BJ Nemeth's Photo Blog

Phillip Dennis Ivey, Jr. vs. Tiltware LLC

2011-06-01T20:12:37Z

This is a screen capture of Phil Ivey's court case filing in Clark County District Court. It's not the full lawsuit, just the registration of it. AP reporter @OskarGarcia should have access to the full lawsuit later today.

WPT Indiana: Day 4

2011-04-13T05:30:00Z

All eyes were on Erik Seidel as he was on the verge of making the televised WPT final table, continuing one of the hottest streaks in poker history. Seidel has already earned more than $4.3 million in tournaments so far in 2011, and he has a chance to pick up the second WPT title of his career. Keep in mind that this hot streak comes AFTER Seidel was voted into the Poker Hall of Fame last year -- this is a man who had nothing to prove to anyone.

Day 4 of the WPT Hollywood Poker Open was a quick one, playing out in less than two and a half hours. But there were some big reversals of fortune, as the start-of-day chipleader busted and the short stack managed to survive just enough to make the TV final table. Erik Seidel did the things he does to make it as well, while Allen Kessler did the things he does to miss it. Top it off with the biggest pot of the tournament to end the day, and this is a photo recap (and a televised final table) that you won't want to miss.

To view the entire WPT Photo Recap of Day 4 on WPT.com, click here.

WPT Indiana: Day 3

2011-04-12T08:00:00Z

With 13 players left and only 12 getting paid, Ben Tollerene (right) winces after being crippled down to less than a single big blind by Mike Scarborough (left). Scarborough check-raised all in on a board of 10h-3h-3c-7d, and Tollerene tanked for a while before calling with As-10d. But Scarborough turned over 7h-7s for a dominating set of sevens, and it held up -- making Tollerene the unfortunate Bubble Boy.

Meanwhile, the hottest player in poker, Erik Seidel, finished the day near the chip lead with nine players left as he attempts to win his second WPT title and start making people doubt whether Phil Ivey will continue to be called "the best poker player in the world."

To view the entire photo recap of Day 3, click here.

WPT Indiana: Day 2

2011-04-11T04:30:00Z

Amanda Musumeci is the last woman standing with 27 players remaining in the WPT Hollywood Poker Open. Musumeci is a sponsored online pro, but this is her first WPT event.

The big story of the day was ClubWPT qualifier Andy Whetstone, who went on a 15-minute rush after the dinner break to eliminate three players in nearly back-to-back-to-back hands. The amateur poker player said he would have been happy just to finish in the top 30, but now that he has the chip lead he is setting higher goals. (The top 12 players will finish in the money.) Jessica Welman and I interviewed Whetstone at the end of the day, and you can view that video by clicking here. (Jessica and I are experimenting with Jess & BJ-style player interviews in the WPT Live Updates, and I think they have been pretty good so far.)

To view the entire photo recap of Day 2, click here.

WPT Indiana: Day 1

2011-04-10T06:30:00Z

Day 1 of the WPT Hollywood Poker Open coincided with The Masters, and a lot of the players kept close tabs following the golf tournament action on TV, including (left to right) Christian Harder, Mike Sexton, and Shannon Shorr. To view the entire photo recap of Day 1, click here.

WPT Bay 101: Day 3

2011-03-18T09:00:00Z

Mike Matusow celebrates reaching his fifth televised WPT final table after eliminating Ty Reiman (center) in seventh place. Reiman was all in preflop with pocket tens against Matusow's pocket queens, and Reiman failed to improve. But Matusow wasn't the biggest story at the table, and maybe even not the second.

The big story was WPT announcer Mike Sexton making his first WPT final table, and that was followed by former WPT winner Vivek Rajkumar reaching back-to-back WPT final tables after a runner-up finish at the L.A. Poker Classic. To view the entire photo recap of Day 3, click here.

WPT Bay 101: Day 2 Recap

2011-03-17T15:00:00Z

Vivek Rajkumar (right) eliminated Shooting Star Phil Hellmuth to collect his bounty on Day 2. What is the bounty? An autographed "I Busted Phil Hellmuth" t-shirt and $5,000 in cash. For a photographic look back on the entire day at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star, click here.

2009 WSOP: Tom Dwan vs. Phil Ivey

2011-03-11T17:00:00Z

This is one of my favorite photos of the 2009 WSOP, and I took it on the second day. It was the start of the WSOP's 40th Anniversary $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, and Tom Dwan ("Durrrr") was seated next to Phil Ivey.

Every photographer in the room has a variation of this shot, but I was more patient than most, waiting for them to not only play a hand together, but interact in a visual way. And it all paid off when I got this shot with Dwan carefully studying Ivey after a bet on the turn.

2009 WSOP: Maria Ho Checks Her Cards

2011-03-04T17:00:00Z

This is one of my favorite photos from the 2009 WSOP. Maria Ho was nice enough to let me set my camera just off her shoulder and sweat her cards for a single round of the blinds. As it turned out, K-9 suited was the best hand (and the best-looking hand, photographically) that she picked up in that time.

WPT Celebrity Invitational, Days 1 & 2

2011-02-21T20:00:00Z

The WPT Celebrity Invitational is often called the most fun tournament of the year, as professional poker players mix with Hollywood celebrities and VIPs in a tournament where the first day feels more like a cocktail party. Academy-Award-nominated-Actress-turned-poker-player Jennifer Tilly represents the event better than anyone, signing the commemorative table before walking the red carpet.

To see the rest of the photos, and follow the story of the event, click the image above or the link below:

Photo Recap: WPT Celebrity Invitational, Days 1 & 2