This weekend’s lousy weather may have stunted the prize pool at Caesar’s World Series of Poker circuit event’s main event, keeping it below $1 million (the city really can’t catch a break on the weather these days). But poker pro Roland Isra, 52, of New York, probably can live with the $264,715 top prize. The event, a $4,900 + $250 No Limit Hold’em tournament, still managed 174 entrants, from 20 states and seven different nations for a total prize pool of $817,015.

Roland Isra

The tournament was played over three days beginning Friday and finishing up late Sunday and attracted several notable pros. Among those who cashed was Paul Wasicka, perhaps best known as the runner-up finisher to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. Wasicka finished 12th. Another top pro who cashed was Jacobo Fernandez (14th), who enjoyed a huge year at the 2008 WSOP when he cashed seven times and made three final tables. Las Vegas pro Nick Binger also made the money, finishing in 17th place, according to the WSOP blog.

Isra won the top spot after facing down second place finisher Christopher Mitchell of Sumter S.C. heads-up for about three hours. Mitchell, who suffered several bad beats at the final table, eventually lost to Isra’s two pair after missing an inside straight draw. He took home $138,894.

The meet lasted 12 events with most topping $50,000 in winning payouts. The entire event also had a strong showing for amateurs, despite the presence of several pros, and drew players from throughout the country — even after the rains came.

For more info on the tournament and the later events go here.

Conan O’Brien has announced the dates for his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour and Atlantic City has made the cut.

O’Brien will be at The Borgata Event Center on May 30. Tickets are priced at $155, $125 and $95 according to The Borgata’s Website, though tickets in other cities start at $39.50.

Other stops are at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby Pa. on June 7 and Radio City Music Hall in New York June 1 and 2.

O’Brien, who of course was controversially bounced from his Tonight Show gig earlier this year, bills the 30-city tour as “a night of music, comedy, hugging, and the occasional awkward silence.”

He also tweeted “Hey Internet: I’m headed to your town on a half-assed comedy & music tour. Go to www.teamcoco.com for tix. I repeat: It’s half-assed.”

The tour begins April 12 in Eugene Ore.

Join Hearts Afire Radio Show Hosts Carl and Martie Granieri as they welcome special guests Don Williams, Barbara Altman, Michele Dawn Mooney of NBC TV 40, Political VIPs and people of Good Will from churches and organizations from all over South Jersey to an uplifting musical event to benefit the earthquake victims in Haiti.
The show will broadcast live on WOND Radio, 1400AM from 1- 6 pm on Sunday, March 14, from the Ocean City Music Pier. It will feature the 100 Voice Hearts Afire Inter-Denominational Praise Choir and 10-piece Praise Band, made up of musicians and singers from the casino showrooms of Atlantic City. It is sponsored by Tropicana Hotel Casino.
All proceeds go directly to Food for the Poor, a Miami-based U.S. non-profit that has been on the ground in Haiti for 25 years and receives annually the highest ratings possible for efficiency and reliability. With only four percent operating costs, 96 percent of every dollar goes right to those in need. Donations are being accepted 24 hours per day by clicking here.

On Saturday, March 20, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) will celebrate the International Day of the Seal. Visitors may stop by the MMSC between the hours of 10am and 2pm to tour the facility, enjoy activities for children and visit their museum/gift shop.
The tour includes displays of how seals live in the wild and the equipment used by MMSC stranding technicians for rescue. You will also learn about the many types of seals and other aquatic animals that are cared for at the center. Kids activities include demonstrations of how seals stay warm in cold water, feeling their soft fur and making a seal mask to take home.
For more information, go here or call the MMSC at (609) 266-0538.
The MMSC is located at 3625 Atlantic-Brigantine Blvd. in Brigantine, just across the street from Prudential, Fox and Roach Realtors and just before the Lighthouse Circle on the left (heading north).

College students have made quite a mark on the poker scene the last few years and the Caesar’s World Series of Poker circuit event is no different. Event 5 of the 12-event circuit meet has gone to emerging poker star Alexandru Masek of San Diego, who won $39,372 in the $300 + $40 No Limit Hold’em event.

The 25 year old is attending law school at the University of San Diego (so technically he’s graduated college, but he’s been playing since his undergraduate days in Florida) and has already won a WSOP circuit event, which means he now has two WSOP rings. He won his first at Harrah’s Rincon in California less than a year ago. Masek had a fairly easy final table as he had the chip lead going in and outlasted the rest of the field.

Alexandru Masek

The Caesars event has shown a strong drawing power and has been bringing in players from around the country. Still, it’s nice to see a local player make good and in Event 5, Kerry Small, a real estate appraiser from Ventnor came in third collecting just over $10,000.

Today’s Circuit event (March 9) is a large one with a $1,000 + 80 buy-in, No Limit Hold’em tourney beginning at noon. Tomorrow features a $1,500 + $100 deep stack tournament ($20,000 in chips) and, of course, Friday starts the circuit meet’s Main Event, a $4,900 + 250 No Limit Hold’em tournament. The winner, along with cash winnings, gets a $10,000 seat at the WSOP Main Event in July at The Rio in Las Vegas. You can follow the Caesars action here and get a tournament schedule here.

Photo by Nick Valinote

The Veronicas brought their catchy pop/rock act to dusk at Caesars Friday, putting on a well-received show that included their hits, such as “Hook Me Up,” and ended with a cover of Britney Spear’s “Hit Me Baby one more time.” They also previewed their new song “Victim.” By all accounts, the crowd went wild.

Go here for more on The Veronicas.

It’s been a great showing for amateurs as things kept rolling through the weekend at Caesars World Series of Poker circuit event, with more winners being announced.

Event 2, a $500 + 60 No Limit Hold’em tournament saw Ithaca N.Y. plumber Michael J. Morusty face down pro Luis Nargento, (Queens N.Y.) for the tournament win.  The two players dominated the tournament from start to finish and appropriately found themselves in a final showdown. Morusty, 54, won $39,731 and added to an already impressive amateur record which includes a 4^th place finish in the 2009 Seniors World Championship at last year’s WSOP.

Earnest Whistler

Event 3 was a $300 + $40 tournament which attracted a big field of 662 and posted a $53,940 top prize. Virginian Earnest Whistler, 41, survived an about four-hour final showdown between himself and pros Adam “Lippy” Lippert and Vinny Pahuja, who have more than $1.6 million in tournament wins between them. According to the WSOP blog, the brash amateur challenging two pros heightened tension at the final table, but eventually Whistler outlasted both of them and is credited with getting more than a few improbable suck outs.

Event 4, a $500 + $60 No Limit tournament saw another amateur, John Hubiak, 29, of Taylor Pa. pick up a $58,937 top prize after agreeing to a final two-player deal with semi-pro William Daloisi, who pocketed $30,419. Hubiak won the WSOP ring which all winners of the events major tournaments receive.

Today’s event is another $500 + $60 No Limit Hold’em tournament beginning at noon. The circuit event also includes daily satellites for the event’s main tournament, a $4,900 + $250 No Limit Hold’em tournament beginning March 12 where the winner gets a $10,000 seat at the WSOP Main Event this July at The Rio in Las Vegas. To follow the action, check out The WSOP blog here. For a tournament schedule go here.

Tony Cheng

We have a winner in the first event of the WSOP circuit tournament now underway at Caesars (running to March 14). According to the WSOP blog, the first champion of the Caesars series is Yat “Tony” Cheng, from Atlanta, GA. The 32-year-old, Chinese born poker pro usually plays cash games and often plays in A.C. Cheng was short stacked for a time at the final table, but eventually coasted to his first major tournament victory, collecting $55,569 in the $300 + $40 tournament. That won Cheng a WSOP Circuit gold ring.

The 12 daily major events scheduled for the tournament are set for two days, but event one (which began Wednesday) went into a third day even though 90 percent of players went down in day one. The $198,462 prize pool paid the top 63 players. The final table started Thursday evening and didn’t wrap up until 7am today (March 5). Cheng wasn’t the only short-stacked player to persevere as chip leaders fell pretty consistently, including pro Chris Manouge of Philly who had the early chip lead.

Along with the daily events with WSOP rings at stake, the tournament includes daily satellites for the tournaments main event, a $4,900 + $250 tournament to begin March 12.  The winner of that tournament gets a $10,000 seat at the WSOP Main Event in July at The Rio in Las Vegas (as well as top prize from an expected $1 million plus prize pool).

Today’s major event, event three on the schedule, is another $300 + $40 tournament beginning at noon. Go here for a schedule of tournaments and here to follow the WSOP blog.

The New Jersey Marine Science Consortium is hosting its third annual New Jersey’s Top 10 Beaches survey. Wildwood took first place in 2008 followed by Ocean City in 2009. Now it’s your job to vote for the shore community you think best fits your lifestyle and deserves bragging rights in 2010!  There are 48 shore communities represented, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, and four categories to rate from including: Family Destination, Day Trips, Ecotourism and Shore Events. Go here to cast your vote for your favorite beach. Voting will take place until midnight on Friday, April 30. The results will be presented during the NJMSC’s annual State of the Shore Media Event, which will take place on Thursday, May 27, just before the Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer season. – Kelley Anne Essinger

Partying like its 1999 has a lot of appeal and we have to hand it to The Pool at Harrah’s for coming up with the idea of a back to the 90s party Thursday (March 4). Pop in a Backstreet Boys CD, bring your Pokemon cards and laugh off the Y2K bug that freaked us out and then fizzled out.

But where we really have to give Harrah’s props is their choice of the ultimate ‘90s icon. Yes, it’s the dancing baby, first made famous on Ally McBeal and then popping up pretty much everywhere. Nothing says end of the Clinton era more than the dancing baby. So put on your cargo pants, tickle an Elmo and dance with the baby here and then again at The Pool.

The 1999 party at The Pool is brought to you by Dave Pena, the creator of Boogie Nights ‘70s and ‘80s Dance Club and Planet Rose Karaoke Lounge. The party will turn back the clock to celebrate the final decade of the 20th century — the heyday of Bill Clinton, Pam Anderson, Marky Mark in his Calvins, Biggie Smalls, Nirvana, Titanic, Ricky Martin, N’Sync, Cindy Crawford, Beavis and Butthead, Marilyn Manson, the original 90210, Minnie Me, the OJ trial, Arsenio Hall, and so much more. Pena aims to pull out all the stops to create a memorable and exciting salute to the nineties.
“I loved the nineties, and now that its 2010 we can look back with some sense of nostalgia for all the crazy things that happened and all the music we loved back then.” But as for what we can expect, Pena is being deliberately hush-hush. “I want to keep a lot of what’s planned for the 1999 party a secret so that it’s a real surprise for people when they come through the door. But one thing I can tell you is that it’s time to raise your gin and juice, and do the Urkel Dance while a sexy schoolgirl hits you baby one more time.”