photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Tuesday brings the next two hours of the 2008 WSOP Main Event. As always it starts at 8 pm EST on ESPN and as always, check local listing for times in your area. With 6844 players paying the $10K for a seat the first day of the Main Event was spread over four days which resulted in two Day 2's. In fact, the players were not combined until we were a week into the event.

Tuesday night expect to see a continuation of last week's Day 1 action. As usual, many of the professional players were scheduled for Day 1 play on Day 1 C and D. Settle in Tuesday with a load of snacks and brews for another two hours of poker from the most exciting poker tournament on the planet, the WSOP at the Rio resort in Las Vegas.

Another dozen Flipchip photos direct from the 2008 WSOP Main Event after the jump.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Las Vegas now has an all digital poker room. The Excalibur Resort has opened it's 12 table, sans dealers, poker room filled with PokerPro digital tables. I was at the initial introduction of the dealer-less tables some years ago at the Imperial Palace when poker industry and media people got their first look at what was touted to be the future of poker. Of course, this was before UEIGA made Internet poker a fond memory and pricked the poker popularity bubble.

I have to admit I have little experience with the new tables; but my stop by the Excalibur last night left me with some impressions. The poker players were seated around a large center table embedded flat screen and each seat had its own small screen that allowed players to bet, check, fold, or raise. The first thing I noticed was the room didn't look much different from the dozens of other Vegas poker rooms with dealers, the difference being one less seat (for a dealer).

The most striking difference for me was the library-like silence of the room even with a number of full tables going. Amazing how much noise is generated in a traditional room with poker players constantly shuffling their chips. Maybe someone will produce an audio track of poker room sounds that could provide us traditionalist with the familiar poker room background noise we require to be comfortable.

For those wondering if they must learn a whole new set of skills the answer is no, you can learn the system in about two minutes or less. Another point of seeing the new room in action is the close association with a traditional poker room rather than an Internet poker room, after all, you're there with other real live players instead of tiny abstract avatars so the skill of reading players is in full force. Some of the 'traditional vs digital' poker room differences will be considered an advantage by many players. More hands per hour, no mistakes reading hands or pushing pots, and you keep the dealer toke money.

Next trip to Las Vegas remember you now have another option to play live poker so make it a point to visit the Excalibur's new all digital poker room. For more information about the details of the PokerPro system visit their website.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

While the future of hockey player Mats Sundin is still up in the air, today he announced he'll become a professional poker player on PokerStars.

That's PokerStars.net, not PokerStars.com.

Stars has recently been signing sports stars not generally known for poker, such as Boris Becker and Orel Hershiser.

The former Toronto Maple Leafs captain will play online and live under the username MatsSundin and will travel Stars' global poker tour circuit, beginning with next week's European Poker Tour in Barcelona.

Any winnings he may earn from poker will be donated entirely to charity.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Its the event we've all been waiting for. The first two hours of the scheduled twenty-two hours of coverage of the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Beginning tonight at 8 pm EST on ESPN (check schedules in your area for exact times) will be the granddaddy of all poker tournaments, the $10,000 WSOP No-Limit Hold'em World Championship. Every Tuesday we'll get two hours of the 2008 Main Event until November 11 when the final table is finally played and a 2008 Champion is crowned.

Dr. Pauly's daily recap for Day 1A and Day 1B is a must read for tonight's TV poker show. A selection of Flipchip photos from the 2008 WSOP main event Day 1A and 1B after the jump.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

A new poker room on the Boulder strip is open and spreading your favorite games. Eastside Cannery is first new property to open on the Boulder Strip in more than a decade and the first new poker room on Boulder in 14 years.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The spacious 8 table poker room is filled with modern poker tables equipped with Shufflemasters and the popular Genesis tracking systems. Genesis tracks play through player's cards so stop by the C.A.N. Players Club and sign up for your free player's card before you play or click here to sign up online. Poker players earn comps at the rate of $1/hour with no daily limit. Comps are good at any of the casino's food outlets.

The room is currently spreading $2-$4 and $4-$8 limit Hold'em plus a $1-$2 No-Limit Hold'em with a $100 min - $300 max buy-in. For the stud players there is a $2-$7 Limit Seven Card Stud game with a $1 low card bring-in. A $2-4 LHE, $4-8 LHE and the stud game were up and running along with $1-2 NLHE during our early Sunday morning visit. Stop by the Eastside Cannery to play in the newest poker room in Las Vegas. If some of the room personnel look familiar you probably saw them dealing at the 2008 WSOP.

Tip: Park near the eastside doors at the Eastside Cannery, walk-in, look left ... the Poker Room. Couldn't be easier.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Human Head has spent the past weeks collecting data and comparing most everything poker to come up with a definitive list of the Top Five Poker Blogs you should be reading. these bloggers are the are the originals, the people that defined poker blogging way back when most poker players couldn't define blogging.

Want to know who made the list? Click this link for the complete article running now on LasVegasVegas.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Well known professional poker player Hoyt Corkins was the victim of a burglary at his Spanish Trails home in Las Vegas. The easy going Corkins had been away from his Vegas residence in the upscale gated Spanish Trails neighborhood for about a month when friends discovered the break-in and called him back to Las Vegas.

The crooks not only ransacked the residence but gathered up his trophies and poker memorabilia before leaving the scene. The poker goodies taken included a WPT bracelet and his two WSOP bracelets - 1992 $5K Pot Limit Omaha, 2007 $2.5K No-Limit Hold'em 6 Handed. The thief (s) also absconded with two cars, a motorcycle, electronics and more than $10K in cash. Corkins told Las Vegas Channel 8 News his losses were more than $100,000 and counting.

They also stole his identity by using his office phone to get a credit card in his name. Corkins indicated he believed the break-in occurred a few weeks earlier at the beginning of the month. This is an opportunity for poker player everywhere to keep their ears and eyes open for any clues that might help capture the bad guys and return the cherished items to Hoyt. It's also an opportunity for players to evaluate their personal security and plug up any chinks in the armor to avoid becoming a crime victim.

Anyone with information that may help in solving this crime can contact the Las Vegas Metro Police Crime Stoppers at 702.385.5555, you do not have to identify yourself and you may be eligible for a reward.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com