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Ken Limahi cracked aces for the first 2007 World Series of Poker elimination. (Bodog Beat Image)

Oh the pain. Oh the gut wrenching, pant-crapping pain of being the first person to bust out of the WSOP Main Event. But for "Unlucky" Luke Staudenmaier it came with a little extra salt in the wound as his aces were not only cracked but were cracked by A/K.

Preflop, Staudenmaier raised and was reraised by Ken Limahi of Hawaii. Staudenmaier reraised and was reraised again by Limahi. Staudenmaier then pushed all-in and was called by Limahi who showed A/K suited, a serious underdog to Staudenmaier's bullets.

But the poker gods can be cruel my friends, as the flop gave Limahi the nut flush.

Staudenmaier was out the door before we could get a picture of him but we're happy to provide you with a picture of the luckiest Samoan in Nevada.

Two Finalists Agree to Share "First Place," then Donate 100 Percent of Prize Money to Victims of the Darfur Tragedy.(Photo Courtesy Image Masters)

It's not too uncommon for poker players going heads-up at a final table to agree to share the prize money. But it's a little less common for two players to agree to split the prize money and donate 100% of their winnings to charity.

That's exactly what happened last night at the final table of the World Series of Poker's celebrity charity event, Ante Up for Africa.

After fighting his way through 166 poker pros and poker celebrities, Dan Shak stood up from his seat at the final table and announced he would donate every cent of any prize money he won to the "Ante Up for Africa" designated charities – the Enough Project and the International Rescue Committee.

Shak's opponent, Brandon Moran, then stood up and announced he too would pledge the same donation – 100 percent of all money won to the charities for Darfur. With that, the poker tournament abruptly ended and first place was shared by two players.

The total amount of money donated from these two champions alone amounted to $386,738. The combined money raised from the evening was a half million dollars since every player donated at least a portion of their winnings to the charity.

Ante Up for Africa organizers, Don Cheadle and Annie Duke were pretty pleased with the $500,000 in donations. (Bodog Beat Image)

Fans came out in throngs this afternoon to catch a glimpse of some of the A-listers playing in the WSOP's celebrity charity event, "Ante Up for Africa".

Money raised from the "Ante Up for Africa" event will go to support two non-profit organizations, The International Rescue Committee and The ENOUGH Project. Both dedicated to raising funds and awareness for refugee and humanitarian issues.

The WSOP's red carpet was a somewhat bizarre spectacle. Here's what it looked like through the eyes of Bodog Beat:

Daniel Negreanu, a.k.a. Kid Poker is no stranger to pitching in when it comes to charitable causes and he's deadly serious about it. (Bodog Beat Image)

Poker pros Jennifer Harman, Doyle Brunson looked on as a horrified Phil Ivey was groped by Matt Damon. (Bodog Beat Image)

Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari and last year's WSOP Main Event winner Jaime Gold shared a gentle hug on the red carpet. (Bodog Beat Image)

Matt Damon and 2006 WSOP champ Joe Hachem held hands and made out on the red carpet.* (Bodog Beat Image)

Ray Romano and Brad Garret reminded people who they were as they told jokes to anyone who would listen.** (Bodog Beat Image)

Martin Sheen ate boiled eggs and shouted non-sense at the lights.*** (Bodog Beat Image)

Ben Affleck was mercilessly taunted by children.**** (Bodog Beat Image)

*Not at all true.
**Only partially true.
***Unfortunately, not at all true.
****True in my heart.

Team Bodog poker player Yuval Bronshteing is being featured in his hometown newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, tomorrow. (Bodog Beat Image)

Team Bodog poker player Yuval Bronshtein, who has cashed more than $113,000 at the 2007 WSOP so far, was recently interviewed by his hometown paper The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the article is now online on the newspaper's website and will be in the print version tomorrow. While it would probably be best for you to go and read the story yourself, here are two choice quotes from the article that we just couldn't resist sharing:

"I felt I had a gift to be a gambler," he said this week.

"I think God put me on this planet to gamble."

This is why we love this kid. What moxy. He'll be playing on Day 1A tomorrow, and we'll be tracking him and all Team Bodog players live from the 2007 World Series of Poker.

Play the first-ever WSOP* Europe Main Event in Bodog Style with the Ultimate VIP Package that includes the ÂŁ10,000 Main Event buy-in, 5-star luxury hotel stay, travel expenses, car service and more. (Bodog Beat Image)

The inaugural WSOP* Europe will debut in London September 6 - 16, and in honor of this exciting landmark in poker, Bodog.com is guaranteeing six VIP prize packages that include not only the ÂŁ10,000 Main Event buy-in but also travel expenses, an 11-night stay at a 5-star luxury hotel and car service to whisk qualifiers around the capital.

These VIP prize packages are only available to be won during two Main Event Europe Semifinals that will be held on Sunday, August 19 at 3:05 ET and at 3:05 GMT.

There are a variety of qualifiers for as little as $1 that drive players into the Quarterfinal level that has a $40 buy-in. Winners of this level will move on to the Semifinal level that has a buy-in of $540 and is capped at 150 players.

For more details on how to play in the first-ever Main WSOP* Main Event in the Bodog style, visit:

http://www.bodog.com/poker/tournaments/world-series-of-poker-europe.jsp
http://www.bodog.com/poker/tournaments/wsop-how-to-qualify-europe.jsp
http://www.bodog.com/poker/tournaments/wsop-qualifier-schedule-europe.jsp

* World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ("Harrah's"). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, Bodog.com Entertainment Group or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.

Watching poker pros Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari play a heads-up match on the new PokerTek heads-up machine is just one of the things to do today, the first day off of the 2007 World Series of Poker. (Bodog Beat Image)

On this first day off of the 2007 World Series of Poker, there have been (and still are) many events to choose from to while away the free time. Over the next few posts, we're going to share with you a few of our favorites.

Phil Laak vs. Antonio Esfandiari on a PokerTek machine - Many thought that this would indeed be nothing more than click, click, snore and game over. They were not wrong. The machine itself is actually pretty cool and will make a nice addition to the bevy of bar games available to the less than sober.

Antonio won the match in just about 30 minutes and also won the reported side bet of $10,000 that he and Phil had on the match. Both Phil and Antonio expressed their satisfaction with the game and how it played. But what were they supposed to say. They were endorsing the product.

The machines are now out in the hallways and available for you to sit down and play poker with your friends. Turns out that, just like the pros, the game is much more fun if there is money involved.

Stay tuned for more suggestions on what to do while in town for the 2007 World Series of Poker.

Jack Effel is the man at the 2007 World Series of Poker, and not just because he can drink the most beer. He hires and fires, handles disputes and directs the army that runs the huge event. (Bodog Nation photo)

Jack Effel can never escape. He can hide in the bowels of the Rio Hotel and Casino to do an interview, but his Blackberry never quits. Fires need dousing. Complainers need appeasing. Such is the life of tournament director at the most high-profile poker event in the world.

Read Bodog Nation's interview with the 2007 WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel!

Last night the Bodog Player's Loung/Party Bus hit the streets of Vegas picking up World Series of Poker players and the occasional random stranger. (Bodog Beat Image)

Champagne, music and Bodog Girls made for a heady mix that resulted in some wickedly wild fun on the Bodog Bus. So in other words it was a typical Bodog experience.

The bus is currently running a circuit from around 4pm to midnight that goes between the Rio, where the players are picked up and dropped off at the World Series of Poker, and Planet Hollywood, where poker fans having been coming out in droves to audition for Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker II for their shot at $2 million.

Bodog has continued to top itself each year with better and better ways to give their players a WSOP experience they will never forget. What's in store for poker players who qualify for the WSOP Europe this year? Check out the details of Bodog's VIP WSOP Europe prize package and qualify today.

Meet Marty Gomez. Marty is a construction supervisor from California. We found him at a bus-stop waiting for a city bus. We picked him up and dropped him off at his destination a little drunker and a lot happier than when we found him.

Team Bodog poker player Johnathan Westra is drawing media attention for his accomplishments both on and off line. (Image courtesy of Online Poker Pro Magazine)

Not only is Team Bodog poker player Johnathan Westra a rising star in the online poker world, he is now gaining respect in live tournaments as well. His winnings of $283,414 that include a first-place finish at a Bellagio Cup III preliminary event are garnering him attention from national media.

The 21-year-old University of Florida student has found himself in two publications this week alone. As seen above, he was featured on the cover of the magazine Online Poker Pro this month. On top of that, his hometown paper The Gainesville Sun wrote a piece about Westra this week.

He is not the only online poker player from Gainesville that is mentioned in these features. Jason "FPPoker4″ Becher and Smith "nevertilt22″ Collins are both from Gainesville and are part of the G'ville crew that has taken Bodog Poker by storm. Five of them occupy top ten spots on the yearly TLB.

Westra will be playing the 2007 WSOP Main Event, so look for live updates on his progress here at the Bodog Beat.

Mark Seif giving a seminar on the different types of poker players that you might see at the Main Event as part of the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Primer. (Bodog Beat Image)

The World Series of Poker Academy, poker's premier series of instructional camps where participants learn first-hand from the world’s greatest poker players, is in the last day of it's Main Event Primer at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nev. The Primer ends tomorrow, July 5, on the eve of the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event.

On hand to prepare participants for poker's most prestigious competition, which last year awarded more than $82.5 million in prize money, are an unprecedented team of world class instructors, including past Main Event Champions Phil Hellmuth, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem, multiple WSOP-bracelet winners Mark Seif and Scott Fischman, poker tells expert Joe Navarro, noted poker pro and instructor Alex Outhred and many, many more.

With the primary focus on giving participants everything they need to go far in the Main Event, the Academy's pro instructors are conducting in-depth seminars, live hand analysis and interactive workshops with the academy's participants, while covering all aspects of No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament strategy, from playing position and calculating pot odds to the importance of aggression and changing gears.

On their first night, participants received VIP treatment at an exclusive Opening Night Party at PURE nightclub in Caesars Palace. The first night was capped with a private tournament where participants battled it out for a $10,000 seat to the WSOP Main Event and other prizes. Last night, another $10,000 seat to the Main Event will be given away in a shootout poker tournament where every player has an “Ask a Pro” card that they can use anytime to ask for advice in a critical situation. Finally, tonight, a special banquet will be held that will include the final table of the first tournament, taking place on stage under the lights and cameras for all to watch.

The track record for the Academy is quite impressive already as Sally Boyer, who won the WSOP Ladies Only Event, attended the course the day before her win. Maybe we should be looking to the WSOP Academy for the next Main Event winner.