Joe Cada, Poker's New Champion

This time last year, Joseph Cada couldn't legally order a cocktail. But today, the Shelby Township, Mich., native sits on top of the poker world as the champion of the World Series of Poker's "Main Event." Cada, who turns 22 next week, took home $8.5 million early Nov. 10 when he outlasted Maryland logger Darvin Moon (and 6,492 other competitors) at No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em to win the sport's biggest prize. TIME contributor Matt Villano caught up with Cada in Las Vegas to talk about preparing for the final table, what he's learned by playing poker online and what's next for history's youngest champ.

First off, how did you celebrate your monumental win last night?

Right after the match [at the Penn & Teller Theater inside the Rio Las Vegas] ended, there were like 2½ or 3 hours of interviews, photos, autographs and stuff like that. Then a bunch of us went back to our suite at the Palazzo. My family had come out to be with me, and I had about 100 friends who came out from Michigan to cheer me on too. We were up pretty late.

Starting today, how do you plan to represent poker as the new champion?

At this point, all I can say is that I'll do my best. Poker has been my life for a while now, so obviously I want to see it grow. Whatever the community needs me to do, I'll do. I'm psyched about the responsibility.

You've been playing professionally for six years. At what point in your career did you start thinking you could win the Main Event?

I had dreamed about it — I think every poker player does. But I always knew winning the Main Event was a big long shot. I mean, coming out on top of a field of 6,500 players is pretty rare. This summer [when the first eight days of the Main Event were played], once it got down to about 180 people, I started thinking that I might actually be able to do it. Then, when I made the final nine, I knew it was within reach.

With three months off before the final nine resumed play this weekend, how did you prepare?

I didn't really do anything special. I just continued the same lifestyle that had gotten me into the final nine. I played a lot of live events, both in person and online. I went out with friends — stuff a typical 21-year-old would do. I also traveled a lot and visited London and Barcelona.

Any regrets from the final table?

I'm pretty critical of how I play, and I'm not afraid to admit when I think I've played badly. When it got down to two of us, I had $135 million in chips, but I think Darvin definitely outplayed me at first. There was a point where he had me down to $40 million in chips. Thankfully, I came back. I knew if I just made good decisions, I could turn things around.

You shared final-table felt with poker legend Phil Ivey. Which longtime pros do you consider to be your mentors? And after whom would you say you've modeled your game?

Definitely Ivey. Tom Dwan. Both of these guys are so unpredictable that it's hard to put them on certain hands. What I've learned from them is that you have to play solid poker and keep people guessing at the same time. It's a powerful combination.

Peter Eastgate, then age 22, won this tournament last year, and you've taken the bracelet this year. To what extent do you think the "old guard" has been displaced by young guns?

I wouldn't say we've displaced them, but the Internet has certainly leveled the playing field. Playing cards is all about experience. Online, you can see 40 times as many hands in one hour as you would in a live game. Because of that, a 21-year-old could gain more experience in one year than someone who has been playing live for 25 years. You also don't need to go to a physical place to play — you can wake up and open up your laptop.

Legislators have made online poker illegal in the U.S. As someone who's played online for years, how do you see this issue being resolved?

I support the right to play poker online. Poker isn't gambling. It's a hobby, an activity, a game. It's not about luck — it's about logic, decision-making, math. We all should be able to play poker on the Web if we want to, and I believe that making it illegal strips us of our rights. This is an important issue, and hopefully we'll see it resolved soon.

$8.5 million is a lot of money. Short of going to Disneyland, what do you plan to do with it?

I haven't really thought about it yet. Since Saturday [when the field was winnowed down to two], I didn't want to look past the heads-up match with Darvin. I'm sure at least some of those winnings will go back into my bankroll, though. There's always another tournament to play.

Poker: Wsop Final Table Starts

11/8/09 - Three months and 23 days after the composition of the final table of the World Series of Poker main event was decided, the much-anticipated grand finale kicked off at the Rio in Vegas Saturday.

The opening ceremonies boasted all the Vegas razzmatazz we have come to expect from this multi-million dollar spectacular as some 600 railbirds crammed into the Penn and Teller theatre at the Rio to cheer on their favourites and ogle legendary players in the game.

Spotted among the crowds were Greg Raymer, Jen Harman and Marco Traniello, Phil Gordon, 2008 November Niners Dennis Phillips, Ylon Schwartz and 2008's youngest to date world champion Peter Eastgate; Daniel Negreanu and 2004 world champion Greg Raymer; Jeff Shulman and his WSOP coach Phil Hellmuth; Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, TJ Cloutier, Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.

And to give a flavour for the value of this biggest competition in international poker, consider these numbers released by the organisers:

First prize in the 2009 WSOP main event: $8 547 042
Indianapolis 500: $3 048 005
Daytona 500: $1 530 390
U.S. Open (Tennis): $1 600 000
U.S. Open (Golf): $1 350 000

Final tablers presented to the crowd were:

Seat 1: Darvin Moon (58 930 000)
Seat 2: James Akenhead (6 800 000)
Seat 3: Phil Ivey (9 765 000)
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel (12 390 000)
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter (29 885 000)
Seat 6: Eric Buchman (34 800 000)
Seat 7: Joseph Cada (13 215 000)
Seat 8: Antoine Saout (9 500 000)
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman (19 580 000)

Average age at the table at that stage was 34.8, with printer Kevin Schaffel the oldest at 52 and Joe Cada the youngest at 21 (he turns 22 on November 18th)

This year's big surprise, 46-year-old Maryland logger Darvin Moon headed the chip counts, unbagging over 24 million more chips than his nearest rival Eric Buchman.

Tournament director Jack Effel and WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack controlled proceedings, starting on the rather sombre note of a moment's silence for Hans 'Tuna' Lund who recently passed away.

Then the raucous crowd chanted and yelled for their favourites and displayed T-shirt slogans that ran from Darvin Moon's "Bad Moon Rising" to Schaffel's rather clever play on words "Schaffel Up and Deal" as the players were introduced, photoflashes sparkled and high-powered video lights glared.

Moving to the Amazon Room around 1pm local time, the big event was launched this year by poker legend Doyle Brunson, who made the famous "Shuffle up and Deal" call, accompanied on stage by last year's champ and currently the youngest ever WSOP winner, Peter Eastgate. The poker veteran came up with a typically Brunson quip after surveying the noisy railbirds: "This looks like a football game!"

The action began at a slow pace as players cautiously felt each other out.

French engineering student Antoine Saout was noticeable for his selective aggression which created excitement in a clash with Moon that proved to be very expensive for the logger. At hand #45 Saout called the Marylander's all-in bluff to double up to 22 million at Moon's expense, lifting the Frenchman into the mid-field and leaving a rather embarrassed looking Moon to ponder his massive, if affordable, loss.

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The huge hit probably contributed to Moon's vulnerability at hand #107, when Buchman took the chip lead, leading Moon by almost 5 million in chips, a situation that Moon was to reverse later in the game.

A daring all-in move by Phil Ivey also set tongues wagging when he put his tournament life on the line with over 8 million chips and pulled it off to strengthen his rather weak chip count at that point. By the dinner break he was fifth in chip counts.

The short-stacked 26-year-old Brit pro James Akenhead had one narrow escape against Buchman, but it wasn't enough to save him from being the first player to be eliminated at hand #59 after around four-and-a-half hours of play.

Akenhead ran kings into Kevin Schaffel's aces and found himself short. He put threes up against Schaffel's nines and headed for the exit in 9th place, collecting $1 263 602 for his time and trouble.

"Obviously I'm very disappointed, but I went in as the short stack and I had to get it in and gamble," Akenhead said. "I gambled and got lucky once, and busted out ninth anyway. It was bit more harsh, but it wasn't my day. Kings against aces, what can you do?"

Half an hour later, at hand #68, Schaffel was himself eliminated by Eric Buchman, pocketing the 8th placing prize of $1 300 231.

"What are you going to do?" asked Schaffel. "I got it in with aces against kings twice. I was right back in it. I was down to seven and a half million, I got up to 15 and then 19. I think I was counting my chips to like 43 million and I would have been right behind Darvin.

"There's just nothing you can do. It was a sick flop. I still had six outs if the board didn't pair after that, but we all know what happened."

Shortly after seven-handed play commenced, Buchman rose to leader prominence following a Moon vs. Stephen Begleiter big-bet clash which saw Moon check-raise Begleiter to 15 million on a four high flop with two spades and almost 11 million chips in the pot, only to fold when Begleiter shoved for just six million more.

That put Buchman in the lead and Begleiter second with Moon trailing in third. Moon improved his position later to second and by dinner break the chip counts looked like this:

Eric Buchman: 54,725,000
Darvin Moon: 41,250,000
Steve Begleiter: 38,100,000
Antoine Saout: 28,725,000
Phil Ivey: 14,900,000
Joe Cada: 10,700,000
Jeff Shulman: 7,175,000

By hand #153 Frenchman Antoine Saout, with some truly audacious play, had doubled up through Begleiter as well to become chip leader on 52 775 000 ahead of Buchman and Moon. And alarmed Phil Ivey fans were pointing to his low-stack position on the table with only 8 million in chips.

Hand # 175 saw the popular Phil Ivey dismissed from this year's WSOP as he was eliminated in 7th place ($1 404 014) by that man Moon. Showing little emotion, the poker pro departed as the table - and the 1 200 strong spectators - applauded.

Shortly after Ivey's departure, the chip counts were updated to show:

Eric Buchman - 55,500,000
Antoine Saout - 53,075,000
Darvin Moon - 39,325,000
Jeff Shulman - 17,275,000
Steven Begleiter - 16,150,000
Joseph Cada - 13,450,000

Twelve hands later, at # 187, it was Begleiters' time to depart with a 6th placing cheque for $1,587,160 - another victim of the cool and calm Moon in a 23.25 million pot that gave the logger the chip lead again at 63.9 million.

When we went to press the action was paused whilst security men piled a mountain of currency onto a table, topped by the much respected and coveted main event winner's bracelet - a significant incentive for the remaining five men around the table.

Chip counts were:

Darvin Moon - 63,925,000
Eric Buchman - 53,250,000
Antoine Saout - 51,725,000
Jeff Shulman - 15,525,000
Joseph Cada - 10,350,000

On Poker: A Main Event, final table primer

Enough with the waiting, it is time to shuffle up and deal.

After a four-month hiatus, final table play of the 2009 world series of poker is set to resume at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Penn & Teller Theater at Las Vegas' Rio Hotel & Casino.

Here is a preview of things to watch for:

The lineup: Chip leader Darvin Moon will occupy Seat 1 with $58.9 million in (rounded) chips, followed by James Akenhead ($6.8 million), Phil Ivey (9.75), Kevin Schaffel (12.4), Steven Begleiter (29.89), Eric Buchman (34.8), Joe Cada (13.2), Antoine Saout (9.5) and Jeff Shulman (19.6) in clockwise seat assignments around the table.

Where the action stands: Players will be welcomed with minutes to play in Level 33 of the tournament structure with blinds of 120K/240K and a 30K ante, leaving everybody outside of Akenhead reasonably well stacked.

Odds favorite: Bookmakers back the big stack, which is why Moon is the favorite with 2-1 odds despite his clear amateur status. The Maryland logger has never played a hand of online poker and qualified for the tournament by winning a $130 satellite in West Virginia.

Gamblers looking for value may eye former Bears Stearns executive Begleiter, who despite entering play with the third-largest stack has 11-2 listed odds.

Fan favorite: Ask any professional whom they fear most, and the answer is consistently the same — Ivey. No Main Event since its numbers entered the thousands has had a player of Ivey's star power run this deep.

Yeah, former champion Dan Harrington's back-to-back final tables in 2002 and 2003 were impressive, but he doesn't have legendary stories of $10 million single-day wins or 72-hour playing sessions without sleep bantered about like Ivey does.

But does Ivey have enough chips to make a run and play creatively?

Watch out for: Shulman and his stack of nearly 20 million, which is dangerous enough to chop the chip-leader in half or send five others to the rail. This is Shulman's second Main Event final table in 10 years, but he'll be more prepared this time around. Shulman hired Phil Hellmuth, arguably the best tournament player in poker, to coach him in the months leading to Saturday.

Shulman is also riding a bit of a family rush. His father, Barry, recently won Europe's World Series of Poker Main Event.

Money talks: The $8.5 million check to the winner will be the third-largest award in tournament poker history. Second-place money is $5.2 million, with payouts trickling all the way down to $1.25 million for ninth. Every player at the table received that money when play was halted in July.

Tune in time: ESPN will air a two-hour telecast of the action on Tuesday at 8 p.m., mere hours after the champion has been crowned. In response to criticism of last year's broadcast, expect to see more than two heads-up hands played for the championship.

Predictions: Moon will play quiet and ride his starting stack to the final three. Ivey will be brilliant but will flame out in the middle. Shulman will be photographed in front of the cash at the end.

Pennsylvania Poker Tournament Players Robbed

Yet another poker robbery has taken place in the United States and this time it was in Heidelberg, Pennsylvania. Just a few weeks ago a robbery took place in Oklahoma where more than $12,000 was stolen. This time the robbery happened during a poker tournament at the Heidelberg fire hall and most likely over $1,000 was taken.

Police suspect that this robbery was an inside job. About twenty people were competing in a Texas hold’em poker tournament at the Heidelberg Volunteer Fire Department. The space was rented out to host the poker tournament. Around 2:40 in the morning one player got up to leave. As he was leaving through a door that was locked, two men with guns entered the facility through the door the player was exiting.

A side door was then opened to allow a third man in who was carrying a Baton, according to Chief Vernon Barkley of the Heidelberg police. The men then asked for Sara Lazarro. Sara is the woman who regularly plans poker tournaments in the region. The men then demanded cash from the players and Sara was hit in the head with the baton.

Barkley says they are pretty sure it was an inside job and the player who allowed the gunmen to enter seemed very nervous to the other players throughout the night. The man was spending a good deal of time on his cell phone, which was most likely the way he contacting the gunmen.

Barkley stated the player has been contacted by the police and is going to be interviewed. The player’s name has yet to be released.

PokerStars APT Auckland Main Event

The Poker Stars Asia Pacific Tour went to Auckland and the Main Event drew in 128 players today to create a total of 263 players. The number of players is down from last year but the $209,085 NZD first place prize is still nothing to sneeze at.

The poker Stars Team Australia Pros Eric Assadourian and Tony Hachem made it through the playing field without any major hits to their chip stacks. Hachem even got dealt the ever elusive Royal Flush.

But not all the players had such good fortune and went home early on in the day. Jai Kemp, Bruno Portaro and PokerStars Asia Pro Bryan Huang were some of the players that were eliminated early on.

During the last level of play Tony Dunst gave up all his chips and was elliminated by Lance Climo giving him the position of chip leader with 134,000 chips. Tomorrow the remaining combined 130 players will resume at 12:15pm local time.

From those 130 only the top 32 will continue on for a chance at a payout. New players are eligible for a new player bonus of 100% up to $600 dollars on their first deposit using the Poker Stars Bonus Code.

PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Day 1A: Demes and Steicke Lead the Way

Season 3 of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) officially commenced on Tuesday as the Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau opened its doors to the first of three Main Event flights that will flow through the PokerStars Macau Poker Room this week. The room was abuzz as pros and amateurs from around the world ponied up the $40,000 HKD buy-in (approx. $5,160 USD), all on a mission to claim their piece of the anticipated $2,000,000 USD prize pool.

Day 1A attracted 119 total runners, of which 60 survived including chip leader and PokerStars player Brandon Demes (102,200), and perhaps the hottest player in the Far East at the moment, David Steicke (82,300). Finishing one and two on the overnight leaderboard, Demes and Steicke’s standout performances perhaps overshadowed one of the more significant storylines of the event thus far: the emergence of PokerStars Team Asia Pro.

Formed earlier this year, PokerStars Team Asia Pro is comprised of Asia’s best and brightest young poker minds, including Dan ‘Rekrul’ Schreiber, Raymond Wu, and Jonathan Lin – all of whom played Day 1A and survived to see Day 2. The team is rounded off by Tae Joon ‘Skat tilt’ Noh, Bryan Huang, and the team’s only female member, Celina Lin. Noh is currently slated to play Day 1B of the Main Event, while Huang and Lin are scheduled to hit the felt on Thursday, Day 1C.

Team PokerStars Pro Australia was also well-represented on Day 1A as team members Eric Assadourian (35,300) and Grant Levy (19,500) safely maneuvered their way through the minefield that was Day 1A. Aussie team member Emad Tahtouh wasn’t as fortunate, and having lost a few sizeable pots to fellow Aussie Danny Huynh early in the day, he was never able to recover hitting the rail near the end of level four.

Other notable Day 1A casualties included former WSOP Main Event Champs Johnny Chan and Monsour Matloubi, as well as young guns Vivek Rajkumar and Jay Kinkade.

Tournament Director Danny McDonagh paused the clock for the evening after seven levels of play, meaning both Day 1B and C flights can expect the same when they hit the felt this week.

For a complete list of Day 1A results, visit the poker News Live Reporting page where you’ll also find photos, videos and detailed accounts of the day’s action.

European Free Poker Betting Online Tour:The Sixth edition moves to Kiev

Organizers of the sixth edition of European Poker Tour (EPT) had changed their program this year. They did not delay announcing that the tournaments foreseen to be held in Moscow are cancelled further to the Russian ministerial decision which crossed off poker from sports list. The EPT Russia Open planned to be done in Radisson SAS in Russia is thus going to move in Kiev Sports Palace, in Ukraine from August the 18th till the 23th and will be called officially Fortunately, Ukraine goes back on its decision forbidding poker on its territory further to the fire of a gaming room which killed 9 persons.

600 players are thus going to be able to play Free poker Betting Online during this big event considered as the biggest tournament never competed in Ukraine.