1. Scotty Nguyen wins the 2008 $50,000 HORSE event for his fifth WSOP bracelet.
2. Two brothers, Grant and Blair Hinkle, each won their first bracelet at the WSOP.
3. John Phan wins two WSOP bracelets in less than a week - the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball and the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
4. Vanessa Selbst wins the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event for her first bracelet.
5. Layne Flack wins his sixth WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/re-buys.
6. David Benyamine won his first WSOP bracelet at the $10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better.
7. Barry Greenstein wins his third WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 Seven Card Razz event.
8. Mike Matusow won his third WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/Re-Buys.
9. Daniel Negreanu won his fourth WSOP bracelet in the $2000 limit holdem event.
10. J.C. Tran wins his first WSOP bracelet.

23-year-old online poker player Dario Minieri won his first bracelet at the 2008 WSOP.

2008 was a big year for internet players getting more press and attention. Online poker rooms are giving more sponsorship deals to successful internet players, banking that these players will do well in the live tournaments. Since 2003, amateur players have made a big splash at the WSOP. But that didn’t work very well this year. The professional players made a comeback, with 11 big-name pros winning bracelets, and most events having one or two big names at the final tables.

Dario Minieri was one bright spot for the big-name internet players. He won his first bracelet in the $2500 No-Limit Holdem 6-handed event. Most players at the WSOP are internet players to some degree, but the big-name internet players were not a force at the biggest poker tournament in the world. I guess the new generation of player isn’dt ready to dominate yet.

According to witnesses who took in Event 28 at the World Series of Poker, today’s action produced some of best Omaha ever played at the WSOP, with two online players going head-to-head for the first place prize. When all was said and done Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond beat out Adam Hourani — along with a number of big-name pros — for the gold bracelet and $817,781. Hourani takes home $493,748 for being the runner-up. One can only imagine what it must have been like to go up against such pros as David Benyamine, John Juanda, Johnny Chan and Daniel Negreanu. (This just goes to show that online poker players are a force to be reckoned with, especially at the bigger tournaments!)

Here were the chip counts heading into the final table for Event 28 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha:
Phil Galfond - 1,393,000
Brian Rast - 1,176,000
David Benyamine - 1,041,000
John Juanda - 694,000
Johnny Chan - 624,000
Kirill Gerasimov - 558,000
Daniel Negreanu - 460,000
Adam Hourani - 300,000
Phil Hellmuth - 119,000

If you’re heading to Vegas for the WSOP 2008, there are a couple of things you can do to get ready. You can adjust your schedule to include more multi-table tournaments. If you have chosen a specific variation of tournament, it would only make sense to get in as many events – in that variation – as you can between now and then.

It wouldn’t hurt to read up on some tournament strategy before heading into the WSOP. Dan Harrington’s books on tournament holdem will teach something to anyone who reads them. “Tournament Poker for Advanced Players”, by David Sklansky, is another sure bet.

The other thing you can do is dream about winning. Picture yourself deep into an event, getting to the final table or winning the whole thing. Envision yourself being successful; it’s more important than most people realize. Realities begin with a thought, and then with effort become experiences.

Peer-to-peer poker is a new interactive network for poker players to play internet-style poker while in the confines of a real casino. Players can play in restaurants, lounges or at the bar, and the action can be added to the casino revenue without using up any valuable floor space. Progressive Gaming International Corporation, the leading provider for gaming diversified technologies, has signed a limited exclusive license agreement with Harrah’s Licensing Company.

Harrah’s is expected to begin installing the World Series of Poker peer-to-peer network in the hotel prior to the general public. The system is expected to be attractive to players because they will be able to track their play, and there will always be open tables. The games are an option while waiting for a real table and your name is on the waiting list. The system was approved after its debut at the ICE Show in London.

The WSOP will honor the late Chip Reese this year by awarding the winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event with the ‘David “Chip” Reese Award’ along with the bracelet and cash. Reese was the first winner of this event in 2006, the first year they made it the premier tournament amongst the game’s elite. That was his third WSOP bracelet in a poker career that rarely saw him in tournament play. He only went back to playing in tournaments because his children wanted him to do so.

Reese was considered one of the greatest high-limit mixed poker cash game players of all time. He was a fixture on the Vegas poker scene since the 70’s and was the youngest to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1991. Reese will be sorely missed in the poker community, and naming the tournament after him will hopefully continue beyond this year.

The 2008 edition of Poker After Dark will have a few new faces from previous years. Gavin Smith is one player who will make multiple appearances in Season 3. David Oppenheim is another newbie to the show. One of the best younger players will also be on the show this season. David Williams is slated for the week of March 24 and should make his presence felt at these highly-skilled single-player sit and go tournaments.

Hoyt Corkins will also make an appearance on the April 14 episode against Doyle Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Chau Giang, Andy Bloch, and Gabe Kaplan. Hoyt has done well since coming out of tournament poker retirement the last couple of years.

The show will also get a new hostess. Gone is the lovely Shana Hiatt and in her place is model/actress Marianela Pereyra. Marianela also does commentary for the WSOP and hails from Argentina.

I don’t think that poker is losing its mainstream appeal. The industry had a slight hiccup with the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, but it continues to grow to this day. Poker is on television every evening on one channel or another, and land-based tournaments are growing every year. Even with all the interference that online poker sites have to deal with in the United States, the WSOP is growing every year.

Poker is being used as a fundraiser for charities and needy organizations more than ever before. Home games are still common among friends, and marketing of the game hasn’t slowed down in over a year. New poker books are still being published and online player numbers are still growing internationally.

The game needed only to drop the negative reputation it carried for 200 years. Poker is like rock and roll; it’s here to stay.

There are lots of up-and-comers in poker. Young players are winning WSOP bracelets every year. The up-and-comer who’s getting the most attention is Annette Obrestad. She has only been able to be play poker for a year now and she already has five cashes, including her recent WSOP circuit win for $1.8m in September. We’ll have to wait a couple more years before she hits Vegas, considering she just turned 19 years old.

Another young player of note is Bertrand Grospellier. He is a high-limit online player and has eight cashes in live events since 2005. He’s known for playing up to 14 games at once and is already a member of Team Pokerstars.

Eric Froehlich has already won two WSOP bracelets and plays in most of the top tournaments online. At only 23, he has the potential to win enough bracelets to cover his entire arm someday.

The hold’em explosion occurred for two reasons. The first was the creation of online poker. Suddenly people who enjoyed the game could play whenever they wanted to from the comfort of their own home. All one needed was a computer, internet access and a credit card. Before this, poker was an activity that either consisted of going to the casino and being limited by the action, or required a lot of effort to get enough players together for a home game.

The catalyst that set off the poker boom was 2003 WSOP Champion Chris Moneymaker. He got there by winning a $40 online satellite which paid his way into the main event. ESPN took the Cinderella story and ran with it, showing poker players everywhere that the tournament can be won by anyone, not just seasoned pros. The game has grown ever since and it shows no signs of slowing down.