In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun yesterday, WSOP Communications czar Seth Palansky sat down to talk about the 2010 WSOP and what changes players can expect to see in the schedule and from the tournament overall.

Despite the economic downturn, the WSOP has continued to grow year after year since Chris Moneymaker brought about the poker boom with his win at the 2003 WSOP. Based on Palansky's comments to the Sun, they are every bit as ambitious about continuing to grow the brand as they were before the departure of WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

One of the major downfalls of the 2009 WSOP was the disappointing turn out on Day 1B which led to a sell-out situation on Day 1D, a very controversial situation that still resonates throughout the poker community. The reason for the small crowd on Day 1B was that it fell on July 4th, something that will now not be happening as the WSOP plans to either start after the holiday of take the day off for the holiday. They will also be expanding the footprint of the WSOP at the Rio (into the Pavilion Center) which will also help to cut down on any potential sell-out situation in the future.

Another learning they took from this past summer was the popularity of the smaller buy-in events like the $1,000 buy-in Stimulus Special. So, in recognition of this, the WSOP is looking at upping the number of lower buy-in events in order to draw in more players during these rougher economic times.

To read the full Las Vegas Sun article, go here, and to warm up your poker tournament skills and get ready for the 2010 WSOP check out the Bodog online poker tournament schedule and keep your eyes peeled for information about upcoming live tournaments and eventually the 2010 WSOP.

The newest WSOP Main Event champion, Joe Cada, has been making the rounds recently, appearing on TV shows and basking in the fame that comes with winning the largest poker tournament in the world. After being spotted ringside at WWE Raw on Monday night with Dennis Phillips, Cada made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Along with getting all of his contractually obligated plugs in, Cada revealed that he has lost as much as $100k in a single session of playing, but that it was only after he had already received about a million after the WSOP Main Event but before the November Nine final table. He talks a little about the transition from playing online poker, the taxing conditions during the WSOP and how his parents feel about him playing poker.

So, check out the video and let us know what you think in the comments.

With the 2009 WSOP Main Event in the books and the November Nine now shrunk to the November One, WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada, the inevitable analysis and summaries of that final table have arrived. From retrospectives to key hands, websites the world over are offering up their own perspective on what went down and what the key moments of the two-day matchup were.

Over at bodog.com they have waded into the fray with their own list of the best moments of the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table, featuring Cada, of course, as well as hands involving Antoine Saout, Phil Ivey, Eric Buchman, Darvin Moon and Steve Begleiter. Head over to bodog.com to check out the full list:

Top 10 Moments at the 2009 WSOP & Final Table

It's true. The sharply-dressed all-around good guy Jeffrey Pollack has resigned as the Commissioner of the World Series of Poker. As a friend to the media and fixture in the poker world over the past few years, he will be missed.

Harrah's made the announcement earlier that today, Friday the 13th, would be Pollack's last day as Commissioner and WSOP Communications director Seth Palansky revealed "there is no intention at this time to replace the Commissioner role." While this leaves an interesting power vacuum at the top of the WSOP hierarchy, for now it will be interesting to see if the WSOP can continue its steady growth without Pollack at the reins.

Pollack came on board in 2006 just in time to see the poker boom really take off. During the three years that he was at the helm, attendance at the WSOP grew an incredible 88%. He also introduced many popular initiatives and some that were controversial, including the eaxpansion of the brand into the WSOP Europe, the popular $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship, Ante Up for Africa charity tournament, the Poker Hall of Fame ceremony, and his most impactful legacy, the November Nine.

The ever-dapper Pollack has not decided where he will go after this and said that "future is a blank canvas." However, showing that there were no hard feelings, he went on to say, "Thank you for allowing me to be part of the WSOP these last few years. I will always be a fan and a friend to the poker community."

So, from us at the Beat, thank you for the efforts you put into making the WSOP an SEO goldmine.

After eight days of play back in July, three months of waiting and 18 hours of play on Saturday, the 2009 WSOP Main Event has finally come to a conclusion, breaking records on the way. At 2am local time this morning, Joe Cada became the youngest player to ever win a WSOP Main Event, pocketing $8,547,042 for that win, and it came on the final hand of the longest Main Event final table ever played.

Just eight days shy of his 22nd birthday, Cada beat out the record set by 2008 WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate, who himself bested the record set by Phil Hellmuth 20 years prior. This was the first WSOP that Cada had been eligible to play due to his age, and during the course of the summer cashed in two other events along with his monumental, record-breaking win at the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Entering the final table just fifth in chips, Cada had an uphill struggle to reach the heads-up match, especially against a table that included several experienced players, like Jeff Shulman and Eric Buchman, and the widely acknowledged "best player in poker" Phil Ivey. However, Cada was able to catch the right cards at the right times – causing Hellmuth to dub him the "luckiest poker player in WSOP history" at one point – to meet Maryland logger Darvin Moon heads-up for the title.

Moon came into the final table with an impressive chip lead and found himself at or near the top for most of the final table, experiencing swings down to as low as third and then back up to the lead. However, by the time he was to face Cada for the title, Moon was at a distinct disadvantage, not only with almost two-thirds less chips than his opponent, but also with much less experience playing heads-up poker.

The heads-up battle lasted 87 hands over two hours and 21 minutes and came down to a classic race situation in which Cada's pocket nines went up against the Q-J suited of Moon. The board blanked out for Moon, giving Cada the title, bracelet and a place in the history books and Moon some great stories to tell his logging friends back in Maryland. Oh, and $5,182,928.

Tonight's episode picks up with only 64 players remaining, including poker pros Phil Ivey and Antonio Esfandiari, both of who are seated at the featured table, and the continued tracking of last woman standing Leo Margets as well of the emergence of the Maryland logger Darvin Moon, who is now part of the poker consciousness. Or will be for the next month or so.

These 2009 WSOP Main Event episodes will continue every Tuesday at 9pm ET until the November Nine congregate back in Vegas to play out the final table and down to the $8.5 million first-place prize.

Download Bodog Poker now to get in on some online poker tournament action of your own.

Over the next couple of months there are several events that will pull poker players from all over the world to Vegas to play for millions. From a big WPT event to the WSOP final table and tournament series hosted by popular casinos, there will be something on tap for every level of player.

Check out the full Fall 2009 Vegas Poker Tournament Schedule over at Bodog Poker and if you can't make it to Vegas any time soon then don't forget to check out Bodog Poker's online poker tournament schedule and play from the comfort of your own home.

Richard Gryko was the first to be sent packing by Cajelais followed closely by Men "The Master" Nguyen in fourth place. Then Robin Keston fell victim to Cajelais sick run of cards, leaving only Mats Gavatin to face down the French Canadian, but he was unable to overcome Cajelais' chip lead and finished in second for £64,705. This is the second WSOP final table and first WSOP bracelet for Cajelais.

In other WSOPE news, Event No. 3 – £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha – has just broken for dinner with 14 players remaining. Among those still in the hunt for the £204,048 first place prize include poker pros Howard Lederer, Robert Williamson III, Ross Boatman, Jeff Kimber and the newly short-stacked Tom "durrrr" Dwan. Stay tuned for more updates from this event as we work our way up to the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event.

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There are currently five players still in the running after play was called to a halt in the wee hours of the morning, or about the same time as Men "The Master" Nguyen finished his 438th beer. Those five players returned to the Empire Casino in London to play down to a bracelet winner and currently have only shed one of their members. At time of publish, poker pro Erik Cajelais is the chip leader and Nguyen is third in chips. The other two guys you've never heard of, but if you want to know who they are go check out PokerNews' live reporting.

Day 1 of Event No. 3 – £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha -got underway as well this morning and has already drawn out close to 150 entrants, which is an impressive number for a high buy-in PLO event. No Limit Hold'em is still the most popular format of poker, but PLO has been gaining popularity online, especially at the nosebleed level. As expected for a high-buy-in event, the field is littered with recognizable faces and familiar names, including Phil Hellmuth, Jeff Madsen, Tom 'durrrr' Dwan, Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, Jason Mercier, Annette 'Annette_15′ Obrestad, Sorel 'imper1um' Mizzi, Tony G, Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein, Allen Cunningham, Erik Seidel and Andy Black. Cajelais is also in this event, despite being the chip leader in the aforementioned tournament.

Event No. 2 will play down to a winner today, while the PLO event will play through an expected five levels before calling it quits. Stay tuned for more updates from the 2009 WSOP Europe and download Bodog Poker to win your way into a major international poker tournament.

Out in among that Day 1A field are poker pros Jeff Madsen, Roland de Wolfe, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch and Bodog Poker pro Jean-Robert Bellande. Those making a brief appearance and now out enjoying London (one of a favorite places in the world) are Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth and Neil Channing.

As of time of publish there are still 149 players remaining, but the speed at which they are dropping is impressive as almost 60% the field is gone already. The current chip leader is the diminutive Sung Hee Yun with 17,000 in chips.

Stay tuned for more updates from the 2009 WSOP Europe and don't forget to follow Jean-Robert (@brokelivingjrb) on Twitter for his updates from London and also PokerNews (@pokernews_live) for up to the minute chip counts and live reporting.

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