Some of the celebrities making an appearance were Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, Sarah Silverman, Jennifer Tilly, and rapper Nelly. Athletes Marlon Shirley, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Mike Tyson were also battling it out. Of course all the top poker pros donated their time and money to the cause.

I’ve posted a few pictures from the day for your entertainment.

Mike Matusow and Chau Giang kid around during the tournament

Good Will Hunting co-stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck hang with Marco Traniello before the tournament began

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack meets with Don Cheadle

More photos after the jump:

This tournament was a little more laid back than most. Jennifer Harman and Phil Gordon enjoy their time at the tables.

Don Cheadle, Jennifer Harman, and rapper Nelly before the tournament

Actor Joe Reitman plays in the tournament. In the background you can see part of the huge rail full of fans who came out to see their favorite stars and pros.

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and Paralympic gold medalist Marlon Shirley

David Singer and Sarah Silverman

Charles Barkley joins poker power couple Marco Traniello and Jenn Harman

Post from: Poker From The Rail

2009 World Series of Poker – Ante Up for Africa Pictures

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Maya Antonius playing the $10,000 Limit Hold’em World Championship

The last two days have spoiled me with my post-game reviews, back to back Full Tilt bracelets makes my life easy.  Snap/upload a few pics, write a story about how the latest FTP pro ran over the field and isn’t this game just so easy.  Only one bracelet was awarded during the evening, first time Vegas visitor Mike Eise won his first WSOP tournament entered.  Since I can’t post a picture of a FTP bracelet winner, I give the loyal readers their first Maya Antonius picture above.

We found out early in the day we would not be witness to Johnny Chan catching Phil Hellmuth in the career bracelet race.  Chan lost his first match of the day in the $10,000 Heads Up World Championship. Since the event ran so long they added an extra day, John Duthie and Leo Wolpert will return to play out the final match.

With most of the situations settled early on, I was able to take my time and rail the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. and $10,000 Limit Hold’em World Championship.  Friend of all bloggers Lacey Jones made a run deep in H.O.R.S.E. tournament but was busted by fellow blogger LJ.  Doing the bloggers proud, LJ made it through to Day 3 and will be looking for the second blogger final table.

The Limit Hold’em World Championship was loaded with big names but watching the early stages of a limit tournament can be a little tedious.  It was amazing to see two players bust before the second break.  Starting stacks of 30,000, hour levels kicking off with 25/50.  I’m too lazy to do the math on how it’s even possible to bust that quickly.

With things well in hand for Day 20 of the WSOP, your trusty loyal Full Tilt blogger actually left the Amazon Room before 2am and was able repair his relationship with his pillows.  Sometimes you forget what a good night sleep feels like.

Marco Traniello displayed the best “dirty stack” at the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event

Post from: Poker From The Rail

2009 World Series of Poker – Day 20 From the Rail

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Category	Gavin Smith	Marco Traniello	Survey Says
Career Earnings	Almost $5 million	Over $400K	Our survey says that $5 million is greater than $400K. Congratulations Gavin Smith, you’ve just won our first category of the day! But don’t get too cocky yet Gavin, there’s still plenty of riveting action to come.
Major Titles	1 WPT title	Niente	Gavin had a pretty ridiculous run during season four of the WPT, winning one tourney and making two other final tables. He won Player of the Year honors for his play that year, deservedly so. Don’t overlook Traniello though; he’s a solid player who will most likely end up with a gold bracelet around his wrist one day. Until then, this category belongs to Gavin. The score stands at 2-0.
Tournament Play	Does a Canadian say aboot? Hells yeah!	Does an Italian say something an Italian says? Hells yeah!	Both of these guys are excellent tourney players. Gavin is probably one of the more underrated players on the circuit, drawing more attention for his lifestyle than his play. Don’t let Gavin’s demeanor fool you, he’s a shark at the table. And Traniello is no slouch either, as he set a record for number of cashes at the WSOP in 2005. But once again, until Traniello can take down a tourney rather than just make the money, this category has to go to Smith.
Cash Game Play	Loves to hit up the side games at all the major tourneys.	Learned the game from the best players in the world while playing in his wife’s home game.	In case you don’t know, Marco is married to Team Full Tilt’s Jen Harman. Yes, it does pay to know the right people. As for the matter at hand, the question here is who’s a better cash game player. As I’ve never had the opportunity to play in a cash game with either of these guys and they’re both known more as tourney players than cash game players, it’s a tough call to make. I’ll have to go with my gut on this one, and all my gut is saying right now is that it wants a burrito. Hey, I bet Gavin Smith likes burritos as well, let’s give this category to him. Gavin is running away with this one, the score stands at 4-0.
Playing Style	Drunken Boxing	Italian Smooth	I just want to make one thing perfectly clear here: we are not implying in any way that Gavin Smith is a lush. What we are implying is that Gavin loves to drink, and you know what? That’s perfectly fine with us (surprise, surprise). At any rate, Gavin’s drunken boxing style will surely take down Marco’s Italian smooth any day of the week. We are all in awe of the rum-fuelled mayhem Smith wreaks upon his opponents.
Nickname	Birdguts	The Hairdresser	We have no idea where the nickname Birdguts comes from. And you know what? We don’t want to know. We will not pry into these mysteries with simian fingers, but rather let them pass quietly in the night. Marco actually has no nickname, but being that he was a hairdresser before turning into a poker player, we thought that would do. Either way you look at it, it’s very slim pickings in this category. I guess we’ll have to go with Gavin again here. Standard, IMO.
Outside Poker	He loves the prop bet. Loves it!	Did we mention Marco was a former hairdresser? Enough said.	We wouldn’t go so far as to crown Gavin king of the prop bet, but he’s near the top of that short list. Then again, he has Joe Sebok’s initials tattooed on his shoulder, so that can’t be good (kids, don’t try this at home). And while the world needs as many hairdressers as it can possibly get, it’s safe to say Marco probably doesn’t miss his former life too much. As a hairdresser, sigh. Needless to say, Gavin takes down this category and leads by a score of 7-0. Somehow I don’t see Marco making a comeback in this one, but you never know.
The Poker Connection	Best friends with fellow Full Tilt Pro Erick Lindgren, who helped Gavin develop his game.	Married to Jen Harman, who helped Marco develop his game (and his children).	I might be going crazy, but I think I have to give this one to Marco. Nobody should be forced to eat a donut like this, especially not one gift wrapped by Gavin Smith. Don’t call it a comeback (really); the score is now 7-1 (hooray for pity points!).
Best Pro Tip	Pro Tip #101 – “Table Talk”	No pro tips available (whoops, my bad!)	So I guess I screwed the pooch on this one. I honestly thought Marco had done at least one Pro Tip. Not to worry though, I swear from this moment forward I will make it my sole mission in life to get a Pro Tip from Marco up on the site. I will not rest until this happens, for it is my destiny (cue heroic journey music, I’m thinking “Fantastic Voyage” by Coolio). Until then, this category goes to good old Birdguts.

So there you have it. Birdguts lays the smack down on The Hairdresser by a score of 8-1. I haven’t seen an ass kicking this bad since Willy Wonka decided to vent his frustrations on the Oompa Loompas (or was that just a dream I had, hard to tell). Check back next week for more Heads Up fun and excitement, and be sure to check in tomorrow for another FTOPS update brought to you by yours truly.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Heads Up: Gavin Smith Versus Marco Traniello

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