The latest WSOP winner is Andy Frankenberger. He won event 28 at the 2011 World Series of Poker for $599k. His biggest win prior to this victory was the $2,000 buy-in Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza III in 2010, when he won $162,110. The 38 year old is not a poker pro despite his success, but rather is a Wall Street Equities Derivatives Trader. This year was running dry for Frankenberger in terms of poker games, as he had only banked $10,000 in live tournament winnings before joining the crowds at this summer's WSOP.

At the World Series of Poker Event 24 started with even chips for all players at the final table. The event was a shootout, which means that each player has to win his table before moving on. This means that at the start of each round all players have the same amount of chips. This WSOP event kicked off its final table with 1.5 million in chips for each poker pro. In the end it was Mark Radoja, who finished third in the $5,000 NL Hold'em Six-Max Event of 2010, who took the victory and $436,568.

Hot on the heels of his countryman ElkY yet another French poker pro has won a WSOP event. World Series of Poker Event 22 went to Elie Payan. Payan beat out 1071 players, the largest field ever for a pot-limit Omaha tournament, in order to win his $292,825. Payan is a project manager from Orleans, France, and is 27 years old. The $1,500 pot-limit Omaha Event 22 was the first WSOP victory for the man who goes by "Punisher934" when playing online – and the first WSOP event he'd ever played.

The World Series of Poker $10k Stud event is over and done and has it's winner. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier is the latest WSOP bracelet winner. ElkY, who once said he would retire from being a poker pro, beat out 126 players to win the prize and $331,639. This event was number 21, and ElkY has added its winnings to his total live tournament career earnings, which now approach eight million dollars. His furthest run in a WSOP event before this was a 9th place finish in 2007.

In 2008 Connie Gowan filed a suit against Titlware that was dismissed in 2010. This year the decision was overturned and now the poker pro's suit against Tiltware is back on. Tiltware owns online poker room Full Tilt Poker, and Gowan was an official pro for them starting in 2004. She was offered 1% of the company in return, and when they tried to pay her $250k she refused, saying that it was not the right amount. They let her go and she filed suit. Now, amid all their problems with the US Government, the online poker room will have to deal with this lawsuit.

The latest WSOP poker champ is the latest poker players from Russia to hit the big time. In the last few years  it seems at least one Russian poker player turns poker pro at the WSOP. This time it was Viacheslav Zhukov, the winner the $10,000 buy-in Omaha high-low split eight-or-better world championship of Event 10 at the WSOP 2011.The 22-year-old earned $465,216 after outlasting the 202 players. This is the first WSOP win for this player, who now joins the ranks of Russian WSOP champs like  Vladimir Shchemelev and Vitaly Lunkin

One of the biggest poker pros in the world has decided not to attend the biggest poker tournament in the world. Phil Ivey has boycotted the WSOP. He will not attend the World Series of Poker because, he says, the online poker room Full Tilt Poker has not paid back players and if as a result they can't play, then he won't, either. Ivey is a shareholder in Tiltware, the company that owns Full Tilt Poker. Some says that his stance makes no sense, and that he is positioning himself away from the company to avoid trouble with the US government, which has targeted the online poker room.

The latest WSOP winner is one Allen Bari. The poker pro defeated fellow pro Maria Ho in heads up to cinch the victory. He won the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event in Las Vegas, the latest of the string of World Series of Poker events being held in Sin City. With the victory comes a coveted WSOP bracelet and $874,116, bringing Bari up to $1.7 million in earnings in live poker tournaments, an occupation he has been applying himself at since 2004. Bari has been successful at live tournament poker, but this is his first WSOP win.

One Canadian poker pro tried to claim his losses at poker as losses in a business for his tax report and was found wanting.  Steven Cohen left his law firm to play professional poker, but after failing to get a tax advantage has returned to practicing law. On a 2006 tax form he listed nearly $200k as business expenses, but they were actually his losses when playing poker, both in live tournaments and online poker. The poker player's tax report was not approved by the tax authorities because his poker playing was ruled as a hobby, not a business.
 

Despite the shut down of some major poker rooms one poker player is having a decidedly good year. Gus Hansen has turned his online poker hours into a massive profit. At online poker room Full Tilt Poker he made $410,000 in one night, a feat that pushed him close to a $1.5 million profit in a week, nearly $4 million for the year. Known as the Great Dane, the poker pro has been a fan favorite for years, especially after his unpredictable style of play was showcased in the early days of the World Poker Tour.