Not a super exciting week in poker news, but some stuff has been going on, so here's a brief recap:

2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada continued his media blitz that has so far featured him ringside at Madison Square Gardens for WWE Raw, on the Late Show with David Letterman, on SportsCenter on ESPN and now on the American Morning show on CNN. He may not be the most effusive guy on camera, but he definitely seems to be getting more camera time than that guy that won last year, … John? Matthew? Mark? Luke? Wait, we know this… Dennis! That's right, Dennis Phillips. What? He didn't win? Well, then we have no idea.

Joe Cada on CNN American Morning

Tom "durrrr" Dwan has been taking on some of the worlds highest-stakes poker players in the heads-up Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge at the Les Ambassadeurs club in London. Each opponent ponies up $250,000 to tak eon the online prodigy in their choice of No Limit Holdem or Pot Limit Holdem. For the first day of the challenge, Dwan took on Marcello “luckexpress” Marigliano in No Limit Holdem for 11 hours and Pot Limit Holdem for the last hour. At the end, durrrr ended up down $25,500. The next day he took on notorious aggro Swede Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies in a match that saw both of them rebuy for $250,000 and end up so close that Dwan only managed to eek out a $68,000 victory. The challenge concludes when he takes on Sammy “Any Two” George tomorrow/today, or however these timezone things work.

Bluff Europe: Ilari ‘Ziigmund’ Sahamies' Turn in Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge

The LAPT Playa Conchal is already halfway through Day 2 in the beautiful town of Playa Conchal in Costa Rica. Honestly, who cares about poker in a place like this. Instead of reciting boring chip counts, just take a deep breath, look at the pic at the top of this post, close your eyes and just imagine being on that beach. Your welcome. For the rest of you, there are 60 players left out of the original 259. The only person we feel like is worth mentioning that is near the top of the chip counts is Maridu Mayrinck cos she's a super cool Brazilian chick. Further down the chip counts is Bodog online poker regular Bolivar "ramux" Palacios, for whom we are also rooting.

LAPT Playa Conchal Live Reporting

While Bill Belichick was making the worst clock-management and strategy decisions evar in the New England Patriots miraculous loss to the Indianapolis Colts last night, online poker player "he11raiser" was making much better decisions on his way to winning Bodog Poker's Sunday $100k Guaranteed online poker tournament. Beating out 514 other entrants to win the tournament, "he11raiser" beat "elena m" in fierce heads-up battle to win the $25,000 first-place prize.

This is the first tournament win of any kind for "he11raiser" in the Bodog Poker room so we'll just attribute it to beginner's luck… just kidding. A field that large is always a minefield and tough to navigate. Congrats to "he11raiser" for the big win and we're sure we'll see him around the virtual tables much more often now with this huge infusion to his bankroll.

Here are the full final table results and payouts:

1. he11raiser – $25,000
2. elena m – $15,000
3. Zwaffelaar – $9,500
4. AWander – $7,000
5. StinkyBritches – $5,500
6. bigtone52 – $4,500
7. thrtyftj – $3,500
8. skeptix – $2,200
9. perry_04 – $1,700

If you are brand new to poker or a veteran of the online poker tables, the Sunday $100k Guaranteed offers great value to players of all stripes and you can qualify to play in this event for as little as $1. So, get started today and the next thing you know, you could be $25,000 richer.

A huge week of online poker tournament action wrapped up last night with the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship event. Capping a successful week-long series that saw hundreds of online poker players turn out to play for thousands in prize money, the BPO IV Championship event was won by poker's newest superstar "MrElPaso," who walked away with $36,447.50 for first-place and a guaranteed spread in an international poker publication.

The BPO IV Championship drew out a field of 257 players, generating a $120,790 prizepool to which bodog.com added $25,000 for a total purse of $145,790. Part of the crowd that came out to take advantage of this incredible value were Bodog Poker Pros David Williams and Evelyn Ng, and online poker pros "nevertilt22," "UFpokerStar" and "ari," who reached the final table of the event.

Here are the full final table results and payouts:

1. MrElPaso
2. dvbronco
3. Ari
4. JazzyFace
5. bklynzto81
6. naskoxx
7. ello
8. ShuMoneyTonite
9. LIVIN LOUD

The Contender Series Finale also took place last night in the Bodog Poker room, featured $2,500 in added prize money and drew 204 players out to take advantage of that value. Online poker player "hitchchops" was able to best that field to walk away with the $3,268.10 first-place prize. Here are the full final table results from that event.

1. hitchchops – $3,268.10
2. Hoff26 – $2,079.70
3. mainendz – $1,378.54
4. olycrawford – $950.72
5. Jack0fAllTrades – $713.04
6. jason0802 – $534.78
7. larryblizzy – $415.94
8. selachii777 – $308.98
9. RezinLife – $202.02

All told, the Bodog Poker Open IV saw 2,646 total players come out to compete in the 11 events of the Championship and Contender Series and $368,000 in cash prizes with another $65,000 added by bodog.com.

The conculsion of the Bodog Poker Open IV does not end the online poker tournament action in the Bodog Poker room. Bodog.com’s Sunday $100,000 Guaranteed online poker tournament. Qualifiers for the $100,000 Guaranteed event start for as low as $1 and run daily.

Another day of the Bodog Poker Open IV wrapped last night with Event #5 of both the Championship and Contender Series. In total, 199 players came out between the two events – 93 in the Championship and 106 in the Contender – and a total of $21,070 was paid out, including the $5,000 that bodog.com added to the Championship event prize pool. The big winners were online poker players 'Weslo18′ and 'papastacks.'

The BPO IV Championship Event #5 had 93 players with a $13,950 prize pool with $5,000 added by bodog.com making the total prize pool $18,950. First place also received T$500 for a chance to play in BPO IV Championship on Sunday, Nov 8th. Here is the final table breakdown:

1. Weslo18 – $5,685.00
2. DrDankRx23 – $3,790.00
3. gobirds – $2,274.00
4. Frank_Shades – $1,895.00
5. rjrat84 – $1,516.00
6. Troy111 – $1,231.75
7. The Maven – $1,042.25
8. VAFLZ - $852.75
9. vinnyb9 – $663.25

We'd also like to congratulate "vinnyb9″ for reaching multiple final tables so far in the BPO IV. So, congrats, and we hope to see you at the final table of the Championship.

The Contender Series Event #5 had 106 players with a total prize pool of $2,120. First place also received T$500 for a chance to play in the BPO IV Championship on Sunday, Nov. 8th, and places 2nd – 9th received T$50 for a chance to play in the Contender Series Finale on Nov. 8. Here is the final table breakdown:

1. papastacks – $636.00
2. lunarphase – $424.00
3. dukedaddiee – $252.28
4. iliketoplay – $169.60
5. perry_04 – $137.80
6. JHaas07 – $106.00
7. Jack0fAllTrades – $74.20
8. BOSTONRNDR – $55.12
9. Paldon – $36.00

The BPO IV continues tonight at 8:30pm ET with a $150 + $12 Limit Holdem event in the Championship Series that features $2,500 in added prize money. Next up for the Contender Series is a $15 + $1.50 Limit Holdem event at 9:15pm ET. For more details, visit the Bodog Poker Open overview page.

In preparation for the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Event, Bodog Poker is offering a staggering number of ways for online poker players to qualify on the cheap for the tournament. Aside from awarding a T$500 seat to the winners of the Championship and Contender Series events all week, bodog.com will also be dedicating an entire day – Saturday, Nov. 7 – to qualify people into the BPO IV Championship.

Starting at the lowest level of buy-in available on Saturday ($1), the BPO IV Main Event Cheap Seat takes place at 1:40am and will award one seat to a Semifinal event, worth T$29. The next step up is the $5 + $.50 BPO IV Main Event Qualifier scheduled for 5:25pm and 10:05pm, both which offer two guaranteed T$29 seats into the BPO IV Main Event Semifinal. That Semifinal event is then set to take place at 8:05pm and guarantees one seat into the BPO IV Championship worth T$500.

On top of this ladder schedule, hopefuls will also have multiple chances to play in higher buy-in events that guarantee multiple seats to the BPO IV Championship. At 1:15pm, 4:15pm, 7:15pm and 10:15pm (all times Eastern) there will be a $69+$6 BPO IV 3 Seats to Main Event, which guarantees three T$500 seats into the Championship. For even more value, the $50 + $5 BPO IV 10 Seats to Main Event takes place at 6:15pm ET and guarantees ten T$500 seats for the BPO IV Championship.

Moving on into Sunday, Nov. 8, before the Championship event, Bodog will be hosting 12 different last chance qualifiers all with a $100+$9 buy-in, ranging from regular structure to turbo and super turbo. These events run between 11:15am ET – 3:02pm ET and guarantee at least one $T500 seat for the Championship per qualifier.

For more details, visit the Bodog Poker Open qualifying schedule and we'll see you at the BPO IV Championship Final Table on Sunday.

The first three days of the Bodog Poker Open IV are in the books and have already awarded $153,220 in prize money. The first three events of the parallel Championship and Contender Series drew in 1,449 online poker players vying to get a headstart on becoming the next poker superstar as the winner of the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Event on Sunday, Nov. 8.

The first event of the BPO IV Championship Series was a $100+$9 No Limit Holdem event that pulled in 454 entrants. In addition to the $45,400 generated by these buy-ins, Bodog Poker added $15,000 to the prizepool to create a total purse of $60,400

Here is the final table breakdown:

1. 1ManCrew – $15,100.00
2. chiquita – $9,060.00
3. GeneHunter – $5,738.00
4. Dsalt – $4,228.00
5. slapdash – $3,322.00
6. elnino4444 – $2,718.00
7. nevertilt22 – $2,114.00
8. metalman66 – $1,328.80
9. troutman101 – $1,026.80

Contender Series Event #1 pulled in 413 players with a $7,500 guaranteed prizepool. Here are the results:

1. I_Have_AA_ – $1,875.00
2 . bwalk – $1,125.00
3. N8SK8S – $712.50
4. Southuga03 – $525.00
5. Jarrsts – $412.50
6. poker2606 – $337.50
7. SuperSlacker1 – $262.50
8. JHdaDoMiNaToR – $165.00
9. mrdodomr – $127.50

The BPO IV Event #2 had 137 players with a $34,250 prize pool plus $5,000 added by Bodog resulting in a $39,250 prize pool. Here is the final table breakdown:

1. jhkues – $11,775.00
2. mapsfly – $7,850.00
3. daisyxoxo – $4,670.75
4. vinnyb9 – $3,140.00
5. horningt12 – $2,551.25
6. Birdie34 – $1,962.50
7. streetsweeperX – $1,373.75
8. benthrb4 – $1,020.50
9. 011jp – $667.25

The Contender Series Event #2 had 162 players with a $4,050 prize pool. 1st place also received T$500 for a seat in the BPO IV ME and placed 2nd – 9th received T$50 each to play in the Contender Series ME. Here is the final table breakdown:

1. iliketoplay – $1,215.00
2. ILIVEOFFPOKER – $810
3. ninjas22 – $481.95
4. Dannenmann – $324
5. FullHouseMD – $263.25
6. amberbock05 – $202.5
7. vinnyb9 – $141.75
8. VegasMan11 – $105.3
9. lowrider85 – $68.85

BPO IV Championship Series Event #3 had 115 players with a $34,500 prize pool plus $5,000 added by Bodog making for a total prize pool of $39,500. Results:

1. graytambar -  $11,850.00
2. Sweet Cakes - $7,900.00
3. UWOkid87 - $4,700.50
4. horningt12 - $3,160.00
5. northkato - $2,567.50
6. Troy111 - $1,975.00
7. Kevin Blackwood - $1,382.50
8. Babalicious - $1,027.00
9. Balla686 - $671.50

The BPO IV Contender Series Event #3 had 168 participants with a prize pool of $2,520. Final table payouts:

1. account99 - $756
2. FLUSH634 - $504
3. darksword119 - $299.87
4. ulose145  - $201.6
5. mikes007 - $163.8
6. Joatmon928 - $126
7. fsugolf - $88.2
8. saint83  - $65.51
9. TheDespot - $42.84

Winners of each event also receive T$500 for a chance to play in the Bodog Poker Open Championship Event on Sunday, Nov. 8th. In the Contender Series, those who finish 2nd – 9th place are awarded T$50 to play in the Contender Series Championship, also scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8. Check out the Bodog Poker Open schedule for more details and don't forget that all day Saturday will feature a full slate of BPO qualifiers for the Championship Event.

The Bodog regular has been killing it on the virtual felt of the Bodog Poker room since May of this year, banking more than $70,000 in tournament winnings, including this one. However, this is his biggest single cash to date on Bodog and his first $100k final table and win. So, congrats to 'northkato' for the win. We're sure we'll see him more often on the Bodog Poker leaderboards.

Here are the full final table results and payouts:

1. northkato – $25,000
2. yegonsk – $15,000
3. B Pars – $9,500
4. ftpbob2bob – $7,000
5. antesvante – $5,500
6. spilsner – $4,500
7. oakmoney – $3,500
8. 170mmachamp – $2,200
9. duke7777 – $1,700

If you want a chance to play for $25,000 every Sunday afternoon at 4pm in the $100k Guaranteed you can either pony up your $150+$12 buy-in and purchase a seat directly, OR you can get started on your way for as little as $1 or T$1 and turn that into big time money. The choice is yours and either way, what with the overlays and everything, there's tremendous value for your online poker tournament dollar in the Bodog Poker room.

"With the Bodog Poker Open IV, Bodog.com is giving online poker players of all levels a chance to strike it rich and gain major exposure as the next Bodog Poker Open Champion," says Bodog.com Poker Pro David Williams. "It takes a great deal of patience and skill to run deep in this tournament, and any poker player who can take down the Championship Event deserves not only the huge cash prize, but also the recognition that comes along with it."

The week-long Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Series gets under way on Nov. 1 and features seven events with buy-ins ranging from $50+$5 (rebuy) to the $470 buy-in Championship Event, which will feature $25,000 in added prize money and for the winner a feature in an international poker publication.

The Bodog Poker Open IV Contender Series is scheduled to run over the same time period and will feature lower buy-in events as well as the chance to win a seat into the Championship Series. Each winner of the Contender Series events will receive T$500 to buy into the BPO IV Championship Event while the rest of the final table participants in those events will receive a seat into the Contender Series Championship Event and its $2,500 in added prize money.

"With the chance to rise through the ranks, from contender to Bodog Poker Open IV Champion, the Bodog Poker Open IV promises to be one of the biggest and best tournament series in Bodog.com’s 15-year history," says Williams.

For more details, check out the Bodog Poker Open IV qualifying schedule and for the full rundown on the schedule and buy-ins, head over to the Bodog Poker Open IV page at Bodog.com.

Want to head to an exotic destination and play poker for millions? The Bodog Flight Club promotion qualifies online poker players for $12,000 packages to play all over the world.

Want to become the next online poker superstar? The Bodog Poker Open IV details are going to be released very soon and will give an online poker player the shot a rising through the ranks to poker stardom. Last May, “biffsworld” won $40,282 after taking first in the $470 + $30 Main Event of the Bodog Poker Open III Championship Series.

For more details and a full breakdown of all of the offerings in the Bodog Poker room, check out the Bodog Poker Tournaments 2009: Fall Schedule article and get in on the action now.

Emerging victorious like the Broncos from the fray was Bodog regular "chiquita," who despite the name won big last night and took home the $25,000 first-place prize. This is the second $100k final table for "chiquita" in just a couple of months, making this a nicely profitable quarter.

Here are the full final table results and payouts:

1. chiquita – $25,000
2. ello – $15,000
3. O Mother Muc – $9,500
4. blwm – $7,000
5. pokerarg – $5,500
6. stareblankly – $4,500
7. Tommy2tyme – $3,500
8. L_Dub8 – $2,200
9. CATALINFR – $1,700

If you want a shot at winning big money for as little as $1, then check out the $100k Guaranteed qualifier schedule. Or, for any one of Bodog Poker's online poker tournaments, check out the full poker tournament schedule for a list of all opportunities.