The Week In Poker News
by Bodog Poker | Mar 11 2011
New Jersey
The action has been fast and furious at the WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars in Atlantic City. Jaeik Cho got to claim a historic first — he's the only Japanese player so far to have won a World Series of Poker event. He took the top spot in Event #5, a $350 No-Limit Hold 'Em tournament that earned him a very tidy $29.843. Other winners so far have included Mike Summers, Paul Lambrakis and first-timer Peter Ippolito.
California
Victor Ramdin earned bragging rights along with $500,000 for winning the rebranded Big Event at the Bike. He beat birthday boy Joe Hachem (who got $300,000 for second place) in the wee small hours on Friday. Ramdin's not one of the showiest players in the game, but he's been a consistent contender ever since his first WPT victory in April of 2006. While Hachem's bonus pushed him to over $11.1 million in poker earnings, Ramdin's income saw a nice leap and he's now at just over $3,700,000.
Maryland
Darvin Moon's been one of those poker players that seems to play by his own rules, even when it comes down to sponsorships. The irascible-yet-endearing 47-year-old (who got national attention in 2009 when he made his way to second place in the World Series of Poker after playing in a $140 satellite tournament) has finally signed up with a company, and it's not an online poker room or casino! Moon is the new tour ambassador for the Heartland Poker Tour, an organization that runs poker events "for regular folks" all over the US. They focus on tournaments with affordable buy-ins that offers seats to bigger events.
California
The testimony phase of the trial of Ernest Scherer III, the "poker pro" accused of murdering his parents, wrapped up earlier this week. While the 32-year-old admitted that he cheated on his wife, was deeply in debt and traveled around the nation as the bodies of his mother and father rotted inside their Pleasanton home, he emphatically and repeatedly said that he did not murder them.
Prosecutors, however, are confident in their evidence against the man and have accused him of two counts of murder along with two additional allegations that can modify his punishment: multiple murder and murder for financial gain. Scherer III could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted.
