Michael Linn bested an entry field of 2,543 in event 49, the last of the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em contests this year, in Day 3 action. The field was reduced to 290 players by the end of Day 2, and just 23 started Day 3, with Linn holding the overnight chip lead.

Taylor Larkin shone on Day 3 of the competition, taking out much of the opposition and entering the nine man final table as chip leader, facing Michael Linn, Mikhai Manole, Benjamin Smith, along with Tyler Cornell, Erle Mankin, Justin Zaki, Alexander Kuzmin and Chadwick Grimes. The last five players all busted out within two levels as the action mounted.

Cheered on by uncle Barry Greenstein, Linn ultimately entered the heads up late Wednesday night against Larkin in a close-fought and exciting finale in which Larking almost managed to snatch the game despite having to fight back from two crippling losses.

Larkin’s 2nd Placing was worth $378,905, whilst Linn claimed his first WSOP bracelet and the $609,493 main prize.

In event 50 – a $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha competition, Chance Kornuth (24) emerged triumphant from a tense final table when he dispatched Kevin Boudreau to the rail after a heads-up battle in which at one point, Boudreau threatening to call the clock if Kornuth didn’t stop thinking and make a move. The tactic misfired when Boudreau was told that Kornuth was still within the limits, and it appeared to motivate the winner to take his challenger out.

31 players had earlier started the final day of action in the event, with Robert Mizrachi in the lead and some very competent players still in the running. By the time the final table was reached, most of them had been eliminated, although Mizrachi remained a threat.

With the elimination in third place of Danny Smith, Kornuth and Boudreau commenced the lengthy heads up, notable for its at times aggressive dialogue between the two players. Boudreau suffered a massive loss late in the clash and in the end it was Kornuth who claimed his second WSOP cash, his first bracelet and the main prize of $508,090.

Boudreau’s runner-up prize was worth $313,792.

Event 51, the $3,000 buy-in Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em competition entered Day 3 Thursday afternoon with just 12 players, all that was left of the original field of 965.

Jon Eaton held the chip lead, well ahead of his nearest rival Frank Rusnak. By midnight Thursday the winner was not one of the bigger stacks at the start of the day; Ryan Welch, who had begun play on Day 3 around fifth or sixth on the chip list, won his first bracelet and the $559,371 first prize.

When Guillaume Darcourt was sent packing in third place for $223,459 it set the scene for the two hour heads up between Welch and Jon Eaton, a clash that turned out to be more than a little exciting.

Although starting at a 1.5 to 1 disadvantage, Welch clawed his way back into the game as the two players went up and down in chips, vying for the top spot. Around halfway into the heads up Welch began to gain the ascendancy, but by the final hand the players were almost even again.

Welch then initiated a big river shove to force the rest of Eaton’s stack into the pot just slightly covered. When he turned over the nuts he ran over to his delighted wife on the rail, leaving Eaton with the second placing consolation of $344,830.

Late Thursday night there were still 20 players slugging it out in event 52, the $25,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed contest, after a day which started with 69 survivors from the original field of 191.

Alexander Gruibem started the day with the chip lead, pursued by Jason Sommerville and Sam Trickett – all ahead of a hungry pack intent on making the money bubble at position 18, with pros like Isaac Haxton, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Frank Kassela, Vanessa Rousso, Sorel Mizzi, Barry Greenstein, Scott Seiver and Phil Galfond still in the running.

Late night Thursday level 19 had been reached and the money was in sight as 20 players battled to stay in at least as far as position 18, where the cash kicks in at $58,699 in this expensive tournament.

Holding the lead on 2 million was Bryn Kennedy, chased by Abe Mosseri on 1.47 million and Frank Kassela (1 million). Average chip stacks over the field were 716,250.

The action was still in progress late Thursday night after event 53 – the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em Shootout went into Day 2 that afternoon with 63 players following a disqualification on which no information was made available. 548 players registered for the field originally.

The objective – to reduce the field to just 8 on a final table.

By late night Thursday all but one of the final table positions had been decided, with the list as follows: Michael Schneider, Jonathan Little, Terrence Chan, Sijbrand Maal, Ben Yu, Brendan Taylor, Joseph Mcgowan. Vying for the final place were Brian Tate on 200,000 and Feming Chan on 160,000. One of the two will go home while the other will advance to the final table

The last of the popular $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em events, number 54, predictably attracted a massive entry field which will be run off in two Day 1 heats initially.

Day 1a, which started Thursday afternoon saw 2,340 entrants taking their seats with almost every recognisable name in international poker among the field.

By late night Thursday the surviving 350 had reached level 9 when Day 1a was wrapped – a remarkable attrition rate of around a player every four minutes.

Leading the Day 1a field is Eelke Arjaans on 75,550, Alan Keating on 62,000 and Ron Schutsky on 62,000.

Big names who did not survive the day included Tom Dwan, Chris Ferguson, Matt Hawrilenko, Berry Johnston, Faraz Jaka, Dennis Phillips, Brandon Canto, Scott Montgomery, Allen Kessler and Dwyte Pilgrim.

On the positive side, those going into Day 2 will include: Liv Boeree, Tony Dunst, Nikolay Evdakov, Shannon Shorr, and Kara Scott.

Event 55, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha competition also kicked off Thursday afternoon with a field of 346 entries, an impressive improvement on last year’s 295.

In this event each player is allocated a start bank of 7,500 chips, in addition to three red add-on chips worth an additional 7,500 each.

These add-on chips can be optionally used at anytime during the first four levels. So a player may choose to cash them in immediately to start with a deep 30,000-chip start bank, or they can save them up and use them if they get stacked.

The 346 entries included Andy Black, Vitaly Lunkin, Tom Dwan, Shaun Deeb, Michael Mizrachi, Marco Traniello, Annette Obrestad, Eric Froehlich, David Benyamine, David Chiu, Andy Bloch and defending champ Matt Graham.

Also spotted in action were David Levi, David Bach, Gavin Smith, Sam Farha, Dan Heimiller, Erica Schoenberg, Men Nguyen, Nenad Medic, Amnon Filippi, Kathy Liebert, Mike Matusow, Michael Binger and Thor Hansen.

By late night Thursday the field was still going strong at level 6 and numbered 252, having shed 92 entrants.

Noah Boeken was in the lead on 120,000, with Men Nguyen his closest rival on 98,000 and Venessa Selbst on 92,000. Average chip stacks were at 41,190.

Notable exits included Max Pescatori, Florian Langmann, Chad Brown, David Williams, Kevin MacPhee and Mike Matusow,

“This bill still needs a great deal of work,” Wright said of his Bill SB 1485 during a meeting of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, where the bill was scheduled to come up for a vote.

“For every issue, there were people who liked it and people who hated it.”

Wright justifies the bill by saying that with a million Californian poker fans playing regularly, there is clearly a very strong demand and the juggernaut is hard to stop, therefore the state should regulate it to ensure high standards of safety, and tax it to bring money into the state’s coffers.

Independent analysts have estimated that up to $2.1 billion annually could be realised from legalisation.

SB1485 would have authorised the state to contract with up to three gambling operators, including Indian tribes, to offer poker hubs over the Internet to state residents age 21 and older, reports Associated Press from the hearing. At least 10% of the monthly profits would have gone to the state, which faces a $19 billion deficit.

Numerous tribal groups, represented by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, announced prior to the hearing that they were opposed the bill, saying it threatens their federal gambling compacts, endangering employment opportunities in local communities.

There were also concerns voiced by the Poker Players Association that the proposal would make it a misdemeanor to visit unauthorised gambling websites.

“Criminalising harmless recreational conduct that typically takes place in the privacy of one’s home and cannot be practically enforced undermines public respect for all laws,” the Alliance said in formally opposing to the bill.

Another opponent was the Morongo band of Mission Indians, who have previously made a bid in conjunction with Californian card rooms to acquire an exclusive licence to offer intrastate online poker, and appear unprepared to accept anything short of that at federal or state level.

Despite the challenges, Wright said that the bill was moving in the right direction, and he would continue to push for legalised online poker in California.

“The world isn’t standing still while we figure out what to do,” he cautioned. “The longer we wait, the more difficult it will become to get that business back to the state as different outlets of gambling become available and more entrenched.”

Players technically pay for Internet access time, but are still playing for money, critics claim, as enforcement authorities grapple with the legal confusion surrounding the issue.

The banning legislation now moves to the state House of Assembly for further debate and a vote.

Leading online casino UltimateBet.com has announced that players Gregg Mardirosian and Justin Leichter have won its Craziest Last Longer Bet promotion and will compete in the main event of the World Series Of Poker (WSOP) on July 1.

The Craziest Last Longer Bet encouraged players to send in their ideas for the wackiest side wager imaginable with the winners receiving two seats to compete in the $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold ‘em event alongside hotel accommodation and airfare.

The winning idea will mean that the player getting knocked out first will have UltimateBet.com’s logo alongside the losing hand tattooed on his body. In addition, the unfortunate competitor will also have to meet and marry a woman in Las Vegas before returning home to Florida.

Mardirosian, a 31-year-old disc jockey that also uses the moniker DJ Maniac Magee, revealed that Leitchter was the one who alerted him to the promotion from UltimateBet.com.

“It is a dream of his to be playing in the WSOP and, when he heard about the contest, he knew good and well that I was crazy enough to be in it with him,” said Mardirosian.

“We initially thought to risk walking home and then realised everyone and their mother would suggest that bet and tried hard to think of something so out there that we’d be sure to win.”

Thirty-two-year-old entrepreneur Leichter stated that the idea of marrying someone out of the blue was influenced by a recent Hollywood blockbuster.

“I thought some more and, while watching The Hangover, I thought what is better than an impromptu Vegas wedding,” said Leichter.

“And, just for good measure, you have to get tattooed so you will always remember this and you’ll always be reminded when someone asks you what the tattoo means.”

Leichter is the more experienced of the two players and stated that he has been competing online ‘nearly every day’ for about seven years. He finished in second spot in one his first tournaments to take home about $1,600 and revealed that he has been ‘reading up on large tournament play’.

“I am confident I will be the winner,” said Leichter.

“I believe I am the better card player with more experience but, then again, you never know what can happen. I think if I just stick to my game plan and play how I usually play I will come out victorious.”  

By the completion of Day 3 play around 9pm Vegas time Tuesday in event 24, a $1,000 No-limit Hold’em competition, a final table had been formed from the nine survivors of an original field of 3,289, with JD McNamara holding the lead on 2,393,000 ahead of Kiet Tran Tuan (2,311,000) and Blake Kelso (1,166,000).

Other members of the final table, which will play to a conclusion on Day 4, were John Tolbert, David Cai, Denis Murphy, Greg Pohler, Michael Gross and Jeffrey Tebben.

The event saw 512 players start Day 2 but only 30 of them lasted through to the start of Day 3. Casualties along the way included a multi-tournamenting Tom Dwan and UK female ace Liv Boeree.

Poker pro Sammy Farha was jubilant as he achieved his third WSOP bracelet after a 16 hour final table jam-packed with top players in event 25 – the $10,000 buy-in Omaha/8 contest. Four hours of the final table were taken up in the tough heads up struggle with never-say-die Brit player James Dempsey, whose pursuit of a second bracelet ended in a runner-up prize of $301,790.

Farha put on a masterful display of discipline and talent in besting the skilled and determined Dempsey before the contest ended in his $488,237 victory at 7am in the morning.

In event 26 – the $2.500 buy-in NLHE/Six Handed competition, Day 1 saw a total of 1,245 players start out, with only 156 of them making it into Day 2. Among the survivors were Daniel Negreanu, Jeff Shulman, Annette Obrestad, Jerry Yang and Amnon Filippi.

Less fortunate and crashing out on Day 1 were names like Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson and Phil Hellmuth.

With only thirty positions to last before the money bubble, Day 2 got off to a brisk start Tuesday afternoon with William Haydon as chip leader with 179,300 chips, followed by Luigi Caramatti (171,400), Timothy Begley (167,700) and Erik Cajelais (163,000).

By midnight Tuesday names like Annette Obrestad, Marco Traniello, former WSOP champ Jerry Yang and Steve Billirakis had all been eliminated, and the field was down to just 18 players, led by Taurean Davis on 810,000, chased by William Haydon (760,000) and Martins Adeniya (760,000).

644 contestants faced off in event 27, a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better competition which attracted well known players like Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, Mike Sexton and recent stud bracelet winner Men the Master Nguyen.

The money bubble was set at position 64, and with plenty of side bets between the pros there was a definite buzz as the cards hit the air. By the end of Day 1, Odette Tremblay led the field and the money had still not been reached, with 196 players bagging up for another day of action Tuesday. Howard Lederer was not among them, having busted out in Day 1, but Tom Dwan was still in the hunt as Day 2 started.

Other top pros still alive included Jeff Lisandro, John Juanda, and Marcel Luske.

By 10.30pm Tuesday night Vegas time there were still 51 players fighting it out at level 15, with Kevin MacPhee holding the chip lead. Odette Tremblay was further down the field, as was Phil Ivey and Annie Duke. Notable departures were John Juanda and 2002 WSOP main event winner Robert Varkonyi.

Midday Tuesday saw the start of event 28, a $2,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha competition. This year’s entry field was some 160 players larger than last year at 596 and included Erik Seidel, Lee Watkinson, Michael Binger, Joe Sebok, Robert Williamson III, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, T.J. Cloutier, Kirill Gerasimov, Mike Sexton, Scotty Nguyen, Jonathan Little, Andy Black, Scott Seiver and Tom Schneider.

By 11pm Vegas time Tuesday level 10 had been reached and 124 survivors were still battling it out, with Eric Rabl holding a slim lead over Brit star Richard Ashby and Norman Collingsworth somewhat further back.

Departures in Day 1 included Chip Jett, Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Nam Le, Eric Baldwin, Mike Beasley, Vivek Rajkumar, Sigi Stockinger and Jason DeWitt.

Event 29 is another world championship contest and started at 5pm Vegas time Tuesday. The event is a $10,000 buy-in Limit Hold’Em competition and attracted a starter field of 171 – lower than last year’s field.

Seen taking their seats were Erick Lindgren, Barry Shulman, Nikolay Evdakov, Doyle Brunson, Mike Mizrachi, Shaun Deeb, Eli Elezra, Vitaly Lunkin, Phil Hellmuth, Vanessa Rousso, Isaac Haxton, John Monnette, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Alex Kravchenko, Carlos Mortensen and Greg Mueller.

By 11pm Tuesday, Day 1 play had reached level 6 with 166 players still very much in the running, led by Shaun Deeb on 79,000, pursued by Michael Mizrachi (60,000), Jameson Painter (58,100) and the legendary Doyle Brunson (54,500).

Departures included Liz Liu, Nikolay Evdakov, Noah Boeken, Howard Lederer and Soheil Shamseddin.

For someone who’s played a lot of poker at casinos all over the world, murder suspect Joran van der Sloot hasn’t done much winning, at least not in major offline poker tournaments.

According to professional poker player databases maintained at Poker Pages (www.pokerpages.com) and Hendon Mob (www.hendonmob.com), van der Sloot, 22, has NEVER finished in the money in any significant offline poker tourney.

Both websites keep up-to-date records on all major (and many minor) offline poker tournaments around the world, and there are no listings of van der Sloot’s name for an in-the-money finish in any offline poker tournament of note ever.

He has played big-time offline tournament poker.

The Miami Herald reported the other day that van der Sloot participated in a major poker tournament in China in 2009.

The tourney, a stop on the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) that was held in Macau, China and that is officially called APPT-Macau, was held at major casino.

A tournament participant named Noah Acre who sat at the same poker table as van der Sloot during the tourney and chatted with him, told the Herald: "I am pretty good at sizing people up quickly and he (van der Sloot) seemed like all he cared about was partying and getting girls."

Dutch thug and wannabe poker pro van der Sloot–who was suspected of killing American teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005 but was never charged due to lack of evidence–allegedly killed a Peruvian woman, Stefany Flores, in Lima, Peru last week, and reportedly has confessed to the murder, according to a Peruvian newspaper.

The young Dutchman was in Lima for LAPT-Lima, but only as a fan–the San Francisco Chronicle reported he wasn’t registered to play in the event (he likely couldn’t afford the buy-ins, as he was staying in a $40-a-night rooming house).

He did play some in some "ring" or cash games at the Atlantic City Casino in Lima, where the tourney was held and where he met Flores.

He has also previously been seen playing poker at casinos in Aruba and the Netherlands.

He is also believed to play online poker, and has had some success–he reportedly won $12,000 recently in an online poker tournament.

By Tom Somach

Gambling911.com Staff Writer

tomsomach@yahoo.com

Private investigator Bo Dietl appearing on the CBS "Early Show" has met Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway and a man who this week confessed to killing a young Peruvian student Stephany Flores.

"This is a homicidal maniac," said private investigator Bo Dietl on CBS’ "The Early Show" on Thursday. "I’ve met him. I looked in his eyes… We should be checking Interpol and the FBI should be checking where he’s gone all over this world. You’ve got a serial killer here."

Dietl was brought in by the Holloway family and worked with the FBI during its sting to snare Van der Sloot for extortion.

The private detective previously claimed the 22-year-old admitted to him he killed the Alabama high school student.

"He said he pushed Natalee Holloway, her head hit a rock," Dietl said.

The Dutchman was in Lima, Peru attending the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) at the time of the murder. 

Van der Sloot was transferred from a police facility to the national attorney general’s office in Lima Thursday morning as they prepare to charge him with the murder of Flores.

Van der Sloot’s attorney, Maximo Alonso Altez Navarro, told CNN his client will go from the attorney general’s office to the Justice Ministry, where a judge will determine which jail he will go to.

Speculation has been running rampant as to the prison van der Sloot will be admitted to.  The National Geographic this week aired a show that looked at the world’s 10 worst prisons. Front and center is Lurigancho Prison in Peru.

Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

Joran van der Sloot remained on the lam Thursday following news that a woman had been stabbed to death in his Lima, Peru hotel room Sunday.  The body was found three days later.

Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez, who was reportedly an out lesbian struggling with her sexuality, was found beaten and stabbed to death in a room at the Miraflores Hotel Tac in Lima booked in van der Sloot’s name, police said.  Her father is a well-known businessman and former race car driver. 

Van der Sloot was the top suspect in the Natalie Holloway disappearance back in 2005.  The recent High School grad had disappeared during a trip to the island of Aruba.  Van der Sloot was the last individual to be seen with Holloway.

The slaying of the young Peruvian woman, Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez, is making news in poker circles as van der Sloot was slated to play in the Latin American Poker Tour, sponsored by PokerStars.com.  Van der Sloot has been linked to two online poker handles: "AANOTILTKK" and "Joran888" or "Joran" (his logo is a woman who resembles Natalie Holloway).  He is believed to have finished in 5th place at a PartyPoker.com sponsored tournament last year, taking home some $12,000.  Van der Sloot’s overall poker winnings would not appear to support his jet-setting lifestyle, however.  Fox News host Bill O’Reilly opined Wednesday night that he has always suspected Joran of being a drug dealer, something that is yet to be proven.

Flores Ramirez was killed nearly five years to the day since Holloway was first discovered missing.

"It just doesn’t make sense to me," van der Sloot’s former defense attorney Joe Tacopina told "Good Morning America" today. "I don’t know enough about the facts — the so-called facts — of this new investigation."

Tacopina pointed out that her body was not found until Wednesday and questioned how it was possible she was killed days before without hotel staff knowing. Authorities believe van der Sloot fled Peru, passing through customs into Chile, and is on his way to Argentina.

"There have been so many incidents where false facts have been presented," he said. "Rumors take on a life of their own."

 Flores’ funeral will be held today in Peru.

Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com

Lacey Jones has announced she will no longer be playing poker for Team AbsolutePoker.com.

Aintluck.com point out that Jones, one of the more attractive female poker players out there, and an aspiring model and actress, has kept mum about the decision, save for a Twitter tweet made on May 25th which read

"Today is a new chapter of my life and I’ve never been more excited! Get ready for some BIG things everyone!"

Jones joined the Absolute Poker team last July.

"I’m so excited about this amazing new chapter of my career with Absolute Poker," stated Lacey Jones at the time she joined Absolute Poker. "Our fit couldn’t be more perfect and I can’t wait to share all of the amazing stuff that’s in store with the AP community."

Ace King, Gambling911.com 

The central concepts of the franchise – responsible (‘green’) gambling and entertainment are present in the venture, where players can set personal limits in terms of their deposits and wagers with a daily, weekly or monthly maximum.

Mr Green offers a selection of Betsoft and Net Entertainment powered casino games including roulette and blackjack, a host of video slots such as, The Slotfather, Hill Billy Haven and Tiki Treasure, Bingo, scratch cards, video poker and lottery offerings.

Already enjoying online success in Sweden, Norway, Austria and Finland, Mr Green is an award-winning site which has expanded into the UK to capitalise on what analysts predict will be a £1.6 billion UK internet gambling market this year.