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Daniel Negreanu, known as “The Kid”, has always had strong views and has never shied of expressing them. Some time back he referred to some poker players as cheaters. But he has never, till now, crossed the limits of propriety in addressing his fellow poker professionals no matter how much he hates them. In an interview to Poker Player Negreanu hurled a childish invective at Annie Duke that can give a new meaning to his being called The Kid.

The issue was the perennially hot topic of women’s only poker. Negreanu was commenting on the Ladies Event in WSOP 2010 in which men like Shaun Deeb were allowed to participate. He pointed out that he found men using tampons as card protectors and dressing up as women very irksome. Negreanu had a very unusual reason for the continued existence of ladies only event. He said, “…I’m thinking, there are 1,000 women who love to play poker with each other, and don’t want to have to deal with guys burping, farting and using tampon card protectors and stuff like that.”

And it was then that he took on Annie Duke. Annie has always been a strong proponent of the abolition of ladies only events in poker. And she has called herself the best female poker player in the world. This contradiction upset Negreanu. He pointed out that if Annie was against gender discrimination when it came to separate events for women she should not be calling herself the best female poker player in the world. The innuendo was clear – the only way Annie could be best was when she was compared to other women poker players only. It was at this point that Negreanu went into the abusive mode. He said, “So I’m like ‘how offensive are you, you f***ing c***? You want to say you’re speaking for women, yet you claim superiority over all of them.”

Annie’s response was most restrained and dignified, but nothing else could be expected from her. Replying to a fan’s Tweet she said, “Thank you for the support. I was certainly shocked at the language myself. I welcome criticism but not abuse.” But Jenny Woo the aggressive correspondent at Gambling 911 was never the one to take shit from men lying down. She said, “Calling a female that word is the lowest any male can go. When people start calling others those types of names, they completely discredit themselves. Daniel owes Annie Duke an apology for those remarks, irrespective of the other criticism lodged against her.”

On the twelfth day of the WSOP 2010 Main Event, the 7319 entrants were whittled down to the final table of nine players. This group has traditionally come to be known as the November Nine because the final table will resume only in November. The last elimination was especially grueling. It took almost six hours after the previous elimination for Steven Brendon to lose all his chips and be out of the race.

The November Nine list with chip counts reads Jonathan Duhamel (65,975,000), John Dolan (46,250,000), Joseph Cheong (23,525,000), John Racener (19,050,000), Matthew Jarvis (16,700,000), Filippo Candio (16,400,000), Michael Mizrachi (14,450,000), Soi Nguyen (9,650,000) and Jason Senti (7,625,000).

Of these names most poker fans would be familiar with only Michael Mizrachi. Michael has had an excellent run this WSOP. He has already captured a bracelet in the prestigious $50,000 Players’ Championships and if he wins the Main Event it will be an unparalleled double. Michael is short stacked going in to the final table. But he has been just above elimination level for the last day or so and has grinded his way to the November Nine. If any one wants to know why he is called The Grinder they should study his performance in this event.

Michael will undoubtedly be the popular favorite since there is no one with as much public presence. Besides he has come through a lean patch in poker and a rough patch in life. He will want to answer his critics and himself. If Michael is looking for any more inspiration he only has to look at 2009 November Nine. Last year’s winner Joe Cada was identically short stacked at the seventh position going into the final table.

The biographies of the November Nine have already started circulating on the Internet and by the time action resumes on the final table they will be better known. Collectively this is a young final table with only Soi Nguyen being over 30. There are 6 Americans, 2 Canadians and 1 Italian. And all are male. The last woman standing was Breeze Zuckerman at 121.

The odds at sports betting sites are already out for the eventual winner and they generally follow the chip count. Duhamel is the favorite at 3 to 1 and Senti is at 16 to 1. Only Michael has been pushed up to number three spot in the odds because of his experience and reputation. At 5 to 1 he is worth backing.

PokerStars is one of the biggest online poker rooms and lives up to its reputation by hosting a big party during the WSOP tournament. Like every year, the 2010 party was held at the Rain Night Club at the Palms. The party was held on July 12 and though Snoop Dogg was performing the hot topic of the day was Spain’s victory over the Netherlands in the football World Cup finals. Juan Maceiras, a Spin supporter, would drink in celebration, while Fatima Moreira, a Dutch supporter, would drink even more to drown her sorrows.

The party was held smack in the middle of the Main Event and despite the fact that most of the poker pros had chips on the table they were there in full attendance and full of exuberance. Michele Lewis was there feeling “extra girlie” with make up and without her Chuck Taylors. She was also feeling “mildly uncomfortable” in this mode, which is not surprising because it was not too long back that she was mistaken for a hooker at WSOP.

Daniel Negreanu loves the PokerStars parties because they always have someone good to perform and because he is their brand ambassador. He likes Snoop Dogg and even sang, more correctly recited, lines from Gin & Juice at the red carpet. He had special empathy with the words “Laid back with my mind on my money and my money on my mind” because that is how he functions. Negreanu was not the only one with money on his mind. Jason Mercier said that he would be enjoying himself more if he did not have a big stack in the Main Event. Also in his clinical way he pointed out that the red carpet was actually white.

Not much has been said about what happened at the party. The cameras were not allowed inside and the liquor was flowing and the music was loud. But Dr. Pauly was dancing better than the scantily clad girls at the poles.

The parties are over and the business end of the WSOP Main Event is on. The cash bubble has burst and soon we will have the November Nine. Notables left in the fray include Theo Jorgensen, Johnny Chan, the Mizrachi brothers and David Benyamine.

In November 2008 Peter Eastgate made WSOP history by becoming the youngest player to win the Main Event. In the process he broke the record that had stood in Phil Hellmuth’s name for almost 20 years. In less than 20 months Eastgate is feeling the poker burnout and has announced that he is retiring from the game. What is more surprising than the announcement is the timing of it. WSOP 2010 is in progress and Eastgate went public with his decision to quit just ahead of the commencement of this year’s Main Event.

Eastgate was sponsored by the online poker room PokerStars soon after his historic win. The decision to retire has been taken in consultation with PokerStars and in fact the statement was released through them. The statement read, “When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player. My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP main event in 2008.” Eastgate added that he has been able to travel across the world playing poker. He has enjoyed the great experience of seeing some amazing places and meeting many new people. However Eastgate no longer feels motivated towards playing high level poker and wants to find out what he would like to do with the rest of his life. He said, “What this will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker and try to focus on Peter Eastgate the person.” The statement ended with the customary thanks to his friends and family and to his sponsors PokerStars.

Michael Holmberg, Nordics Director for PokerStars, stands by the decision that Eastgate has taken. He said that if Eastgate lacks determination and excitement then he should take a break. Holmberg said, “…the young poker player from Odense, Denmark, has achieved great results and has established himself as one of the greatest natural talents the poker world has ever seen.” However, those who have been following poker would be aware of the situation in which Eastgate finds himself. The last major tournament that Eastgate won was in January 2009 and he has not cashed in any major event since March this year. He also failed to make it to the top 20 popular list for the Tournament of Champions.

Apart from perhaps the Main Event, the Tournament of Champions (TOC) will be the most watched event of the season. The interest has been enhanced because the TOC has been reintroduced after a three year gap. 20 players voted by the public and 7 nominated players will vie for one of the most coveted crowns in poker.

The 27 players were drawn into three tables of nine each. Mike Sexton the 2006 TOC winner and “poker’s greatest ambassador” started the proceedings by calling “Shuffle Up and Deal”. Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer and Huck Seed did not turn up on time. Hellmuth and Seed are habitual late comers. Hellmuth’s delay agitated Mike ‘the Mouth’ Matusow, who cannot get into the groove unless he has a slanging match with Hellmuth. He had to be content with telling everyone that Hellmuth’s behaviour was disrespectful to ESPN, to the other players and the game of poker. On the other hand Greg Raymer showed great respect to the occasion. Never seen in anything but shorts even in the coldest weather Raymer turned up in a pair of slacks.

The table talk was not all poker. Daniel Negreanu offered Cloutier $1 million if he would kiss Esfandiari. Cloutier did not pick up the gauntlet. Esfandiari was willing to French kiss Cloutier for $1 million, but this time Negreanu was not willing. The slanging match did materialize and the tournament director had to intervene. But it was impossible to keep Matusow down. “These are my fans,” he boomed. “Stand up when I make fun of Phil Hellmuth!” And his fans responded.

John Juanda was the first to go. It is always a bad feeling. Juanda Tweeted, “Just like that, I’m out of TOC. Tried to get Harman to lay down 2nd set and it didn’t work! Thx again4 all the supports &loves, guys! ” But the shock defeat was that of Phil Ivey. He went all in with a pair of Kings. Chris Fergusson had a Queen pair. A Queen on the turn knocked Ivey out. After winning his eighth bracelet Ivey has offered 7 to 1 that he will win his ninth in WSOP 2010 as well. Well it will not be in the TOC.

At the time of writing 17 players remain. The Grand Old Man of poker, Doyle Brunson, is out. Both the poker babes Annie Duke and Jennifer Harman are in. Matusow is at the head of the table. So it is not only big talk from him.