Already up over $3m in tournament earnings this year thanks to a 2nd-place finish at the GuangDong Asia Millions, Rossiter could make it an astonishing 2013 tomorrow with a win.

A very tidy £560,980 ($895,268) sits up top for the winner and Rossiter has prime position for it with a massive 5,205,000 chip stack - almost 1m clear of second-place Georgios Karakousis.

If David Yan and Martin Kozlov are any indication, though, this year's main event hasn't worked out well for overnight chip leaders.

Yan and Kozlov Flame Out, Ylitalo and Sjavik Linger

Day 3 chip leader Kozlov and Day 4 chip leader Yan looked like locks to make the final eight this year but both ran dry at the wrong times to fall short.

Yan, last night's leader with 2.3m, ran into all kinds of problems all day and was gone in 12th. Kozlov hung around a little longer but busted out on the bubble in ninth.

Jan Sjavik: Been here before.

 

A diverse bunch grabbed the waiting seats instead including Swedish pro Robin Ylitalo, who's looked strong all tournament, and Brit/German Ludovic Geilich.

Slovakian Stefan Vagner, Brits Leo McClean and Kully Sidhu and Norway's Jan Olav Sjavik - thrid-place finisher at the 2008 EPT London main event - round out the final eight.

Official chip counts to start the final table:

Check the PokerStars blog for a recap of all today's action; tune in tomorrow at 2 pm GMT for Live Streaming coverage of the final table.

The first-ever WSOPE Ladies Event kicked off the first-ever WSOPE held at the Casino Enghien-en-Bains venue outside Paris today with 65 ladies buying in for €1,100.

By day's end the story was all Glazier as she racked up 57,400 for a commanding chip lead to start the final table.

The last woman standing at the WSOP Main Event in Vegas, Glazier looked zoned in from start to finish and ready to grab the WSOP bracelet that eluded her this summer.

Baumann Hangs On as Short Stack, Boeree Out in 12th

Baumann: Still has a shot.

 

Speaking of last women standing in the Main Event, France's Gaelle Baumann was also on hand today in Enghien-en-Bains and managed to squeak into the final eight as the short stack.

With just 4,500 in chips (11 big blinds) Baumann will have to make a move very early tomorrow to have any chance of making a run.

She'll hope to hang on for at least one more elimination as that's when the money will kick in as well. The final table and chip counts:

The other most famous name in the final two tables - PokerStars pro Liv Boeree - fell just outside the final eight when her short stack ran into the kings of Anais Lerouge.

For a full recap of the action all day head over to the PokerListings Live Updates. Tune in tomorrow at 5 pm local time for the play down to the winner!

PokerListings will be on the scene from start to finish as the exclusive live coverage partner this year so be sure to check our WSOPE page daily. Day 1 recap video below:

After several heart-breaking finishes at the WSOP over the last couple years, Glazier finally secured her first gold bracelet in the Ladies Event in Enghien-les-Bains.

The affable Australian was the dominant force of the tournament and, despite a brief scare against Maryline Valente heads-up, was confident she would win from the very beginning.

“I’ve always aspired to win a WSOP bracelet and to do it in the first Ladies Event in Europe is a real honor,” said the 888poker pro.

The Ladies Event was the first tournament of the 2013 WSOPE and although it produced a relatively small field with only 65 runners, it was a surprisingly tough one with Liv Boeree, Loni Harwood, Allyn Jaffrey Shulman and Jessica Dawley among the contestants.

Gaëlle Baumann Goes Out Early in Seventh

Gaëlle Baumann

 

Even the final table was no cakewalk with pros Gaëlle Baumann and Laurie Bismuth on deck.           

Baumann couldn’t overcome her severe chip deficit and finished seventh. On the bright side she did make it into the money and picked up €3,200 for her efforts.

Glazier finished second in a $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em in Vegas in 2012. Although it was a huge payoff - she won $458,996 - it was a particularly painful finish as she had a massive chip lead over heads-up opponent Greg Ostrander at one point.

Earlier this year Glazier outlasted thousands of players and become the last woman standing in 2013 WSOP Main Event.

Eventually Glazier finished 31st and although she picked up $229,281 for her efforts she had aspirations to go much farther.

In the final hand of the Ladies Event, Glazier got it in good with pocket jacks against Maryline Valente’s pocket sixes.

Glazier was speechless as the tournament director counted up the chips and declared her the winner.

“I’ve had so many close calls,” she said. “If I came second again I don’t know how I would have coped with it. I’m so glad I got there in the end.”

Here are the complete payouts from the 2013 WSOPE Event 1 €1,100 Ladies Event:

Hovering around the chip lead for the last few days of play Ylitalo took control when it mattered most - when play got down to five-handed - and rode his lead to victory.

Coming into heads-up play with 11m of the 18m chips in play, Ylitalo finished Greek businessman Karakousis off in short order to snag his biggest career score.

Ylitalo's take counted out at exactly £560,980. Karakousis, who qualified via a $215 satellite, pocketed £349,200 for second.

McClean Moves Up, Rossiter Drops

Chip leader coming into the final table, Jeff Rossiter, fell victim to the same curse Day 3 and Day 4 chip leaders Martin Kozlov and David Yan did.

Nothing much went right from the get go and Rossiter hit the bricks in fifth.

Brit Leo McClean on the other hand, who started the day under a million in chips, ran his way all the way up third place and a £249,850 payday - quite the return on a £93 total investment on satellites.

As the cherry on top he also won the Skrill Last Longer competition, meaning he got his buy-in back too.

Close but no for Rossiter.

 

The official final eight and payouts:

Get a full recap of all the final-table action on the PokerStars blog. Watch the final-table replay right here.

Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey both registered late for Day 1a of Event 2 €1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry.

Although both players busted later in the day it was a sign that this year’s WSOPE has officially taken flight.

Event 2 was the first open-tournament of the 2013 WSOPE and 261 players made the journey to Enghien-les-Bains for the day’s festivities. Tomorrow is expected to be even bigger.

Beyond Ivey and Hellmuth there were plenty of pros including Ryan Riess, Tuan Le, Barry Shulman, Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, Mike Leah and Max Pescatori bought in.

888poker had a particularly large presence with Max Steinberg, Sam Holden, Jake Balsiger, Jesse Sylvia, Jay Farber and Russell Thomas and plenty of qualifiers in on the action.

Ashton Misses First Chance to Pull Away from Negreanu

Matthew Ashton

 

Current POY leader Matt Ashton also made an appearance as he attempts to put some distance between himself and Daniel Negreanu here at the 2013 WSOPE.

Negreanu, who is expected to arrive tomorrow, trails Ashton by 50 points in the POY race.

Jay Farber and Tuan Le were two of the most prolific players on Day 1a and spent time amongst the chip leaders.

Both players took a few hits towards the end of the day but finished more than 30,000 chips.

The overall chip lead went to Niels Herrgodts, who amassed 55,000 chips.

Day 1a of the Event 2 wasn’t the only tournament running, however, as earlier in the day Jackie Glazier won her first WSOP bracelet in the Ladies Event.

Meanwhile Day 1b of Event 2 begins tomorrow at noon local time. Be sure to follow our WSOPE live updates for all the action from the tournament floor. Day 2 recap video below:

Over 5,000 pairs of rainbow shoelaces were sent to all professional clubs in England, Scotland and Wales.

Everton FC were amongst the teams to back the bid by wearing the laces in their away victory at West Ham.

“For me and the rest of the lads at Everton a player’s sexuality is not important, but their ability on the pitch is," Everton and England center-half Phil Jagielka told Yahoo! Sports.

"No one should feel that they can’t be themselves - on or off the pitch - so that is why we are supporting this initiative.”

Featherweight fighter Orlando Cruz recently made the headlines when he became the first openly gay boxer in the sport's history.

To show support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) social movement Cruz fought - and lost - against Orlando Salido in Las Vegas wearing rainbow-colored shorts and pink-and-black boxing gloves.

And How Does Poker Pitch In?

Earlier this week Dan Bilzerian reached out to his 14,823 Twitter followers with news that Jeff Gross had won a prop bet against Bill Perkins worth, reportedly, $550,000.

That’s a large sum of money. So what on earth had Gross done to earn it?

Holy fuck @bp22 lost bet Jeff got paid 550,000$ to get a gay rainbow tattoo on his back, and can't… http://t.co/SnndYII7Lz

That’s right.

Whilst we all have a cheeky fiver with our mates over who will pull the bird by the bar, Bill Perkins paid Jeff Gross $550,000 to have a "gay rainbow tattoo" on his back.

Bill Perkins

 

A Harmless Joke?

During a recent interview with PokerNews sideline reporter Kristy Arnett, Gross said:

“I am not homophobic, and if anyone knows me they will know I’m not gay. I support gay marriage, and gay rights.

"It was just a ridiculous scenario. I had the value and had to do it.”

I don’t know Perkins, so I cannot comment on his opinion of homophobia. But I do know men, and believe this is nothing more than a couple of friends having a laugh.

Unfortunately, there could be deeper consequences as a result of their actions and it does raise the issue of responsibility.

What Are Those Consequences?

Back in May the Observer revealed that the Players Football Association (PFA) Chairman Clarke Carlisle was approached by eight gay footballers - of whom seven had decided to stay quiet.

Not because they were scared of the reaction of teammates but for fears of how fans and the media would respond.

Back to boxing and Cruz told Yahoo Sports that, ‘I was scared,’ before adding, “I was worried about other boxers. I was worried about the fans. I would cry many, many nights thinking about it."

"Supporter" of gay rights.

 

A prop bet is essentially a dare. If you are successful you win a prize and if you fail you suffer a forfeit.

So Perkins believes that showing your support for the rights of gay people is a "punishment" for Gross worthy of a $550,000 wager.

Players will continue to talk to Gross about this bet when he is at the table. Some might want to see the tattoo. There will be discussions centered on whether or not other players would have done the same.

Some players will say they would have done it and others will say they would have been against it. All the time a gay poker player might be sat there, intimidated or unable to express his opinion.

Imagine a young gay person who has struggled with homophobia all of his life. He sees Gross’s tattoo and engages him in conversation.

After a short while the young gay person thanks Gross for his support for gay rights.

“What! Oh that! I did that for a bet mate … yeah … some guy paid me $550,000 to have it tattooed on my back for a forfeit.

"I’m not gay … but I do support gay rights.”

There were a total of 398 entries today, which bumped the overall field up to 659 players. The €1,100 re-entry event is now the second biggest WSOPE tournament ever.

The prizepool hit €632,640 with €129,700 dedicated to first place.

Both Ivey and Hellmuth had pretty uneventful days with Ivey getting unlucky and busting with AQ to AJ in the second hand he played while Hellmuth made it past dinner but then was eliminated by Richard Yong.

888poker’s Steinberg was eliminated in the first couple levels and will have to wait another day to take a shot at his second WSOP bracelet.

German Kilian Kramer Finishes with Chip Lead

Kilian Kramer

 

While the biggest names faltered there were a couple big names from Down Under who built massive stacks.

Aussie Jonathan Karamalikis, known by the informal nickname xMONSTERxDONGx, finished with 81,300 chips while New Zealand’s Daniel Laidlaw finished with 59,400.

Former November Niner Chino Rheem also did well, finishing with 62,600.

It was particularly impressive considering Rheem was seated at a dangerous table with Matt Ashton and Scott Clements for much of the day.

The overnight chip lead, however, went to German Kilian Kramer who picked up 102,400 chips.

Perhaps the only thing missing on Day 1b was Daniel Negreanu who relayed via Twitter that he was skipping the event to concentrate on tomorrow’s tournament and to “…do that Eiffel Tower and Louvre thing.”

Action in Event 2 resumes at noon tomorrow but tomorrow also marks the start of an entirely new event. The €5,300 No-Limit Hold’em Mixed-Max starts at 3 p.m.

Follow our exclusive 2013 WSOPE homepage for coverage; check our Day 3 video with Ladies Event champion Jackie Glazier below.

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments and we'll take a look.

Today in the WSOPE video 3-Bet we find Liv Boeree looking to parlay poker into a TV career, November Niner Ryan Riess proclaiming he played perfect poker for the entirety of the Main Event (no, really) and Chino Rheem fessing up to making some financial mistakes but manning up for his culpability.

1) Liv Boeree: Dreams of TV Gig, Snow

She came up just short of her first WSOP bracelet in the first-ever WSOPE Ladies Event this weekend but Liv Boeree is not going to stop aiming high, either in poker or her life.

One of the most popular players on Team PokerStars pro Liv is now settled in London and hopes to parlay some of her poker fame into a TV acting gig:

2) Ryan Riess: "I Played Every Hand of the Main Event Perfectly"

If you caught our WSOPE Day 2 update video this weekend you saw a clip of 2013 WSOP November Niner Ryan Riess making one of the boldest claims we've ever heard in poker.

When you play high-stakes poker a bit of ego comes with the territory but Riess took it to the next level when he claimed he's played every hand in the Main Event perfectly to this point.

All of them. Perfectly.

We'd like to argue, but he is in the November Nine after all. An example of his perfect play, according to Riess, below:

3) Chino Rheem: Holding On to the Money is the Problem

Speaking of November Niners, David "Chino" Rheem was one of the first players to ever make the N9 and, at the time, was considered one of the favorites to win.

He didn't. But with his $1.7m score for finishing seventh and a couple of other huge wins over the next few years, including this year's WPT World Championship, Rheem has taken down several million in tournament earnings.

The problem for Chino? Keeping that money in his pockets, as he's made some mistakes in the past that still have him in debt. Mistakes he's willing to own up to, though:

“Honestly to me it all comes down the Main Event and whether we can achieve significant growth over last year,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart.

Stewart went on to explain that the current WSOPE venue in Enghien-les-Bains is much closer to their original vision for the series with greater capacity and a huge population base nearby.

“I think it’s only fair to play out this festival and see the response from the players,” said Stewart.

“Barriere have been incredible partners for us. At the same time we recognize there’s some challenges to hosting a poker tournament in France.”

Stewart referred to the closed market for online poker and the ability to only run Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha games as ongoing issues.

Learning from Experiences in Cannes

Phil Hellmuth thought Cannes was alright.

 

If the WSOPE does move Stewart mentioned England and Spain as potential new locations.

“Returning to London is possible but only if we could do it in a much grander style more akin to what we’ve been able to achieve in France,” said Stewart.

“At the same time we can’t ignore THE hot market at the time, which is really Spain. I think that could be a natural evolution for WSOPE.”

Stewart admitted the WSOP had to learn from its experiences in Cannes, which saw a decline in attendance last year.

“We’ve always been very confident our brand will draw players no matter what,” he said.

“I think it was a moment we had to sit back and understand that’s not always the case, particularly now.”

Stewart admitted that not taking the World Championship of Online Poker into account was a serious oversight last year.

“Having a date that doesn’t conflict with the biggest online poker tournament series in the world was important to us this year,” he said.

Reflecting on Seven Years of WSOPE

Annette Obrestad still the pinnacle moment.

 

It seems like only yesterday the World Series of Europe debuted at the Empire Casino in London but the series is rapidly approaching its 10-year anniversary.

“We came from very humble beginnings,” said Stewart.

“We were working from multiple venues in the beginning. We had tables under the stairs. You could hear slot machines and coffeemakers near the tables. We had to expect more.”

Despite the less-than-ideal circumstances Stewart still remembers the inaugural WSOPE fondly.

“For me the highlight moment of the WSOPE is still the first year and having Annette win because it was the perfect confluence,” he said.

“It was someone that wasn’t able to play in the US and a female. We ended up making news on the BBC. It showed what is possible with poker. It set the bar so high.”

Despite its prestigious history there are still a number of misconceptions about the WSOPE, according to Stewart.

“The one thing I can say about the WSOPE, and a lot of people don’t know this, but this is not a moneymaking endeavor for us,” he said.

“We spend more on video production than we take in fees for poker. This is really something we’re doing because we believe in the long-term vision of poker and we believe in the WSOPE brand.”

The 2013 WSOPE runs until October 25. Check the PokerListings 2013 WSOPE portal for exclusive coverage.

Johansson, a fairly unheralded grinder from Sweden, was anything but today is he racked up the big stack heading into the final table of Event 2, €1,100 NLHE Re-Entry.

Ivey, meanwhile, lead a parade of big names that included Phil Hellmuth, Scott Clements and November Niners Marc-Etienne McLaughlin and David Benefield into Day 2 of the marquee €5,300 Mix Max event.

Johansson Controls 25% of Chips In Event #2

Day 2 in Event 2 started with 85 players and 8.5 levels later was reduced to just nine.

Chip leader Henrik Johansson.

 

Swede Henrik Johansson will go in tomorrow as undisputed chip leader with 587,500 and over a quarter of the chips in play.

Johansson's stack got some extra padding when he eliminated Marco Conti in tenth place to set the final nine.

Joining Johansson are a relatively unknown but deciedly determined group all looking for their first bracelet. The full final table line up:

Play restarts at noon CET tomorrow with cards-up live streaming on a 30-minute delay starting shortly after. Watch all of the action live plus get hand-for-hand recaps right here on PokerListings.com.

O'Donnell Leads but Ivey, Hellmuth On Hunt

Eyes bracelet #10.

 

The first "big-name" event of the 2013 WSOPE kicked off today in the Casino Barriere with 135 players taking aim at the prestigious €5,300 Mix Max bracelet.

Registration is open right up until the start of Day 2 so that number could increase but no one is likely to take any of the focus off Phil Ivey tomorrow.

Ivey, who still sends a buzz through a poker room whenever he appears, did exactly that when he took a seat early in the day.

He didn't disappoint, either, socializing with fans and playing plenty of hands before bagging up a solid 51,300 chip stack.

The end-of-day chip leader is Matt O'Donnell with 73,425 but he'll have to contend with multiple bracelet winners among the 67 players bearing down tomorrow. Scott Clements, Jason Duval, James Dempsey and Phil Hellmuth are just a few of them. 

Six-handed play starts at 1:00pm and play will go down to the Final 16. The Final 16 will play four-handed on Day 3 and the final four will battle it out heads up.

The top 10 in chips entering Day 2:

Full chip counts can be found here; revisit the action from Day 1 and tune in for Day 2 in our WSOPE Live Updates. Watch our daily recap video from the Casino Barriere below:

Johansson dominated 659 entries to take down Event 2 €1,100 NLHE Re-Entry for €129,700 at the 2013 World Series of Poker on Tuesday.

“It was good fun,” said Johansson after winning. “It’s been a good experience. I’m more comfortable playing live now than I was going into the tournament.”

Just 21 years old, Henrik Johansson learned poker from the WSOP videogame at a very young age.

Eventually Johansson received $10 on an online poker site and never looked back.

Johansson was in the middle of a big year on 888poker when he actually won a raffle on the site to come play in Paris. He decided to try his luck at the live game for the first time ever. It was apparently the right decision.

Turbo Final Table Takes Place in Under Six Hours

Heads-up

 

The final table in Event 2 took place at a rapid-fire pace. In little more than five hours the nine players to start the table were reduced to just one.

Daniel Laidlaw and Daniel Weinman were arguably the two most well-known players at the final table but never really got the momentum they needed.

Laidlaw finished sixth while Weinman went out in fourth.

The highlight moment of the entire final table saw Johansson get all-in with pocket kings against heads-up opponent Yanik Botbol’s set of fours. Johansson binked a king on the river and went on to win the tournament.

Here are the complete final-table payouts:

Check out Henrik Johansson's backstory and footage from his winner interview in PokerListings.com's latest faily video.

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments and we'll happily take a look.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Hellmuth taking his latest WSOPE bustout right to his beating teenage heart, Jonathan Duhamel taking the ups and downs of the past few years as a chance to grow as a person and 888 Poker sweeping the gold bracelets so far at this year's series.

1) Hellmuth Misses 100th Cash, Suffers Emotionally

When most of us talk about swings in poker, we're talking about dollars and cents. Upswings, downswings, running good, running bad.

When we talk about Phil Hellmuth and swings, nine times out of 10 we're talking emotional swings. Like wild, teenage girl emotional swings.

Check out just a small sample from his Twitter feed to see the wild ride Phil feels within hours. Cue tweet about the importance of family in 3, 2, 1...

Today my #PHWhiteMagic is fired up!! My timing & reads have been terrific so far, but talk is cheap. I need to walk the walk 2 more hrs

One hundred, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100!! Going for my 100th WSOP cash today in in #WSOPE in Paris! #WSOPCash100

I have 5,000 in chips, ouch!!! 25 left, 16 paid, ave 80,000...Blinds 800-1600. Looks bleak now for #WSOPCash100, but I never give up!

I Ran it up to 40K and jammed all in w 9-9 in small blind vs buttons A-Q (he called) and I lost the flip and finished in 24th, 16 paid...

Was surprised my opponent called 37,000 w A-Q as it was my 1st all in in 14 levels of play, BUT I did declare war on him to confuse him!!

In room Feeling depressed...I shoulda played better today! I'm in the zone & I had the chip stack to get my historic #WSOPCash100 #BlewIt

2) Jonathan Duhamel: "I'm a Better Person Than I was 2 Years Ago"

We've always said poker kind of hit the jackpot when Jonathan Duhamel won the Main Event in 2010. And if the number of active, passionate poker players in Quebec today are any indication, he's single-handedly had a huge effect on the economy of the game.

With Marc-Etienne McLaughlin, another Quebecer, in the November Nine this year we could even be looking at two French-Canadian WSOP champs in just four years - which, if you think about it, is pretty mind-blowing.

We caught up with the former champ in Paris and got his thoughts on poker in Quebec, life on the poker road and how he's overcome the frightening home invasion he went through in 2011.

3) 888 Poker Now 2-0 in 2013 WSOPE Bracelet Events

First 888 Poker pro Jackie Glazier took down the first-ever WSOPE Ladies Event in dominating fashion.

Now 888 raffle winner Henrik Johansson has gone wire-to-wire to win Event #2, giving 888 an impeccable 2-0 record in bracelet events so far.

Still alive in Event 3, the €5,300 Mixed-Max? Another patch-wearing 888 member in Vancouver lawyer Jason Mann. Our suggestion? Get some money down on him now.

Check the winner interview with a clearly thrilled Glazier below along with highlights from the 888 party on the Seine:

Going off this year from Nov. 1-3 at Vilage Green Card Club, the Super Stack has seen the likes of Irish icons Reggie Corrigan, Nicky Power, Ken Doherty and Scott Gray at the tables in the past.

The top three finishers in the PokerListings freeroll will all earn €165 seats to join the field at this year's event.

No qualification is necessary - freeroll is open to all PokerListings players (players who created an account at 888 via a PokerListings link).

Minimum number of entrants is 8 for the freeroll to run.

Sign up and create a new account via our 888poker review to be eligible.

The embattled Rheem has been accused not paying back debts and worse on TwoPlusTwo poker forum.

“I’ve done some things I’m not proud of,” he said in an interview with PokerListings.

“I man up to it. I admit it. I try to live each day and make the best of it.”

According to Rheem the online rumblings aren’t just hearsay.

“The things people say online are not necessarily all true but there is some truth in what they say,” he said.

Despite his troubles Rheem actually had a big score earlier this year when he won WPT World Championship for $1.1 million.

Even that wasn’t enough to get Rheem out of debt however.

“I started the WSOP this summer with a 10-mile head start after winning the WPT and I probably ended dead last,” he said. “That was nobody’s fault but my own and I realize that.”

Rheem: "I Try to Make the Best of Any Situation"

Chino Rheem

 

Rheem is in Enghien-les-Bains for WSOPE and had a decent start to the series when he finished 22nd for $6,216.

“I have this mentality that it’s going to be OK,” he said.

“I try to make the best of any situation. There’s no point in being a pessimist. It doesn’t help to think negative.”

Rheem looks up to fellow pro Erick Lindgren, who he beat heads-up at the WPT Championship. Lindgren also had some financial difficulties that he’s still trying to overcome.

“E-dog is one of the people that I respect the most in poker,” he said.

“He’s a great guy. He came clean and said that he had some issues. He’s just trying to make the best of it. You can’t knock anyone for their past mistakes.”

For the time being Rheem said he’s concentrating on getting out of debt but he doesn’t want to play poker for his entire life.

“I play because it’s what I’m good at,” he said. “For me personally I just want to finally get out [of debt] and then figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

Rheem said that he’s disappointed with how he’s reacted after making the various big scores of his career.

“I keep saying that I’m going to try and change but let’s be honest I haven’t really done that fully. It just takes a lot of trial and error for someone to grow as a man. For me personally it took a lot of trial and error.”

For even more with Rheem check out the exclusive interview he did with PokerListings below:

The marquee event so far at the 2013 WSOPE has been the €5,300 Mixed-Max with dozens of big names battling for a piece of the final 16.

Schwartz, a massively successful pro from South Florida, rose to the top but plenty of pros including Shannon Shorr, James Dempsey, Dan O'Brien and the ever-dangerous Phil Ivey came along for the ride.

Meanwhile on Day 1 of the €1,650 PLO, Jason Mercier staked out some familiar turf as one of the major bracelet contenders.

Schwartz, Shorr, Ivey Lead Field into Four-Handed Play

Six-handed play today saw a quick whittling of the Mixed-Max field down to the final 16.

Taking full advantage was Schwartz, who fell just short of his first WSOP bracelet this summer when he finished runner-up in Event #22, $1,500 PLO.

He'll take 262,000 into four-handed play tomorrow followed closely by Shorr at 252,000 and 888 Poker's Jason Mann at 232,500.

Also making things interesting will be the one and only Phil Ivey who moved on to Day 3 with 90,500. The final 16 and chip counts:

Ivey: Always a threat.

 

Action will get down to just four players tomorrow who will battle it out heads-up for the title on Thursday. Tune in right here on PokerListings.com tomorrow at 1 pm for full live updates right from the tourney floor.

Mercier in the Hunt for Third PLO Bracelet

Few players have an edge in Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments like Jason Mercier does and he proved it yet again today. Already with two WSOP PLO bracelets in the bag Mercier piled up a Top 5 chip stack in Event #4, €1,650 PLO.

JMerc: PLO is his bag.

 

He'll start Day 2 with 46,700 trailing just Ryan Chapman (96,600), Jan Peter Jachtmann (69,900) and Fabrice Soulier (63,400).

The winner of this event will pocket €70,324 except Mercier, thanks to a big side bet with Ivey, who'll score an extra €130k. The top 10 in chips heading into Day 2:

Get the full rundown of today's action and tune in for more at 1 pm local time right here. Check out Swede Henrik Johansson's experience winning his first bracelet below:

Well, everywhere except France, where masseuses haven't been able to work at poker tournaments since 2011.

This is again the case at this year's WSOPE in Enghien-les-Bains where the massage girls from Goldfingers -- professional masseuses who have worked on poker tournaments around the world for years to help poker players stay loose at the tables -- are sorely missed.

Where the massage girls at??? @wsop #WSOPe

So what is it with the French people and their aversion to massages? Maeva Taranne, one of girls from Goldfingers, who are working just outside the tournament room, explains:

“We're fine in every single other country in the world," Taranne says.

"But the French Gambling Police decided to ban us from the tables in case we could see the players' cards, because of some scandal with a journalist.”

The Law's the Law

Tekintamgac cheats, masseuses pay.

 

The scandal Taranne is talking about is the Ali Tekintamgac case, a German player who was caught cheating at the Partouche Poker Tour Cannes in 2010.

Tekintamgac allegedly had three journalist accomplices standing behind the other players and telling him what cards they had.

So the law's the law, and the tournament organizers have no choice but to comply. Lucille Denos, Tournament Director for Barrière and Co-Director of the WSOPE with Jack Effel, says:

“When you organize a tournament in a casino or in a venue owned by the organizers, just like the Grand Hôtel Barrière here, you have to comply with casino regulations.

"You need a special authorization to get into the playing zone, and we can only award it to professions that are deemed “essentials,” like journalists. For now, that's not the case for the masseuses.”

Of course, Taranne finds the decision regrettable:

“I've never heard any complaint from the players. On the contrary, I think they were delighted to be able to get a massage while playing.”

Bevand: Something That Can Only Happen in France

Speaking of the players Jonathan Duhamel, for example, was quite a fan of massages:

Bevand: See the irony here Labor Board?

 

“You know, when you play poker for 12 hours and you have back issues, it's nice to be able to get a massage. So yeah, that's pretty sad.

"The girls may see the cards? Yeah, it's one of the risks, but you should make sure you protect them well enough and no-one can see them.Plus I think that the girls they hire are generally trustworthy.”

French pro Manuel Bevand is on the same page and even spares a thought for the masseuses:

“Something like that can only happen in France. I mean, banning the masseuses from the poker tables, really?

"It's sad for us players, but it's mostly sad for the masseuses themselves since they get less work.”

Taranne confirms:

“We got really angry at the time, because that meant losing money, losing clients, losing great partners like Partouche or Barrière – which also meant losing such great events as the WSOPE in Cannes or here in Enghien.”

Bevand doesn't even understand the Police's argument and makes an excellent point:

“They say they banned it for security reasons? There's never been any problem. The Tekintamgac scandal? Well sure, but the masseuse can't choose who she's going to massage.

“If it's about Labor Law, then it's so very French. Now we're preventing people from working and making money.”

Being in the Hallway Isn't Great

Maeva Taranne (left)

 

Could there be other reasons behind this ban? That's what Taranne thinks.

“The Gambling Police didn't want to have money passing from hand to hand during tournaments.”

Tournament organizers did their best to offer an alternative to the players, setting up a small massage booth at the entrance of the tournament room. But this doesn't come close to replacing the table massages.

“The players only get 10- or 15-minute breaks," Taranne says. "They get out of the room to walk a bit, to have a smoke, chat about their previous hands, but they don't get massages.

"Being in the hallway isn't great and 15 minutes really isn't enough to get a massage. It's not ideal.”

The end result?

“Well, if we want to work on poker tournaments," Taranne says, "we have to go abroad. That's a shame.”

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments and we'll take a look.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi explaining the downside of a poker player's life when he has kids, Noah Schwartz cementing his legacy both in and out of poker and a few of the game's best debating the pros and cons of the WSOPE's new Paris location.

1) Grinder Feeling Grind Away from Kids

With a nickname like "The Grinder," Michael Mizrachi is obviously no stranger to spending long hours at poker tables around the world.

When you're 25, there's probably no place you'd rather be. When you're 32, and you have three kids, and your professional demands take you around the world regularly, it can become a bit of a grind.

One of the most successful poker tournament pros of all time, Mizrachi took a few minutes to talk with PokerListings about his plans to slow down in poker and spend a bit more time with his family in the coming years.

2) Pros Weigh In on Paris Pros and Cons

In just seven years the World Series of Poker Europe has already touched down in three different locations - London, Cannes and this year in Enghien-les-Bains outside Paris.

According to WSOP Exec Ty Stewart, it might not be done moving yet.

We spoke with pros Chino Rheem, Jonathan Duhamel and Michael Mizrachi about the good and bad of this year's locale.

3) Noah Schwartz Wants to Leave Legacy Outside Poker, Help Kids

With over $3.5 million in career live tournament earnings South Florida-based pro Noah Schwartz has already established a legacy as one of the best players in the game.

A fourth-place finish in Event #3 at this year's WSOPE today only reaffirmed what we already knew. But for Schwartz, who grew up without a big bankroll, life is also about giving back.

We caught up with him for a few minutes this morning and heard about his plans to start a foundation that helps better the lives of kids.

O'Brien, a longtime horse and best friend of Mercier, sits on a dominating chip lead heading into the last heads-up match of Event #3, €5,300 No-Limit Hold'em Mixed Max.

Mercier, already the owner of two WSOP PLO bracelets, also has his sights on gold with a spot in the final six of Event #4, €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha.

Danny-Darko: O'Brien on Edge of First WSOP Bracelet

Big edge into final match.

 

The final 16 in Event #3, €5,300 NLHE Mixed-Max, got down to business quickly today with some fast and furious four-handed play.

They went so fast, in fact, that instead of playing down to the final four they went right into the semi-final heads-up matches with Dan O'Brien and Darko Stojanovic emerging victorious.

With O'Brien holding 2/3 of the chips in play by that point his inclusion in the heads-up finale was almost a given. With a 1.4m-100k chip edge on 888 rep Jason Mann, O'Brien only gave up one double up before ending things.

Frenchman Stojanovic knocked out Noah Schwartz in just one hand but will face a 1.5m-500k disadvantage for heads-up play tomorrow.

Shannon Shorr was on the wrong end of a KK-QQ cooler against O'Brien to go out in fifth. Phil Ivey also came close but busted in 10th. Tomorrow's match-up:

Play will pick up at noon CET with hand-for-hand updates and live streaming coverage right here on PokerListings.com. A tidy €188,160 awaits the winner.

Mercier in Final Six but Helppi, Ausmus to Catch

Chip leader Helppi won't go quietly.

 

With O'Brien in the driver's seat for his first WSOP gold it could be a big, big day for the Jason Mercier stable tomorrow.

PokerStars pro Mercier got himself in position for another PLO bracelet in Event #4, €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha, after an up-and-down last couple of levels but will start the day as the second-shortest stack.

As we know in PLO big swings can happen so Mercier can't be counted out, although he has some talented pros to catch in Juha Helppi, Jeremy Ausmus and Jan Peter Jachtmann.

Mercier does have some extra incentive though with a €130k side bet with Phil Ivey he can cash in on. Here's how the chip counts and seating arrangement look:

Tune in at 2 pm CET (8 am ET) to watch the cards-up live stream and for hand-for-hand updates.

O’Brien entered the final day of the Mix Max as the big favorite with 1.5 million chips to Stojanovic’s 507,000.

Instead the Frenchman scored an early double up and then chipped away at O’Brien. It took just over 50 hands for Stojanovic to overcome his chip deficit and beat O’Brien.

Not Every Day You Play With Ivey, Hellmuth

It was a dramatic victory for the Frenchman who plays poker semi-professionally.

Darko Stojanovic

 

“I’m really happy because I beat some great players,” said Stojanovic though a translator. “It’s not every day you get to play against Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth.”

In the final hand of the tournament O’Brien flopped the nut-flush draw with A♥ 5♥ on a Q♥ 6♥ 4♣ board. Stojanovic shoved with pocket sevens and O’Brien called for his tournament life.

The board finished with the J♠ and then the 8♦ to put O’Brien’s bracelet dreams on hold although he did pick up €116,280 for his efforts.

It was still a heart-breaking defeat for O’Brien who also finished runner-up in the €3k NLHE Shootout at the WSOPE last year.

The New Yorker appeared destined to win the tournament when he entered the semi-finals with Jason Mann, Noah Schwartz and Stojanovic holding nearly 2/3 of the chips in play.

O’Brien now has over $2.3 million in lifetime tournament earnings but a major poker title still eludes him.

Here are the top four results for Event 3 €5.3k NLHE Mix Max: 

Live coverage is ongoing from the WSOPE as we speak with full cards-up streaming coverage of Event #4, €1,650 PLO plus two more events. Follow it all right here!

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments and we'll take a look.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Hellmuth locking down his 100th career WSOP cash but ending up tweeting from his hotel room again, David "Doc" Sands taking his poker hubris to the next level and Dan O'Brien denied again on the doorstep of his first career WSOP bracelet.

1) Hellmuth Gets 100th Cash, Alone in Room Again

The emotional roller coaster that is poker icon Phil Hellmuth delivered another classic ride today in Event #5, €2,200 No-Limit Hold'em.

Cruising along with an above-average stack and 36 players left, Hellmuth felt like he was "in the zone" and celebrated his 100th career WSOP cash.

Minutes later he was up in his room ruminating on how it all went so wrong so fast. He also managed to drop a classic "It's just a game to you, this is my life" bomb in the process. Check the timeline below and look for Phil to pop up in Event #6 momentarily.

Feels wonderful to hit my #WSOPCash100!! I've got 99 cashes, & a 100th one! BUT no time to celebrate as I'm in the zone w 36 players left

Wow! I had a ton of chips and was in the zone, and just like that I'm out! I let the crazy player bluff me on the river or Im chip leader

Tough tough spot, but if I trust my read and CALL, then I'm chip leader. I had 8s-6s on 8d-5d-2c-5d-3d board and he bet big every street!

In my room ruminating: if I make that call, then I'm chip leader with 28 left, instead busted...I'm in the zone, BUT didn't trust my read

Should be celebrating 100th cash, but instead feeling down cause I lost 50 big blinds in 10 mins to bust! Gonna nap, then play #WSOPE PLO

2) David "Doc" Sands: Also in Hellmuth's Room

Technically, David "Doc" Sands isn't at the WSOPE this year. But given he and Hellmuth share the same Twitter spirit animal we felt this put him in Hellmuth's room in spirit.

Earlier this week Sands tweeted a classic poker humble brag, which Steve O'Dwyer took to task:

@Doc_Sands Pretty sure you're mistaken. You're USA #1 but stilll behind Marvin and Ole on the worldwide rankings.

Definitely a nice accomplishment, although if you asked a million USA Today readers who David "Doc" Sands is we'd guess the answers would skew to Johnny Carson's bandleader, Leaping Lanny Poffo's WWF tag-team partner or the old doctor Kevin Costner visited in Field of Dreams.

Not one to be deterred, though, Sands followed up today with this tweet:

Group of guys walk by me as I wait outside casino in my car. One points and says, "Thats what I be in in that Grand Theft Auto." #reallife

Chris Rock or David Spade (see limo joke) can play O'Dwyer here. For a more inspiring take on rising to the top in poker, read this awesome Isaac Haxton blog post instead.

3) O'Brien Pipped at Bracelet Post, Mercier Falls Too

What was shaping up to be an amazing day at the WSOPE for the Jason Mercier stable didn't quite pan out.

First, Dan O'Brien's 3-1 chip lead in Event #3 eroded and he was denied his first career WSOP bracelet by Frenchman Darko Stojanovic.

Then Mercier, in the hunt for his third career PLO bracelet, couldn't quite get over the hump in Event #4 and dropped out in fourth - meaning he also couldn't collect on his €130k prop bet with Phil Ivey. Here's O'Brien's take on it below: