‘Kagome Kagome’ detailed the losses to another high-stakes poker player, David Oppenheim, and despite the massive loss he was able to maintain a little humor –calling Ivey a “lucky *****”—during his quick conversation with Oppenheim:

Kagome Kagome: ivey just beat me

Kagome Kagome: for 500k

Kagome Kagome: i wanna rather sleep

Kagome Kagome:

David Oppenheim: oh ok sorry to hear

Kagome Kagome: that lucky &&%%

Kagome Kagome:

Kagome Kagome: haha anyway

Kagome Kagome: catch me tomorrow

David Oppenheim: lol get him tomorrow

Kagome Kagome: ill be around

David Oppenheim: see ya'

The still unnamed German who originally played under the name ‘IHateJuice’ before changing his screen-name to Kagome Kagome at the behest of Full Tilt Poker –apparently some people were misinterpreting the meaning of the original name—has been getting slaughtered ever since the name change, and according to highstakesdb.com is now down around $800k for the year.

With the win Ivey has pulled himself out of the red for the first time in 2011, and highstakesdb.com now has him up some $300k for the year.

Obviously Hinkle was able to use his name recognition, and his opponents being in an once-in-a-lifetime situation to his advantage as he held firm while brokering the deal. Apparently the difference between the possibility of 3^rd place money, around $630k, and the guarantee of over $800k was too good to pass up for “GIAMPP” and “SirMad”.

Here is a look at how the final table of the FTOPS XIX Main Event played out last night:

1.     GIAMPP – $877,950

2.     Blair “blur5f6” Hinkle – $1,162,950

3.     SirMad – $805,440

4.     Nayza – $451,745

5.     Daniel “WiLDmAn75” Buzgon – $321,434

6.     J NOCK – $230,216

7.     425wedabest – $165,061

8.     beerocrat – $121,624

9.     Colonel Mustard – $86,005

The tournament was played with Full Tilt Poker’s new format, allowing for multiple entries by each player, and saw an absolutely amazing 14,479 entrants in all – only two of the final table participants made it there on a single entry; one of them being the eventual winner GIAMPP.

After handily beating Cates –best known as jungleman12 over at Full Tilt Poker-- by over $50,000, Isildur1’s reputation as one of the premiere heads-up No Limit Holdem players is still intact. Isildur1’s losses have mostly come at the PLO tables –even when he was playing at Full Tilt Poker—and it’s his No Limit Holdem play that keep the railbirds coming back for more and touting his unbelievable poker skills, even though Blom is one of online poker’s most losing players over the past year.

Blom is also getting credit for a new play at the online poker tables; the river overbet. This is a play that we haven’t seen very much of from other players, but one that Blom makes quite often, and with great success. I’m sure the nosebleed players are all crunching numbers as I write this on the best ways to counteract this play.

After the match a quick chat occurred between Isildur1 and fellow PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu which hints at a potential matchup between the two:

“KidPoker (TeamPro): good game guys

KidPoker (TeamPro): well done Isildur

Isildur1: ty

KidPoker (TeamPro): email me later

Isildur1: yep

Isildur1: bye

KidPoker (TeamPro): I have some questions about the rules

Isildur1: kk”

Mortensen could be the most overlooked tournament player in poker, despite winning three World Poker Tour titles including the WPT Championship in 2007, the 2001 World Series of Poker Main Event, as well as having booked over $10 million in career tournament winnings.

Winning the Australian Heads-Up Championship added $130k to Mortensen’s career winnings, and along the way he had to deal with Melanie Weisner, Terrence Chan, and Alexander Kostritsyn, before taking on Barry Woods and Dan Smith in the round-robin championship. Mortensen’s performance was absolutely dominating start to finish as he cruised to the title.

In my opinion, Mortensen’s absence in last year’s Tournament of Champions at the World Series of Poker was one of the most egregious oversights in the history of poker; his resume is absolutely astonishing, and should Mortensen win the EPT Grand Final he would be the only player to win the REAL Triple Crown of poker, considering he has won the WSOP Main Event and the WPT Championship, not just a preliminary event at the WSOP or a regular stop on the WPT circuit.

Now that I’ve buried the lead I may as well keep the drama going! ElkY was the first of the two to sit down at the table, and then from behind a black curtain came Isildur1, who was revealed to be Swedish poker pro Viktor Blom.

Blom has always been the #1 suspect in the “Who is isildur1” game, despite denying it numerous times. Now the poker world has its answer as to the identity of the most talked about online poker player over the last year+: Even if it was all but academic.

In addition to the heads-up match against ElkY, and then an online qualifier from PokerStars, Viktor “Isildur1” Blom will also be taking questions from the assembled media that is on hand for both the PCA, and for the Isildur1 outing, which PokerStars tipped off the press to a few days ago.

The PCA Super-High-Roller tournament featured the most expensive buy-in in poker history, so high in fact that only 38 players decided the $100,000 buy-in was within their bankroll, and heading into the final table of the tournament only seven players of the original starting field remain in the hunt for the title.

Not everyone left in the tournament will be walking away with prize-money however, as only the top five finishers will be compensated, so making the final table doesn’t hold the same kind of prestige as it does in other tournaments.

Here is a look at the chip counts heading into the final day of the PCA Super-High-Roller tournament:

1.     Nick Schulman -- 2,990,000

2.     Daniel Negreanu -- 2,166,000

3.     Eugene Katchalov -- 1,476,000

4.     Bryn Kenney -- 1,390,000

5.     Humberto Brenes -- 757,000

6.     Sandor Demjan -- 379,000

7.     Andrew Lichtenberger -- 373,000

The 5^th place finisher will double his money with a $200,000 payday, while the bulk of the $3.8 million prize-pool, $1.5 million, is set aside for the winner of the event.

The final table is set to get underway at 1PM local time, and will hopefully be completed in time for the 7PM press conference scheduled by PokerStars where we will likely learn the identity of Isildur1!

UBOC6, the sixth annual running of the site’s championship series, will begin Jan. 16 and run until Jan. 30. The various satellites running now will help players qualify for even the championship’s premiere $1 million GTD No Limit Hold ‘Em Championship event.

Five separate multi-seat satellites are available for players wanting to stake a claim to a spot in the Jan. 30 $1,000+50 buy-in NLH Championship tournament for just $100+9. Satellite feeder events are available for as little as $3.

The Main Event seat satellites ($100+9 buy-in) will run at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 2, Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23 and Jan. 30.

UB is also offering two side competitions for the UBOC. These include the Single Event Satellite Challenge and the Multi-Satellite Winner Challenge. The Single Event Satellite Challenge requires players to grab as many seats as they can for any single UBOC event. The Multi-Satellite Winner Challenge requires that players score themselves as many seats to as many different UBOC events as they can.

Both tournaments offer special rewards for players who succeed at the challenges.

The No Limit Hold’em Senior Championship will occur on Feb. 23 beginning at 1 p.m. The event is specifically designed for players who are aged 50 and older; those interested in playing must show their driver’s license before buying into the $545 event.

“By giving our more mature players an opportunity to compete against others more in keeping with their own mindset, playing style, speed and experience, we create an environment that is exclusive and yet more relaxing,” said Matt Savage, the tournament’s director in a press release. “Coupled with the fact that the exclusivity makes for a smaller field, it increases the odds of success for these senior players, who often feel shut out of prize pools. One player will have bragging rights as the LA Poker Classic Senior Champion for the next year, and he’ll have a really nice payday.”

More and more tournaments are adding senior events to their lineups, which allow older players a more level playing field; many young players have perfected their game playing countless hands of poker online, something an older player might not do. The senior’s event at the 2010 World Series of Poker featured more than 3,000 players – about half the number playing in the WSOP’s Main Event -- ranging in age from 50 to 92.

The L.A. Poker Classic will run Jan. 19 to March 3 and will feature 53 events overall with more than $2 million in guarantees. For more information, visit www.worldpokertour.com or www.commercecasino.com.

The game, also titled Snakes and Ladders, allows players to play their way through a virtual game board for cash prizes.

Each time a game board is completed, players will be awarded a random cash prize that could be worth up to $1,000. Other prizes include $109 seats into the site’s $50K Guaranteed poker tournament. In total, there’s more than $35,000 in cash up for grabs.

Until the end of December, players should try to earn as many Frequent Player Points, or FPPs, as they can at any real money ring game or tournament. You’ll earn a roll of the dice as you earn FPPs; the more times you get to roll the dice, the more opportunity you’ll have to make your way around the game board and collect an instant cash prize.

Each roll of the dice requires 50 VIP points. In all, there are 12 prize boards and players can complete all 12 boards if they wish, but each player can only win a particular cash prize once.

The Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway began Thursday and ends Jan. 9. Players can get entry into the $50K Holiday Giveaway Freeroll, get free bonus cash or a Steps Tournament ticket, just for shopping in the store.

The promotion is a precursor to a change to Full Tilt Store pricing, which will be updated on Jan. 10 to properly reflect the actual value of the items in the store.

Here’s how you can benefit:

Purchase items in the Full Tilt Store or the Black Card Store during the Holiday Giveaway and you’ll get either a free cash bonus or a Steps Tournament ticket. If you spend between 7,500 and 14,999 points in either store, for example, you’ll get a free Step 1 ticket. Spend between 15,000 and 39,000 points and you can cash in for a free Step 2 ticket. You get a free Step 3 ticket if you spend between 40,000 and 74,999 points.

To get a free $50 cash bonus, players simply need to spend between 75,000 and 139,999 points. A purchase using more than 140,000 points will net a $100 cash bonus.

In addition, if you use Full Tilt Points to buy-in to the FTP $100K Guarantee counts toward the free cash bonus or the Steps Tournament ticket.

Finally, any item you buy in either store during the promotion will net you a free ticket to the site’s $50K Holiday Giveaway Freeroll.