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Maria Ho

iSeriesLIVE Launches In-Action Betting on Poker

by Wicked Chops Entity on 3.20.2012 in Poker News | 2 comments

Maria Ho thinks you should grab her at 10/1 odds.

We’ve been in the “you know, poker just isn’t going to be mainstream” camp for awhile.

At the end of the day, poker greatness is somewhat fueled by degeneracy. So instead of trying to clean up a game that isn’t really filled with mainstream personalities, why not just appeal to the degeneracy that makes poker great?

Enter iSeriesLIVE.

iSeriesLIVE allows fans to watch poker live with hole cards exposed–and bet on the action as it happens. Viewers can wager on continually updated odds to win, next elimination, winner of next hand, redder/blacker flop, etc.

In an odd way though–by opening up poker as a live betting “sport”–it could make it more popular. Part of what fuels the NFL’s massive popularity is that it’s great for gambling. Building off the success of last year’s WSOP Main Event broadcasts and this year’s WPT live streams, iSeriesLIVE would make the game more “immediate” for fans (i.e. live) and more fun to watch (because everything is more fun when you have some money on it).

The first event is set for April 5th with a new school/old school line-up that includes Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott, Maria Ho, Faraz Jaka, Tobias Reinkemeier, Marvin Rettenmaier, Carlos Mortensen, Eoghan O’Dea, and James Dempsey. Negreanu is listed as the current favorite to win at 11/2.

Learn more here.

Click below to register a betting account if you’re in legal jurisdictions.

Tagged as: featured, iSeriesLIVE, live poker betting, Maria Ho, poker betting, Poker News

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Nikki Beach WSOP Party Photo Dump

by Wicked Chops Entity on 6.16.2011 in Girls | no comments

You should've gone to the Nikki Beach party at Tropicana.

WSOP parties are going to be few and far between. No PokerStars bash at the Palms. No Howard Lederer BBQ at the Nugget.

Nope, this year it’s pretty much the BLUFF bash at Sapphire and the Maria Ho, Tiffany Michelle, and Vanessa Rousso party at Nikki Beach.

Every poker hottie showed up for this one. Drunken poker player bacchanalian fest.

Click the thumbs for pics from the event. All party pics credit: BJ Nemeth.

Tagged as: featured, Maria Ho, Nikki Beach, Tiffany Michelle, vanessa Rousso

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2011 WSOP: Bari Beats Ho; Lehavot Takes $10k PLO Title

by Wicked Chops Entity on 6.6.2011 in Poker Tournaments | 3 comments

Nicolas Levi wonders what Nicolas Levi is thinking at the $10k PLO final table.

Sundays are always among the better World Series of Poker days. The glut of tournaments that go on over the weekend usually get down to producing some winners. Here is the latest 2011 WSOP results and action:

:: Event #4 ($5,000 NLH) – Final table action picked up short-handed, with only four remaining. Allen Bari held a monster chip lead, and rode it to an eventual title. Bari collected his first bracelet and $874,116. He defeated Maria Ho, a woman, who had most of the room pulling from her, heads-up for the title. This was Ho’s biggest tourney cash ever, banking $540,020. After the win, Bari went on about how great he is, which usually we like from people, but doesn’t play well here. Says Bari: “I was expecting to win a bracelet.  Seriously, I thought that if I did not win a bracelet it would like be a joke…I do not think my swagger is undeserved.  I’ve been playing poker a long time and have been working hard at it. I’ve been putting in the hours and learning. I am not arrogant in terms of everything.  Just poker, because – I’m really good at poker. I do not lie. I am just better than most people.  Everyone else thinks they are good, but they’re not. They all stink (laughing). I’m the best.” All right then. Read in full/get full results here.

:: Event #6 ($1,500 Limit Hold’em) - Harrison Wilder of Beaverton, Oregon outlasted a talented final day field to capture his first bracelet and $205,065. The 29 year-old has been grinding $40-80 Limit live in Vegas, trying to make it as a pro. The Intense Stare of Scott Clements finished ninth for $15,281. Read more here.

:: Event #7 ($10,000 PLO) – Amir Lehavot took this one down, banking $573,456 and his first bracelet. Lehavot has been grinding in events for years, but has really come on in 2011. For the year, he’s banked over $1M in earnings, with a WSOP bracelet and WPT final table. Get full final table results here.

:: Event #8 ($1,000 NLH) – Day 1B brought the total field to 4,178, creating a first place prize of $611,185. Looks like Charles Sewell is the overall chip leader when the fields merge, stacked at 137,350. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, a ginger, is second with 99,200. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #9 ($1,500 2-7 NL Lowball) – Play resumes today with 7 remaining. Matt Perrins holds the final table chip lead with 293,000. He’s followed by Bernard Lee with 265,000. Jason Mercier is short-stacked with 89,000. Get full chip counts here.

Tagged as: 2011 WSOP, Allen Bari, Amir Lehavot, Maria Ho

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2011 WSOP: Eugene Katchalov Wins First Bracelet; Maria Ho In Contention

by Wicked Chops Entity on 6.5.2011 in Poker Tournaments | 1 comment

Maria Ho (left foreground) is looking to get an early leg up on the final table today, and ride her short-stack to a bracelet victory.

We’re nine events into the 2011 WSOP, and so far, no “Year of…” themes have developed. At least at the tables. Maybe Year of the Dramabomb? Let’s give it another week to figure it out. Here’s the latest…

:: Event #4 ($5,000 NLH) – Play was stopped with four remaining. Allen Bari has a commanding chip lead, stacked at 9,125,000. He’s followed by Sean LeFort with 1,420,000. So yeah, that’s a wide margin. But if we’ve learned anything the 2008 elections when a black man with the middle name of “Hussein” became President of this very United States of America, it’s that ANYTHING can happen. Seriously. That really happened? And then we voted for him too? And he found and killed Osama bin Laden? In related anything can happen news, Maria Ho, a woman, is short-stacked with 1,200,000. Let’s see if a hot Asian woman can win a freaking bracelet already.

:: Event #5 ($1,500 7CS) – Eugene Katchalov might qualify as the most under-the-radar great poker player out there. So it only seemed like a matter of time until he won his first bracelet. Judging by our headline, he accomplished that feat in Event #5. For the win, Katchalov banked $122,909. That pushes his career earnings over $6.3M. Eric Buchman finished third. Phil Ivey didn’t play this one. Get full results here.

:: Event #6 ($1,500 Limit Hold’em) - The field is down to 17, with William Davis as chip leader, stacked at 416,000. He’s followed by Timothy Chauser with 371,000. The Intense Stare of Scott Clements (259,000), Jeff Williams (158,000), and Matt Matros (153,000) also remain. Phil Ivey didn’t play this one. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #7 ($10,000 PLH) – Stephen Chidwick from the U.K. leads the final 27, stacked at 697,000. He’s followed by
Amir Lehavot with 628,000. Other notables in the field include but are certainly not limited to McLean Karr (593,000), Robert Mizrachi (426,000), Jason Somerville (301,000), Jennifer Tilly, a woman (186,000), and Mike Matusow (89,000). Not registering in this event was Phil Ivey. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #8 ($1,000 NLH) – A total of 2,116 entered the weekend donkament with 312 surviving. Albert Kim is the chip leader, stacked at 74,675. The MavenTM has 38,725. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #9 ($1,500 2-7 Lowball NL) – The final event of the day had 275 entrants with 73 surviving. Phil Ivey did not highlight the entry list, as he did not play. George Lind is the Day 1 chip leader, stacked at 52,200. Plenty of big names pepper the field. Get full chip counts here.

For more 2011 WSOP coverage, visit: RISE Poker | Tao of Poker | ESPN Poker | Bluff Magazine |Pokerati | WSOP

Tagged as: 2011 WSOP, Eugene Katchalov, Maria Ho, Poker News

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BREAKING: Maria Ho Joins Team UB [UPDATED]

by Wicked Chops Entity on 11.11.2010 in Poker News | 14 comments

Maria Ho Ultimate Bet

Maria Ho signs with UB

Hot poker playing girls have always been a commodity to online poker sites. Especially when they’re good. And it doesn’t hurt if they can sing like a delicate siren and speak Mandarin as well.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a shocker that Maria Ho, a woman, finally got an endorsement deal, as sources tell us that UB will announce her signing sometime later today.

Like the signing of Joe Sebok a little more than a year ago, this is a solid move for UB, which is still facing fallout from the UltimateBet super-user scandal. Fortunately for Maria, she won’t be as much of a public punching bag either. Ho is one of the more respected, well-liked female poker players on the tournament circuit and has had a great past few months, including but certainly not limited to a final table appearance at WSOP-C South Africa, a 10th place finish at WPT Bellagio Cup VI and a 11th place finish in the 2010 WSOP $10k Limit Hold’em World Championship this summer.

With the signing of Ho, and the semi-recent inking of Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Eric Baldwin, and Brandon Cantu, it certainly looks like UB is moving towards a younger core of players. Now if they can only explain who the hell this guy and this guy are (creepy team UB uncles?), they might just have a coherent marketing strategy for once.

UPDATE: UB has finally announced Maria Ho’s signing. Official press release after the jump . . .

[click to continue…]

Tagged as: Maria Ho, UB, UltimateBet

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