Summer In Vegas II - the GEO teams - another $900 available - free entry

BTW, we now have 150 teams but only 11 have been taken.
What are you waiting for?

2nd major Brazilian series updated
it's time we looked at Team Brazil (still available!)
this looks like bad news for the Americans (American teams consist of only Top 500 cashers and Brazil is hogging a lot of those spots)

William "Alex" Foxen & Jesse Lonis just got their 7th cash at the Wynn. Good enough foe a spot on Team New York?
Let's have a look..........

Sorry, they are just 1 cash away though. Would be quite a team if Hastings, Foxen and Lonis all made it. And Becker too!

And Adam Hendrix also cashed at the Wynn getting him into the Top 500 Worldwide.
Is he the only player on Team Alaska?
Nazim Saliu is on Team Alaska too.

We now have a list of all teams and their rosters: here

NOTE: HM still considers Hong Kong & Macau as separate countries
NOTE: USA players must be in Top 500 Worldwide (#500 is currently 6 cashes with $37320 in payouts)
NOTE: these are the current rosters, we still have 2 months of pre-season

Well, the entries have really slowed down here.
Time to pop in a charity entry then. Doctors Without Borders takes Team Pennsylvania.

$100 entries

Team Australia (D1iabol1cal)
Team California (Vivian)
Team Canada (Josephine)
Team China (Don)
Team England (Jenny)
Team Florida (Julie)
Team Michigan (Booker Wolfbox)
Team Nevada (Zahida)
Team New York (xander biscuits)
Team Ohio (FerencL)
Team Pennsylvania (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Texas (Swee)

$300 entries

Team California + Benjamin Yu (Vivian)
Team Canada + Daniel Negreanu (Josephine)
Team China + Tony Lin (Don)
Team England + Patrick Leonard (Jenny)
Team Florida + Aaron Kupin (Julie)
Team Nevada + Kyle Milhovich (Zahida)
Team New York + James Collopy (FerencL)
Team Pennsylvania + Alan Engel (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Texas + David Williams (Swee)

$500 entries

Team California + Benjamin Yu + Kathy Chang (Vivian)
Team Canada + Daniel Negreanu + Kathy Chang (Josephine)
Team China + Tony Lin + Kathy Chang (Don)
Team England + Patrick Leonard + Kathy Chang (Jenny)
Team Florida + Aaron Kupin + Kathy Chang (Julie)
Team Nevada + Kyle Milhovich + Kathy Chang (Zahida)
Team New York + James Collopy + Kathy Chang (FerencL)
Team Pennsylvania + Alan Engel + Kathy Chang (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Texas + David Williams + Kathy Chang (Swee)

idk if too late for entries

I'll pick

Ukraine
Igor Yaroshevskyy
Olga Iermolcheva

Thanks for the entry.
Entries close when "cards are in the air" this summer in Vegas (probably May 20th).
So, you just made it in time with only 2 months to go!

just barely got it in on time!

Another charity giveaway: to Wikipedia (I use this everyday)

Team: should we just give the money to Doctors Without Borders (Team Pennsylvania is a regular Murderer's Row)
Team Illinois does have a few good players.
MVP: Benny Glaser. I know he hasn't made Team England yet but if he does he'll be ranked #1 for MVP
Women's MVP: still Kathy Chang (might be the only mixed game player among the women)

$100 entries

Team Australia (D1iabol1cal)
Team California (Vivian)
Team Canada (Josephine)
Team China (Don)
Team England (Jenny)
Team Florida (Julie)
Team Illinois (Wikipedia)
Team Michigan (Booker Wolfbox)
Team Nevada (Zahida)
Team New York (xander biscuits)
Team Ohio (FerencL)
Team Pennsylvania (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Texas (Swee)
Team Ukraine (rickroll)

$300 entries

Team California + Benjamin Yu (Vivian)
Team Canada + Daniel Negreanu (Josephine)
Team China + Tony Lin (Don)
Team England + Patrick Leonard (Jenny)
Team Florida + Aaron Kupin (Julie)
Team Nevada + Kyle Milhovich (Zahida)
Team New York + James Collopy (FerencL)
Team Pennsylvania + Alan Engel (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Pennsylvania + Benny Glaser (Wikipedia)
Team Texas + David Williams (Swee)
Team Ukraine + Igor Yaroshevskyy (rickroll)

$500 entries

Team California + Benjamin Yu + Kathy Chang (Vivian)
Team Canada + Daniel Negreanu + Kathy Chang (Josephine)
Team China + Tony Lin + Kathy Chang (Don)
Team England + Patrick Leonard + Kathy Chang (Jenny)
Team Florida + Aaron Kupin + Kathy Chang (Julie)
Team Nevada + Kyle Milhovich + Kathy Chang (Zahida)
Team New York + James Collopy + Kathy Chang (FerencL)
Team Pennsylvania + Alan Engel + Kathy Chang (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Pennsylvania + Benny Glaser + Kathy Chang (Wikipedia)
Team Texas + David Williams + Kathy Chang (Swee)
Team Ukraine + Igor Yaroshevskyy + Olga Iermolcheva (rickroll)

100$
Team Finland

300$
Team New York - Shaun Deeb

500$
Team New York - Shaun Deeb - Kristen Foxen

This is ok to pick or?

Thanks for the entry.
Well, it's OK in that it doesn't copy any other entry.
But.......Shaun Deeb?
Remember that State/Country teams are made up of the players with the most qualifying cashes. Shaun Deeb has zero!
His chance of making Team New York is almost 0%.
How about Jeremy Becker if you're looking for a Team New York player. His 14 qualifying cashes almost guarantees that he'll be on Team New York.
He's struggling to get on Team Jeremy (because it's based on $ won) but Team New York looks easy for him.
Kristen Foxen looks like a longshot for Team Canada - but at least she has 4 cashes so she has a chance.

You are allowed one change per month so you can change your picks in April and again in May if you like.

Here's the newest version of the complete list of teams + players: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11dMC5cN...

Kathy Chang cashed again: she won the BIG O at Thunder Valley.
She still looks good for Women's MVP. In fact, all of Team South Korea is looking very good.

Should I give it away to charity or does someone want it?

give it to an autism foundation, because then it's like all of us win

OK. Anyone else have charity ideas?

Pacific Autism Family Network takes:

$100 - Team South Korea
$300 - Team South Korea + Alan Engel
$500 - Team South Korea + Alan Engel + Kathy Chang

and lest we forget Vladimir Putin.....I thought he's be gone by summer but now that the USA is backing him, he'll be around for a good long time.

So, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation takes:

$100 - Team New Jersey
$300 - Team Pennsylvania + Andrew Kelsall
$500 - Team Pennsylvania + Andrew Kelsall + Kathy Chang

And someone else who needs money......Donald Trump. I hear he needs $454M by tomorrow.
So, Don The Con takes:

$100 - Team North Korea
$300 - Team North Korea + David Kozma
$500 - Team North Korea + David Kozma + Nadya Magnus

our apologies to David & Nadya - David is from Hungary and Nadya is a Russian living in Florida so these are players who Donald might pick but I'm sure they do not support him or Orban or Putin.

the up-to-date entry list

$100 entries

Team Australia (D1iabol1cal)
Team California (Vivian)
Team Canada (Josephine)
Team China (Don)
Team England (Jenny)
Team Finland (Mixedgamelover)
Team Florida (Julie)
Team Illinois (Wikipedia)
Team Michigan (Booker Wolfbox)
Team Nevada (Zahida)
Team New Jersey (Canada-Ukraine Foundation)
Team New York (xander biscuits)
Team North Korea (Donald Trump)
Team Ohio (FerencL)
Team Pennsylvania (Doctors Without Borders)
Team South Korea (Pacific Autism)
Team Texas (Swee)
Team Ukraine (rickroll)

$300 entries

Team California + Benjamin Yu (Vivian)
Team Canada + Daniel Negreanu (Josephine)
Team China + Tony Lin (Don)
Team England + Patrick Leonard (Jenny)
Team Florida + Aaron Kupin (Julie)
Team Nevada + Kyle Miholich (Zahida)
Team New York + James Collopy (FerencL)
Team New York + Shaun Deeb (Mixedgamelover)
Team North Korea + David Kozma (Donald Trump)
Team Pennsylvania + Alan Engel (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Pennsylvania + Andrew Kelsall (Canada-Ukraine Foundation)
Team Pennsylvania + Benny Glaser (Wikipedia)
Team South Korea + Alan Engel (Pacific Autism)
Team Texas + David Williams (Swee)
Team Ukraine + Igor Yaroshevskyy (rickroll)

$500 entries

Team California + Benjamin Yu + Kathy Chang (Vivian)
Team Canada + Daniel Negreanu + Kathy Chang (Josephine)
Team China + Tony Lin + Kathy Chang (Don)
Team England + Patrick Leonard + Kathy Chang (Jenny)
Team Florida + Aaron Kupin + Kathy Chang (Julie)
Team Nevada + Kyle Miholich + Kathy Chang (Zahida)
Team New York + James Collopy + Kathy Chang (FerencL)
Team New York + Shaun Deeb + Kristen Foxen (Mixedgamelover)
Team North Korea + David Kozma + Nadya Magnus (Donald Trump)
Team Pennsylvania + Alan Engel + Kathy Chang (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Pennsylvania + Andrew Kelsall + Kathy Chang (Canada-Ukraine Foundation)
Team Pennsylvania + Benny Glaser + Kathy Chang (Wikipedia)
Team South Korea + Alan Engel + Kathy Chang (Pacific Autism)
Team Texas + David Williams + Kathy Chang (Swee)
Team Ukraine + Igor Yaroshevskyy + Olga Iermolcheva (rickroll)

for those of you who are playing "inside the pool", here are the running/upcoming series that qualify:

21 Mar - 1 Apr 2024 United States WSOPC World Series of Circuit - WSOPC Las Vegas, Las Vegas
27 Mar - 6 Apr 2024 Australia 2024 Australian Poker Open, Sydney
3 - 15 Apr 2024 United States The Live! Poker Classic, Hanover
3 - 23 Apr 2024 United States WPT World Poker Tour - WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Hollywood
4 - 14 Apr 2024 United States 2024 Spring Poker Round Up, Pendleton
5 - 15 Apr 2024 United States 2024 Peppermill Spring Poker Palooza, Reno (mixed=8game)
8 - 24 Apr 2024 United States The Wynn Signature Series, Las Vegas
10 - 22 Apr 2024 United States PokerAtlas Tour - Houston, Houston
22 - 29 Apr 2024 Malta MPF DSO THMC 2024 Malta Poker Festival - Spring Edition (MPF) (UDSO THMC APAT), St. Julian’s
24 Apr - 4 May 2024 Monaco PSLIVE EPT FPS PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino - EPT Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo
24 Apr - 14 May 2024 United States The Lodge Championship Series, Round Rock (DC is OK)
29 Apr - 14 May 2024 United States Borgata Spring Poker Open, Atlantic City

How does it look for some of the oldtimers for both the NAME and the STATE/COUNTRY pools:

John Juanda - on Team Indonesia

Joe Hachem - on Team Lebanon

Greg Raymer - on Team Greg

Barbara Enright - no Team Barbara yet

Cyndy Violette - no Team Cyndy yet

Walter Smiley - on Team Walter

Daniel Negreanu - on Team Daniel

Phil Helmuth - no qualifying cashes yet

Phil Ivey - no qualifying cashes yet

Allen Cunningham - no qualifying cashes yet

Scotty Nguyen - no Team Scotty yet

Men Nguyen - no qualifying cashes yet

Kathy Liebert - 5 cashes but no Teams

Todd Brunson - no qualifying cashes yet

John Cernuto - 6 cashes but no Teams

Johnny Chan - no qualifying cashes yet

John Hennigan - on Team John

John Turner - 2 cashes, no Teams

Barry Shulman - no Team Barry

Barry Greenstein - no cashes yet

Mori Eskandani - now on Team Iran

Mel Judah - no qualifying cashes yet

Huckleberry Seed - 2 cashes, no Team Huckleberry!

Ralph Perry - no Team Ralph

Tony G - no cashes

Randy Holland - on Team Randy

Barny Boatman - no Team Barny yet

Jeff Lisandro - no qualifying cashes

An updated list of team and players here

American players have been automatically removed if they are not in the Top 500 worldwide.

Kathy Chang is most likely to win the Women's MVP.
However, there must be other contenders.

actress Beth Hall is currently #3 on Team California with 14 cashes

Nancy Birnbaum is currently #5 on Team Florida with 12 cashes

Jessica Vierling is currently #1 on Team Germany with 9 cashes

Cherish Andrews is currently #1 on Team Maryland with 11 cashes

Judith Bieland is currently #3 on Team New Jersey with 8 cashes

I like the cut of Cherish Andrews' jib

Had to check the rules to see whether that WPT cruise can be counted.
Rules say:
a) tournament can't be online
b) tournament can't be restricted except by age or sex

WPT cruise is in. I believe that Kathy Chang is on that boat.

As you know, everyone can change their picks once her month.
Here we are in April and so I looked over my picks.
I'm changing.
I'm jumping on the Team Pennsylvania bandwagon. I can't get them for $100 but I changed my $300 and $500 picks.
For MVP, I'm going with the longshot Maksim Pisarenko. He's from Russia but he's in the USA now and I'm sure he has no plans to return to Russia!
Also, he picked up $150K in the PokerGo Mixed Games so he should have plenty of $ for buyins.

Maxim Pisarenko (a $1 pick in Daniel Negreanu's $25K draft?)

For Woman's MVP, I'm sticking with the favourite: Kathy Chang.

$100 entries

Team Australia (D1iabol1cal)
Team California (Vivian)
Team Canada (Josephine)
Team China (Don)
Team England (Jenny)
Team Finland (Mixedgamelover)
Team Florida (Julie)
Team Illinois (Wikipedia)
Team Michigan (Booker Wolfbox)
Team Nevada (Zahida)
Team New Jersey (Canada-Ukraine Foundation)
Team New York (xander biscuits)
Team North Korea (Donald Trump)
Team Ohio (FerencL)
Team Pennsylvania (Doctors Without Borders)
Team South Korea (Pacific Autism)
Team Texas (Swee)
Team Ukraine (rickroll)

$300 entries

Team California + Benjamin Yu (Vivian)
Team Canada + Daniel Negreanu (Josephine)
Team China + Tony Lin (Don)
Team England + Patrick Leonard (Jenny)
Team Florida + Aaron Kupin (Julie)
Team Nevada + Kyle Miholich (Zahida)
Team New York + Shaun Deeb (Mixedgamelover)
Team North Korea + David Kozma (Donald Trump)
Team Pennsylvania + Alan Engel (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Pennsylvania + Andrew Kelsall (Canada-Ukraine Foundation)
Team Pennsylvania + Benny Glaser (Wikipedia)
Team Pennsylvania + Maksim Pisarenko (FerencL)
Team South Korea + Alan Engel (Pacific Autism)
Team Texas + David Williams (Swee)
Team Ukraine + Igor Yaroshevskyy (rickroll)

$500 entries

Team California + Benjamin Yu + Kathy Chang (Vivian)
Team Canada + Daniel Negreanu + Kathy Chang (Josephine)
Team China + Tony Lin + Kathy Chang (Don)
Team England + Patrick Leonard + Kathy Chang (Jenny)
Team Florida + Aaron Kupin + Kathy Chang (Julie)
Team Nevada + Kyle Miholich + Kathy Chang (Zahida)
Team New York + Shaun Deeb + Kristen Foxen (Mixedgamelover)
Team North Korea + David Kozma + Nadya Magnus (Donald Trump)
Team Pennsylvania + Alan Engel + Kathy Chang (Doctors Without Borders)
Team Pennsylvania + Andrew Kelsall + Kathy Chang (Canada-Ukraine Foundation)
Team Pennsylvania + Benny Glaser + Kathy Chang (Wikipedia)
Team Pennsylvania + Maksim Pisarenko + Kathy Chang (FerencL)
Team South Korea + Alan Engel + Kathy Chang (Pacific Autism)
Team Texas + David Williams + Kathy Chang (Swee)
Team Ukraine + Igor Yaroshevskyy + Olga Iermolcheva (rickroll)