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This Week in Poker: June 19 -- June 26

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Check out CardPlayer.com every Friday for a weekly wrap-up of the news from the live poker tournament trail.

Card Player Player of the Year Update

Eric Baldwin

1: Eric Baldwin — 4,060
2: Vitaly Lunkin — 3,977
3: Angel Guillen — 3,492
4: Cornel Cimpan — 3,450
5: Brock Parker — 3,132
6: Jeffrey Lisandro — 3,018
7: Poorya Nazari — 3,000
8: Jude Ainsworth — 2,840
9: Jon Turner — 2,788
10: James Van Alstyne — 2,756

POY Movement:

Eric Baldwin Takes the Lead

We have a new leader in the POY race this week once again thanks to the World Series of Poker. Eric Baldwin jumped from fourth place to first when he made the final table of event No. 45 ($10,000 pot-limit hold’em world championship) and finished in third place. The high finish earned him $259,534 and 1,120 points, giving him 4,060 total for the year. Last week, Baldwin picked up 1,440 points for winning event No. 34, defeating a field of 2,095 players to take home $521,932. It was the second tournament win of the year for Baldwin, who also won a $2,500 no-limit hold’em event at the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza II in April. Rounding out Baldwin’s points are two final-table appearances he made in the preliminaries at the Five-Star World Poker Classic at Bellagio in April.

Other POY Movers and Shakers:

Vitaly Lunkin: Jumped to 2nd place with 2nd-place result in event No. 45 (1,500 points)
Jeffrey Lisandro: Jumped to 6th place with 2nd bracelet of summer in event No. 37 (960 points) and 3rd bracelet of summer in event No. 44 (1,152 points)
Jon Turner: Jumped to 9th place with 5th-place finish in event No. 42 (600 points)

This Week in Poker

World Series of Poker

Event No. 44 — Jeffrey Lisandro Wins his Second Gold Bracelet of the Summer

Jeffrey LisandroAnyone who was present in the Amazon Room on June 24 to watch the 2009 World Series of Poker got to witness poker history, and they watched it take place in dominating fashion. Jeffrey Lisandro took home his third gold bracelet of the summer and $188,730 when he won event No. 43 ($2,500 seven-card razz). Lisandro has now cashed six times at the 2009 WSOP, and he has won $807,486. Lisandro has defeated a combined total of 835 players to win his three bracelets. The win also gave Lisandro 3,018 points in the Card Player Player of the Year race, which currently puts him in fifth place.

Lisandro came into the final table with a 2-1 chip lead over his closest competitor, and he never hesitated on his march to victory. Lisandro eliminated three of his final four opponents at the eight-handed final table, and he is the first player to win three bracelets in one summer since Phil Ivey accomplished the feat in 2002.

The final day of the event started with 13 players, and some big names fell on the way down to the final table, including Nikolay Evdakov (13th), Ville Wahlbeck (12th), and Al Barbieri (11th). The final table was tough, as well, with Allen Bari, Kenna James, and noted poker author Michael Craig in the mix, but nothing could stop the momentum that Lisandro had built up at that point. He won the final table in two hours and 40 minutes, making it the shortest final table of the 2009 WSOP through 44 events. Especially impressive considering that razz is a limit game, noted for its conservative play.

Lisandro completed a seven-card stud trifecta for the summer with his latest bracelet win. His victories in event No. 16 ($1,500 seven-card stud), event No. 37 ($10,000 seven-card stud eight-or-better world championship), and tonight’s seven-card razz event give him a bracelet in each stud discipline. Lisandro now holds four bracelets for his career, his first came in a $2,000 seven-card stud event in 2007.

Event No. 35 – Richard Austin Winner Story
Event No. 36 – Jordan Smith Winner Story
Event No. 37 – Jeffrey Lisandro Winner Story
Event No. 38 – Marcus Naalden Winner Story
Event No. 39 – Ray Foley Winner Story
Event No. 40 – Matt Graham Winner Story
Event No. 41 – Peter Traply Winner Story
Event No. 42 – Jerrod Ankenman Winner Story
Event No. 43 – Michael Davis Winner Story
Event No. 45 – John Kabbaj Winner Story
Event No. 46 – Derek Raymond Winner Story

World Poker Tour

WPT Announces Season VIII Schedule

Author’s Note: Story courtesy of Steve Murphy

The World Poker Tour announced the destinations and details for its eighth season in the United States today, highlighted by the return of many of its popular tournaments, along with its first-ever televised event from the Midwest — the Hollywood Poker Open, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

“As this great game has evolved over the years, we have seen the tour grow and develop into something truly incredible,” said Steve Lipscomb, WPT founder and CEO. “Each year seems to top the last, from stops in exciting new venues to historical moments to break-out players to unbelievable action. We’re looking forward to seeing what the eighth season brings — then watching it broadcast in HD.”

As in past years, the WPT schedule will include stops at Bay 101 in San Jose, the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, the Borgata in Atlantic City, Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, and Foxwoods in Connecticut.

The season will once again be completed with the WPT Championship at Bellagio.

The complete schedule is below:

Bellagio Cup V
Bellagio
Las Vegas, Nevada
July 13-19, 2009
$15,000+$400

Legends of Poker
The Bicycle Casino
Los Angeles, California
Aug. 22-26, 2009
$9,800+$200

Borgata Poker Open
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Sept. 19-24, 2009
TBD

Festa al Lago
Bellagio
Las Vegas, Nevada
Oct. 20-26, 2009
$15,000+$400

Foxwoods World Poker Finals
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Mashantucket, Connecticut
Nov. 5-10, 2009
$9,700+$300

Doyle Brunson Five-Diamond World Poker Classic
Bellagio
Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec. 13-19, 2009
$15,000+$400

Southern Poker Championship
Beau Rivage
Biloxi, Mississippi
Jan. 24-27, 2010
$9,700+$300

L.A. Poker Classic
Commerce Casino
Los Angeles, California
Feb. 20-25, 2010
$9,600+$400

WPT Invitational
Commerce Casino
Los Angeles, California
Feb. 27-March 1, 2010
Invitation Only

Bay 101 Shooting Star
Bay 101
San Jose, California
March 8-12, 2010
$9,600+$400

Hollywood Poker Open
Hollywood Casino
Lawrenceburg, Indiana
March 20-24, 2010
$9,600+$400

WPT World Championship
Bellagio
Las Vegas, Nevada
April 17-24, 2010
$25,000+$500

PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour

APPT Releases Season 3 Schedule

PokerStars APPT Macau

The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour released its schedule for season 3 on Tuesday. The third circuit of the tour will include all of the stops that made up season 2. The tour begins on August 24 with the APPT Macau event in China, and things will wrap up with the APPT Sydney event that is scheduled to begin on December 1 in Australia. In between the tour will hosts stops in Seoul, South Korea, Auckland, New Zealand, and Manila in the Philippines.

Last year the tour hosted a total of 1,772 players for five events. The total prize pool for season 2 was $4,998,268. Both of those numbers are expected to grow for season 3. Here is a look at the full schedule for APPT season 3:

APPT Macau

August 24-30, 2009
Buy-in: HKD $40,000 (US $5,160 USD)
Venue: Grand Lisboa Casino Macau, People’s Republic of China

APPT Seoul

September 17-20, 2009
Buy-in: US $3,000
Venue: 7-Luck Casino, Seoul, South Korea

APPT Auckland

October 14-18, 2009
Buy-in: To be Determined
Venue: SkyCity Casino, Auckland, New Zealand

APPT Philippines

November 12-15, 2009
Buy-in: PHP 100,000 (US $2,150)
Venue: Shangri-la Mactan Resort, Cebu, Philippines

APPT Sydney

December 1-6, 2009
Buy-in: AUD 6,300 (US $4,920)
Venue: StarCity Casino, Sydney, Australia

Looking Ahead

40th Annual World Series of Poker

Event Schedule

Bellagio Cup V

Event Schedule

Binion’s Poker Classic

Event Schedule

Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza III

Event Schedule

Caesars Mega Stack Series

Event Schedule

Borgata Summer Open

Event Schedule

The Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series

Event Schedule

WPT Spanish Championship

Event Schedule