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Joined: Oct 1999
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Marty Offline OP
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[Linked Image] Badih "Bob" Bounahra has put Belize on the spotlight and is giving Belize international fame as he is the first Belizean to compete at the World Series of Poker Hold 'Em Championship. Belize is gaining great publicity as Badih Bounahra who was one of over 6,000 players who signed up for the tournament and now finds himself in the top nine for the championship game.

The World Series of Poker Championship will be held at Las Vegas from November 6 - 8 and Bob will be representing Belize and has a chance of winning the top prize of $8.71 million US dollars. The following is some excerpts from an article we found online about the World Series of Poker.

The game still is Texas Hold 'em. Top prize of $8.71 million will be in U.S. dollars. But a record seven countries will be represented among nine players for Sunday's start of the final table at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

This year, three players from the USA are joined by others from Germany, Great Britain, Ukraine, Ireland, Belize, and leader Martin Staszko (40.18 million chips) is from the Czech Republic.

The final table has players in their 20's where Staszko is 35 and Badih Bounahra of Belize is 49 but all of rest are in their 20s.

The amateur in the field is Badih "Bob" Bounahra of Belize. He's sixth with 19.7 million. During the initial phase of play in July, Bounahra was down to 425,000 chips when he pushed all-in with 8-7 suited. He was up against pocket kings, but he won with a straight on the flop (4-5-6).

Originally from Lebanon, Bounahra is a businessman in Belize City, Belize (the northernmost country in Central America, with a population of about 320,000). He is the first player from Belize to make the final table at the Main Event. On ESPN.com, the father of three described his return home.

"It was the best feeling you can ever have," Bounahra said. "The minute I landed home here, everybody was excited. � Everybody was watching the television all hours of the morning. � It is something really good for Belize."

The Main Event began in July with 6,865 players at a buy-in of $10,000. After being played down to the final nine, it was recessed until this weekend.

The TV coverage Sunday (ESPN2 and ESPN3) starts at 3:30 p.m. ET. The nine will be played down to the final three. On Tuesday, starting at 9 p.m. ET, the final three will finish the tournament (ESPN and ESPN3).

The November Nine & Chip Counts

Martin Staszko, 35, Trinec, Czech Republic, 40,175,000
Eoghan O'Dea, 26, Dublin, Ireland, 33,925,000
Matt Giannetti, 26, Las Vegas, Nev., 24,750,000
Phil Collins, 26, Las Vegas, Nev., 23,875,000
Ben Lamb, 26, Tulsa, Okla., 20,875,000
Badih Bounahra, 49, Belize City, Belize, 19,700,000
Pius Heinz, 22, Cologne, Germany 16,425,000
Anton Makiievskyi, 21, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine 13,825,000
Sam Holden, 22, Sussex, Great Britain, 12,375,000

USA TODAY

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What time and which channel will show this live here on the island?


Harriette
Take only pictures leave only bubbles
Joined: Oct 1999
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Marty Offline OP
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Bounahra Busts....

The remaining players are all off for a 15-minute break but one player who won't be returning is Bob Bounahra after he was eliminated in seventh place in the last hour. Martin Staszko raised to 1,700,000 and Bounahra, down to his last 4,475,000, moved all-in. Action folded back around to Staszko who called and showed A 9which put way ahead of Bounahra's A 5. The board ran out 7 6 2 K 6 and the pride of Belize was out in seventh place for $1,314,097.

Despite busting out well short of the title, Bounahra found the experience to be what dreams are made of.

"It was one of the greatest feelings a poker player can ever have. Being in the November Nine has been a great experience," said Bounahra. "I came here to have fun, poker is a fun sport for me. Of course, you have your ups and downs at the end of the day, nobody knows what happens with the cards."

Joined: Oct 1999
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Marty Offline OP
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Shhh. We're trying to play a poker tournament.

LAS VEGAS -- Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko survived 10 hours of grueling play Sunday and will play for the World Series of Poker Main Event championship Tuesday. The tournament's champion will win $8,715,638.

Matt Giannetti finished in fourth to win $3,012,700.

While Heinz, Lamb and Staszko advanced to Tuesday's finale, the raucous crowd inside the Penn & Teller Theater in the Rio was proving to be both a blessing and a curse for poker's biggest stage.

Caesars has been wildly successful in turning the World Series of Poker Main Event final table into a loud, energetic, crowd-pleasing spectator event.

Pausing the tournament for three months to allow TV coverage to catch up to the Main Event gives players time to organize and bring their fans to Las Vegas to watch the play for life-changing money.

Fans show up singing songs, wearing t-shirts, banging drums, shaking maracas and cheering wildly throughout the day/night.

But the electric atmosphere is starting to interfere with game plays. Sunday's crowd cheered, sang and chanted when their players were in hands, when they weren't in hands, when other players were trying to make critical decision and all sorts of other times they weren't supposed to. It was a big enough problem that Ssssshhhhhh was the most uttered word Sunday.

Part of the problem is there's no established etiquette for this like there is for tennis. In tennis you cheer between points, not during. If the WSOP doesn't fix this, large crowds will start hindering the event, not helping it. So how did Sunday's action, complete with inappropriate cheering, unfold? Let's go to the retro diary (with apologies to Bill Simmons) to find out.

9:30 a.m.
I arrive at the Rio to pick up my press credentials. After I pick them up, I'm faced with my first critical decision: breakfast or sportsbook (it's an NFL Sunday after all). I spent all of yesterday reviewing the new sportsbook at the Venetian (and knee deep in college football and Breeder's Cup action), so I choose breakfast, hoping the decision will pay off in the long run.

11 a.m.
Phil Collins's fans show up. And they're loud. I hear them a full 5 seconds before I see them walking down the hallway.

"I can hear it, coming in the air tonight. Go, Phil. Go, Phil. I've been waiting for this moment all my life. Go, Phil. Go, Phil." Apparently the drinking has begun early too. The Collins rail then repeats their performance for the ESPN cameras that missed it the first time, and head into the Penn & Teller Theater to grab their seats.

11:05 a.m.
Ben Lamb's rail has gone with green t-shirts. Green, really. Don't they know an Irishman is playing in this tournament? I anticipate serious clashing.

11:15
Sure enough, inside the Starbucks next to the Penn & Teller Theater, Eoghan O'Dea's crew opens up a suitcase full of green shirts. Yep. Saw that one coming. And really, Lamb has no business going with green when he's playing an Irish guy. That would be like USC wearing green the day they play Notre Dame. Or a bridesmaid trying to upstage the bride at a wedding. It's just a bad idea.

11:20
Find my seat in orchestra row. A European reporter looks pissed off to see me.

11:30
Visit Dr. Pauly, one of the best poker reporters around. I congratulate him for not getting arrested at Occupy Oakland. He wants to know if I've seen the latest lines at the sportsbook. I've got great friends.

11:35
The Phil Collins singing starts agains. It's going to be a long day.

11:40
The Matt Giannetti folks show up dressed in black t-shirts with Hazards spelled out on it. They brought those letter signs to spell it out too. But they're not very good at it.

11:45
I find the Belize contingent. They're singing and chanting for their very own Bob Bounahra (who I like to call Belize Bob). It sounds like a soccer game with them in the audience.

11:57
The TV crew is trying to make a last-minute fix to the stage. Seriously. Cards in the air in 20 minutes and you're still trying to fix something?

Noon
Check on my fantasy teams. Not good. Feeling better about my sportsbook decision.

12:09
The crowd is still going nuts. Everyone is yelling and cheering. How long can they keep this up? Don't they know watching live poker is boring? A great prop bet, if you could measure, would be how quickly the crowd gets bored watching the game. My over under would be 45 minutes.

12:15
O'Dea's Irish rail just chanted something. I didn't understand a word of it.

12:16
The Belize contingent brought giant maracas with them. Maracas! How cool is that? They're playing them for the ESPN cameras right now. Actually, everyone seems to go nuts for the ESPN cameras. What is it about human beings that makes them do anything possible for air time? Kardashians are also free to answer this question.

12:17
Ben Lamb's rail isn't doing the whole organized cheer thing. Maybe they know they're going to be here for a while.

12:19
The atmosphere in here is remarkable. And there's no way this happens without a break in play a la the November Nine. The WSOP is going to have to think long and hard about what they want to do with the future of this tournament. With almost live TV coverage (15-minute delay), there's no need for a "break" in the tournament to allow TV coverage to catch up with the final table. And finishing the tournament on schedule maintains the integrity of the event. I think all of the tournaments we've had since the inception of the November Nine in 2008 would have had different champions without the pause. But what you get in tournament integrity, you lose in atmosphere. Is the trade-off worth it? That depends on what you want the WSOP Main Event to be. If you want it to be the greatest tournament in the world, then move it back to the summer. If you want it to be a celebration of all things poker, then keep it in November.

12:23
Cards are in the air. And the Collins fans are singing again.

12:35
WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel just shushed the Collins fans. They shushed him back. Feels like we're back in high school.

12:37
Ben Lamb makes his first trip to the rail. Wonder if he's looking for intel.

12:44
Belize Bob wins a hand! The maracas and drums come out! Yes, he has his own drum section.

12:57
Ben Lamb wins a pot and wakes up his rail. Then we get a dancing lamb in the crowd. I'm not sure if the guy in lamb costume lost a prop bet, but he's showing off some dancing skills.

1:09
The Collins rail is starting to get obnoxious. They're chanting and cheering when players (other than Phil) are trying to make a decision. They're yelling and screaming even when Phil is not in the hand. Effel just shushed them again, asking them "to give players courtesy."

1:19
The Collins rail gets another shushing from Effel. At this point, the Collins fans seem bored and are making noise just amuse themselves.

1:21
Fans of Collins answer calls to be quiet with derisive shushes of their own. Did I mention the WSOP has a problem it needs to address?

1:28
Sam Holden and Belize Bob have been slowly slipping into the danger zone. Holden has 10.825 million remaining while Belize Bob has 12.925 million left. Belize Bob has been actively losing chips while Holden has been quietly bleeding away. I'm not sure which is worse.

1:30
The players have been making regular trips to the stands, where people are cheering them on to see what information can be gleaned from the nearly live (15-minute delay) ESPN broadcast. Right now, Lamb, Giannetti and Heinz are visiting their rails.

1:32
Belize Bob reaches into his belly pack for a cigar. Maybe Belize fashion is still in the 80s.

If Belize Bob doesn't win, he's going to wonder why he took so long to break it out. The cigar is the clear source of his power.

1:38
The cigar works!! Belize Bob finally takes a pot off of Staszko, and the Belize contingent goes wild.

1:41
More cigar magic. Belize Bob wins two in a row after breaking out the cigar. Bob waves to his crowd and tips his hat.

1:43
The first all in of the night comes from Anton Makiievskyi, but the crowd barely notices. They're too busy amusing themselves. Makiievskyi wins the pot when nobody calls his bet.

1:45
Belize Bob wins another hand while chomping on his cigar. I wonder if it's Cuban?

1:48
The audience greets ESPN's Kara Scott with wolf whistles as she walks across the stage. Way to stay classy, poker fans.

1:49
Heinz is on a heater. He's won a few hands and is up to 18.925 million.

1:57
ESPN cameras come to Ben Lamb's section of fans, looking for color shots. Lamb wins a hand on cue. Cue the dancing lamb. And Lamb's followers shouting down Collins's fans. The Lamb fans rail has had it and they're not taking it anymore. All of this while Lamb and Makiievskyi are in a hand. Nice.

2:16
Holden is checking out a smart phone with his rail. Is this the new era of coordinators in poker, where the player with the best team breaking down video wins?

2:26
More than two hours after the start of play, we finally get fireworks. O'Dea gets the fun started with a raise to 4.1 million. Heinz calls, while Collins and Lamb fold. After a flop of 8c-8d-4c, O'Dea beat 4.6 million. Heinz thinks about it and then calls. The two of clubs hits on the turn, eliciting oohs and aahs from the crowd -- at this point, I think they're willing to cheer any action. O'Dea bets 8.2 million, and Heinz goes into the tank before moving all in.

The pain in O'Dea's face is unmistakable. He folds, and drops from 28.475 to 11.5 million while Heinz moves from from 24.775 million to 44.175 million. And for those of you wondering what their hole cards were, we now know them courtesy of the ESPN "nearly-live" broadcast. Heinz had Qs-Qc and O'Dea had Ah-Qd. Yeah, I don't get O'Dea's play either.

2:51
Heinz takes the chip lead. He has 47.35 million. Staszko has 46.25 million.

3:15
It's break time at the final table, and the women are gloating over how long the line is for the men's room. There are only two places where the line for the men's room is longer than the line for the women's room -- poker tournaments and sporting events. Advantage: Men.

3:23
Decision to get eggs for breakfast looking smarter and smarter. Much of the crowd facing blood-sugar issues. At least a dozen people have asked me when dinner break is (it's at 6:45).

3:28
Lamb knocks Holden out of the tournament. Holden began the day with 12.375 million and never gained any traction at the final table. Holden won $782,115 for finishing in ninth. Lamb is up to 34.4 million.

"I was just card dead," Holden said as he explained his finish. But he offered one prediction -- watch out for Heinz.

"Pius was playing the best. He was the most aggressive opponent at the table and he really came out with guns blazing. I guess he's playing the toughest of the nine. Although I do expect people to be changing their games all the time, especially with the live hole cards."

3:45
Some people in Lamb's contingent are begging for food from people who walk past them.

3:46
Makiievskyi appears to be folding his way to a higher payday. He's rarely playing hands. At least Belize Bob looks like he's playing to win.

3:49
Giannetti cripples Belize Bob when he turns over a jack on a board reading 3h-Js-6d-5c-5s. Belize Bob had pocket tens, leaving him with just 8.575 million remaining.

3:57
Blinds are going to catch Belize Bob soon.

3:59
Makiievskyi pushes all in from nowhere, and Heinz busts him. Makkievskyi could have waited until Belize Bob busted. Instead, he pushed all in with Kc-Qh, and Heinz called quickly with pocket nines. A board of Kx-Jx-Jx-9c-7h was no help to Makiievskyi, and the Ukrainian was done. Makiievskyi won $1,010,015 for finishing in 8th. And Heinz now has 61.150 million in chips.

Makiievskyi said he was card dead for most of the night. And he also noted he wasn't fond of the fans making a ton of noise while cards were on the table.

"I don't think [the atmosphere] affected my play," Makiievskyi said. "But I didn't like it. Sometimes it was too loud during the hand. They would say 'shhhhh' but it wouldn't work. I didn't like it but I don't think it affected my game."

4:24
Belize Bob pushes all in with Ah-5c. Staszko calls with As-9d and Belize Bob is in trouble. A board of 6h-7c-2c-Kh-6d sends Belize Bob packing, but not before the crowd gives him a standing ovation. Belize Bob takes a bow, tips his cap and exits the tournament with style and grace. I hope Phil Hellmuth was taking notes. Oh. Almost forgot. Belize Bob won $1,314,097 for finishing in 7th.

"I came here to have fun," Belize Bob said after he busted out. "Poker is a fun sport for me. Of course you have your ups and downs.... I came with a strategy. Obviously it didn't work as much as I wanted. I didn't get lucky like the last time, so that's poker."

4:30
And in the biggest/best news of the day, the Giants beat the Patriots 24-20. Go ahead, Pats fans. Send the hate mail.

4:31
O'Dea and Collins are sitting with 14.025 million and 15.075 million. Everyone else has room to play, although Lamb is fading (less than 30 million). Everyone else has more than 45 million. Did anybody have a Giannetti, Heinz, Staszko trifecta?

4:35
Lamb fans, complete with trays of drinks, are moving down to the front row.

4:37
Collins gives his fans something to cheer about by moving all in with Qh-Jd. Lamb calls with As-Qc and it's off to the races we go, with Collins's fans serenading us along the way. The flop and turn of Kd-5d-3s-10d gave Collins some outs. And the miracle Qd on the river gave him the flush and the double up at Lamb's expense. Collins now has 28.15 million and Lamb has fallen to 15.325 million.

4:45
A Czech journalist cheers Staszko. Apparently, he doesn't know there's no cheering in the press box.

4:54
With Collins in a hand, we hear some genuine shushing from the Collins rail to give him quiet to think. Collins folds.

4:56
O'Dea fans taunt Staszko, chanting his name while he tries to decide on calling O'Deas all in bet. Stazsko doesn't call and the O'Dea rail unleashes a variation of "Yellow Submarine" that sounds great even though I can't understand it.

And they continued to sing it during a hand involving Lamb and Heinz.

Lamb actually moved all in during the singing, forcing Heinz to fold.

The Irish and British are both really good at creating clever songs that sound good, but are difficult for untrained ears to understand. The Cameron Crazies are the closest American incarnation to the British tradition of clever songs and chants. The Cameron Crazies just don't sing.

5:16
Since the Collins suckout, Lamb hasn't been able to gain any traction and is last in chips (16.125). Collins (17.65 million) has already frittered away the chips Lamb gave him. And O'Dea is hanging around the 17 million mark. It's hard to tell what's more annoying, getting sucked out on, or the person who won those chips giving them up right away.

5:28 p.m.
Lamb, down to 12.625 million, pushes all in. O'Dea isn't sure what to do and goes into the tank. A couple people in the crowd yell at O'Dea and tell him to push it. Effel shushes them. Someone else yells for O'Dea to push it all in, earning another shush from Effel. Finally O'Dea calls and flips over Ac-9d. Lamb turns over Qd-8d and it's off to the races. A flop of 6d-Jd-Js gives Lamb some additional outs with a flush draw. The 4c hits on the turn. But in the year of Ben Lamb, there is never any doubt what the river will bring. Sure enough, an 8 hits on the river, giving Lamb the double up and crippling O'Dea. Lamb now has 29.45 million while O'Dea had 2.6 million.

5:35
Break time. I'd hate to be O'Dea right now. I'm not sure what the best analogy is. Moises Alou after the Steve Bartman incident comes to mind. But I'm leaning towards the Patriots defense after the David Tyree catch in the Super Bowl. The sports gods, or in this case the poker gods, just looked down on you and took everything you worked for away from you. And there's nothing you can do about it.

5:51
Cards in the air after a 15-minute break.

5:52
O'Dea moves all in. That didn't take long. Stazko wants a count. I want to tell him not much. It's actually 2.2 million. Staszko reraises to force everyone else out of the hand. Then O'Dea flips over Qh-6c. Staszko shows pocket eights, and the race is on. The board once again fails to help O'Dea, and the Irishman exits the tournament wondering what went wrong. O'Dea won $1,720,831 for finishing in 6th place.

"I played one hand [poorly]," said O'Dea after his elimination. "It's the hand with Heinz when he had two queens...I kind of felt at the time that he was weak."

5:58
Heinz sends Collins packing when his pocket nines hold up against Collins's Ad-7d. An almost perfect flop of 6s-5c-4d gave Collins hope, and the 9d on the turn increased his outs, but the 7s on the river ended his night. Collins's rail serenaded him one more time before heading for the exit. It's going to be a lot quieter in here now. Collins won $2,269,599 for finishing in 5th place.

"I'm a little detached from emotion," Collins said after his elimination. "I think fifth place is kind of that neutral feeling. You didn't go out early so it's not a huge disappointment, but I didn't do what I came here to do, which is win."

Collins might not have won, but at least he's planning to use his $2,269,599 wisely.

"[The money] isn't as much as I'd like but it's still a huge chunk of money," Collins said. "I made some poor decisions with my online winnings in the past and overextended myself. I'll try to make this last as long as possible."

6:43
Dinner break. Casino City's Dan Igo and I are heading to Gaylord's for Indian food.

7:15
Ordered soup. I wasn't expecting to order soup in Vegas. But it's been cold here the last few days. It was 48 degrees when I landed and it hasn't warmed up since then.

8:08
They're fixing the stage again. Come on, folks. This is poker's biggest day and you're still trying to get the stage right? That's like putting in a brand-new field right before the big game. Oh, never mind.

8:13
Stage fixed.

8:21
It looks like the table is trying to run over Staszko. There have been lots of big raises to knock him out of hands. He's currently last, with 20.275 million.

9:16
Lamb has dropped close to 20 million in the last hour. He stands at 29.75 million now.

9:18
Staszko pushes all in over the top of a Heinz raise. The audience wants to go home and starts yelling at Heinz to "push it" and "call that shit." Effel back to shushing the crowd again, and Heinz calls with pocket sixes. Staszko shows the As-8c and his tournament is on the line.

A flop of 8h-5s-8s puts Staszko comfortably in control of the hand with trip eights. The 4d on the turn and Qc on the river miss Heinz, and Staszko is back in the mix as a major player with 44.65 million.

10:30
Ben Lamb pushes all in (22.7 million) with Ah 7h. Giannetti (33.7 million) calls Jc-Jd. In the year of Ben Lamb, this isn't going to end well for Giannetti. I wonder if he knows he's a dead man walking. The flop reads Kh 5h 9d and everyone in the room knows Lamb is going to make his flush. And sure enough, the 4h hits on the turn and it's all over for Giannetti. Giannetti has 6.7 million chips remaining, with the blinds and antes closing in on him. And Lamb now has 55 million.

10:48
After a double up against Staszko, Giannetti pushes all in with Ad 3s. Lamb calls with pocket kings and it's all over for Giannetti. There's no way Giannetti is going to catch Lamb now. And sure enough, the flop gives Lamb quad kings. That's just not fair. Lamb didn't even have to sweat it.

"I'm going to get really drunk," Giannetti said as he refused to characterize his emotions as disappointment. "It's more like a depression," he explained. "I didn't come here to take fourth. I'm happy with how I played but at the same time you don't get this far that often."

"When you get close to something you've dreamed about, and you don't get it, it sucks."

I'm hoping Lamb buys him a drink. It's the least he could do after ripping the poor guy's heart out.

Now we're down to three. Heinz is the runaway chipleader with 107.8 million. Lamb is second with 55.4 million. And Staszko is third with 42.7 million. The three will battle Tuesday for the Main Event crown and $8,715,638. And even though Heinz has all the chips, it feels like Lamb is the favorite. That's just the way it is when it's the year of Ben Lamb.

Casino City Times

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Marty Offline OP
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Bob Bou Nahra Exits WSOP In Grand Style

Tonight, Belize's name is known in Las Vegas after Bob Bou-Nahra and a buff Belizean contingent represented in the truest sense at the World Series of Poker Main Event.

As we've reported, Bou-Nahra made it into the November Nine from an original field of almost seven thousand participants. He is the first Belizean to do so and the only amateur in the field of nine.

But on Sunday when the cards were drawn he showed that he was a professional at promotion from his robust Belizean fan base:..

Jules Vasquez reporting
The world series of poker from the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. From the Belize Flags draped across the upper deck. The passionate flag waving crowd up front - the Belize crowd quickly earned a reputation:

Indeed the Belize fans, their volume and their loyalty generated much comment throughout the tournament - even the empty seat for Bob's deceased brother, Ben.

And it's clear from the coverage that Bou-Nahra - the only amateur had his own crowd-pleasing style his distinctive way of staring down some of the best players in the world - and rolling a cigar in his mouth, he was the only amateur at the table - and the only person from a Third World country

Bob Bou-Nahra
"I am Bob Bou-Nahra from Belize and I am here to take the world series main event bracelet to Belize."

And Bou-Nahra cheered along the crowd and when he went on a good run - they cheered him along - a mutual admiration society which was shared by the show's producers who even presented a feature on Belize.

But eventually those slender odds got the best of him and it became clear he would not get the bracelet - even as the fans cheered on.

He fell behind in the chip count and after about three and a half hours - he made an all - in bet and left the table to hear his fate form his supporters on the rail.

He lost on that hand and gracefully exited:

Reporter
"You certainly brought Belize here to the world series of poker. Do you think that your appearance on this final table will give poker a boost in your country?"

Bob Bou-Nahra
"It's already boosting over there and next year is going to be better. We are going to bring more people to play the World Series next year."

Reporter
"What's the experience been like for you to have such a loud rail and so many people cheering you on?"

Bob Bou-Nahra
"I came here to have fun. I will have fun tonight no matter what. So everybody is going to have fun."

He left in 7th place with 1.3 million US dollars

As a foreigner, Bou-Nahra's winnings of 1.3 million US dollars are subject to an automatic 30% tax. He entered the final table in sixth position and came out in seventh.

The final three will play for the WSOP bracelet and the 8.7 million dollar pot tomorrow night.

Channel 7


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Marty Offline OP
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Bob Bou-Nahra and his 200 Belizeans take over Vegas

Millions tuned in on Sunday for the World Series of Poker that got underway at the Penn & Teller Theatre at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Among the nine at the November Final nine table was Badih "Bob" Bou-Nahra, wearing his now famous Belize cap. He is the only Belizean to have made it so far in the huge international competition that started in July with a total of six thousand eight hundred and sixty five competitors. Bob was also the only amateur to compete on Sunday; the eight other players were professionals from Germany, Ukraine, US, Britain and Ireland. The Rio theatre was packed to capacity with fans and family of all the players. A large contingent of Belizeans traveled to Las Vegas for the event and was joined by other Belizeans who live in the United States. According to ESPN, the Belizean contingent was the most vociferous in support of their favorite player. Garifuna drumming gave the edge to the contingent as fans waved the Belize flag at the opening night. We take a look at some of the highlights on Sunday.



Mil Bob plays for millions in Poker Game

And as the festive Belizean-style brouhaha continued behind the scenes, Belizeans lined up at the gates awaiting entrance to the competition. Bob, along with the other players, were ushered in via a tunnel. Nerves were on edge as the table of nine narrowed down to seven. After more than three hours of play Bob was eliminated. While spirits were down at the monumental loss of fame and fortune, you could not tell by the mood of the fans.



Bob returns with $1.3 Million U.S. and a smile

And after the international press grilled him, News Five's Marleni Cuellar conducted an exclusive one on one. While disappointed, Bob accomplished a feat placing Belize on the world stage in a sport he said, he competed for fun.

Marleni Cuellar, Host

"Congratulations first of all, walking away seventh place. I wanna be able to get from you immediately, just the reaction that you're having at this very moment?"

Bob Bounahra, 7th Place, WSOP

"I expected to go deeper than that but obviously, like I said earlier nobody knows what happens in the cards. I did only get two hands the whole day, it was Ace King and the guy had worse hand than me , Jack something, and he out flapped me and he got a Jacket. And my favorite, the second hand was pocket tens and that's my favorite hand, and he called me with Jack eight and he still hit a jack, so basically a day like this you call it unlucky."

Marleni Cuellar

Bob Bou-Nahra

"That Bob, obviously a part of the game itself, and I don't know if it was a part of your strategy. You went pretty bold in some of your moves, was that a part of what you had set out to do or was that a decision that you made within the game itself?"

Bob Bounahra

"It was a decision that I made. I just knew in the first hour that I sat down that things were not running my way and instead of taking big gamble and big risk, I just wanted to see if the cards would change and they didn't change, actually they basically went to the worse."

Marleni Cuellar

"How did you keep your self motivated while you were going or did you lose that motivation anyway?"

Bob Bounahra, 7th Place, WSP

"I did not lose the motivation. I just did not feel that yuh know today is not your day. You know in poker you have days that are for you and days that are not for you. In poker there are ups and downs, no matter what is your strategy; you still can't fight it no matter what. Nobody knows what's in the cards."

Marleni Cuellar

"What was your defining moment in today's tournament?"

Bob Bounahra

"When I lost pocket tens I knew I was not gonna make it further. They called me with Jack eight, Jack eight is shitty hands. Pocket tens is my favorite hands I would have probably put all my chips on pocket tens. I would've lost then in eight place but I knew my cards were running bad and I took the decision not to put all in. In any other situation I would've gone all in with pocket tens."

Marleni Cuellar

"You had two missions coming into this final table. One was to walk away with this top prize; the second was to put Belize on the world map. How do you feel about this second mission? The amount of support, the drummers, the flag, the chanting of your name the entire while?"

Bob Bounahra

"The people who came to support me, there is no way I can ever thank them for what they did. This is something that Belize has never seen ever before. I really want to thank them publicly and privately. This is something great. Although I came out seventh I am ready to party now."

Marleni Cuellar

"And all of Belize is absolutely proud of you as well. One of the things that actually happened is that the commentators were speaking of that fact that the mass numbers that are here must be all of Belize?"

Bob Bounahra

"We have a lot more people from Belize and hopefully next year not just one of us will be at the final table, maybe more and we will get double and triple of the people. And I hope to see you here next year."

Marleni Cuellar

"What does this mean for you now in the rest of your poker career? Are you ready to come back with the vengeance next year round?"

Bob Bounahra

"By this evening this will be over, tomorrow is another day. We will probably be here in December, be in the Bahamas in January, we will be in L.A in February. Life goes on, another tournament."

It is now down to the finale three this Tuesday night when over U.S eight million dollars are at stake along with the famous WSOP bracelet. What's next for Bob who gambled among the world's top professional players? Well we'll tell you more in Tuesday's newscast along with the behind the scene stories of the Vegas competition.

Channel 5


Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
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Behind the Scenes at Bob's Poker in Vegas

Marleni Cuellar

The World Series of Poker placed Belize on the international stage when Badih "Bob" Bou-Nahra competed among the finalists. The lead up to this event started in July with six thousand, eight hundred and sixty-five players and a ten thousand dollar buy-in. After almost a week of twelve hour days of playing, the November nine final table was established. In the last four months all nine players have become international poker celebs, including Bob. This station was the only local among the international press to follow the event; we were privy to all the behind scenes that invariably included a large contingent of Belizeans. Here is our report from Las Vegas.

Marleni Cuellar

"What brings over 200 Belizeans congregating in none other than las vegas for one weekend? Well Belizean Bob Bounahra has been able to secure a seat in the final table for the world series of poker. Now, it's an incredible experience of him individually but even more so for our country as he sits with some of the worlds' best poker players with camera and media from all over the world and the spotlight is on him and on us.26.13

Since his return to Belize after making it to the final nine, Bob along with the rest of the November Nine have become international poker superstars. The WSOP Final table is the equivalent of the Olympics of Poker and Belize securing a seat via Bob Bou-Nahra was an unprecedented occasion. During the past four months the hype has been building around all the players including the oldest, and only non professional player, Belizean Bob Bou-Nahra. His countless international interviews included a shoot with ESPN in Belize and continued leading up to the day before the event. Family and friends from Belize and those living in the states travelled to Las Vegas to be a part of this event. The night before, as a show of appreciation & pep rally of sorts, a reception was held at the Bellagio. The room was overflowing with excitement and best wishes.

Dion Leslie, Bou-Nahra's Poker Buddy

"We're expecting bob to go all the way and bring home the bracelet for Belizean."

Pierre Bou-Nahra

Pierre Bou-Nahra, Bob's brother

"I think Bob has played lost of tournaments more than all of us. He has more than all of us and that's why he has good enough experience to get where he is right now and hopefully he will win it on Tuesday. As family he has reached farther than anybody has expected or would have."

Rommel Berges, Bob's Poker Buddy

Rommel Berges

"He's playing for all of us. This is Bob's goal; this is all poker players goal and Belize to reach the final table and to win the bracelet. He will make Belize proud and he will make all of us proud. The dream he is living we're living it with him."

Mike Hotchandani

Mike Hotchandani, Bob's Friend

"Why was it important for you to come out here to support Bob? To support my friend, he's our fellow colleague, He's my lucky charm. And he is going to win the tournament I'm guaranteeing. We ware with full wishes."

Anthony Lambey, Belizean living in Vegas

"All I gotta say is I so excited and shocked that I'm here, her e to support you my brother. Cause we gotta big up Belize."

Kenrick Lambey, Belizean living in Vegas

Kenrick Lambey

"Me myself da wah poker player know how hard it is fi get weh paat he deh right now. So I give this man all props fi how far he done reach already, wish ah all the best of luck, all the best."

Noel Young, Belizean living in Vegas

"For me, right now, it's ecstatic. We don't have this ever. To represent Belizean-Las Vegan Belizean; we're gonna go all out tomorrow."

Elvin Penner

Even government ministers made the trip to Vegas for the main event shared their well wishes and appreciation for the exposure to Belize.

Minister Elvin Penner

"I don't think we could have found a better ambassador to take us to this point than my friend, Bob Bou-Nahra. This means much more than anybody could imagine. I was telling somebody earlier we could have spent millions of dollars on magazines putting ads on the diff channels. It would not do half of what this specific event has doesn't for Belize. This is one of the most famous events in the world being watched all over Belize and to make a player from Belize make it to the final table is just amazing."

As for Bob, he kept his poker face even the night before the main event, not showing an inkling of nervousness.

Badih 'Bob' Bou-Nahra, Finalist for World Series of Poker

Badih 'Bob' Bou-Nahra

"I feel very relaxed and very calm. It gives me a little bit more encouragement for tomorrow and maybe preps me a little better so that I can you know feel my way into this tournament. So for me personally I'm fine right now."

Marleni Cuellar

"You've kept a sense of calm over our past couple interviews. Some might mistake it as over confidence."

Badih 'Bob' Bou-Nahra

"Actually it's the opposite; I'm not over confident. But I don't want to build it up for bigger than it is cause I don't want to lose track of how I play in this situation. So I prefer not to think about it as it's huge. As long as Belize is promoted I will go in there and play my game tomorrow. In my personal opinion there s is not much you can do to prepare for something like this. Nobody knows what will happen in the cards. You have to get in there tomorrow and feel your way through it…and then you make your game plan. I don't believe that there is anybody of out of the final 9 that has an advantage over the other. Everybody got there and they didn't get there by chance. They fought their way in and obviously tomorrow you gotta try to eliminate player by player. There is no one that can tell you what will happen tomorrow. The lowest stack can win it and the highest stack can be the first one out none of there by chance. I respect all of them I fear none of them."

With eight point seven Million US dollars up for grabs, it is undeniable even for Bob that the money was an incentive.

But he made it clear that promoting Belize was a large part of his focus. He was even dubbed Bob Belize by the international commentators.

Badih 'Bob' Bou-Nahra

"I chose to put Belize out there because really and truly this has nothing to do about Bob. It has been about Belize. The crew with me made sure that I kept my Belize hat every single day from day six and I will keep my Belize hat until tomorrow. One of the ESPN guys ask me "what do you want the world to know about Bob Bou-Nahra?" I said to him is the world does not need to know anything more about bob Bou-Nahra all I need you t o do is talk about Belize and that's all its about.Poker is a fun sport for me and this is just another event the money is about business yes I'll spend some on leisure. But at the end of the day it'll go back to Belize in investments."

And on the eve of the WSOP main event, the city that never sleeps lit up, while the poker player & fans called it a night for what was sure to be an Epic event at the Pen & teller theatre on Sunday.

Marleni Cuellar

"You will be seeing with their Belize flags, caps, t-shirts. The smallest country represent in the tournament has the biggest support group. It really is such an energetic type of feeling. We had some people chanting earlier. The gates will open shortly where people will be able to enter the theatre and watch how things play out, literally.

Once the game has started obviously all focus is going to be in here. And obviously the grandness of this occasion is magnified by the room itself�do their best to make it for Tuesday."

Once everyone was seated, the energy of the Belizean delegation saturated the theatre. The family was seated on the stage behind the players where there was an empty seat for his late brother Ben. The visibility of the flag was constant whether it was being waved in the air hanging off the deck or flashing on the chest of the couple hundred Team Belize T Shirts. The Belizean delegation was hard to miss when the Garifuna drums & maracas were brought in to add to the festive atmosphere: A sight that instinctively grabbed the attention of the foreign press. Then after our poker celeb Bob Bounahra made his entrance to a screaming audience, their bet was on Belize. The game commenced with the signature phrase: Shuffle UP and Deal.

Bob entered the final table ranking 6th in chips. He was also the oldest player at forty-nine and considered an amateur since the other players played poker professionally. The crowd echoed the highs and lows of the card game. Jumping to their feet in the excitement with every pot that Bob collected and when the odds started to stack against Bob an occasional "we love you bob" to show their continuous support. When he went all in, the crowd stood in anxiety quietly waiting for each card to be laid on the table; then the "river" or the final card was laid out: a six of diamonds, leaving the Czech player Martin Staszko with the higher hand and thus diminishing Bob's chances of playing further. Even then the Belizeans graciously gave him a standing ovation as he made his exit. A less enthusiastic, Bob, conducted his interview among surrounded by his supporters who ensured that it was will the same revelry and nationalistic pride as when he made his entrance.

Bob Bou-Nahra

"I just knew in the first hour that I sat down that things were not running my way and instead of taking big gamble and big risk, I just wanted to see if the cards would change and they didn't change, actually they basically went to the worse."

Marleni Cuellar

"How did you keep yourself motivated while you were going or did you lose that motivation anyway?"

Bob Bou-Nahra

"I did not lose the motivation. I just did not feel that yuh know today is not your day. You know in poker you have days that are for you and days that are not for you. In poker there are ups and downs, no matter what is your strategy; you still can't fight it no matter what. Nobody knows what's in the cards."

Marleni Cuellar

"You had two missions coming into this final table. One was to walk away with this top prize; the second was to put Belize on the world map. How do you feel about this second mission? The amount of support, the drummers, the flag, the chanting of your name the entire while?"

Bob Bou-Nahra

"The people who came to support me, there is no way I can ever thank them for what they did. This is something that Belize has never seen ever before. I really want to thank them

Marleni Cuellar

"And of course not even 7th place can break the Belizean spirit. What has happened today is that we had a Belizean make his mark in poker and make our mark internationally. It definitely is one of those occasions that will go down in history. We are proud of Bob and we're glad we are here. Let's go Belize."

The final table convenes today with the three finalists to remain after Sunday: Martin Staszko, Ben Lamb, & Pius Hienz. When we last checked, the results of the grand finale were still not made available.

Channel 5


Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
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Poker King Bounahra gets Watch Endorsement

The Manufacturer Claret was delighted to announce its partnership with Badih "Bob" Bounahra, one of the best No-Limit Holdem poker players on the planet. Originally from Lebanon but living in Belize, Bob was the first citizen of Belize to participate in the WSOP Main Event Final Table this November. This event is to this fascinating card game what the Masters is to tennis - the final confrontation of the best competitors in the world - accompanied by a good financial reward, the famous gold bracelet and the title of world champion.

6,865 players started Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event 2011. They all played for eight very long days until only nine players remained - The November Nine. Amongst them was Badih Bounahra, who was sort of a surprise guest. Not because of his age (49), but due to his non-professional status. While his warm, attractive personality allows him to live his passion for poker to the fullest, he has many other cards dealt in his hand - an active entrepreneur and father to three children. In his opinion, poker must remain a fun activity.

For all these reasons, Christophe Claret decided to sponsor Badih Bounahra, not only for the 2011 WSOP Main Event, but for the long haul. During this time, the ace of cards will sport the watchmaker's Soleil d'Or emblem and wear a 21 Blackjack on his wrist, an interactive watch with fun complications that was launched last spring at Baselworld. At the last world watch making fair, Christophe Claret's most recent creation made a big impression with its original presentation of three completely new complications in the form of casino games - dice, cards and roulette. These are all in addition to the watch's usual hour and minute functions.

When the art of mechanical watch making meets that of the most famous card game, expect a Royal Flush!

LINK

Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
OP Offline

What Happened in Vegas made it to Belize

Sorry no strip club pics or San Pedro crew behaving badly at WSOP 2011. tacoboy did get some nice shots of everyone enjoying the exclusive Bob Bounahra party at the Bellagio Hotel where the appetizers were tasty, champagne was flowing freely causing a few people to wake up in slow mo the next morning'. He also got some nice shots at the main event - WSOP 2011 and was pleased to report that the San Pedro Belize Crew had a great time while in Vegas. It was nice to see all the Belize flags waving in his crowd pictures.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see lotsa photos on Tacogirl's blog!


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