There are plenty of live and online poker players who will argue that they’re the best player alive.  But few of these people can back up their argument with the kind of credentials that Phil Ivey can.  Ivey has won numerous tournaments in his career and is often referred to as the best all-around poker player in the world.  His accomplishments have gained him a celebrity status that has transcended the game of poker.  In fact, Ivey has become such a big celebrity that ESPN decided to prominently feature him on both the cover of ESPN the Magazine and in an E:60 segment.

The article, which landed Ivey on the ESPN the Magazine cover, focuses on a trip with him around the world during the filming of the E:60 segment.  Written by Chad Millman, this feature article discusses how big of a star the 7-time WSOP bracelet winner has become.  From hanging out with Jay-Z backstage at concerts to playing golf with Michael Jordan, it is apparent that Ivey fits in well with the A-list celebrities.

The article also discusses how difficult it is for Ivey to keep his personal life private these days too.  Ivey has long been known as someone who enjoys his privacy, but the celebrity status he has gained is making this preference a lot more difficult to maintain.  Reporters and other media players now hound Phil a lot more when he is out and about.

Ivey did admit that he is enjoying parts of his celebrity status, but he is much more focused on winning the WSOP Main Event above all.  Ivey currently sits in 7th place in the final table chip count and is looking to make some big moves when Main Event play resumes on November 7th.

Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho have been on the bubble in almost every episode, but have still avoided elimination through the first four weeks of the competition.

After escaping Cambodia with their lives (due to the lost passports of that week’s winners – who were knocked out), Tiffany and Maria were in last place again en route to the deserts of Dubai… and the indoor skihill of Dubai.

Relying on another team’s meltdown one more time (and totalling a car in the desert after mixing up drive and reverse) they lived to play another day. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve got one, maybe two, weeks left in this whole thing. Sam and Dan (the gay brothers) will be battling it out with T & M stay out of last.

As you can probably tell, I’m a little bit down on this team. The season in general is a little bit bland aside from the Globetrotters. Flight Time and Big Easy are clearly my faves.

I’m taking even money right now on the girls getting bounced in the next episode. Any takers?

2009 was a very interesting year as far as the Poker Hall of Fame selection process went.  This year, fans were allowed to nominate their favorite players via the Internet which definitely added a twist to the process.  And this twist was most likely the main reason why online sensation Tom “durrrr” Dwan found himself as one of the 10 players nominated for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class.

The 23 year-old Dwan joined plenty of other famous poker players and personalities such as Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Men Nguyen, Mike Sexton, Erik Seidel, Tom McEvoy, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, and Dan Harrington.  Ivey (age 37), Dwan, and Negreanu (age 35) were particularly interesting nominations because they all had a chance to become the youngest person ever selected to the Poker Hall of Fame.

But in the end, nobody broke Chip Reese’s record as being the youngest person ever inducted (age 40).  In fact, nobody but Mike Sexton even made it into the Hall this year which is very interesting because most of Sexton’s accomplishments rest as a promoter instead of a player (though his playing accolades are pretty impressive too).  Sexton was the only one who was able to get 75% of the media and living Hall member vote.

Sexton’s playing accomplishments include a total of 46 WSOP cashes to go along with $3.7 million in career winnings.  The promotional work that Sexton has done has earned him the nickname of the “ambassador of poker”.

Sexton has been a major catalyst in helping the World Poker Tour achieve worldwide fame, and has also been an outstanding poker personality in the process.  He is also a noted poker author as he’s written for numerous poker publications such as Card Player Magazine and Gambling Times.

CEO of Cirque du Soleil, French-Canadian billionare and noted high-stakes poker loser Guy Laliberte has blasted off into space. The space tourist launched on September 30, with an 11-day ‘mission’ aboard the International Space Station.

Canada’s first space tourist comes with a $35million price tag (which is only $15million more than Laliberte’s estimated online poker losses since the start of 2007).

I can only hope that he’s able to get some sort of Wifi up there to keep up his online appearances — or at least play a cash game against some of the other astronauts.

That’s a lot of money, but hey, if you’ve got it, spend it. I can’t think of anything more awesome than going into space. Laliberte is one of those crazy bazillionares who does pretty much whatever he wants. This is a dude who grew up as a fire-eater, reinvented the circus and has now seen our planet from space.

Think about it. This is a guy who has taken down a $1.2 million pot on High Stakes Poker, lost millions online and made billions away from the felt. Going into space is monumental, but it’s arguably not even the biggest thing he’s been a part of.

Take that, Lance Bass.