The 2nd annual World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair has arrived, and so have the biggest names in poker from all across the world. With ESPN set to televise this year’s WSOPE Main Event in the U.S. and across Europe, the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe will become the most broadly televised poker tournament ever – and the first European poker tournament to receive TV coverage in the United States.

“We had tremendous success at the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe, but are convinced the changes to this year will result in an even better tournament,” said WSOP Director of Marketing Ty Stewart. “Registration is tracking ahead of last year and the lineup of names and the addition of another bracelet event have brought an electric buzz to start off this tournament.”

This television exposure and the chance to win the most prestigious prize in all of poker – a WSOP gold bracelet – is drawing the biggest names in poker. “Betfair are delighted with the launch of the WSOPE. The player feedback has been tremendously positive and we look forward to this being the largest and most successful tournament in Europe this year,” said Ben Fried, head of poker for Betfair.

Among the players registered to participate in the 2008 WSOPE include the following professionals:

- 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth
- 10-time WSOP champion Doyle Brunson
- 10-time WSOP champion Johnny Chan
- Defending WSOPE Main Event Champion Annette Obrestad
- November Nine finalists Craig Marquis, Ivan Demidov, Peter Eastgate & Kelly Kim
- Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Allen Cunningham
- Layne Flack, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen
- Josh Arieh, Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch
- Robert Williamson III, Barry Greenstein, Chris Ferguson
- Mike Matusow, Max Pescatori, Vanessa Rousso
- David Williams, Eric Seidel, Michael Mizrachi
- Robert Mizrachi, Nenad Medic, John Tabatabai
- Sorel Mizzi, David Benyamine, Tuan Le
- Eli Elezra, Steve Zolotow, Ted Lawson

Last year, 18-year-old Norwegian Annette Obrestad bested a star-studded field to win the inaugural WSOPE Main Event and take home the largest prize ever for a female in any sporting contest, £1 million. Obrestad, who celebrated her 20th birthday yesterday, returns to defend her crown, against what promises to be another tough field of the game’s best poker players.

The 2008 WSOPE features four gold bracelet events, a £1500 No-Limit Hold’em that opens the tournament today and tomorrow (two start days), plus a £2500 H.O.R.S.E. event (9/22), a £5000 Pot Limit Omaha (9/24) and the Main Event (9/26), a £10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship.

Betfair, presenting sponsor of WSOPE and the only online authorized and official online location where players can win seats for World Series of Poker Europe, continues to run satellites and qualifiers on their website, betfairpoker.com, with a last chance qualifier scheduled to run tomorrow (Sunday) at 6:00 PM.

by Nolan Dalla

In an exclusive interview on WomensPokerYak.net, Nolan Dalla, World Series of Poker's Media Relations Director, talks with podcast host Dianna Donofrio about his journey to the world of Poker and then shares his thoughts of the 2008 WSOP final table being delayed till November and the thoughts of the famed "November Nine" who will be playing. In every other Poker tournament, the entire tournament is played straight through to the end. When it was decided that the final table of the World Series would be delayed 4 months, Poker players everywhere were asking why. Dalla answers the question.

Donofrio, with her love of poker and people, engages Dalla as he reveals his path from politics to poker. His political life started in Washington, DC with the State Department, on to the American Embassy in Bucharest, Romania witnessing the fall of Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and then back to DC working for the Turkish Embassy.

Dalla reflects on his early years at the University of Texas, playing poker and betting sports, using his winnings to help pay for his education. It was there he earned a degree in Political Science, followed by a Masters Degree program in Public Policy Administration at UT-Arlington. He then moved on to Washington, DC and worked on the staff for a U.S. Senate committee. Sitting behind a desk and playing the administrative role was not to be a part of his future life style. He was looking for something more exciting ... and poker was the answer. The people and the players were interesting to Dalla. He found that poker was more than just a game. It is a lifestyle and a lifestyle to which he gives profound dedication. Dalla takes great pride in his role of the Media Relations Director for the World Series of Poker (worldseriesofpoker.com). Dalla believes "Gambling is the greatest metaphor of life. Whether in gambling or life -- I find that the harder you work, the better your chance of success."

Dalla knew that when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event, poker would forever be changed and change it did. Poker exploded and so did the World Series of Poker. Dalla's career as a poker writer began in 1994 when he started writing for Card Player. His column "Tales from the Felt" quickly became one of the most popular columns. Over the years, Dalla has written hundreds of columns -- and many of them on poker strategy. He has also written for The Intelligent Gambler and many gambling-related websites. In December 2001, Nolan began his association with Poker Digest. He is also the lead sports gambling columnist for Casino Player magazine. Dalla contributed a chapter to the popular Lou Kreiger book, Poker for Dummies. He additionally created poker's "Player of the Year" Tournament Rankings, using a mathematical rating system he devised which is now used all over the world. Dalla has authored several books: One of a Kind, The Rise & Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar and The Man Behind the Shades.

Dianna Donofrio is President of PokerGivingBack and an executive with DGHoldings, a company that has an interest in the gaming industry. Donofrio brings her talents, knowledge and poker friends to her listening audience. Formerly on the staffs of US Senator Birch Bayh, Gov. Matthew Welsh and ombudsman to former Mayor Russell G. Lloyd (all of Indiana), she now devotes her time, passion, and energy to organizing Poker Charity Events, playing poker and podcasting on http://www.womenspokeryak.net/, one of the many channels on Yaktivate.com. Regarding having Nolan Dalla as her guest in this podcast, Donofrio says, "Nolan and I have been friends for ages and when Nolan shared his thoughts about the delay of the Final Table, I was honored."

Donofrio also announces that WomensPokerYak is now being sponsored by DOingPoker and looks forward to her listeners checking out the exciting fun and new free-playing poker site.

Podcast listeners will soon be able to enjoy listening to these future guests on Donofrio's podcast show, WomensPokerYak: Lisa Tenner, owner Tenner & Associates and co-owner Card Player Cruises; Leo & Ivy Chu, owners of Hollywood Park Casino; Jamie Gold (when he gets back to the states); "Dutch" Boyd, professional poker player; plus Susie Isaac, two time WSOP Ladies Champion.

Yaktivate.com is an internet marketing organization and global media network that features podcasts on channels that reflect a wide range of topics -- from politics to health to Poker and beyond. Yaktivate.com is always on the lookout for new podcasting talent and for businesses that are seeking an effective and cost-effective manner to reach their niche marketing audience.

AsianLogic Plc and the Asian Poker Tour are delighted to announce the signing of three top pros to their stable following the APT Macau, which concluded on the 31st August at the glamorous Galaxy Starworld. JC Tran, Quinn Do and Nam Le have inked contracts to represent the APT on the world poker circuit. The deal couldn’t have got off to a better start with Nam Le winning the PokerStars.net APPT Macau High Rollers event for US$474,358. If that wasn’t enough, his fellow newly signed ambassador Quinn Do finished third for US$153,846 as the APT ambassadors dominated the US$19,250 buy-in tournament.

“I’m truly delighted to have won and so happy to have got my deal with the APT off to the best possible start,” said Nam. I’m looking forward to representing the Tour around the world. It wasn’t looking great for me in this tournament at one stage but I was always confident that I would bounce back.”

Tom Hall, CEO of AsianLogic Plc said: “We have big plans for these guys and are happy they signed with us to spread the word about the APT worldwide. We expected success but such a result for two of the ambassadors so quickly is brilliant!”

At only 25 years-old, Vietnamese-American Nam Le is already considered by many to be a major threat at live tournaments. Nam already has a couple of first place finishes under his belt – the 2006 Bay 101 Shooting Star WPT Championship and the 2006 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge II, as well top place finishes in several WSOP and WPT events. His most recent finish was at 4th at the 2008 LA Poker Classic WPT Championship where he earned USD $411,770.00. Le’s total winnings to date exceed $4.3 million.

Quinn Do finished 20th overall at the APT Manila and won USD $7,500 in prize money. Quinn decided to play poker full time in 2004 after his time at the University of Washington and after dabbling in the restaurant business. Since turning pro, Do has been a regular at major live poker events and won a WSOP bracelet in 2005. Other notable finishes by the Vietnam-born Do includes a 2nd place finish at the Bellagio Challenge Cup Championship in 2005 and most recently, a 2nd place finish at the 2008 LA Poker Classic WPT Championship where he went home with USD $909,400. Quinn Do’s total poker winnings to date have exceeded USD $2 million.

J.C Tran didn’t fare so well in the High Rollers event at the APPT Macau but needs little introduction. Tran is currently the top-ranked player in the world on the Bluff Magazine/ESPN power rankings. After starting out by playing in local card rooms, he has won and cashed in big money tournaments and has total winnings of a staggering USD $6.7 million to date. His most recent victory was at Event #49 of the 39th World Series of Poker 2008, where he won a bracelet and USD $631,170.

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is Asia’s biggest and original poker tour. The Tour was recently acquired by AsianLogic (AIM:ALOG). As part of the new organisation of the APT, four events will be held across Asia in 2008. Next year, the Tour plans to increase this to a total of six events. Each tournament is set to attract live players as well as internet players who will qualify via online satellites. Each main event will offer a minimum guaranteed USD $1 million prize pool. The official web site of the APT is http://www.asianpt.com/.

AsianLogic is a leading online and land-based gaming company focusing on the Asia-Pacific markets. The Company is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: ALOG). AsianLogic owns and operates eight online casino brands and two online poker rooms as well as land-based sportsbook operations through its MegaSportsWorld brand. It is a specialist in Asia-specific games such as Mahjong, Cho-Da-Di, Do-Di-Zhu and 13 Card Poker. The Company owns and operates the Asian Poker Tour. The Company also maintains a corporate advisory team specialising in the gaming sector which is an active investor in gaming-related businesses as well as providing consultancy and analytical services. AsianLogic enjoys strong commercial relationships with leading gaming providers including Playtech, ID Games and LVS. Founded as ESL in 2002, AsianLogic employs over 300 employees, the majority of whom are based in the Philippines.

Ivobank, an online banking service specialising in online payments and money transfer services, launched its product offering in more countries across Europe today. Offering faster and cheaper cross-border and online payments, Ivobank is now available in France, Italy and Germany as well as the initial launch countries (UK, Spain, Ireland and Canada).

Launching in more countries means that even more online bankers, gamers and shoppers throughout Europe can take advantage of the benefits offered by an Ivobank account.

Customers can take advantage of secure and fast online payments, 24/7 customer support via telephone, online Live Chat and secure email, and competitive rates of interest on deposits held (up to 4.5% AER). On top of this, Ivobank allows customers to move money instantly from their account to friends and family overseas for free, making it very attractive for international money transfers. For example, parents can now transfer money to a child who may be studying in France, or European property owners can now send maintenance money overseas to management agents without the inconvenience and cost of exchange fees and delays. All senders and recipients need to do is to open Ivobank accounts, which is quick and easy to do online.

Timothy Sawyer, Managing Director of Ivobank, said: “More businesses and people are now choosing to bank online, make payments and transfer money on the Internet. Following our successful launch in the UK, Ireland, Spain and Canada, we are looking forward to opening up our rapid payments service to more customers across Europe and plan to introduce our service to even more European countries shortly.”

Customers in France, Italy and Germany will also have access to a virtual debit card - The Ivobank Virtual Card - which can be used to make purchases online anywhere that MasterCard is accepted. Every time customers use the card a new card number is produced and customers can set a transaction limit for each card number -- this means that once the transaction has been made, the card cannot be reused, increasing security for online shoppers.

Online gaming merchants and businesses can benefit from competitive rates of interest on deposits held (up to 4.25% AER) while all funds transferred by customers are indemnified and settled immediately, 24 hours a day seven days a week. Low transaction fees and multi-currency settlement with localised payment options make Ivobank an attractive option for companies based in these new countries.

Customers in France, Italy and Germany can find out more or apply for an Ivobank account online at http://www.ivobank.com/. There is no sign-up fee and no minimum deposit.

Ivobank is authorised and regulated by the FSA and adheres to the Banking Code.

With Online Poker's explosion of popularity, FortunePoker.com has stepped up their game and is bringing players a promotion that exceeds all expectations. Beginning September 1st, 2008, players of all kinds will compete for the chance to represent the room in 5 major poker events around the world: The Canadian Poker Tour Invitational in Dominican Republic, World Poker Tour's Bay 101 Shooting Star in California, Europe's San Remo Event as well as the Scandinavian Open in Copenhagen, and last but not least, the Asian Poker Tour in Macau. The finale, which takes place the first week of December, will also sponsor 4 other players to one of the above events.

What's unique about this series, is that poker players of all levels will have an opportunity to participate in the event. Players with the top 75 Raked Hands at the Ring Game tables will be awarded a seat into the finale, satellites to the event run weekly for all the Multi-Table Tournament players, and there is even a monthly freeroll giving away 3 seats to the finale at the end of each month. With an anticipated 500 players in the December Event, it is a guarantee that players will be putting on their A game to claim the estimated €38,000 sponsorship package.

Along with the Around The World promotion, Fortune Poker is offering an array of incentives for players to join their respectable team; including, a massive 200% up to €1000 deposit bonus, a €150,000 Rake Race as well as daily freerolls and guaranteed tournaments.

For more information contact:

Jennie Khan
Marketing Manager
FortunePoker.com
jen@fortunepoker.com

Evelyn Ng, professional poker player starts off this series. Ng shares her views on women's participation at the 2008 World Series of Poker and how she started as a dealer in the early years. She has done a fantastic job at promoting herself and her name. Despite not winning a tournament, she is one of the most recognizable female poker personalities. She has been on numerous television shows including Poker Royale, Poker After Dark, NBC's National Heads Up Poker Championship and the World Poker Tour.

Robert Daily joined an elite group at the 2005 and 2006 World Series of Poker as its' Tournament Director. Under Daily's leadership the 2006 WSOP'S Main Event set an astounding record with 8,773 players and is yet to be broken. 2007 brought Daily to the felts at the WSOP, but this time as a player. He set a record by becoming the only former WSOP Tournament Director to have ever played and cashed at the 2007 WSOP Main Event $10,000 Buy-in. Daily talks about his early years as a grandson of a Texas United States Senator, his travels around the world, early entry in gaming and women's continued growth in the poker industry.

Following the Daily podcast, Donofrio spotlights Debbie Burkhead, columnist for Poker Player Magazine, PokerPlayerMagazine.com. Over the years Burkhead has managed to amass quite an impressive list of poker accomplishments and cashes. She plays tournaments that have a comfortable buy-in, usually under $1,000, and often wins her seat through satellites. Her lifetime earnings stand at over $145,000- not bad for a retired cash player who plays only for the love of poker.

Nancy Todd Tyner is the 2008 WPT Ladies Champion and Past President of the American Association of Political Consultants. If ever there was woman who sets an example enhancing the image of women taking that next step into the poker world it's Nancy Todd Tyner. As you listen to her interesting life you hear the full story. Poker and Politics has (with the emphasis on has, as in past tense) been traditionally a "man's world". Tyner crossed the barriers in both worlds. For more info on Todd Tyner go to NancyToddTyner.com or TheHaydenScholarship.com.

Donofrio has been a poker industry leader for 20 years and brings her talents, knowledge and poker friends to her listening audience. Formerly on the staff of US Senator Birch Bayh and Gov. Matthew Welsh (both of Indiana) and ombudsman to former Mayor Russell G. Lloyd of Evansville, IN, she now devotes her time, passion, and energy to Poker Charity Events as President of PokerGivingBack, playing poker and podcasting.

Donofrio's friends are many. Future guests/podcast stars on her WomensPokerYak channel will include Nolan Dalla, Media Director, World Series of Poker; Susie Issacs, two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner; Lisa Tenner, Co-Owner Card Player Cruises and owner of Tenner & Associates; plus Jamie Gold, 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion.

A formidable line-up of players are at the Star World for the landmark USD $5300 (US$5000+$300) event. Amongst those spotted include Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Liz Lieu, J.C Tran, Kenny Tran, John Juanda, Nam Le, Quinn Do, Steve Sung, Huck Seed, Michael ‘Chino’ Rheem, Mel Judah, Mansour Matloubi, Harry Demetriou, Carter Gill, Richard En and APT Philippines champion David Saab. You can follow all the action LIVE at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-apt-macau/main-event/ with a selection of videos available at http://www.thenutz.tv/ . Information can also be found at the official website http://www.asianpt.com/

Amongst those choosing Day 1A include Doyle and Todd Brunson but there was considerable interest on the rail as Saab and JC Tran got drawn on the same table and locked horns. The APT Macau is making history by offering US$1,500,000, the largest guaranteed prize pool ever to be offered in Asia, with the first prize also guaranteed at US$500,000.

On Friday 29th August at 7pm, the Asian Poker Tour will make history again with Asia’s largest cash game, coverage of which will be televised and distributed worldwide at a later date. The details are simple, minimum buy-in is HK$1,000,000 (US$130,000), starting blinds are HK$3,000 - $6,000, straddling and blinds are raised at the discretion of the players. Even the most conservative estimates suggest that HK$15 million (well over US$1.5 million) will be at stake, MORE than the guaranteed prizepool of the APT Macau tournament!

Amongst those taking part include Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, Johnny Chan, Nam Le, JC Tran, Kenny Tran, John Juanda, Steve Sung, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Waki, Yamazaki, Gary Benson and Bruce Parker. Doyle Brunson has already wired in HK$2,000,000 (US$260,000) and quipped “that’s just the start.”

Chris Parker, CEO of the Asian Poker Tour, will also be taking a seat in the lions den.

“I’m so glad we have such soft tables!” joked Parker. “In all seriousness, we were astounded by the interest in the high stakes cash game – everybody wants a piece of the action. We set the mimimum buy-in at HK$1,000,000 but anybody who knows anything about Macau or the potential of poker in this area of the world knows this will be small stakes by the end of the night. It is going to be something very special – when it airs we predict you will witness record breaking pots! You think the action in Vegas is big, just wait and see what comes out of Macau!”

Computer Programmer Makes Late Decision to Play in Tournament and Wins $72,500

Last in Chips at Start of Final Table, University of Washington Grad Wins Huge Late Hand, Earning First Major Tournament Victory

In poker, it can be said that the very first decision one makes is the toughest, especially when it occurs long before the start of a tournament. Indeed, the most critical judgment any player makes is the decision to actually play. Many tournament winners who have achieved fame and fortune contemplated doing other things on what turned out to be a fateful day.

Ryan Osborne, a 27-year-old computer program manager knows the feeling. A few days ago, he was at his home in Orlando, FL hanging out with his friends when he was talked into coming to Atlantic City to play in a World Series of Poker Circuit event. A colleague mentioned that the first few events held at Caesars would be an excellent investment opportunity. With huge turnouts expected, a trip to Atlantic City seemed just the right move at the right time for the young player who had to that point achieved some success in tournaments, but who had yet to earn his first major victory.

Two days later, Osborne was standing near the final table, high-fiving his colleagues, $72,500 richer for having made a wise decision. Osborne topped a competitive field and overcame a number of disadvantages along the way – including being short-stacked during much of the final table – en route to his biggest payday ever. On a cold and cloudy day on the Atlantic City boardwalk, never had the sunshine back in Orlando looked so stale by comparison.

The $500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #2 of ten events on the schedule) attracted exactly 500 entries, generating a prize pool totaling a quarter-million dollars. After 491 players were eliminated on the first day, nine finalists returned to the feature table to continue on day two. New York City poker player David Zeitlin arrived with a substantial chip lead. However, the large number of players with a near-average ship stack made the final table a wide open competition. Osborne, the eventual winner arrived dead last in chips. Players and starting chip counts began as follows:

Seat 1: Victor Johnson 195,000
Seat 2: Artie Smith 171,000
Seat 3: Bryce Carroll-Coe 260,000
Seat 4: Jake Neff 346,000
Seat 5: Sallie Stohler 234,000
Seat 6: Adam Steinback 267,000
Seat 7: Ryan Osborne 154,000
Seat 8: John Doran 225,000
Seat 9: David Zeitlin 654,000

Players were eliminated in the following order:

9th Place – About 20 minutes into play, the classic hold’em confrontation came up when Artie Smith with Q-Q raced against Sallie Stohler, with A-K. All suspense was shattered when a king flopped, giving Stohler a higher pair. An ace on the river was overkill, making two pair for Stohler. Smith became the day’s first elimination. A furniture maker who has “three children and four dogs” living at his North Carolina home, Smith picked up $5,000 for ninth place.

8th Place – Victor Johnson went out next when he was getting seriously low on chips and moved all-in with A-Q. Ryan Osborne had Q-Q and called immediately. The pair of ladies held up, which meant a dreaded walk for Johnson off the final table pier. The 49-year-old retiree from Middletown, NY collected $7,500 in prize money for eight place.

7th Place – The next player to hit the rail was John Doran, from nearby Woolwich Township, NJ. Doran was desperately low on chips and saw a four-way pot develop when he was dealt J-7. Hoping to quadruple up and jump back into contention, Doran called the bet but failed to improve. Doran ended up busting out in seventh place, good for $10,000 in prize money. Doran, a mortgage broker had previously made it to a final table at the WSOP in Las Vegas.

6th Place – When six-handed play began, the chip lead was shared by Sallie Stohler and David Zeitlin, who were about even. Then, Stohler lost a big pot when Jake Neff doubled up. Adam Steinback was not so fortunate. In fact, he took a bad beat when he was all-in on his final hand of the tournament with A-Q against Jake Neff’s A-10. Neff had barely enough chips to cover the bet and was absolutely delighted when a ten fell on the turn – hitting a three-outer good for a pair. The previously dominated hand ended up winning the pot, which meant a rude departure for Steinback. The 23-year-old poker dealer – who had previously won other poker tournaments held in Atlantic City – ended up collecting $12,500 for sixth place.

5th Place – Meanwhile, Jake Neff was on fire. He had doubled up twice in just five minutes. Then, he managed to double up again, taking K-J up against A-K. Neff spiked a jack which catapulted him into a close call for first in chips. When Bryce Carroll-Coe fell below 100,000 in chips with blinds and antes escalating, he decided to make a bold move with 9-5 and jammed the pot with a raise. David Zeitlin made an instant call – and flipped over K-J. The flop destroyed any hopes Carroll-Coe had of staging a comeback. The board cards showed A-Q-10 and gave Zeitlin a straight. Carroll-Coe was gone. The guitarist from Detroit, MI ended up with a royalty check totaling $15,000.

4th Place – Sallie Stohler is usually quite busy this time of year. She works as a full-time political consultant based in Washington, DC. She advises many successful Senatorial and Congressional candidates. But Stohler also likes to play poker in her spare time and she decided to make a weekend visit to Atlantic City. That turned out to be a wise investment of both her time and money as she ended up cashing out for $17,500. Unfortunately, Stohler went card dead in her final half hour at the table and ultimately went out holding 2-2 against A-J. A jack flopped, meaning defeat for Stohler. Remarkably, Stohler has a very impressive record of results given her limited exposure to tournaments. She also finished in-the-money in the 2007 WSOP main event.

3rd Place – The three remaining players were relatively close in chips, which meant anyone could still win. Yet the $48,000 money swing between first and third places did not dissuade some aggressive play by the finalists. After Ryan Osborne won a big hand against David Zeitlin (who had been chip leader most of the way), Jake Neff put a final nail in Zeitlin’s coffin. Neff’s A-K ended up hammering Zeitlin’s A-8. A king flopped, which was the decisive card in bouncing Zeitlin out of the tournament. Zeitlin, an ex-lawyer, is certainly no stranger to the pressure of making it to the final table. He finished as the runner up in the Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em World Championship at last year’s WSOP held in Las Vegas.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, Jake Neff (with 1,700,000) enjoyed about a 2 to 1 chip lead over Ryan Osborne (with 780,000). The two finalists battled back and forth for nearly an hour before the tournament’s most exciting hand unfolded. Essentially, the outcome of the two-day event came down to a single card.

It all started when Osborne raised pre-flop, Neff re-raised all-in, and Osborne called. Neff showed 8-8. Osborne revealed A-10. Once again, the standard confrontation (a pocket pair versus two overcards) would determine the fate of the finalists. The flop came K-J-9, presenting some added possibilities for Osborne. Short of hitting a pair, this was still a favorable flop for Osborne. But Neff, holding the only made pair, still had the lead. A seven on the turn created even more outs for Osborne, with added straight possibilities. Then, Neff hit the card he dreaded most – a third eight which made trips. However, the final board showed 7-8-9-J-K which meant Osborne had rivered a straight, which scooped the largest pot of the tournament.

The river eight was the tournament’s most decisive card and accelerated Neff’s defeat. Desperately low in chips, Neff was finally eliminated a few hands later, making Osborne the champion.

As the runner up, Jake Neff collected $38,250. No stranger to being a poker bridesmaid, the Philadelphia-based marketing manager previously came in second at the United States Poker Championships.

1st Place – Ryan Osborne was paid $72,500 for first place, plus the coveted gold and diamond ring, presented to each WSOP Circuit winner at this year’s Caesars Atlantic City series. A native of Seattle, Osborne is a University of Washington graduate. He now lives in Florida where he works in the computer field.

“I’m going to pay for my sister’s wedding,” Osborne stated when asked what he would do with part of the prize money. “I told her before we started this tournament that I would pay for her wedding if I won.”

When told that weddings can sometimes costs tens of thousands of dollars, Osborne remained optimistic about his future plans in poker. “Well then, I might have to play in a few more poker tournaments, too” he said.