Poker Pros Bet Big as World Series Approaches

As the World Series of Poker (WSOP) approaches, professional poker players are making significant bets and preparing for the high-stakes action. Barry Greenstein tweeted about a rematch against Daniel Negreanu and Erik Lindgren, using the WSOP Player of the Year ranking. He wrote, "Jeff Lisandro and I have just finalized all the formalities of our rematch against Daniel Negreanu and Erik Lindgren. We will use the WSOP Player of the Year ranking."

Daniel Alaei proposed a similar bet to Greenstein, but Greenstein declined, stating he would need Phil Ivey, who might miss the first two tournaments. "I would need Phil. And he might miss the first two tournaments," Greenstein said. Alaei responded, "Interesting bet, but I don't like betting against Phil Ivey. You can choose any other player or a team of two against us."

Tom Dwan accepted bracelet bets, mentioning he would skip four tournaments on June 16 and 17. "Okay, I accept bracelet bets. I will skip four tournaments on Thursday and Friday, June 16 and 17 (if I play, they do not count). London is an expense, the coefficient is 3.5 to 1," Dwan tweeted. However, it seems Dwan is unaware that the WSOP Europe has moved from London to Cannes.

Andrew Robl mentioned playing live poker for four consecutive days until dawn. "I have become a live game maniac. I played for four days in a row until dawn. Today's composition in Bobby's room," Robl tweeted. Phil Galfond also spent extensive time playing, tweeting, "I played for 17 hours. The win is $0." He later added details about his session, "In fact, for 15 hours I gradually won, reaching 30K plus. But then I lost everything in an hour and realized that I was very sleepy."

Eugene Kachalov played in Bobby's room and mentioned enjoying the action at Bellagio. "The game in Aria ended, so now I'm playing other games, but with the same stakes in Bellagio... I love such action," Kachalov tweeted. He also expressed interest in a high-stakes game in Atlantic City, where Matt Glantz reported playing 6-max $1k/2k in stud and stud hi-lo. "Wow, I would love to be there... :(" Kachalov responded.

Howard Lederer was spotted in a Las Vegas restaurant with Annie Duke and Joe Rietman. Mari-Lizzet Akoba described the unexpected encounter in her blog, "John [Friedberg] froze, and his jaw dropped to the table. It was none other than Howard Lederer with Annie Duke and hairy Joe Rietman. We were shocked." Annie Duke later tweeted, "Mari-Lizzet, we discussed the funeral of our mother. Thank you for the respect shown in the restaurant."

Victor Blom lost over $250,000 over the weekend, including significant losses to Ben Sulsky and David Cokery. "Victor began the weekend at 6-max tables and won about $30,000, but then switched to heads-up play, where he lost $70,000 to Ben 'Sauce123' Sulsky and $183,000 to David 'gavz101' Cokery. Overall, Victor's result for Saturday and Sunday is minus $256,655." Gavz101 also had a mixed weekend, losing most of his winnings in a 6-max game, ending with $53,130.

Maxim Kolosov had a successful weekend, winning $73,617 over 6,209 hands. Two GipsyTeam members, McNeal and zmax, finished 5th and 6th in the final table of the last Sunday Million. Exan13 and pushmedirty secured second-place finishes in significant tournaments on Full Tilt. Erik Lindgren and Erica Schoenberg got married in Santa Barbara, with notable poker professionals in attendance, including Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matuosov, Daniel Alaei, and Daniel Negreanu.