Are you ready to crack open some virtual chests?

PokerStars is hoping the answer is yes because its new chest-based rewards program is set to go live world-wide today.

The rewards program rolled out first in Denmark and Italy where over 1,000,000 chests have been opened with over 150 instant $1,000 prizes.

The premise of randomized rewards like chests initially gained popularity in the video game world where players received randomized packs of cards in a game like Hearthstone or different skins in Overwatch’s famous loot boxes.

Breaking Down Chest Rewards

There are a wide range of prizes that can be won from chests including some personalized ones.

Some of the top-end prizes include $1,000 in cash, 1,000,000 StarsCoin or packages to PokerStars Championship live events.

On the other hand personalized rewards will include tournament tickets that reflect your gameplay. For instance if you’re a sports bettor or casino player then you’ll occasionally win tickets to those platforms.

The more chests you open the better chance you’ll have at winning some of the big prizes.

You can also speed up the rate you generate chests, however, by equipping a boost. Having a boost active let players turbo-charge their earn-rate up to twice the normal rate.

There is no cap on how many chests you can earn in a single day. Once you open at least four chests you will actually be upgraded to the next level of chests, which offer even bigger rewards.

There are actually six tiers of chests including Red, Blue, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum with different rewards for each one.

You can open chests as soon as you acquire them or let them stack up and open them all at once.

StarsCoin Sticks Around

Despite the new chests, StarsCoin will be sticking around and players will still be able to earn them at the tables by generating rewards points (previously known as VPP).

In addition all the existing rewards for StarsCoin, such as cash or tournament tickets, will still be available in the Rewards Store. The Rewards Store can be accessed through MyStars.

It’s worth noting that you have six months to use StarsCoin from the last day you earned any rewards points. That expiration date is not new and it was the same before the rollout of the new rewards program and chests.

To learn more or sign up for an account yourself and chase those chests you can always check out our PokerStars review.

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a faked death, a secret gov't program and a new life as an elite assassin honed by years of afternoon poker news training.

Got a hot tip for a future 3-Bet? Tweet us @PokerListings or drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Daniel Negreanu surging for his 7th bracelet, India's Nikita Luther smashing the WPT500 and Marc Convey sees his sickest hand ever.

1) Is This the One for 7?

If you've been following along with Daniel Negreanu's 2017 World Series of Poker - and it's likely you have since his daily Vlog gets about 50k+ views - you know he's just missed some very big scores.

Locked in and "hyper-focused"

6th in the $10k HORSE championship, for example. 2nd in the $10k Omaha Hi-Lo. 3rd in the $10k Tag Team. 13th in the $10k Limit Championship.

With 9 cashes, 3 FTs, $360,000 in payouts and 13th on the WSOP POY leaderboard, he could stop right now and still have what most would consider a successful summer.

Not DNegs though. While he's still short of his goal of 3 bracelets, POY and $1.5m in cashes he's obviously been playing some very, very good poker - he just hasn't got the right break to get to the finish line.

Maybe he's just been saving his run-good for the event he wants to win most of all - the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

The true test of the best mixed-game players in the world, Negreanu has long coveted a PPC bracelet and this year could be the year he gets it done. After being down to just 40,000 in chips on Day 2 (barely over 2 big bets) Negreanu has surged into the Top 5 entering Day 4 with just 15 players left.

They're 15 pretty amazing poker players, obv., with Ike Haxton, Matt Ashton, Paul Volpe and Scott Seiver among them, but it feels like - at least to him and his fans - it's Negreanu's time to win.

Follow along with the live updates on WSOP.com, watch the live stream on PokerGO and check out Negreanu's inside look at the first couple of days from his VLogs below:

2) India's Nikita Luther Crushing WPT500 at Aria

We've been high on the growth of poker in India for some time and, after some massive successes at the WSOP over the past couple of years, it just might on the edge of actualizing that much-hyped "boom" potential.

"It is insane, it has not sunk in yet." (Photo: WPT)

If if could bring a whole new generation of Indian women into the game at the same time? That just might be the holy grail.

If Nikita Luther wins the WPT500 at Aria today it could happen sooner or later. 

The New Delhi native was signed by poker site Adda52 in October last year but so far slipped under the radar with just a small cash at this year's WSOP to her credit.

That could take a huge turn upward today, though, as Luther is the chip leader heading into the final table (from 3,500 entries!) of the WPT500 with $230,000 up top for the winner. 

With 13.6m in chips she has over twice that of her nearest competitors which include former Nov. 9er Scott Montgomery and fellow New Delhian/WSOP bracelet winner Nipun Java.

As the namesake of both the deadliest female assassin ever and the most bad-ass, rule-breaking London detective, she can't lose, right?

After Ema Zajmovic's huge win in Montreal it would be phenomenal to see Luther bring in another open-field WPT title and add another name to Esther Taylor-Brady's growing list of "strong, confident, independent" women crushing poker these days. Follow along with her quest in the WPT Live Updates here.

3) Marc Convey's Sickest Hand Ever

As an esteemed poker reporter/commentator for much of the past decade, the UK's Marc Convey has seen more than his fair share of sick hands.

How great is it, then, that the sickest he's now seen was one he was actually involved in - and in a $1,000 WSOP event no less!

Guess which hand was mine?! Triple elimination and I have 65k. Sickest hand I've ever had! #wsop63 pic.twitter.com/K2K1p0RQMW

We'd run the odds on that exact sequence of hands/runout but we already know the answer. It's, umm... a longshot.

What's the sickest hand you've ever seen/played? Tell us about it in the comments!

Jason Bourne called it a weapon.

The Dalai Lama called it the best form of meditation.

Daniel Negreanu and Fedor Holz believe it’s the key to becoming the very best poker player you can be.

They're all talking about sleep.

The Science of Fatigue

“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?” -- Ernest Hemingway

For many years, top businessmen and entrepreneurs have pointed out with glacial equanimity how a solid eight hours sleep is one of the primary reasons behind their success.

"Hey ... what time did you go to bed last night?"

It was only a matter of time before the world of sport sat up and took notice.

In 2016 the New York Times ran an article on the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and their attempts to improve players' sleep patterns to gain an edge on the football field.

Players were wearing Fatigue Science Readibands designed and created by Fatigue Science, a company that creates wearable technology so people can understand how sleep affects performance.

Sam Ramsden, the Seahawks Director of Player Health and Performance, told the Times that the wearable tech allowed them to understand why certain players weren’t getting enough sleep and then work with that data for the benefit of the team.

The technology allows Ramsden to interrogate sleep quality to determine a player's state of alertness. If you have two quarterbacks of equal ability, and one is 100% alert and the other 50%, then that information comes in handy.

It also allowed players to identify previously unknown sleep disorders such as sleep apnea so they can receive treatment. Minor changes such as changing the mattress and pillows also made a substantial impact.

And it's not just egg chasers who understand the value of a good kip.

From Poker Players to Sleeping Giants

When Daniel Negreanu shared his goals for the 48th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), high on his list was to sleep a lot. The two-time WSOP Player of the Year even has a trailer outside the Rio so he can take micro-naps.

Primed & Alert = Unstoppable

When Fedor Holz launched his mental performance app, Primed Mind, he was very vocal on the interview/podcast scene about the importance of sleep in his ascent into the Top 10 All-Time Money Earners.

When two players who have won more than $55m between them share the same enthusiasm for sleep, it's time to pay attention.

When players complain the game of poker is becoming more difficult it's because there is so more education available to players.

Technical abilities have improved so much that elite players are now turning to improvements away from the table to find new edges.

Yoga, mindfulness, meditation and sleep are giving them that edge.

Why Do We Sleep, Anyway?

Until modern times, why we slept was a mystery. Today we understand that sleep is crucial for:

Neuroscientists categorize sleep states into two distinctly differing phases.

1. Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM)

NREM is the phase of your sleep cycle where you begin to drift off. It allows for:

2. Rapid Eye Movement (REM)

REM sleep - often referred to as deep sleep - is where the brain continues to release more chemicals that paralyze our muscles to prevent us from causing harm (to others and ourselves).

We witness decreased control of body temperature, increased oxygen consumption and, if you are a man, you develop a chubby as your penis fills with blood. 

In a recent study at the University of California San Diego researchers discovered that REM sleep enhances the creative process even more than when you are awake.

When you think you're sleeping, your brain is working very hard to process what you have learned throughout the day (NREM sleep) and to prepare to use that information the next day (REM sleep).

So: if you choose to watch RunItOnce videos until the crack of dawn, fall asleep for a few hours and then get up to play, you aren't giving your brain enough time to process the sexy tone of one Phil Galfond.

Five Ways to Optimize a Good Night's Sleep

So what changes can we make in our life to get more sleep?

When not writing about poker I help people quit alcohol and a lot of them suffer from insomnia after ditching the bottle.

How do you eradicate insomnia and learn to get a good night's rest? Here are five pieces of advice:

Matt Berkey: Gets the why.

1. The Why Behind Your Time

A lack of philosophizing can lead to insomnia. Being stuck in a rut is a good example. Imagine you hate your job but you don't consider any other options.

There are no goals, no meaning and no purpose, limiting your scope of change. You become psychologically and physically stuck.

Perhaps you aren't happy playing poker but are unsure what to do about those feelings, increasing your levels of stress, making you feel very confused when at the tables.

A clear meaning & purpose - the why behind your time at the tables - can very often lead to better quality sleep. But you can't find meaning & purpose without first developing the habit of philosophy.

2. Try Not to Medicate

Try to eliminate supplements such as sleeping pills and melatonin. I would also avoid using drugs such as alcohol or cannabis as a sleep aid.

Supplements are short-term fixes. While they may be worth it if you desperately need to get some sleep to catch an early flight or something, they hide your core issues and you never end up doing anything about them.

Meds not a good long-term solution.

Supplements and drugs are short-term fixes. We are poker players. We believe in the long term.

3. Get Dark

We are designed to sleep when the lights go out so it makes sense to darken your room when it's time to get some shut-eye.

The darker the room, the more your body secretes melatonin. Dark curtains are essential.

Another tip is to use an eye mask and the best one I have found is the Sleep Master Sleep Mask available on Amazon, as recommended by the entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss 

4. Reduce Electromagnetic Fields

We still aren’t sure the range of effects that our increased exposure to electromagnetic fields has on our bodies. But there is some growing research that suggests one of the side effects is a reduced release of Melatonin.

Before bedtime, turn off your wireless router. Turn your phone onto airplane mode and remove it from your room. Also remove your laptop and turn off any unnecessary electronic devices and sockets. 

Another useful tip is to protect yourself from EMFs by using a Hedron EMF shield.

5. Box Breathing

Another issue affecting sleep quality is a topsy-turvy central nervous system. One way of calming it is to develop a bedtime breathing routine.

When in La La Land most of us breathe through our mouth but it's beneficial to get into the practice of breathing through your nose as it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and this induces relaxation.

One proven routine is box breathing (or four square breathing):

You can also check out the Lucas Rockwood podcast where he talks about the benefits of Box Breathing as well as giving an example.

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Now it’s your turn. What tips do you have for a good night’s sleep?

Mix game advocate Daniel Negreanu helped invent the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

Now he's within five players of winning his seventh WSOP bracelet in the event.

Negreanu leads the six-player final day of the tournament with 5.9 million chips.

High-stakes master Isaac Haxton is second with 5.2 million and fellow online crusher Elior “Crazy Elior” Sion isn’t far behind with 4.7 million.

The final table is rounded out by German Johannes Becker (4.5m), Austrian Ivo Donev (2.9m) and American Paul Volpe (1.5m).

The $50k PPC offers one of the biggest first-place payouts of the year at $1.4m but every player left in the tournament has already locked up $220k.

Here’s a complete look at the chip counts for the final six:

1. Daniel Negreanu — 5,930,000
2. Isaac Haxton — 5,205,000
3. Elior Sion — 4,750,000
4. Johannes Becker — 4,560,000
5. Ivo Donev — 2,990,000
6. Paul Volpe — 1,570,000

Looking for Lucky Number Seven

Negreanu is in the midst of a very solid WSOP with nine cashes and three final tables. He’s also in the top 20 in the Player of the Year race but will no doubt get a healthy boost from wherever he finishes in the $50k Players Championship.

Seventh heaven?

His performance is magnified by the fact he’s been shooting a round-the-clock vlog from the WSOP for the first time ever.

Negreanu was part of the player’s council that helped come up with the concept of the $50k Poker Players Championship (originally the $50k H.O.R.S.E.) back in 2006.

At the time it was the biggest buy-in WSOP event ever held but has since been past by the gargantuan $1m buy-in Big One for One Drop.

Negreanu has had mixed results in the $50k PPC, coming in 12th place in 2016 and 13th in 2008, but never making the final table.

The Canadian was nearly out of the tournament on Day 3 as he got knocked down to just 1.5 big bets. Negreanu survived, however, and one day later took hold of the chip lead.

Near Miss for Deeb, Ashton

The final six nearly included two more extremely well-known mix game players in Shaun Deeb and Matthew Ashton.

Matthew Ashton

Deeb, who’s renowned for nine Championship of Online Poker titles, was the Day 4 bubble boy coming in seventh place.

Meanwhile Ashton, who was in a dogfight with Negreanu to win the 2013 WSOP Player of the Year title, ended up coming seventh place.

Of course all eyes will be on Negreanu in the final six. Negreanu is looking for his seventh WSOP bracelet and first since 2013.

A victory in this one would also put some much needed distance between Negreanu and Erik Seidel on the all-time money list.

Negreanu currently sits #1 with $33.7m but prior to this summer Seidel had been gaining on Kid Poker and was within a million of the top spot.

The final six in the $50k PPC will resume play at 2 p.m. in Las Vegas today.

Several years ago PokerStars played the white knight by acquiring Full Tilt Poker and reimbursing all poker players who had money trapped on the site.

Today the company announced it’s doing it again but this time with no strings attached.

PokerStars will allow the 60,000 players hit by PKR’s recent insolvency to transfer all their funds to PokerStars.

Obviously PokerStars potentially benefits from potentially getting new customers but those players are free to cash out at any point.

Seamless Process for PokerStars Players

Any PKR players who already have a PokerStars account should simply be able to link up their two accounts to gain access to their PKR balance.

Meanwhile the PKR players who don’t currently have a PokerStars account can simply open one up to gain access to their funds.

PokerStars, which made a deal with the court-appointed Administrator in the UK to reimburse PKR players, will be begin contacting said players today.

It’s important to note that players will not have any requirements to unlock their funds.

Once they've gone through a relatively short process they should immediately have access to their PKR balance.

PokerStars has already set up an FAQ to help guide PKR players through the transition.

PKR suspended operation of its site in early May of this year.

No Plans to Revive PKR

When PokerStars acquired Full Tilt Poker in 2012 it re-started the client and players were once again able to play on FTP.

PKR will remain shuttered.

The deal with PKR is completely different, however, and there are no plans to resurrect the PKR brand, according to PokerStars VP of Corporate Communications Eric Hollreiser:

We're not doing this to improve our bottom line and we are not acquiring or planning to revive the PKR software platform.

We're doing this because we think it's the right thing to do for the poker world and to encourage others to join us in putting you, the player, first by segregating and protecting player balances from operating funds.

PokerStars is proud that we're in a position where we're able to step in and help these players and encourage all companies in the industry to put players first.

PKR was a unique entry in the online poker world as it was one of the only sites that offered a 3D platform that had more in common with video games than poker clients.

The PKR platform initially attracted a considerable player base but that quickly dwindled as players showed a preference towards more traditional “flat” poker software.

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a battery of cameras, a fern-filled backdrop and a short walk to the open bar on the afternoon poker news TV set.

Have a bit you'd like to see in a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Dan "Jungleman" Cates giving away secrets, Poker After Dark alive again and Daniel Negreanu on the brink of a signature win.

1) Big Pot, Big Hand

The slow drip of videos dispensed by the Paul Phua Poker School has been an intriguing mix of amateur basics and high-end strategy conversations with some of the best poker players in the game.

Would any of it really help you in an actual poker game at the stakes most of us play?

Hard to say. But it's never a waste of time to hear brilliant poker minds like Phil Ivey, Dan Colman, Tom Dwan and Dan "Jungleman" Cates talk about their approaches to various hands and situations.

The latest to sit down for a chat is the ever-intriguing Jungleman, who gave away his 'secret' for playing big pots. Check the two-parter below:

2) Poker After Dark Revived on PokerGO

During the golden age of poker TV - aka 2006-2011 - there were a couple of 'anchor' programs poker fans watched religiously.

The legendary High Stakes Poker was, of course, the high-water mark but close behind was NBC's more eclectic Poker After Dark, which mixed things up with themed episodes, mixed games and even table-side, whispered insight from players in the game.

Let's hope the set returns, too.

Good news for PAD fans today: Poker Central is re-launching the show exclusively on its PokerGO app starting August 7.

The spectacular Nick Schulman and Ali Nejad will provide commentary and the premier episode with feature Daniel Negreanu and Antonio Esfandiari.

“Poker After Dark achieved some of the most breathtaking moments in poker," says producer Mori Eskandani, "by bringing the fans into an intimate setting up close and personal with the players.

"PokerGO is the perfect destination for the return of Poker After Dark and we look forward to bringing back the same spirit of the show that made it such a hit in the past.”

Check the PokerGO app for the full schedule. Check some highlight moments below:

3) Negreanu on Brink of Greatest Win?

The flag on Mt. Negreanu?

We know, we know. We've been all over this deep Negreanu run in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship over the past few days.

But there's a very good reason for that: it just might be Negreanu's signature win as a poker player. And that's saying A LOT for a guy who's poker's all-time leading money winner.

Negreanu already has some incredible wins/results on his extensive resume.

A few highlights:

There are many, many more. And the $8.2m from the $1m One Drop stands out as does the WSOP APAC ME. 

But are any more impressive than bating 100 of the world's best mixed-game players in the signature all-around WSOP event in 2017 with the game at its toughest level ever?

That's where Negreanu stands today heading into the final table of the $50k PPC with the chip lead. And if he seals the deal it just may be the signature win of his astounding poker carer.

'Wow' might be all that's left to say. GL Kid Poker; thousands of fans are rooting for you. Follow along with the live updates on WSOP.com starting at 2 pm today.

U.K. high-stakes pro Elior “Crazy Elior” Sion overshadowed Daniel Negreanu to win his first WSOP bracelet in the prestigious $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1.4 million last night.

All eyes were on Negreanu who had the final-table chip lead and was gunning for his seventh WSOP bracelet but wasn’t able to get much going.

Austrian Ivo Donev ended up busting Negreanu in fifth place where the Canadian picked up $300,852.

It’s not all bad for Negreanu who’s in the midst of a torrid WSOP that includes eight top 18 finishes, four final tables and a runner-up performance.

Unfortunately for Negreanu the controversial 2017 POY system still has him barely cracking the top 10.

Elior Sion Breaks Through

Prior to last night Elior Sion was likely most well-known for his play in the high-stakes online cash games where he terrorizes opponents as “Crazy Elior”.

Sion admitted after winning the PPC that he’s not really interested in the fame that comes with winning prestigious tournaments and prefers to stay out of the limelight.

It’s going to be slightly harder for Sion to fly under-the-radar in the future considering his name will be permanently etched on the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy joining the likes of Michael Mizrachi, David Bach and Brian Rast.

The London resident also said that he purposely went out of his way to avoid Negreanu at the final table and praised the Canadian’s mix game abilities.

Sion has always maintained that poker is a stepping stone and has plans to take some of the $1.4m from the PPC to start a real-estate business in the U.K.

Incredibly Sion, who’s almost exclusively a cash game player, has only played one tournament this year: The $50k PPC. He’s a perfect 1-1 in live tournaments.

Isaac Haxton Stymied in Third Place

When Daniel Negreanu busted in fifth place it appeared momentarily that the final table might belong to high-stakes wizard Isaac Haxton.

Isaac Haxton

Haxton surged to the chip lead and peaked at over 10 million chips.

Eventually Haxton, who’s considered much stronger in NLHE and PLO than the other games, ran into a hand he couldn’t escape.

Haxton picked up pocket kings in NLHE and had the misfortune of smashing them into Johannes Becker’s pocket aces after a flop of 9♠ 8♥ 7♥ in a 18.2 million-chip pot.

Several hands later Haxton was eliminated in a round of seven-card stud and had to settle for third place and $595,812.

That gave Becker a massive chip lead of 19.3m to Sion’s 5.6m going into heads-up play.

The comeback was on, however, and Sion chipped away until finally pulling ahead in a round of Limit.

It turned into a back-and-forth battle with the chip lead changing hands numerous times but Sion finally landed the knockout blow by flopping a full house in a round of Omaha Hi-Lo.

Here’s a complete look at the final-table payouts for the $50k PPC:

1. Elior Sion — $1,395,767
2. Johannes Becker — $862,649
3. Isaac Haxton — $595,812
4. Ivo Donev — $419,337
5. Daniel Negreanu — $300,852
6. Paul Volpe — $220,111

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a big field, a tall flower and the strong roots you need to avoid getting lopped off by the afternoon poker news thresher.

Have a hot tip for a future 3-Bet? Tweet us @PokerListings or drop a note below.

Today in the 3-Bet we find the WSOP Ladies Championship taking center stage, BrokeLiving JRB gets paid and Daniel Negreanu gets "tall poppied."

1) Spotlight On Ladies

Mixed into the middle of the World Series of Poker schedule for most of its history, the annual $1,000 Ladies Championship event has never truly drawn the spotlight it deserves.

Bicknell: Def. repeat threat.

Most of the attention, in fact, sadly has come from men buying into the tournament - and doing so so often the WSOP had to incorporate a $10,000 buy-in/$9,000 discount for ladies to keep the riff-raff out.

With a field of 819 last year, though, and a final table that included Amanda Musumeci, Amanda Baker, Natalia Breviglieri and Michelle Deng, it's an event stacked with more top talent than ever before.

This year, as Event #70 on the schedule and a lead-in to the $10,000 Main Event, it feels like it's finally getting some of the attention it deserves as a standalone event worth following closely.

Just a level into the action today and already 600+ players are in the field with the list of names including:

and plenty more. We know we're excited to follow along. Head over to WSOP.com for live updates.

2) JRB Hits Quads for $360k Pot

We knew Farah Galfond had taken her game up a few levels over the last while as a $5/$10 reg at Aria, but playing $360,000 pots against Jean-Robert Bellande in the Bellagio big game?

That's the real deal - even if it didn't work out in her favor this hand:

That look when when you have a full house in a 360K pot & @BrokeLivingJRB turns over quads lol? #poker pic.twitter.com/OMiVAfQFOu

We're guessing she might be a contender in the Ladies Championship today. A very strong contender.

3) Negreanu Tall Poppied?

A new term we've heard for the first time, care of Aussie James Obst:

tall pop·py syn·drome

noun AUSTRALIAN/NZ informal

a perceived tendency to discredit or disparage those who have achieved notable wealth or prominence in public life.

How did we come to hear it? After Daniel Negreanu's tough 5th-place finish in the $50k Player's Championship yesterday he took to Twitter to air more of his feelings towards the decidedly imperfect WSOP Player of the Year points system:

Nope. Even with a win in the $50k I'm still behind guys who are actually having losing summers! Near impossible for me to win this year. https://t.co/hUibEq2SNk

While I spend 5 days against the worlds best in one event for 180 points, others are racking up min cashes at 40-50 a pop. https://t.co/hUibEq2SNk

Bitter 5th Place finish in the most fun tourney of the year $50k PPC. 5 days of grinding hard totally disrespected by a shameful POY system.

I know I'm supposed to just "get over it" but I'm not there yet. I wanted to make history but this system is broken badly. https://t.co/KJAFWa0AOt

While plenty of his fans jumped to his support, a surprisingly large group went the other way and criticized Daniel for not caring quite as much when the system "worked in his favor" in the past.

Yeah like if u had a bracelet side bet and played every event and min cashed a bunch and won the award, I am sure u would turn it down https://t.co/VQ2z5aHICa

And my point is it was flawed when u won towards u, no complaints then https://t.co/U0ScsjEGTm

Cue the intro to Tall Poppy from Obst:

Tbh I admire @RealKidPoker openness re wanting POY instead of being coy. System indefensible, shame to see the rampant tall poppy syndrome

With the Player of the Year award including events at WSOP Europe in the fall it's a discussion we're not likely to see the end of soon. Some stats to mull over:

Current POY leader is Ryan Hughes, who has an astonishing 16 cashes so far - the biggest, though, for just 62k. Negreanu's WSOP so far: 

He's 5th in the POY ranking - over 180 points behind Hughes. See the full POY ranking here.

Poker pro Ryan Laplante says at least 2,000 people have approached him to say thanks for the impassioned speech he made at last year's WSOP.

One year ago Ryan Laplante won his first World Series of Poker bracelet on the same night as the mass shooting at Pulse night club in Orlando.

The following day as he was accepting the bracelet, Laplante stood on stage with his fiancé Chris Katona and addressed the shooting.

Since then Laplante says he's been overwhelmed by the number of people who have reached out to him about the speech.

“I definitely think it had a positive effect and the poker community as a whole was overwhelmingly positive,” Laplante told PokerListings.com.

“I've had a lot of people, I'd put the line at like 2,000 people, come up and thank me for my speech and say how much they appreciated it.

“I had CNN interview me. I got in my hometown newspaper.

“I still have people come up to me to thank me. In fact I had a poker player a few days ago who was so excited to meet me and was almost in tears, a fellow openly gay poker player.

Dream Comes True Amid Real-Life Nightmare

Laplante narrowly missed winning his second bracelet this year in 2017, finishing second in a $1,500 buy-in event and earning over $165,000.

Looking back on 2016, he told PokerListings winning his first WSOP title was something he'd been working on for years, and dreaming about for far longer.

"Please treat each other with love and respect."

To have it happen on the same night as a shooting massacre targeting the gay community left him deeply conflicted but also gave him the chance to amplify his voice and his message.

Laplante says he wasn't planning on giving a speech. He thought winning the bracelet was enough and there wasn't much more to say.

But when he learned about the mass shooting he decided to use his speech to say something more important.

“June is Gay Pride Month in America and last night at a gay dance club in Orlando the largest shooting massacre in US history occurred with over 50 people losing their lives,” Laplante said during his speech.

“I'm proud to be a World Series of Poker champion and I'm proud to be an openly gay man.”

“I encourage all of you to be proud of who you are and to be comfortable to be open about who you are with those around you if you choose to do so.”

“Finally, please treat each other with love and respect because there's too much hate and anger in this world.”

The speech was met with loud cheers and applause from the hundreds of poker players in the tournament room at the World Series of Poker.

"It's still hard to think about."

Laplante says he was overjoyed about winning his first bracelet but devastated by the news from Orlando.

“Part of me was crying because I had just won a bracelet. I've been dreaming of winning a bracelet since I was 13 years old. While I was doing chores for my family I'd fantasize just about playing the World Series.

"Then actually getting to win one was something I've been working towards for nine years.

"The other half of me was so devastated. It's the worst mass shooting in American history and it was an act against the GLBT community as a whole.

"To feel so happy and so sad at the same time, even now looking back on it I get emotional. It's still hard to think about," he said.

Laplante: “We Still Have So Far to Go”

Laplante says that even though there has been progress made in gay rights, you don't have to look far to see there's still a long way to go.

In addition to shocking hate crimes like the shooting in Orlando, there's evidence everywhere that we see on a daily basis.

Laplante at 2017 World Series of Poker.

“Try to name an openly-gay pro football or basketball player who's currently playing,” said Laplante.

"Sixty per cent of youth who are homeless are GLBT. You can still get fired from your job in, I want to say 34, states for being gay and you have no legal recourse.

"The Texas Supreme Court just ruled that companies don't have to give benefits to gay spouses.”

And now with Donald Trump in the White House, Laplante sees even more reason to continue fighting for gay and trans rights.

“The poker community is really open-minded. There are a lot of alternative culture people that play poker," said Laplante.

“When you tell poker professionals that you're gay they really don't care and some people tweeted me basically saying, 'We don't care what your sexual orientation is so why are you even telling us?'

"The reason I'm so openly gay is that we do still have so far to go.”

It’s arguably the most famous tournament in the history of online poker but PokerStars is taking the Sunday Million on the road.

The first-ever Sunday Million Live will take place Aug. 24-Sept. 4, 2017, at King’s Casino in Rozvadov in the Czech Republic. Players have the option of playing Day 1 online or live.

The buy-in will be a familiar €220 (adjusted slightly for the Euro) but it will also offer an enticing €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

That means the eventual winner will walk away with solid return on their investment, which definitely sounds like the online version of the tournament.

Sunday 500, Warm-Up Also on Schedule

The Sunday Million is not the only Sunday Major that’s getting the live tournament treatment.

The €220 buy-in Sunday Million Warm-Up and the €500 buy-in Sunday Million 500 will also be coming along for the ride along with a handful of other small events created just for the occasion including a €400 PLO tournament.

“The Sunday Million Live is a great addition to PokerStars’ rich and varied live events calendar, blending the best of our online and live poker offerings to create a truly unique and exciting event,” said David Curtis, Live Events Manager, Europe at PokerStars.

“We’re looking forward to once again partnering with King’s Casino and welcoming many of our live and online players to Rozvadov in August and anticipate a fantastic event for all.”

Rozvadov has already proven to be a successful venue for PokerStars as it held a record-break festival there earlier this year.

As you might expect there are already online qualifiers running for all the Sunday Million Live events and it’s possible to qualify for as little as €2.20.

In addition there are still plenty of chances to play Day 1 of the Sunday Million Live online if you choose.

Crack Some Chests, Qualify for Sunday Million Live

If you’re looking to qualify for the first-ever Sunday Million Live then you’ll definitely have a lot of options on PokerStars but you’ll also get to try out the new Stars Rewards program.

PokerStars officially launched its Stars Rewards program on a global scale this week and players from around the world can now open those chests that were previewed earlier this year.

The new rewards program focuses on recreational players and gives everyone a chance to open randomized chests once they’ve generated enough points.

The chests are similar to those found in video games with randomized awards of up to $1,000 in cash.

To learn more or sign up for a account you can always check out our PokerStars review.

Norway's Silje Nilsen is at the World Series of Poker but she's already looking forward to the Battle of Malta in November.

Right now Nilsen is on a five-week poker trip to Las Vegas that will include cash games, tournaments and the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event.

She's the poker ambassador for GUTS, an online casino and poker room which also sponsors the Battle of Malta.

“I've had good and bad experiences here as you often do in poker but it's such a big city and you have so many opportunities to play in every casino,” Nilsen said about Las Vegas.

“So usually you have to find where the big fish go and just stalk them. If you see a guy with a camera around his neck you stalk that guy until he sits down and then join his table," she joked.

Nilsen said her favorite game is PLO and she usually plays $1/$2/$5. If she's playing No-Limit Hold'em it's at the $2/$5 stakes.

Nilsen is still looking for her first WSOP cash. She played the Ladies Event today but busted out about halfway through the day.

Trading Norwegian Winter for Malta Sun

Nilsen has cashed in the BoM Main Event the last two years in a row. Her biggest career cash was a runner-up finish in the Norwegian Championship in 2015, good for almost $90,000 USD.

"It's just so nice going to Malta when it's winter in Norway."

She also won the PokerListings.com Spirit of Poker Award in 2016 in the category of Rising Star.

"I love the Battle of Malta, it's so much fun,” said Nilsen.

“I love the structure. You have so much time to play and try lots of crazy stuff.

"And it's just so nice going there when it's winter in Norway. I always look forward to going back because it's always a great experience."

Norway has been heavily represented at the Battle of Malta in past years, largely because poker is still so restricted in that country.

Nilsen said you can now play 10-person Sit and Gos for low stakes but that regulated poker has a long way to go before it replaces the underground card clubs that are so popular.

In fact, after the WSOP Nilsen plans to travel within Norway to play in those clubs.

Underground Poker in Norway

According to Nilsen, the underground poker scene is thriving in Norway thanks to restrictions on legal casino poker.

There's a lot of underground clubs since poker's not allowed and so many people love playing. They're really big and really professional and they're just packed with people every night," she said.

"Cash games and tournaments. Whatever you want to play.

Nilsen says the underground poker scene in Norway is huge.

"The police in Norway actually don't have the time or resources to really care about poker clubs as long as there's nothing like drugs or anything else going on. They even come to play sometimes,” she said.

Nilsen has experience playing in the underground clubs in her hometown but she says it's definitely a lot harder than the cash games in Las Vegas.

"In my hometown in Norway, in Trondheim, there are two really big clubs right now and it's really hard there because all the big champions and all the grinders live in that city," Nilsen explained.

“So usually when people come up to play with us in these clubs they're like, 'Holy shit this is a tough table'.

“That's where all the previous Norwegian champions and the Norwegians who have won other major titles all play and discuss hands 23 hours a day and develop their games."

After her five weeks in Las Vegas, Nilsen has been invited to play in a club in Bergen, Norway, somewhere she's never been before.

After that she plans to go to Barcelona and then to the Battle of Malta in November.

Follow the link for more BoM info and to reserve your seat at the 2017 Battle of Malta.

The 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event begins today, bringing thousands of the world's best poker players to the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

And for the first time since 2008, the tournament will finish without the three-month break known as the November Nine.

Today is the first of three starting flights and the final table is scheduled to play out July 20-22.

Players from over 85 countries around the world are expected to participate. The event draws celebrities and sports stars in addition to elite poker pros, recreational players and poker enthusiasts.

Nothing Like ME Prestige

Last year's Main Event saw an unlikely champion in Vietnamese-American Qui Nguyen whose biggest previous poker cash was $9,029 in a low buy-in WSOP event in 2009.

Nguyen won over $8 million when he outlasted 6,736 other players and defeated California poker pro Gordon Vayo heads-up.

The 2017 Main Event is expected to build a prize pool of over $60 million with a similar first-place prize to last year.

The winner will also receive the trademark diamond-encrusted Main Event bracelet worth an estimated $500,000.

66 events have already played out at the 2017 World Series of Poker with tens of thousands of players entering and tens of millions of dollars awarded.

But nothing in the poker world comes close to the size and prestige of the Main Event.

Enhanced Live Broadcast ESPN/PokerGO

ESPN and ESPN2 plan to carry 40+ hours of live coverage from the Main Event. The live broadcast will run on a 30-minute delay as per gaming regulations.

2016 Main Event champ Qui Nguyen.

ESPN's live broadcast starts with four hours of action today and will include every-hand coverage of the three-day final table starting July 19.

“This is poker’s Olympics and we are thrilled that ESPN and PokerGO have joined forces to bring viewers around the globe inside access to our game’s most prestigious event,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart.

“We can’t wait to get started on July 8 and look forward to sharing this event with a massive audience.”

PokerGO, the world's only live poker subscription service will also cover the Main Event, supplementing ESPN's broadcast with an estimated 60 hours of additional content.

Norman Chad, Lon McEachern and Kara Scott will provide commentary for the Main Event along with a rotating cast of poker's biggest names who will help provide strategy analysis.

PokerListings.com will be on location for the duration of the Main Event producing feature articles, photography and a live window to the WSOP via Twitter.

The World Series of Poker announced a new partnership with Chinese mobile gaming and social media giant Tencent with the goal of growing poker in Asia.

The deal will see the WSOP brand appear on Tencent's social poker app Tencent Poker, the most popular play-for-fun social poker app in China.

Tencent is China's biggest internet company and owns major properties including WeChat and League of Legends.

It also owns large stakes in both Activision Blizzard, the creator of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, and Gears of War developer Epic Games.

Tencent and the WSOP will join forces to host the first ever WSOP China live poker event this December in Sanya and the WSOP will also create a program to help train and certify Chinese poker tournament staff.

The WSOP will offer its expertise on event structures, rules, equipment and procedures to ensure any live events bearing the WSOP's brand will uphold the globally recognized standards of the WSOP.

“There is so much untapped potential in Asia and we've found the perfect partner in Tencent to help spread the great game throughout the entire continent,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the WSOP.

Tencent will use the glabally-recognized WSOP brand to help grow the game.

“We plan to use the WSOP brand and our expertise, along with Tencent's reach in Asia, to inspire the next generation of competitive sports players.”

Tencent will also get exclusive merchandise rights in Asia and is expected to produce WSOP branded goods.

As part of the deal Tencent also gets media content distribution and production rights in Asia, including live-streaming of events and reality-based programs.

Tencent's Corporate Vice President Jerry Chen was at the Rio Hotel and Casino to help make the announcement

“We are very excited to partner with the WSOP and hope to leverage our expertise in eSports to bring new innovations to the competitive game of poker,” said Chen.

Goal: Grow Poker in Asia

Tencent's Jerry Chen announcing shuffle up and deal at WSOP.

The goal of Tencent and WSOP's alliance is to tap into the massive Asian gaming market, something Tencent has already made big strides doing.

In 2014 Tencent launched Tencent Poker which has become the most popular social poker app in China.

Early last year Tencent signed an endorsement deal with former WSOP world champ Martin Jacobson to help grow the game in Asia.

Tencent has already begun hosting annual live poker events in Sanya in December. Due to gaming regulations all live events in China are free-to-play with players entering the tournament by qualifying through the poker app.

Part of Tencent's partnership with the WSOP includes land-based events such as WSOP China and WSOP Asia which will award official gold bracelets, as well as plans for a WSOP China Circuit where players can win WSOP gold rings.

All future live events by Tencent using the WSOP brand will involve live updating, live streaming and possibly television distribution to help raise poker's profile in the region.

After a crippling injury that led to "the worst three years of his life," Mike Matusow is fighting back and rebuilding one of the greatest careers in poker history.

Matusow suffered from a thoracic spinal contusion in 2014 that left him unable to walk and at risk of permanent paralysis. It caused him severe pain and led to a nosedive that ruined his personal and professional life.

But thanks to a successful surgery and long rehabilitation, Matusow has been racking up cashes at the 2017 World Series of Poker and says he's doing everything he can to get his life back on track.

Back to the Micros

“After feeling sorry for myself for three years and losing my house and losing everything and being dead broke, I started playing micro limits online,” Matusow told PokerListings.com.

“I ran it up and eventually won $110,000 playing $40/$80 online. I came into the World Series with that much, got someone to take half of me in all the events, told everyone I was done feeling sorry for myself and I was going to fight through the pain and just mash this World Series.

“I've had the best WSOP of my life without winning a tournament.”

Matusow has seven cashes so far totalling over $250,000. He made three final tables in $10k events in the same two-week period and he also cashed in the prestigious $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship.

Today Matusow is playing the biggest tournament of the year, the WSOP Main Event, and he said he's ready to make a deep run.

“I feel good. I'm playing with the utmost confidence so we'll see what happens. I'm 100% convinced I'm going to make a deep run,” said Matusow. “I live for this tournament.”

"My Body Wasn't Ready to Go Sit at a Poker Table"

Matusow explained that in 2014 he knew something was wrong with him, but after many trips to the doctor he was left without answers.

During the 2014 WSOP Matusow says he was misplaying hands and didn't know why. His mind and body weren't working properly.

"My body wasn't ready to sit at a poker table but I needed money.”

He later found out that the problem had started years earlier with the calcification of a disc in his back.

Then while playing poker a few weeks before that WSOP, the chair he was sitting in collapsed.

The impact from the fall drove the disc into his spine and left him with what's called a thoracic spinal contusion.

After seeing numerous specialists Matusow was able to get surgery on October 19, 2014. By February he was back at the poker table, playing cash in Los Angeles.

"I wasn't healed. My body wasn't ready to go sit at a poker table but I needed money,” said Matusow.

“I won like $200,000 down in LA but I think that's what caused the intercostal neuralgia."

Extremely painful muscle spasms in Matusow's chest were a rare side effect of the surgery. Now he has to wear a lidocaine patch to control it.

He had short term success but Matusow said his life continued spiraling lower. He went broke and lost his house before eventually getting to a place where he could begin the long job of rebuilding.

Despite the rough road, Matusow counts his blessings.

“I'm the fucking luckiest guy in the world. I can walk,” he said. “I was almost paralyzed and I can walk so no one's luckier than me.”

“I Play as Good or Better Than All of Them"

Matusow was an A-List poker star when the game was at its biggest. He was part of Team Full Tilt Poker and easily one of the most recognizable poker players in the world.

“I thought they had passed me by but they haven't."

He's won four WSOP bracelets and made the final table of the Main Event in 2001, finishing sixth.

His career earnings in live tournaments total over $9.3 million.

Sitting down at his Main Event table today, Matusow was surprised to see so many other big names.

“I got a wizard here, wizard there,” Matusow said, pointing at the seats belonging to four-time bracelet winner Tom Schneider and top-level tournament pro Pratyush Buddiga.

“This guy's not a wizard,” laughed Matusow, pointing to the seat next to him.

“I play as good or better than all of them. I only realized that last year when I started playing $10ks again.

“I thought they had passed me by but they haven't. They're just good. But I still read better. They have fundamentals from playing online but you still have to look someone in the face and make a fucking fold.

“Reading makes all the difference, especially late.”

The first starting flight of the 2017 WSOP Main Event drew a crowd today and British poker players topped the leaderboard for most of it.

795 players bought in. That's more than the 764 who played Day 1A last year and it's the biggest number this flight has seen since 2013.

First it was old schooler Barny Boatman jumping out to an early lead as the first player to break the 100k mark with Sam Grafton eventually overtaking him to finish the night among the very biggest stacks.

Boatman cold three-bet with 5-7 from the big blind early in the day and turned the nut straight against Iraj Parvizi. He doubled up in that hand and continued to beat up his table to surge to almost 140,000.

Denmark Comes Out On Top

Also representing the United Kingdom today and managing to advance to Day 2 were Patrick Leonard, Matthew Ashton, Steven Warburton, Mark Teltscher and former November Niner James Akenhead.

By the time the final hand of Day 1A was finished, however, Danish pro Morten Mortensen had scooped the outright lead. Mortensen turned the nut straight in a huge 100k pot and had his opponent's pocket kings, an overpair to the board, drawing dead.

Mortensen finished with 279,000, the biggest stack reported by the World Series of Poker.

Click here to see our running 2017 WSOP Main Event photo blog.

Here's a look at the unofficial top 10, courtesy of WSOP.com:

More Poker Pros, One Superbowl Winner Advance

Also running up stacks on Day 1A were Anatoly Filatov, Jennifer Shahade, Maxim Lykov, Sam Chartier, Josh Arieh, Jon Turner, Billy Baxter, Doug Polk and Phil Laak.

Three-time Superbowl champion Richard Seymour started the day on the ESPN feature table and finished the night with around double the 50k starting stack.

Defending champ Qui Nguyen advanced to Day 2.

Mike Matusow caught a tough table, up against fellow four-time WSOP bracelet winner Tom Schneider and former national spelling bee champion turned top poker pro Pratyush Buddiga.

All three of them made it through to Day 2.

Last year's champ Qui Nguyen returned to defend his title and made it through the day.

Another former world champion, Jerry Yang, also played. 2007, the year Jerry Yang won the Main  Event, was the last year before the introduction of the November Nine final table.

This year the WSOP dispensed with the delay but Yang won't be reprising his role at the final table. He busted during the final level of the night

Also making an early exit was World Poker Tour Tournament Director Matt Savage who sold 80 individual one per cent pieces of his Main Event action.

Two more Day 1 flights remain so check back tomorrow for continuing coverage of the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Richard Seymour won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots but he says he had no business even playing in his first World Series of Poker Main Event.

That was in 2014 and he's been at every WSOP since.

When this year's $10,000 buy-in Main Event kicked off, Seymour found himself at the main feature table. The cameras were rolling and his hole cards, along with the rest of the table's, were on display for everyone to see.

Seymour said it's a good thing he's been working on his game. According to the 37-year-old from South Carolina it's come a long way since his first WSOP.

“I'm getting a lot better,” Seymour told PokerListings.com in Las Vegas. “The first year I came here I really had no clue what I was doing. I just wanted to get the experience.

“I shouldn't have even been in the field but it was something I wanted to do and it was fun.

“I still try to keep it fun but if I'm playing and putting up my money, I want to have a legitimate shot. I've been studying and trying to play as much I can with really good players. We'll see where it goes.”

Seymour Advances with Double Starting Stack

The former Defensive End successfully navigated his way through the feature table to bag 114,000 at the end of his starting flight, more than double the starting stack of 50k.

"I would have been happy with 40,000.”

“It's a really great structure so you don't have to always push the envelope or press the gas too soon even if you don't get cards,” he said.

“I just relaxed for the first two levels and then after dinner it really just unfolded my way. I would have been happy to make it through the day with 40,000.”

Seymour has two cashes so far at the 2017 WSOP but his biggest poker career result is a $52,174 score for finishing 18th in last year's $10k WPT Five Diamond Main Event.

He's still looking for his first WSOP Main Event cash.

“I got off to a really good start but there's still a long way to go,” he said. “I was really just trying to stay out of trouble and pick my spots.

“A lot of things have to go your way. You have to play well and run good. You have to win some flips to win a tournament this big with this many people.

“I just hope I don't get in any situations where it's like set over set or boat over boat, like what happened to Vanessa Selbst today.”

Seymour was referring to the hand that eliminated Vanessa Selbst in the first level of the WSOP Main Event.

Selbst had pocket aces, flopped a set and turned the nut full house. Unfortunately for her, Gaëlle Baumann had turned quad sevens.

“I'm sure Selbst had the same mindset but some hands you just can't get away from,” said Seymour. “But I'm going to enjoy the ride because this is the Super Bowl of poker."

Vanessa Selbst's Main Event didn't even last one level thanks to what might be the most memorable hand of the 2017 World Series of Poker.

Selbst played the second Day 1 flight of the $10,000 buy-in world championship event and was seated at the feature table, streamed live with hole cards by ESPN.

She's thought of as one of the toughest tournament players in the game and her career earnings total almost $12 million.

Selbst's final hand began when she picked up pocket aces and raised to 400 with blinds at 75/150.

French poker pro Gaëlle Baumann, who finished 10th in the Main Event in 2012, called with pocket sevens. WSOP bracelet winner Noah Schwartz also called.

Selbst bet 700 when the flop came A♣ 7♣ 5♣. Baumann called and Schwartz folded.

The turn was a disaster for Selbst, the 7♠.

Selbst checked her full house and Baumann bet 1,700. Selbst raised to 5,800 and Baumann moved all-in, forcing Selbst to a decision for her remaining chips, roughly 20,000.

"This might be a quick Main Event for me. I don't know if I'm good enough to fold this,” said Selbst.

After making the call and seeing Baumann's quads Selbst claimed she was actually close to folding.

Dubini Leads, Ending Day w/ Double Knockout

2,164 players entered the second Day 1 flight of this year's Main Event and roughly 1,700 survived to advance to Day 2.

Roughly 1,700 players survived Day 1B.

Combined with the first starting flight, that number brings the total entries so far to 2,959. That means 3,778 must enter tomorrow to match last year's overall number.

Finishing Day 1B as the chip leader with 254,500 was Argentinian Richard Dubini.

Dubini had already built a six-figure stack going into the final level of the night but knocked out two players to take over the chip lead.

Abe Mosseri and another player were all-in on a Q♣ J♠ 7♠ flop and Dubini, still to act, called with top two pair. Mosseri had K♠ Q♠ for top pair and a flush draw while the third player in the hand had a big combo draw with A♠ T♠.

Dubini made a full house on the turn and eliminated both players, taking his stack to around 269,000.

Here's a look at the unofficial top ten from Day 1B, courtesy of WSOP.com.

Also advancing to Day 2 with over 100k are Kenny Hallaert, Fabrice Soulier, Hasan Habib, Barry Greenstein, Matt Glantz, Elio Fox, Andy Frankenberger, Bryn Kenney and Layne Flack.

One more starting day remains.

Other pros weren't so lucky. Justin Bonomo, Nacho Barbero, Jesse Sylvia, Dan O'Brien, Greg Merson, Chris Moneymaker and Kevin Saul all went bust before the end of Day 1B

Second Crazy Hand of the Day

If Vanessa Selbst's wild elimination hand wasn't crazy enough, WSOP.com reported another unbelievable matchup later in the day.

Eric Maumann, Alex Louro and Eric Berger were all-in before the flop. Two players had pocket aces and one had pocket kings.

The dealer rolled out the Q♥ J♥ T♥, the 9♥ turn and the 8♥ river to put a straight flush on the board.

All three players were able to take their chips back and move on to the next hand.

Tomorrow is the third, final and by far largest Day 1 flight. Check back on PokerListings.com for more action.

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet will always be there for you with engrossing mid-afternoon poker news no matter how fast you bust out of the WSOP Main Event.

You can always make your own suggestions for the 3-Bet by posting in the comments section below.

Today we’ll take a look at the newest member of poker’s Triple Crown, Jeff Gross joining PokerStars and the incredibly sick hands of the 2017 Main Event.

1) Harrison Gimbel Scores Triple Crown

Harrison Gimbel joined an elite group over the weekend by taking down Event 68 $3,000 NLHE for a massive $645,922 haul and his first WSOP bracelet.

We called it! Kinda.

Gimbel certainly did it in style by outlasting a field of 1,349 players, which also included outdueling noted pro Chance Kornuth heads-up.

With the win Gimbel completed poker’s so-called Triple Crown of WSOP, WPT and EPT titles.

Gimbel burst on to the live poker scene by winning the 2010 PCA for as a 19 year old, which counted as an EPT title, for $2.2m.

More recently Gimbel joined the WPT Champion’s Club by taking down WPT Rolling Thunder in 2016.

Gimbel is just the seventh player to earn a Triple Crown. Gavin Griffin, Jake Cody and ElkY are a few of the most well known players to complete the achievement. Mohsin Charania completed his earlier this year at the WSOP.

It’s not exactly a surprise as Gimbel was long touted as one of the best young online players in the world and we listed him as one of the top five potential breakout stars of the 2012 WSOP.

It took a little longer than expected but it’s safe to say Gimbel has successfully broken through at the WSOP.

2) Jeff Gross Joins Team PokerStars

Jeff Gross is one of the hardest working pros in the business and it finally paid off today with sponsorship deal with PokerStars

Stream king Jeff Gross.

Gross has been cashing in live tournaments since 2007 and gained a certain amount of notoriety from his famous former roommate Olympian Michael Phelps.

In recent years Gross has gotten into streaming on Twitch and Youtube and produces his own Flow Poker Show that includes a variety of well-known streamers.

Gross also has the nickname “Professional Best Friend” for his friendships with billionaire Bill Perkins along with poker pros Antonio Esfandiari, Brian Rast and Jaime Staples.

Earlier this year Gross helped pull of one of the most spectacular Twitch performances with the “Streamboat”, which featured Gross, Bill Perkins and Jaime Staples all playing poker from a luxury yacht.

On the felt Gross has nearly $3m in live tournament earnings including a numerous final tables and several runner-up finishes. He’s still chasing that major title.

PokerStars has made a concentrated effort to sign Twitch streamers over the last few years and now counts Jason “Jcarver” Somerville, Jaime Staples and now Gross on its roster of pros.

3) Sick WSOP Main Event Hands

It’s been a solid start to the 2017 WSOP Main Event with two Day 1s in the books but perhaps the most notable thing so far has been the crazy hands.

Ouch.

First off there was that incredibly sick Vanessa Selbst hand, which led to her demise in the first hand of play on Day 1b.

Later that day poker players Alex Louro, Eric Berger and Erich Maumann got all-in putting up an astounding A♥ A♠, A♣ A♦ and K♠ K♦ on the table.

That’s when the real fireworks started, however, as the dealer ending up spreading a straight flush on the board. Each player pulled back their chips in the incredulous hand.

We detailed the Selbst hand in our recap over the weekend but PokerGO finally has the hand on YouTube so you can actually watch the sickness unfold:

The 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off this weekend but there was another renowned tournament that attracted poker pros and celebs from around the globe.

That would be the annual Charity Series of Poker in Las Vegas that’s now in its fifth year of operation.

The tournament was started by poker pro Matt Stout and has quickly ascended to become one of the most beloved and effective charity tournaments on the poker circuit.

This year marked the first time the CSOP has been held at the MGM Grand with celebs James Woods, Richard Seymour, Ken Daneyko, Richard Roeper and plenty others getting in on the action.

In the end former WSOP Main Event runner-up Paul “Kwickfish” Wasicka outlasted a potentially record-setting field (numbers are still being calculated) to take home over $10k.

The biggest winner, however, was Nevada’s Three Square food bank, which received roughly $28,000 thanks to the tournament.

Stout: “It’s Unlike Any Other Poker Tournament”

The CSOP continues to be one of the most popular tournaments held outside the Rio and founder Matt Stout has a good idea why.

Matt Stout

“This is completely separate from any tournament,” he said.

“People don’t come in with that competitive edge or toughness.

"People come in looking to have a good time. Have a few drinks and gamble.

“This is the kind of event where we get to blow off some steam and remember why we love this game so much. We always have a good time.”

New WPT full-time commentator Tony Dunst played in this year’s event and agreed that it’s a special tournament.

“I thought it was cool to see someone in poker taking some initiative and do something that helps people off the felt,” said Dunst.

“It’s pretty easy to get consumed in this game.”

Rebuys Come Fast and Furious

It helps that the CSOP in Las Vegas has always had a re-buy structure with $225 but rebuys available for $100.

James Woods and Richard Seymour

“I think when you invite poker players they just love getting into it,” said WPT anchor Lynn Gilmartin, who also played this year’s tournament.

“They are just willing to continue donating money.

"Even going into the game they are like, ‘Oh this is for fun, I’m not going to spend too much money’ but once they start playing they go for it. They are flagging out the $100 bills.”

Dunst, who was a pro for years before getting his WPT gig, agreed with Gilmartin.

“We don’t care about money basically, he said. “This is an opportunity to show off our money.”

“Add a little alcohol and everyone gets VERY generous,” added Gilmartin.

The CSOP took place at the MGM Grand for the first time ever thanks to the venue’s association with Three Square food bank and by all accounts it was a considerable upgrade.

“I really wanted to get the event into an MGM property so that we could capitalize on that synergy and I think that’s a good thing,” said Stout.

Everyone Welcome at Charity Series of Poker

One underrated aspect of the CSOP is that it’s completely open to the public.

That means for just $225 players were able to rub shoulders with the likes of James Woods and Richard Seymour not to mention numerous TV poker pros.

Matt Stout kicking off the 2017 CSOP.

“Anybody who is willing to buy into the tournament can come and play and we encourage them to come out,” said CSOP board member Lexy Gavin.

“It’s not only for the poker professionals.”

The CSOP has expanded considerably since it launched five years and now hosts events all over the US but the Las Vegas event remains its flagship tournament.

“This is our biggest event,” explained Gavin.

“Everyone is in town for the WSOP. We have a really good group of people. So many awesome pros and celebrities that are willing to come out and support the cause.”

Stout is hopeful the CSOP continues to expand in the future.

“I think the poker world has needed something like this for a long time,” he said.

“I would love to be raising six figures each event. I want this to be an annual event that goes on for as long as poker stays popular.”

To learn more about CSOP or make a donation to one of their affiliated charities just head over to the www.charityseriesofpoker.org.

With files from Matthew Showell

When Farah Galfond started playing poker 10 years ago as an actor in New York she never thought she'd end up playing in one of the biggest cash games in Las Vegas.

Galfond had long-running parts on the soap operas Days of Our Lives and One Life to Live before meeting her husband Phil Galfond and playing poker to earn a living.

Today she's playing the World Series of Poker Main Event. It's a $10,000 buy-in and this is the second year she's competed.

Recently she's been playing in the $300/$600 No-Limit Hold'em game in Ivey's Room at the Aria Casino and created a stir when she tweeted a picture of a $360,000 pot she lost to Jean-Robert Bellande.

Farah is staked in the game by her husband who is revered as one of the best poker players on the planet.

The Ivey's Room game is exclusive. Phil's not allowed to play.

"It's a game that's difficult to get into and I'm friends with several of the people who play in it,” Phil told PokerListings.com.

"A few months ago they were teasing me about how I can't play and one of them made a joke and said Farah could play if she wants.

"We didn't talk about it for a while and then a couple weeks ago I walked into Ivey's Room to go to my box and they were playing, and they mentioned it again.

Phil Galfond.

"So I looked around the room and thought, 'Yeah, maybe.' So that was it."

Farah is a regular in the $5/$10 games at the Aria and Phil says she's there playing even more than he is.

The Ivey's Room game deals with way more money than Farah's used to but since it's so exclusive, that doesn't necessarily mean the skill level is as high as the stakes.

"I play with the best low/medium stakes players in the world,” explained Farah.

“The $5/$10 regs at Aria are no joke. I moved up to $5/$10 about a year ago and I guess Phil just thought I was ready.

"Two or three weeks ago I was playing at Aria and Phil was in Ivey's Room playing Big Bet Mix. He told me I was going in and he thought I was ready.”

Farah and Phil both said she's up overall in the game, despite losing that $360k monster to Jean-Robert Bellande on July 1.

“I Had to Call Against JRB”

Farah said she's been friends with the guys who play in Ivey's Room for a while. It's a group that includes Bobby Baldwin, Andrew Robl and Jean-Robert Bellande, among others.

So while she's comfortable with the people, the stakes took some getting used to.

"The first couple hours in the game I was just shaking. I was so nervous,” she said.

“The very first hand I ever played in Ivey's Room, I drew the ace for the button and I got pocket aces. I couldn't believe it.

"I'm doing well. I got a lot of heat on the message boards because Phil mentioned he was having a big downswing this summer but I have nothing to do with that. I'm doing well in the game and I'm having a lot of fun."

"The first couple hours in the game I was shaking.”

The hand that drew so much attention started when it was three-handed. Farah said most of the players in the game had taken a bathroom break.

Farah opened to $2k from the button with the 3♦ 3♥ and JRB three-bet to $7k from the big blind with A♥ A♣.

The flop came A♦ 3♣ 2♦, making both their sets, and JRB led out. Farah called and the same betting pattern repeated on the 5♠ turn.

The case ace hit the river and JRB checked.

"The way he plays is pretty crazy so when he checks there I think he's either giving up or he's trying to see if his ace-king will hold up,” said Farah.

“I bet and he took a long time before he shoved. I was really unhappy but against him I had to call."

Farah lost $180,000 in one hand. It probably took less than 10 minutes. She said she's only played one other pot of that size, which she won.

With such high stakes, big swings are common.

"I know she's up in the game but I'm not sure exactly how much,” said Phil. “It's a big game so the swings can be pretty big."

"Farah plays fairly snug. Some people can have swings of a few hundred thousand dollars each session but her swings are closer to $100k. But it's $300/$600 and people play pretty deep so it can go fast.”

Bellande later tweeted another picture from another session saying Farah had felted two players in the Ivey's Room game.

From Soap Opera Actor to Cash-Game Pro

Farah was originally from Kentucky but moved to LA when she was 15 for an acting job.

She was on Days of Our Lives for eight years and then moved to New York for a role on One Life to Live.

She was invited to a home game in NYC with the show's crew and fell in love with poker.

"The way JRB plays is pretty crazy."

“I just really loved it,” said Farah. “So I started going to Atlantic City to play on the weekends and it became my hobby.

“I totally fished it up for about five years and I was a big poker fan the whole time. I was actually a fan of Phil's before we ever met.

"I watched him on High Stakes Poker and I liked his personality. He's very subtle and he has a very dry wit. I've always been attracted to more low-key people and not too showy. He made me laugh.

“We had a lot in common. I loved poker and he loved improv comedy and acting. So my profession was his hobby and his profession was my hobby.”

Farah said her poker game took off when she started hanging out with Phil and other talented poker players.

"She learns a lot more by playing. She's good at reading people and she has an extremely good memory. I think she learns by repetition a lot,” said Phil.

"Poker's been a hobby of hers for a long time and I think spending time with me and other poker players kind of flipped a switch for her where she stopped thinking about it as a game that you just play for fun.

"I had that experience 12 or 13 years ago, where I went from just playing to realizing how much strategy there is and what's possible. So I think she had that happen four or five years ago and she's been learning since.

Looking back to when she started playing poker, Farah is blown away by how far she's come.

"There's no fucking way I would ever have believed I'd be playing in a game like this," she said.

"Poker After Dark is coming back and Cary Katz threw it out there that I could come on and I can't even wrap my head around that.

"I think it's going to be too tough of a game probably. If it's the lineup I'm imagining, I'll let Phil handle that one.