions from facilitating the transfer of funds from U.S. citizens to online gambling sites had been scheduled to go into effect on December 1, but a six-month delay was granted for U.S. lawmakers to continue discussing newly proposed legislation related to online gambling.

7. The continued "mainstreaming" of poker
Television shows, major media coverage, even an internationally-famous pop song -- poker seemed to be turning up in all sorts of unusual places in 2009. In America, poker players competed on popular "reality" shows "Celebrity Apprentice" and "The Amazing Race," while numerous other poker shows appeared up and down the dial. Phil Ivey made the cover of a U.S. sports magazine. And the enigmatic Lady Gaga carried an infectious, poker-themed dance single -- "Poker Face" -- to the top of the music charts in more than a dozen countries.

8. Players turned away from 2009 WSOP Main Event
A bit of a public relations snafu on Day 1d of the WSOP Main Event this year, as small fields for the first three "Day Ones" were followed by a massive number of players wanting to play the fourth and final opening day. Some estimates suggested as many as 500 players had to be turned away as the accommodations at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino had become fully maximized by the 2,809 players who ended up starting the day. The 2010 WSOP schedule has already been announced, as has the intention to assign starting days for the Main Event so as to avoid the problems of 2009's Day 1d.

9. Multiple multiples at the WSOP
Four different players took home multiple bracelets during the 2009 WSOP in Las Vegas. There was Phil Ivey winning two (see item #2), then WSOP Player of the Year Jeff Lisandro winning three (see item #5). Brock Parker won both Event No. 14 ($2,500 limit hold'em, short-handed) and No. 19 ($2,500 no-limit hold'em, short-handed). And Greg Mueller won both Event No. 33 ($10,000 limit hold'em) and No. 50 ($1,500 limit hold'em shootout). Additionally, J.P. Kelly, winner of Event No. 20 ($1,500 pot-limit hold'em) during the summer, came back to claim a second bracelet at the 2009 WSOPE where he won the £1,000 no-limit hold'em event.

10. "Final decision" rendered on UltimateBet scandal
In September the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, the organization that issues licenses to many online gambling sites to operate, issued its "final decision" regarding the insider cheating scandal that happened at the online poker site UltimateBet over a four-and-a-half-year period (from June 2003 to December 2007). According to the KGC, in addition to the primary perpetrator, 1994 WSOP Main Event champion Russ Hamilton, 31 other individuals were involved, with over 100 accounts used for the cheating. The site -- which has reportedly already paid over $22 million to those affected by the cheating -- was fined an additional $1.5 million and placed on probation.

And now, ten more stories of note from 2009:

Bob "Mr. Las Vegas" Stupak dies
In September, poker player and entrepreneur Bob Stupak died at the age of 67. A central figure in Las Vegas for the last four decades, Stupak will probably best be remembered for having conceived the 1,149-foot-high Stratosphere during the 1990s. He also won a WSOP bracelet in 2-7 draw in 1989.

Dwan issues the "durrrr" Challenge
Near the end of 2008, Tom "durrrr" Dwan issued a challenge in which he invited anyone (aside from Phil Galfond) to play a series of 50,000 hands online heads up, four tables of either pot-limit Omaha or no-limit hold'em, at a minimum of $200/$400 blinds. If Dwan were ahead at the end of the 50,000 hands, the loser would owe him an additional $500,000; if Dwan's opponent were ahead, Dwan would pay that person $1.5 million. Patrik Antonius was the first to take up the challenge (playing $200/$400 PLO), and in February the pair began. Action slowed over the summer, however, and the challenge has yet to be completed. At present, Dwan is ahead over $900,000 with not quite 30,000 hands played.

Hans "Tuna" Lund dies
In November, the poker world again had reason to mourn with the passing of well-liked pro Hans "Tuna" Lund of Nevada at age 59. Lund won two WSOP bracelets, and came close on two occasions to claiming the Main Event title, finishing runner-up to Mansour Matloubi in 1990 and finishing third in 1992.

A "High Stakes Poker" Hand To Make One Won-durrrr
Back in February, a remarkable cash game hand was shown on the popular American show "High Stakes Poker" in which Tom "durrrr" Dwan successfully bluffed Barry Greenstein and 2008 WSOP Main Event champion Peter Eastgate out of a sizable pot. With the blinds $400/$800 and a $200 ante, Greenstein opened with a raise to $2,500 from UTG with pocket aces and got a whopping seven callers. The flop came 2c 10d 2s. Greenstein continued for $10,000, and Dwan -- holding Qc 10c -- raised to $37,300. It folded to Eastgate in the small blind who just called the raise with 4h 2c. Greenstein also called. The turn brought the 7d, and it checked to Dwan who fired $104,200 (about three-fourths the pot) with the third-best hand. Both Eastgate and Greenstein folded, and the hand became all the talk on the forums for the next few weeks.

Jeffrey Pollack steps down as World Series of Poker Commissioner
After nearly four years as the first ever WSOP Commissioner, Jeffrey Pollack stepped down from the post shortly after the conclusion of this year's Main Event final table in November. After helping guide the WSOP during a key period in its history, Pollack cited a desire to move on to a new challenge. No replacement has yet been named by Harrah's Entertainment.

Mike Sexton sole inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame
A new voting procedure that included fan input was introduced in 2009 for the election of members to the Poker Hall of Fame, with longtime poker pro and television commentator Mike Sexton being the sole recipient of the honor in 2009. Most agreed that Sexton, often referred to as "the ambassador of poker," was well deserving of the honor.

Patrik Antonius wins largest online pot ever
One of the many interesting episodes from the ongoing Isildur1 story was Patrik Antonius claiming the largest ever pot in online poker history versus the mystery man. The game was $500/$1,000 pot-limit Omaha (heads up). Following a lot of preflop action, the pair got the rest of the money in after Antonius flopped a straight and Isildur1 a wrap draw to a higher straight. Antonius's hand held, giving him the jaw-droppingly large $1,356,946.50 pot -- about half a million dollars more than the previous record. (More here.)

Sandra Naujoks becomes second woman to win an EPT
In March, Sandra Naujoks of Germany outlasted Holger Kanisch heads up to take down the EPT Dortmund main event. Naujoks, who earned a cool €917,000 for her win, became just the second woman to win an EPT title, following England's Victoria Coren, the 2006 EPT London winner.

Vanessa Rousso's Big Year
It was something of a breakthrough year for Vanessa Rousso, highlighted by a second-place finish at the NBC National Heads-Up Championship in March and a victory at the €25,000 High Roller Championship at EPT Monte Carlo in May. In all, Rousso claimed over $1.3 million in tourney winnings during the year, the most of any female player in 2009 (just ahead of Naujoks). Oh, and another reason why 2009 was special to Rousso -- she also got married in the spring to fellow poker pro Chad Brown.

The World's Game
In the final chapter of James McManus's new history of poker Cowboys Full (reviewed here), McManus dubs poker "the world's game" and 2009 saw plenty of evidence to support that view. In addition to the ever growing number of events in the usual locations in U.S. and Europe, the year saw high-stakes poker tourneys being contested in locations around globe, including in such places as Adma, Lebanon; Warsaw, Poland; Auckland and Queenstown, New Zealand; Cebu, Philippines; Marrakech, Morocco; Kyiv, Ukraine; and Bratislava, Slovakia.

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