As the clock ticks down to the starting time of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, controversy continues to grow over the changes that have been made to this years tournament.

As I posted in the WSOP Friend Feed room, this year sees a break of almost four months between players reaching the final table and actually playing it. The major reason for this change is to suit the ESPN Prime Time TV Schedule and take the tournament to a whole new level, gaining exposure and (presumably) many $$$ to the organizers. Such a large break does cause some problems though and that’s what’s getting people upset.

Four months break is a long time, here are a few of the arguments (for and against) doing the rounds:

• Any professionals at the table will likely use that time to study the habits and playing style of the people they are up against and make changes to their games accordingly.
• Players who have a read on one of the other players may lose that advantage over the four months break.
• Amateur players can use that time to secure valuable sponsorship before playing out the final table on prime time tv.
• What if one (or more) player(s) can’t make the new date… they could be hospitalised - or worse…

What do you think? Any other reasons for or against you think are vitally important? Do you think there is any chance of collusion (two players forming a partnership and dumping all chips to the one in the best position?) or what about intimidation… four months is a long time to play mind games with your opponents.

Personally I think it’s a bit odd for their to be such a long break in the one tournament, but overall I think the positives may outweigh the negatives… I guess we’ll see soon enough, hopefully it will all go smoothly and the prime time, live tv schedule will turn it into a truly great event.

Sebastian Ruthenberg, playing his first year at the World Series of Poker has absorbed plenty of pressure by taking out event 33, $5,000 seven card stud hi-low at the 2008 WSOP.

Ruthenberg had to hold off names of the calibre of Chris (Jesus) Ferguson (2nd), Marcel Luske (4th), Annie Duke (5th) and Howard Lederer (9th) to take out his maiden WSOP Bracelet and $328,756 in prizemoney.

In the final hand, heads-up with Chris Ferguson, who was rather short-stacked at this stage was in front on 5th street with a pair of aces and Ruthenberg holding nothing, a 4 on sixth street gave Ruthenberg a pair of 4’s and a 7 on the final card gave him two-pair which was enough for the win.

Layne Flack - WSOP Event 34 Winner, $1,500 PL Omaha w/rebuys

Popular pro Layne Flack won his 6th WSOP Bracelet taking home $577,725 and beating Daniel Makowsky heads-up in event 34, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys.

In the final hand, after a bit of raising, Makowsky was all-in before the flop. Layne Flack turned over KKJ2, and Makowsky AK44. The flop produced T57, turn a 6 and the river a K giving Layne Flack trip Kings to win.

It’s been a few days since I last updated the 2008 World Series of Poker, and in that time we’ve seen another 10 winners crowned (too much time playing Full Tilt Poker, and not enough writing!).

Here are the events that have wrapped up over the past few days and all the WSOP Bracelet winners that earned their stripes:

2008 WSOP Event 19: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha
Winner: Vanessa Selbst ($227,965)
Runner-up: Jamie Pickering

2008 WSOP Event 20: $2,000 Limit Hold ‘em
Winner: Daniel Negreanu ($204,874)
Runner-up: Ugur Marangoz

2008 WSOP Event 21: $5,000 No Limit Hold ‘em
Winner: Scott Seiver ($755,891)
Runner-up: Dave Seidman

2008 WSOP Event 22: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E
Winner: Jens Voertmann ($298,253)
Runner-up: Douglas Ganger

2008 WSOP Event 23: $2,000 No Limit Hold ‘em
Winner: Blair Hinkle ($507,563)
Runner-up: Mark Brockington

2008 WSOP Event 24:$2,500 Pot Limit Hold ‘em / Omaha
Winner: Max Pescatori ($246,471)
Runner-up: Kyle Kloeckner

2008 WSOP Event 25: $10,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold ‘em
Winner: Kenny Tran ($539,056)
Runner-up: Alec Torelli

2008 WSOP Event 26: $1,500 Seven Card Razz
Winner: Barry Greenstein ($157,643)
Runner-up: Chris Klodnicki

2008 WSOP Event 27: $1,500 No Limit Hold ‘em
Winner: Vitaly Lunkin ($628,417)
Runner-up: Brett Kimes

2008 WSOP Event 28: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys
Winner: Philip Galfond ($817,781)
Runner-up:Adam Hourani

It’s been a busy few days, but there’s still plenty more to come, we’ve only just reached the half-way point of the 2008 World Series of Poker - stay tuned for more updates in another few days.

Four more events have been completed at the 2008 World Series of Poker and four more champions have won the coveted WSOP Bracelet, here’s a quick update on what’s been happening.

Svetlana Gromenkova - 2008 WSOP Champion, $1000 Ladies NLHE

Svetlana Gromenkova won the annual Ladies No Limit Championship event, pocketing $224,702 as she beat a field of 1190 of the worlds best female poker players.

Svetlana defeated Anh Le (the 2nd time she has finished 2nd in the ladies event!) heads-up to win the title. In the final hand, Le called to go all-in before the flop and showed A6o against Svetlana’s Pocket Kings. With a flop of T97, Le still had a chance with an Ace or Eight, but the turn card of King strengthened Svetlana’s hand and just as well as the river produced an Ace.

Andrew Brown - 2008 WSOP Champion Event 16 $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low

Andrew Brown won his first WSOP Bracelet when he took out the $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low event at the 2008 World Series of Poker. Brown collects $226,483 for defeating a field of 551 players.

Brown beat five-time WSOP Bracelet winner Ted Forrest in an epic heads-up battle that saw the chip lead change a couple of times. In the final hand, there was a little betting after each stage, but Forrest didn’t move all his chips in until after the river (reluctantly by that stage). With a board of 9dJdAh8c2s Brown turned over 4s5dJh2h and Forrest Ad4d7sQs giving Brown the whole pot.

Jason Young - 2008 WSOP Champion Event 17 $1,500 NLHE Shootout

Jason Young has outlasted 1000 players to win the $1,500 No Limit Shootout at the 2008 World Series of Poker collecting $335,565.

Young defeated Mike Schwartz heads-up, with the final hand seeing Schwartz all-in before the flop turning over A4 vs Young’s AJ… no luck with either kicker and Young takes down the pot for the win.

Mike Matusow - 2008 WSOP Champion Event 18 $5,000 NL 2-7 Draw Lowball w/rebuys

Event 18 was not one for the faint hearted and we saw the smallest field so far for the 2008 WSOP (85) battle it out in a $5,000 buy-in 2-7 draw Lowball with rebuys event.

The final table was bursting with WSOP Bracelet holders as Mike Matusow finally defeated Jeffrey Lisandro heads-up. The final hand saw both players immediately move all-in with Lisandro drawing one. Matusow finished with 9-6-5-3-x and Lisandro with Q-8-7-4-3.

Barry Greenstein (3rd), Erick Lindgren (4th), Tom Schneider (5th), Tony ‘Tony G’ Guoga (6th) were also well in contention for the title.

Four more events have been decided at the 2008 World Series of Poker since my last update, here are all the juicy details.

Philip Tom - 2008 WSOP Champion Event #11 $5,000 NLHE Shootout

Philip Tom has defeated a field of 360 players to take out event #11 at the 2008 WSOP, a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold ‘em Shootout. taking home $477,990.

Philip defeated Greg Mueller heads-up to win the event, popular poker pro John Juanda finished 7th.

Jimmy Shultz - 2008 WSOP Champion Event #12 $1,500 Limit Hold ‘em

Jimmy Shultz has won the 2008 WSOP $1,500 Limit Hold’em event, defeating a field of 883 to take home the winners prize of $257,049. In a great show of compassion, Jimmy is donating 25% of his prize money to a special fund set up for Firefighters in the Charleston Fire Department.

Jimmy beat Zachary Fellows heads-up to win the title, Vinny Vinh finished 3rd, and Erick Lindgren finished 10th, going close to his second bracelet this year.

Duncan Bell - 2008 WSOP Champion Event #13 $2,500 NLHE

Duncan Bell is the 2008 WSOP winner of the $2,500 No Limit Hold ‘em Event. 1397 players competed for the title, with Bell winning $666,777 and the coveted WSOP Bracelet.

Duncan defeated Steven Merrifield heads-up to win the event. in the final hand a small pre-flop bet showed 6c8s2s on the table before some larger bets had Merrifield moving all-in. Merrifield’s pocket tens were looking good… until Bell turned over pocket aces. 4c and Jh were the last two cards, not improving either hand, giving the title to Bell.

Eric Brooks - 2008 WSOP Champion Event #14 $10,000 7 Card Stud

Eric Brooks is the big ticket $10,000 buy-in 7 Card Stud Champion of the 2008 WSOP. He defeated a star-studded field of 158 to take home the winners prize of $415, 856.

Eric held off runner-up Fu Wong, in the final hand Wong called to go all-in on 4th street. Players turned over their cards, Brooks had (Ah5s)5d3d and Wong (4cTc)Ac4h. The next two cards had the game delicately balanced with Brooks adding Ad7d giving him two-paid and a flush draw, Wong added 2h4d to put him in front on trip 4’s. The final card saw Brooks make his runner-flush with a Qd, Wong drew 9c unable to draw out a full house and the match was over.

In an amazing act of generosity, Eric Brooks - in his first professional cashin at a major tournament - announced that he was donating the entire amount of his winnings to the Decision Education Foundation, an organization whose mission is to improve the lives of young people by helping them to make better decisions.

Even though Eric is a new comer when it comes to the WSOP, he held off a few players that you ‘may have heard of once or twice’… eight-time WSOP Bracelet winner Erik Seidel finished 5th, two-time winner Vasili Lazarou in 8th and five-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey finished 9th. It seems hardly worth mentioning that Daniel Negreanu was also in there with some sort of chance finishing 11th.

Farzad Rouhani has won the $2,500 buy-in Omaha / 7-card Stud Hi-Low Split event at the 2008 World Series of Poker, defeating a field of 388 players and taking home the winners prize of $232,911.

Runner-up in the event was Tom Chambers, the final hand (Omaha), saw Chambers go all-in on a flop of 3h3c7d. Tom Chambers turned over 9c2cAdTc and Rouhani showed 3d8c2h9s, the turn came up with Ac and the river a 3s giving Rouhani Quads to win the event.

WSOP Update

There are six other events running right now at the 2008 WSOP. Event 11, a $5,000 NLHE (six-handed) Shoot Out event is already down to the final table with Greg Mueller and Sirious Jamshidi the most expienced WSOP players at the table.

Event #12, $1,500 Limit Hold ‘em is shaping up to an exciting finish with only 18 players remaining. Vinny Vinh leads the chip count, and Event #4 winner Erick Lindgren is hot on his heels in 2nd.

Ralph (Rep) Porter has won the 2008 WSOP $1,500 No Limit Hold ‘em Six Handed event - and $372,929 beating a field of 1236 players.

Nathan Templeton finished as the runner-up. The final hand saw a pretty big pot with Templeton all-in before the flop. As they turned over their cards, Porter was definitely in the better spot having KQo vs Templeton’s K9o. The flop came 58J, the 4 on the turn and 3 on the river not improving either hand giving Porter the win.

This was Rep Porter’s 10th cash finish at WSOP/Cicruit events and his first WSOP Bracelet.

Four more events have been decided at the 2008 WSOP, here are all the juicy details to keep you going…

Michael Banducci - 2008 WSOP Champion Event #5 $1000 NLHE w/rebuys

Michael Banducci wins the biggest pot of the 2008 WSOP so far taking home $636,736 for winning the 5th event, $1,000 No Limit Hold ‘em with Rebuys. Michael, who has cashed in 8 times now in the WSOP and circuit events beat new comer Jeff Williams for the bracelet.

The final hand saw Banducci’s AJ up against Williams A5. A jack hit on the flop to make things even harder for Williams to draw out, the turn and the river both drew blanks.

Thang Luu - 2008 WSOP Champion Event #6 $1,500 Omaha H/L

Thang Luu outlasted a field of 832 to win event #6, a $1,500 buy-in Omaha Hi-Low split (8 or better) and takes home $243,342.

Luu defeated first time WSOP casher Spencer Lawrence, in the final hand, Luu hit a king on the river to finish with a full house (kings full of sevens), but always had Lawrence covered who had two small pairs and chasing a straight draw. There was no low split on the final hand.

Matt Keikoan - 2008 WSOP Champion Event #7 $2,000 NLHE

Matt Keikon has won $550,602 as the champion for event 7, $2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold ‘em.

Matt defeated Shannon Shorr in the final hand, Shorr was very short stacked and moved all in with T6o, Keikoan had K5o. The flop came K77, a Q on the turn and another K on the river giving Keikoan Kings full of Sevens to take out the event.

Anthony Rivera - 2008 WSOP Champion Event #8 $10,000 Mixed Event

Anthony Rivera wins his first WSOP bracelet taking out event #8, $10,000 buy-in Mixed Event. He defeated James Mackey (won the 2007 WSOP $5,000 NLHE event) in a field of 192 players. I’m not sure how old James Mackey is exactly, but he looks about 12 (sorry James!), but having now surpassed  $1m in WSOP prizemoney with his 2nd place here, he looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

The final hand was No-Limit Hold ‘em, and the very first hand of heads-up play. Mackey re-raised and was then put all-in and we saw Rivera with AKo vs Mackey with A9o. The flop came QQ2, followed by a 4 on the turn and a 5 on the river.

Some very big names finished just outside the final table, Gus Hansen (10th), Johnny Chan (13th) and Doyle Brunson (21st).

After 14 previous WSOP event cashes, Erick Lindgren finally wins his first bracelet winning the 2008 World Series of Poker $5,000 buy-in Mixed Hold ‘em (Limit / No-Limit) event.

Defeating a field of 332 players, Erick pocketed a cool $374,505. In the final hand, heads up against 22yo Justin ‘ZeeJustin’ Bonomo, there was a little action after the turn card, but it wasn’t until the river hit that Bonomo moved all-in. With the board showing Tc5c3d4h8h, Lindgren turned over Ah2d having hit the straight on the turn, Bonomo only had 5s4s giving him two paid.

Howard Lederer finished the tournament in 6th position.

Congratulations goes out to David Singer who won his first WSOP bracelet (and $214,132) in event #3 of the 2008 World Series of Poker a #1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold ‘em tournament.

David out lasted a field of 713, defeating Jacobo Fernandez heads up.

The turning point was the second last hand where Singer went all in pre-flop holding AK v Fernandez’s 55. The flop came KAT the next two cards were 84 and Singer doubled up. The very next hand saw a board of 3576. Singer’s bet of 40,000 is raised to 180,000 - Singer re-raises enough to force Fernandez all-in, which he does. Singer holds Q4s, Fernandez two pair with 73o, the river card is a J and Singer wins.