Welcome to the gambling ramblings of Pauly... a writer, traveler, and degenerate

 
2009 WSOP Live Blog - Main Event Day 3

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Today's an important day. More than 50% of the field will go home after almost a week of work with nothing. Zilch. Nadda. The rest? They get to live for one more day... but they're still not guaranteed a cash in the Main Event. If anything, today is about survival for many.

And for the few players who have big stacks? They're looking to maintain their advantage as part of the lead pack, while the pros that are left are hoping to snag a bit of the spotlight as the list of named pros gets smaller and smaller every few minutes.

2,044 players remaining today. We will be playing five levels. The rumors about playing six levels or down to 750 was just bogus and nothing more than bad whispers.

Cards went in the air almost on time. Jeffrey Pollack introduced a former Vietnam veteran... Capt. Tom Franklin. He said the official words, "Shuffle up and deal!"

Here's some quick stats...

Day 3 Main Event Stats:
Players Remaining: 2,044
Chipleader: Amir Lehavot

Top 10 Chip Counts:
1 Amir Lehavot (Weston, FL) - 610,500
2 Peter DeBaene (Shelby Township, MI) - 465,000
3 Troy Weber (West Terre Haute, IN) - 453,200
4 Dan Bilzerian (Tampa, FL) - 439,500
5 Franklin Grigsby (Austin, TX) - 424,400
6 Gabe Walls (Billings, MT) - 417,900
7 Mikael Thuritz (Los Angeles, CA) - 395,400
8 Andrew Gaw (Philippines) - 386,800
9 Eric Cloutier (Quebec ON,Canada) - 383,500
10 Jason Brice (Sugar Land, TX) - 376,100

Notables on Day 3 (Thru Top 420):
17 Ivey, Phil 346,200
33 FBT 287,300
34 Tran, JC 284,600
46 Tran, Kenny 273,000
80 Lisandro, Jeff 229,300
83 Benyamine, David 228,800
86 Saul, Kevin 227,800
93 Bonomo, Justin 223,300
97 Dang, Hac 221,800
103 Lemke, Brian 217,700
107 Black, Andrew 215,700
126 ELKY 207,900
139 Kostritsyn, Alex 202,600
163 Phillips, Lou Diamond 192,300
170 Phillips, Dennis 190,200
178 Borges, Diogo 186,500
182 Alvarado, J.C. 186,000
185 Karam, Marc 185,200
186 Wasicka, Paul 184,900
197 Harrington, Dan 181,400
212 Crowe, Owen 178,000
215 Hougaard, Jesper 176,800
227 Warne, Shane 173,700
239 Sexton, Mike 169,000
246 Mizzi, Sorel 166,400
254 Ludovic, Lacay 165,400
260 Boyd, Dutch 163,600
274 Binger, Nick 161,900
307 Levi, David 154,400
310 Boutin, Burt 153,300
319 Christian, Dragomir 151,600
324 Esquondoles, Marco 151,100
362 Soulier, Fabrice 145,800
371 Nicolas, Levi 144,500
383 Hellmuth, Phil 142,900
404 Kara Scott 139,500
405 Poels, Pat 139,400
406 Brunson, Pamela 139,300
408 Hachem, Joe 138,900
409 Gobbo 138,300
412 Bellande, Jean-Robert 137,700
416 "Mr. Rain" 137,000
420 Lunkin, Vitaly 135,900

Friends of Tao of Poker:
1795 Liz Lieu - 30,500
1733 Shaniac - 34,200
1950 Pinky - 18,800
1976 Louie Cohen - 16,900

* * * * *
12:12pm... Shane Warne and the Ashes

There's a major cricket tournament held every other calendar year between Australia and England called The Ashes. Shane Warne is retired from Team Australia but he was paid big bucks to do color commentary. Since he's still in the Main Event, he skipped out on the first match in this series.

Garth wrote a bit about the potential hot story brewing on his blog. Warne is buddies with Joe Hachem and their friendship is already paying off dividends. Ad if you don't know about Shane Warne, he's like the all time greatest bowler of all time with a spinner... which would be the equivalent of a pitcher who had such a nasty breaking ball that no one could touch it.

Anyway, Warne started the day with 173K and he's looking to extend his American holiday.

P.S. Consider this a pitch to a potential book publisher...a fish out of water American reporter stumbles upon the dark side of the cricket scene while covering The Ashes. Let's make it happen. I'd love to cover the Ashes in 2011. I'd love to write it after the Phish book and before the Mexican drug war book.

* * * * *
1:30pm... Sediel and Hungry Like de Wolfe = Busto

Chip Leaders: Andrew Gaw, Phil Ivey
Recent Eliminations: Erik Seidel, Micon, Eric Morris, Roland de Wolfe, Jesse Jones, Jason Young, and Bill Gazes.

Bryan Micon is busto and he immediately tweet'd... "Going to play Venetian $500. Yes I am king of all Degenerates."

Kara Scott added a few chips when her aces held up.

I found Shane Warne and the Donkey Bomber playing in the Brasilia Room. They have already broken an entire section of that room and they're on the cusp of breaking down tables in another section. DonkeyBomber's table got broke. He was sitting with a short stacked Tim Phan.

Warne pulled a rock star move when he left Las Vegas on Day 1 and flew to the UK to play in a cricket match for the Queen. He hopped back on a plane and arrived late to Day 2 before he finished out the day strong.

1,900 players remaining...

* * * * *
2:30pm... 1,680 and Counting...

Chip Leaders: Andrew Gaw and Phil Ivey
Recent Eliminations: Nicolas Levi

Jason Alexander recently doubled up according to Change100. The former Seinfeld actor is sitting in front of the table where she's set up. I watched him pick up one pot with Jacks up.

Nicolas Levi wandered up to the press box and sadly told Benjo his elimination hand. Today will be the worst day of the year for 1,200 or so players as they go home busto.

Shane Warne's table was moved from Brasilia to Amazon. The floor guy said, "Congrats gentleman on making the final... room."

One guy asked how far they were away from the money.

"If you don't make it to the end of the day it won't matter."

Warne needed a change of scene. He spewed over 200K in chips yesterday like a drunken Scandi. He's on life support with under 50K and needs to get his shit together. Otherwise, he'll be booking the 5pm flight to London on Virgin Airlines so he to cover the Ashes as a TV commentator.

One of the tables in the Brasilia Room included Jesus seated next to the guy in the Indian headdress. As I left the room, I passed Carlos Mortensen's table. He had all of his chips perfectly stacked and each marking aligned. Anal retentive? Bored? Or a true artist?

* * * * *
3:30pm... Mayor Gus

Chip Leaders: James Akenhead, Amir Lehavot, and Elky
Recent Eliminations: Ilya Gorodetskiy, Jen Harman, Ville Wahlbeck, Freddy Bonyadi, Matt Hawrilenko, Steve Brecher, Rizen, and Christina Lindley.

Who smokes during the middle of the levels? Andy Black and Chau Giang. They sneak out at special times to get their fix before sprinting back to play.

Ilya Gorodetskiy from Moscow is out, He stopped by the press box to tell me his bustout. Theo Tran took him out with set over set in a 350K pot. Flop was Q-9-2. Tran's Queens held against Ilya's nines. You can catch Ilya's doing the Russian commentary on EPTLive.com.

Ludovic Lacay is pushing towards 314K. I overheard him tell his chipcount to Benjo. My French is improving. I actually knew the proper numbers. At Lacay's table there was a woman who unnecessarily called a clock on player when she wasn't in the hand. She totally pulled a Tiffany Michelle. Supposedly karma swung back her way and she busted out when she shoved with Kings into Lacay's Aces.

I made the rounds and sweated the action from the rail. Luckily the Big Randy and DonkeyBomber are right next to each other at adjacent tables. The Big Randy is also my client, so I'm hoping he goes deep and we can make some big bucks from the local stripclubs and Icelandic sports books.

Gus Hansen is the mayor of the Amazon Ballroom. He was signing t-shirts and one old lady stopped him for his photo. It was cute, she even asked the Great Dane to cop a feel and he obliged. Afterwards, Gus wandered over to Phil Hellmuth's table and the two talked some smack.

"How many bracelets you got?" Hellmuth ego screamed across the room.

"Zero," said Hansen's penis. "But I threw up on eleven models since breakfast."

1,540 players and counting... and I think Shane Warne is busto. He's MIA.

* * * * *
4:20pm... Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

Chip Leaders: John Hammer and gabe Walls - over 600K each
Recent Eliminations: Terrance Chan, Bill Edler, Dario Alioto, Sammy Farha, Andre Akkari

I watched in astonishment as Chau Giang got his armpit massaged by an unlucky masseuse. I wonder if she made farting sounds for him and gets paid extra to work on those obscure areas of the human body. If Tony G can get his feet massaged at the tables, then Chau can get his armpits rubbed.

Phil Ivey was moved to Elky's table. Should be an interesting battle... if they decide to play against each other. Or they decide to avoid each others' big stacks and carve up the table between the two of them.

According to Terrence Chan's twitter feed... he's out. Bill Edler is no longer as well. Liz Lieu avoided elimination... but she's still short.

A Scandi reporter in a NY Yankees cap chatted with Thor Hansen for a significant amount of time. I could only wonder if Thor was giving him advice on who to bet on in Swedish soccer or he was recanting a wicked bad beat.

As always, today's 4:20 smoke break is brought to you by... PokerStars!


* * * * *

* * * * *
5:20pm... 1,300...

Chip Leaders: Gabe Walls and James Akenhead
Recent Eliminations: former champions Greg Raymer and Carlos Mortensen, Shane Warne, Adam Junglen, Adam Schoenfeld, Jean-Robert Bellande, and Darus Suharto

Average stack is around 140K.

Chainsaw Kessler might get some ESPN face time since Jordan Farmar is playing at his table. The cameras have been keeping an eye on that table.

Joe Sebok's lady friend Amanda stood on the rail with Joe Stapleton, who chowed down on McDs while sweating his Poker Road companion. Stapes devoured McNuggets drenched in BBQ sauce, while Sebok nursed a supershort stack.

Kristy Gazes is in the middle of a massage while two tables away lurks Phil Ivey and Elky's table. Squeezed in the middle of those two? David Levi to make it even tougher. And in the 5 seat? A dude in a PokerStars t-shirt who looks like he shit his pants. Elky is sporting his usual garish hoodie.

A guy on the rail pointed towards the red section, "This is so fuckin' cool. Look? Phil Hellmuth is there and Phil Ivey is here. Get out your camera and take a picture!"

"This just doesn't do it for me," she sighed as she dug through her purse.

The catatonic Hevad Khan stacked his chips in a peculiar manner, but he has so many that it doesn't matter.

The DonkeyBomber and the Big Randy are both in. DonkeyBomber has Tim Phan still at his table, while the Big Randy's table included Greg FBT Mueller, who attracted ESPN cameras.

Up on the featured TV table, Joe Hachem and Jeff Lisandro sat across from each other. Two Aussies. One the former world champion and the other? A three time bracelet winner in 2009 and Player of the Year winner.

Maridu is sporting a teal-colored bandana with white skulls. Like most Brazilians who worship a hybrid of Catholicism and Voodoo, she has summoned her deceased ancestors to guide her through any rough spots on Day 3.


* * * * *
6:20pm... Chainsaw Nevermore

Chip Leaders: Ludovic Lacay, Gabe Walls and James Akenhead
Recent Eliminations: Gobbo, Chainsaw, JohnnyBax, Marco Traniello, Pamela Brunson, Thomas Koo

Ludovic Lacay is over 570K after he dragged a pot with 9c-7c against pocket Kings.

DonkeyBomber is over 200K and looking good after taking a bit of Tim Phan's stack.

Chainsaw Kessler is out. When I told the pressbox about his departure, Benjo shook hos head and said, "No min-cash for Chainsaw."

Also gone? Gobbo and JohnnyBax.

Bobby Baldwin is sitting near the press box. I asked Nolan Dalla is anyone atthe table knew who he was? Or his legendary past? Maybe he likes it that way so he can fly under the radar. Young gun Steven Levy is sitting across from Baldwin. I dunno if he was even born when Baldwin won his Main Event crown.

According to his twitter feed, The Big Randy put "FBT on a little FBT!"

Players are heading out to a dinner break shortly. We're well above 1,150 or so players...


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/10/2009 03:00:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Day 42: Third Place for Charity

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Some of you might be surprised when I tell you that I did not play a single of hand of poker since I arrived in Las Vegas just before Memorial Day weekend to cover the World Series of Poker. In fact, I played more hands of Pai Gow poker than Texas Hold'em or even PLO. In that short span of time, I've spent substantially more time proposition gambling on random things such as number of Main Event runners, end of day numbers, Lime Tossing behind the Rio with Otis, and how a malcontent chain-smoking Frenchman would answer obscure yet sexual perverse questions.

Bottom line... I was simply too busy with work to play cards.

Media tournaments are always crapshoots with accelerated blinds. It's sort of like working in a restaurant and getting a staff meal... except it's served in ten minutes and you have to gobble up your gruel before it's time to go back to work.

I'm gonna be honest, aside from my first ever media event in 2005 (an epic day when it used to be called the Celebrity/Media tournament I busted Shannon Elizabeth when I cracked her Aces with set of Jacks... on the river), I did not enjoy the other media tournaments. I even skipped last year's completely (mainly due to some serious back problems after a car wreck a few weeks before) because I knew it was going to be a blah time. Sadly, in 2006 and 2007, after working seven straight weeks at the Rio, I always got stuck sitting at a table with so-called media that I had never even seen or had met before. In short, it wasn't fun and more like a waste of time playing a pushfest with strangers on your rare day off.

When I heard that the 2009 media event was going to be a part of the Dream Team Poker format, I certainly perked up. I was fortunate enough to play in the last installment of DTP at Caesar's Palace. I went the deepest on Team Tao of Pokerati (with Michalski and Shaniac) but more importantly, I had some of the most fun I had had playing in a poker tournament in a very long time. Probably the last time I had that much fun inside a casino was at the Aussie Millions in 2008 when I played a private and drunken 1/2 NL game with Gavin Smith, Paul Wasicka, and Matt Savage at the Crown Casino.


Photo courtesy of Caco from PokerPt.com
Not only does Dream Team add a nice spin to the event, it's downright... fun. I couldn't wait to put a team together and joined forces with my girlfriend, Change100, and my buddy MeanGene. Team Tao of Poker. MeanGene was especially excited and couldn't wait to see the team jerseys. He tagged along with me to pick up the jerseys and quickly tore into the plastic package. I had not seen him that happy since we went to the Rhino last year. Dream Team Poker has that effect on people.

Seriously, anyone who has played will tell you that Dream Team Poker puts the fun back into poker. 160 or players showed up to play in the Brasilia Room, as I checked out everyone's jerseys and team names. Some were better than others, but without a doubt my favorite team name was Joe Balls. We had a heads-up overall bet against the gang at PokerStars Blog. Otis and the Brits (Howard & Bartley) had jerseys that read EAM POKERSTARS BLO. I knew they were doomed.

I wandered into the room and sat down at the first table since I knew the dealer. I figured that was a good sign and even sat in Seat 1. The rest of the players slowly trickled in.

Nolan Dalla asked for a moment of silence for a few of our fellow media reps who had passed away in years past including this year... Lee Munzer, Justin Shronk, Andy Glazer, and Byron Ligget to name a few.

Starting Table:
Seat 1: Your Hero
Seat 2: Paul from Joe Balls
Seat 3: Tassie Devil from PokerNetwork
Seat 4: Katkin from Le Grand Fromage
Seat 5: Chops from Team Lacey
Seat 6: Parvis from Team Bluff
Seat 7: Elaine from Team Wicked Chops Poker
Seat 8: ?
Seat 9: John from Poker Road Nation
Seat 10: Jess from Team Presto

Garry Gates busted out on the first hand and got the booby prize... an upside down trophy. He was all in with 10-4 against Seth Palansky's A-2. As Bryan Devonshire explained, "You guys obviously play poker on the internet."

My table was much tighter. No one busted out and it took a while before one of us was all in. Parvis opened for a standard raise and I shoved with two black tens. Katkin was kinda short and he also shoved from the big blind (with two red tens). Parvis tanked and called with Big Slick. 10-10 vs. 10-10 vs. A-K. I faded the overs and I almost doubled up through Parvis. A few hands later, I was moved to the front of the room to a table that featured Seth Palansky, Sean from Bluff Australia, and Felipe from PokerNews Portugual.

Palansky had the biggest stack at the table and was among the chipleaders. I won a small pot from him with pocket Aces. I through out such an overbet that I was praying that he'd call with junk... but he folded. That would be the only time I had a monster hand the rest of the tournament. Aside from the A-A and 10-10,I would not be dealt a pocket pair higher than 9-9 for the rest of the tournament. Yet, somehow, I built a stack to advance to the final table.

I built my stack courtesy of a tilted Portuguese photographer from PokerNews who I have worked with many times in the past. Felipe is a great guy and solid player, but can be a hot head sometimes if you can send him on uber-tilt. Felipe sometimes plays like a crazy Scandi and opens pots with junk hands. He tried the old Scandi min-raise from UTG. I found Ad-3d from the small blind and shoved.

The result? The dreaded Eurotank. That was a term that Marty Derbyshire come up with while we covered European Poker Tour events. The Eurotank is when a Eurodonk overthinks a hand for several minutes before he folds in very undramatic fashion.

Felipe headed into the Eurotank and I knew he was going to fold. All I wanted to do was make sure I tilted him along the way. He tried to talk and talk and even tried to get me to show him one card but the dealer wouldn't let him. He finally folded and I showed the 3d and tossed my other card towards the muck. Felipe has quick hands and snatched up the card before the dealer would scramble it into the rest of the cards. Felipe tabled Ad and muttered something in Portuguese.

"Did I just tilt you?" I asked.

"Motherfucker! I should have called," he said.

I was setting him up and luckily found my spot less than one orbit later. I found A-K in early position and limped because I knew that Felipe would shove behind me with a shortish stack. Sure enough, he moved all in and I couldn't wait for action to come around to me before I insta-called. I flipped over Big Slick and he muttered more curse words in Portuguese before he tabled K-Q. My hand held up and Felipe hit the rail. One tilted Portuguese photographer down.

I was over 12K at that point. Change100 was already out in 152nd but MeanGene was still alive going into the first break. MeanGene busted around 48th place. Somehow, I managed to be among the final 27 players and we re-drew for seats. Dennis Phillips was among the final 27 players and he was kind enough to buy pizza and beer for everyone who had busted early. There was no pizza left at that point and all I wanted to do was make the final table to give my team Tao of Poker a shot at the overall title. I also wanted to make the final table because after all, all the money went to charity... the Nevada Cancer Institute.

I found myself moved to the same table as the lovely Lacey Jones. She sat in Seat 2 across from me and it seemed like most of the cameras were focused on our table. She had about the same stack as me when we got involved in a monster of a hand. I looked down and saw 4-4. That was the best hand I had seen in a hour after my stack started to slip. Since 4-4 is the favorite hand of my buddy Professional Keno Player Neil Fontenot, I decided to shove all in from the cutoff. Lacey woke up with A-K and called. We both tabled our hands, and emcee Alex Outhred called out the action as a wall of media and spectators and everyone's busted teammates gathered around the table.

The dealer exposed the door card... the Ace of hearts and Lacey jumped up in the air. She didn't see the dealer fan out the rest of the flop... Ah-4c-7d. I flopped a set and maintained the lead as everyone surrounding the table went bonkers. The turn was the 7d which gave Lacey a few outs. I faded them when the 2h fell on the river. I doubled up to almost 25K.

A few hands later, I got involved in a decisive pot with two short stacks. I opened with Kc-Jc. The small stack to my right from Team Overfed and Underwashed shoved. One of the Aussies from Poker Network also shoved. I called.

Aussie: K-9
Overfed & Underwashed: A-K
Pauly: Kc-Jc

Um, yeah with three Kings out, I was not looking good and ready to double up the guy to my left. I started to cut down chips from my stack before the dealer fanned out the flop. There was an Ace out there and I figured that I was toast. I didn't see the turn card... a ten... but I heard Alex Outhred say, "Dr. Pauly just picked up a couple of outs."

I looked up and saw that I was drawing to gutshot. Any queen would do.

I begged the dealer, "How about the Queen of hearts? Queen of spades? How about the Queen of diamonds. Diamonds are nice. Queen of diamonds."

I pointed to where the river card would fall. He quickly burned, then slowly dropped the Queen of diamonds on the river. The room exploded and I jumped out of my chair. I nailed a Broadway gutshot to bust both players which whipped everyone up in a frenzy. That sort of jubilation is absent from most poker tournaments and it felt cool to be a part of that exhilarating moment.

Check out this photo by Rob Gracie. You have to click to enlarge it to see the reaction on the faces of the people watching the action... especially Lacey's reaction.


I turned around and saw AlCantHang standing over my shoulder. He was in a very similar spot in 2005 when I needed a two outer to bust Shannon Elizabeth from the media tournament. Unreal.

I was up to 33K and got moved again when there were two tables left. I busted Diana from Joe Balls in a very ugly fashion. Action folded to us in the the blinds. I shoved with 7d-5d. She called with... 10-7. Yikes. The flop was 6-4-3. Sweet Jesus, I run lucky. I kicked Diana in the junk and she was out. Roland de Wolfe happened to be sweating the table and saw that ugly hand.

"Doctor, you lucky bastard," said Roland.

Lacey Jones bubbled off the final table of ten in 11th place (as Julio busted in 10th before we were consolidated to one table). Lacey won a Chaka beef jerky bobblehead doll and Diana D got to spank her as part of her bounty.

The Final Table:
Seat 1: Amanda from LuckBox
Seat 2: Jeremy Firth
Seat 3: Diana D.
Seat 4: Rizzo
Seat 5: LJ from Team Lacey
Seat 6: Your Hero
Seat 7: Matt from Image Masters
Seat 8: Brandon (Harrah's intern)
Seat 9: Jerome (aka some French guy)

Since Lacey finished in 11th and LJ had made the final table, they locked up first place in the team category. Everyone who made the final table won prize money (that would end up being directly donated to the Nevada Cancer Institute). I achieved my goal. Dream Team Poker awarded three silver cups to the Top 3 finishers and they handed out Gold cups to Team Lacey. LJ proudly displayed her winner's trophy in front of her stack.

Diana D busted out in 9th place followed by Matt the photographer in 8th. The last standing Harrah's intern, Brandon, busted in 7th followed by Jeremy Firth who had to leave. The media tournament was already one hour longer than scheduled and blinds levels were accelerated. Firth headed out in 6th while the lucky Frenchman Jerome hit the rail in 5th. I was super short with four to go, but LJ got involved in a monsterpotten with Rizzo and she was out.

Heck, I was short with three to go and was more than happy with my results even though I was super super short. I shoved with 9-4 and Amanda tanked for a few seconds. I tweet'd my hand... 9-4 offsuit. And that tweet popped up on the big screen behind the final table, since Dream Team Poker had their Twitter page displayed for everyone. If Amanda turned around she would have seen what I had! She didn't have to and called with Ace-rag. She was ahead until a nine spiked on the river and I doubled up. I didn't last too much longer. I got it all in with Q-7 versus Amanda's J-10. Alex Outhred said, "Since your up against Team Luckbox with the best hand, you're toast." He shook my head and we both knew what was coming. My fate. The bitter end. I busted out in third place and couldn't have been happier. Especially because Commissioner Pollack tweet'd my elimination!

Amanda finished in second place and Rizzo took it down. Congrats, bro. Third place for me? I'll take it and the cool silver loving cup. I'm more than thrilled that the money was donated to a worthy cause.

Team Lacey won overall with Conch Chowders in second place. Tao of Poker tied with Team Mutt for third overall.

I sincerely hope that they keep the Dream Team Poker format for future WSOP media events. It's not only fun, but it really creates a positive and happy environment for otherwise suicidal and grumpy media personnel.

* * * * *

Thanks to the gang at Dream Team Poker for hosting the best media event that I ever played in. And kudos to Alex Outhred for an awesome performance rocking the mic.

If you don't know, there's a real Dream Team Poker event going on this Sunday at the Rio. It cost $1,500 per team. Visit the Dream Team Poker website for more information.

Michalski and I will be reprising team Tao of Pokerati for this event. Since Shaniac is still going strong in the Main Event, we're going to have a special third team member. Stay tuned for that announcement.


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/10/2009 12:10:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Day 41: Main Event Day 2B - Schadenfreude

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Schadenfreude took on a whole new meaning the first time I stepped inside the Amazon Ballroom in the summer of 2005.


There's not a better word which describes the cut throat nature of tournament poker in Las Vegas. Players get off on their opponents' utter misery and failure. I admit, when I see another player at my table absorb a huge hit from a suckout, I perk up in my chair and can't wait to go after the victim. After all, you know their going to be on the slightest of tilt and if they can't handle the psychological effects of a bad beat, then it'sa matter of time before they spew their chips in your direction. Wounded players are always a target. As that saying goes, sharks smell blood from miles away...

On Day 2B of the 2009 Main Event, there were a record number of players who returned for the re-start of the original Day 1C and Day 1D fields. As you already know, players were turned away on the morning if Day 1D because there were no more spots available after that flight filled up. And if they had allowed an extra 500 or 1,000 players? Then Day 2B would have turned into a logistical nightmare. They were already past peak capacity and additional players would have plunged the remainder of the WSOP into anarchy after players would be told they have to play in the parking lots.

Mean Gene and I were joking around the other day as we wandered through the back area of the convention center and passed thousands of unused banquet tables and chairs stacked two stories high. We both decided that Harrah's should have set up tables outside in the parking lot or on the roof to play in the blistering sun for those players who showed up late on Day 1D and demanded to play. That solution would have accommodated the players and at the same time punished them for showing up late.

Alas, players were shut out and after seeing the staff scramble to get Day 2B underway, I had a clearer understanding on why players were turned away. For Day 2B, the staff used every nook and cranny in the Amazon Ballroom for tables. During the first hour of play, they closed off the Amazon Ballroom to spectators (with the exception of the featured TV table that included God's gift to all poker... Phil Hellmuth). Tables were set up in the middle of pedestrian aisles. As soon as tables were broken, little maintenance guys in black uniforms swooped in and quickly dis-assembled the table and whisked away the chairs.

Both the poker room and the area outside of Buzio's was utilized to accommodate the 2,922 (down from the initial report of 2,924 person) field. Even though the day was shortened to just four levels, only 1,436 players survived the cut on Day 2B and advanced to Day 3. Overall, there are 2,044 players left in the Main Event.

More than 50% of the field on Day 2B was decimated in a mere eight hours of play. It was one of the quickest and ugliest slaughterfests that I had seen since the 2006 WSOP. Players, both amateurs and pros, were disappearing at a rapid pace. It was hard to find players with all of the tables collapsing and the entire field spread out over the casino and convention center. At one point, three of the ballrooms were utilized. Unless you specifically knew where a player was sitting, you had a pain in the ass time finding them.

Most of my conversations go like this...

German Media Rep: "Ver iz _____ (insert name of hot female pro)?"

Pauly: "I think I saw her in ____ (insert ballroom name)."

British Photographer: "No. She was there on ___ (insert Day 1 flight) sitting next to that wanker ____ (insert douchebag online pro's name)."

Pauly: "Ah, that's right. I saw her in Amazon section ____ (insert name of a color) and she got stacked that nimrod _____ (insert name of overrated TV pro who everything thinks is richer than Warren Buffet, but can't even afford to pay for the $6.95 breakfast buffet at the Gold Coast)."

I had to remind myself that the tournament was simply too vastly spread out for me to cover by myself on Day 2B, and like most of the other media, we slowed down to a jog. Once everything gets inside the Amazon Ballroom, then it becomes less time consuming to gather stories and I can sprint around like a hellcat.

Phil Ivey always looks disinterested when he's playing tournament poker. It's just how he acts. Aloof. Then again, playing the Main Event seems like a nuisance and something in the way of his real passion... playing high stakes cash games. On his days off, Ivey focuses on cash games and begrudgingly heads to the Rio where he knows he's gonna have to experience the claustrophobic nature of being Phil Ivey. Bobby's Room at the Bellagio was created to give the high stakes pros in the Big Game a sense of semi-privacy to play poker. But the WSOP is a made-for-TV event and quite the spectator spectacle. Ivey. Ivey. Ivey. He walks into the room and it starts buzzing.

Ivey spent all of the day under heavy media scrutiny and if he continues to go deeper, it's only going to get worse. ESPN cameras hovered and fans tried to catch a glimpse of their favorite pro. While on the other side of the room, the defending Champion Peter Eastgate struggled to stay alive with a shortstack. Scandis with big stacks are more dangerous than tweakers with a newly cooked batch of crank. But a Scandi with a shortstack is an anomaly, like a black swan floating by.

Only nine former champions are still alive in the 2009 Main Event. Eastgate advanced to Day 3 along with Bobby Baldwin (1978), Hellmuth (1989), Jim Bechtel (1993), Dan Harrington (1995), Jesus (2000), Carlos Mortensen (2001), Greg Raymer (2004), and Joe Hachem (2005). Will one of them actually advance to the November Nine? Chances are slim to none.

Celebrities try and take shots at the poker spotlight every summer. A few go deep and bask in the warmth of media attention (unless you're Toby Maguire and act like a total asscock).

The most famous celebrity (worldwide) who is left in the Main Event? Do more people watch cricket or Seinfeld? I'm gonna give the slight edge to cricket God Shane Warne only because I've traveled to plenty of exotic places/countries/continents where cricket is more a part of everyday vernacular than "shrinkage." Both Warne and Shane Alexander are alive with healthy stacks.

Patrick Bruel is one of the most famous people in France according to Benjo. The singer/actor is still alive along with LDP... Lou Diamond Phillips. The Simpsons producer Sam Simon and L.A. Laker Jordan Farmar both advanced to Day 3. I watched Farmar play a few hands... one he played poorly and the other he played marvelously. He's going to have to stay consistent if he wants to make Day 4.

Busted celebrities? Marlon Wayans, Torrie Wilson, John Salley, Ray Romano, Sully 'Late Seat' Erna, Shannon 'Was that really 11 years ago?' Elizabeth, and Brad 'I'm so rich that I get to bang 19-year olds' Garrett.

When action re-srats on Friday for Day 3, here's the players on the leaderboard that everyone will be wondering if they can continue their run or will they fizzle out and become the next Dimtri Nobles?

Day 3 Top 10 Chip Count:
1. Amir Lehavot - 610,500
2. Peter DeBaene - 465,000
3. Troy Weber - 453,200
4. Dan Bizzerian - 439,500
5. Gabe Walls - 417,900
6. Mikael Thuritz - 395,400
7. Andrew Gaw - 386,000
8. Eric Cloutier - 383,000
9. Jason Brice - 376,100
10.Ed Perry - 370,000

* * * * *
Bouncin' Round the Room...

God bless Flipchip for taking this photo of Vanessa Rios. Click to see an enlarged view. Be careful, it might poke your eye out.


Click here to view more Flipchip photos. And for photos of tits and ass, head over to Wicked Chops Poker and wank away.

Back by popular demand...

Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To...
1. Steve Sung
2. Arnaud Mattern
3. Trond Eidsvig
4. Durrrr
5. Alex Kravchenko

Thursday is a semi-day off. The Main Event is not playing and will resume on Friday at noon. The media event is scheduled for 1pm and will be taking on a Dream Team Poker format. I'm the captain of Tao of Poker and I'm playing with Mean Gene and Change100. We already have a huge heads-up team wager going against Team PokerStars Blog, or EAM POKERSTARS BLO as their jerseys read. I'm waiting for Otis and the Brits to ship it...


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/09/2009 01:03:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Live Blog - Main Event Day 2B

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Today is one of the shortest and busiest days of the Main Event. Day 2B included the consolidation of the two largest flights of this years' Main Event. Somehow, they managed to squeeze every single player inside.

But before I begin, here's a quick update on what happened yesterday on Day 2A... 607 players survived Day 2A out of 1,478 players who returned for the re-start. Here's who advanced to Day 3 on Friday...

End of Day 2A - Top 10 Chip Counts:
1 Andrew Andrew (Philippines) - 386,800
2 Eric Cloutier (Quebec,Canada) - 383,500
3 Ed Perry (Beechwood, OH) - 370,000
4 Brandon Demes (Tempe, AZ) - 369,800
5 Miika Puumalainen (Kuopio, Finland) - 361,200
6 Jamie Brown (London, UK) - 360,400
7 Jerry Wong (Plattsburgh, NY) - 348,100
8 Samer Rahman (Bong, Sweden) - 334,700
9 Brian Hansen (Norman, OK) - 333,500
10 Kyle Wilson (Vancouver) - BC, Canada 306,000

Notable Day 2A Survivors:
FBT 287,300
Black, Andrew 215,700
Crowe, Owen 178,000
Warne, Shane 173,700
Sexton, Mike 169,000
Mizzi, Sorel 166,400
Makowsky, Daniel 166,300
Ludovic, Lacay 165,400
Boutin, Burt 153,300
Christian, Dragomir 151,600
Soulier, Fabrice 145,800
Kara Scott 139,500
Brunson, Pamela 139,300
Fricke, Jimmy 138,300
Lunkin, Vitaly 135,900
Sointula, Jani 135,600
Caby, Taylor 133,700
Gruzglin, Vadim 131,800
Rahme, Ray 131,300
DonkeyBomber 123,700
Sebok, Joe 122,800
Jones, Jesse 122,100
Persson, Magnus 114,100
Gardner, Julian 114,100
Raymer, Greg 95,900
Bong, Paul 89,300
Hansen, Thor 86,900
Gorodetskiy, Ilya 85,400
Hood, Harold 85,000
Slotboom, Rolf 82,800
Roux, Anthony 82,700
Baron, Isaac 81,800
Eaton, Jon 80,200
Hua, CK 79,200
Olson, Carl 76,200
Jesus 76,000
Farha, Sam 67,500
Bruel, Patrick 64,500
Pinchot, Dale 64,000
Boatman, Barney 63,200
Edler, Bill 57,300
Young, Jason 57,200
Seidel, Erik 55,600
Bechtel, Jim 55,000
Gallen, Aurelien 40,200
Pagano, Luca 36,900
De Wolf, Roland 21,200
Cohen, Louie 16,900

* * * * *
12:22pm... And They're Off...

Let's get down to Day 2B... where 2,924 players are trying to fade half the field today in order to advance to Day 3.

Due to the overwhelming size of the field, Day 2B started 15 minutes later than usual as the staff scrambled to get everything in place. Every possible table was used (including the poker room and Buzio's) and a few tables were seated 10-handed. The Amazon Room added tables by subtracting spectator walkways and jamming in more tables around the featured table set up. Once those tables are broken, the spectators will be allowed inside the Amazon Ballroom. For now, it's just media and players only.

Even with the delay, Jack Effel managed to hype up Day 2B which he called "The largest re-start in poker history!"

Within seconds of cards going in the air, we heard the first declaration from a dealer of... "All in and a call on table ___!"

* * * * *
1:22pm... Early Exits: Isabelle, Parvis, Lindgren

Chip Leaders: Troy Weber, Jeff Lisandro
Recent Eliminations: Isabelle Mercier, Matt Parvis, Rafe Furst, Erick Lindgren, 2 Eurodonks in soccer jerseys, and 3 guys in PokerStars hats

"Your company stole my money!" Todd Wittless chastised Phil Hellmuth at the featured TV table. Score one for the one of the NeverWin guys who had the cojones to stand up to UB's pitchman. I'm sure that exchange will not going to make the ESPN broadcast.

Tables broke fast as the maintenance staff were literally hauling away empty tables that were stuffed into pedestrian walkways inside the Amazon Ballroom. As soon as they were removed, spectators were allowed inside the Amazon Ballroom. The bustouts occurred at a steady pace. Lots of short stacks going out. A few cooler hands and your usual amount of donkilicious play.

MeanGene is a professional cooler. As soon as he walked by Isabelle's table... she busted.

"I was staring at her bottomless eyes," said MeanGene and now she's on the rail.

Benjo insists that Steve Brecher looks like George W. Bush. Brecher is sitting in front of the press box along with Chainsaw Kessler who is across Prahlad Friedman and one of the guys from the Hendon Mob.

* * * * *
2:22pm... The Devil Walks the Line

Chip Leaders: Troy Weber, Carter King, David Benyamine, ELKY
Recent Eliminations: Math champion Bill Chen, PokerStars Team Pro Victor Ramdin, E-Fro, Paul Darden, German pro Sebastian Ruthenberg, online pro Andrew Robl

I watched the last 7 tables in front of Buzio's during the end of the first level. A few international players were in mix including Nacho Barbero from Agrentina and Germany's Ben Kang.

As I made my way back towards the other rooms... I passed the Devil in the hallway carrying a white plastic bag with him. He glared at me and I quickly looked away as I felt a burning sensation on my soul. The Devil was super short to start Day 2B and he failed to make it to the first break. Mean Gene snapped a photo of him in the hallway doing the walk of shame. Otis is convinced that the Devil will now hang out in front of his hotel for the remainder of the WSOP.

Two people were using the internet pay-kiosks in the hallway to play online poker. One guy ad eight tables up. Junkie.

The Milwuakee's Beast Maidens were passing out free hats in the hallway, while a couple of sorority girls were getting drunk off of the free wine sample in front of the gift shop.

Scott Ian and Phil Ivey were among the big names left in the Miranda Room.

The worst thing I hate about the press box? Pros lingering after they bust out. It's one thing to vent a bad beat or a frustrating bustout to your friends or your fellow countrymen so they can get properly updated, but it's something else to whine and moan and linger around. It's like they think you're only here to cover them and only them.

Almost 2,000 players are on a break. The hallways are a zoo and the toilets are a madhouse. The smoking area out back became shaded by the thick cloud of second hand smoke from several hundred chain-smokers. The heavy smoke created a cloud cover that blocked out all the sun.

* * * * *
3:22pm... 600 Eliminated?

Chip Leaders: Troy Weber, Josh Arieh, David Benyamine
Recent Eliminations: DanDruff, Vanessa ROusso, Jon Little, Shannon Shorr, Steve Wong, Jeff Markley and Gank
Shorties: Lee Childs and Neil 'Bad Beat' Channing

Bluff's Jeff Markley was taken out by Elky. That French kid runs good, eh? SO much for the cover jinx. If you don't know, Elky was on the latest cover of Bluff.

The big borad reads 3,006 players left (overall), which means 2,358 are approximately in the field on Day 2B. Then again, the bustouts are happening a steady pace it's hard to keep up. That number could be much lower.

Quote of the Day in the press box? "Watching models puke up In-N-Out burger would give me such a boner," said Benjo.

* * * * *
4:20pm... Smoke Break & Dinner Break

Chip Leaders: Troy Weber, Josh Arieh, David Benyamine
Recent Eliminations: Alex Outhred, Rob Hollink, Scotty Nguyen, Christian De Leon, and Kathy Liebert

At this point, we're heading into the dinner break (playing only four levels today), and there are less than 2850 players left overall.

Hellmuth continues to hold court at the featured TV table where the ESPN suits are praying Helluth has a meltdown to spruce up the episodes. Out on the secondary table, there's the Grinder, Dennis Phillips, and Maridu. Everyone's spicy Brazilian dish took a hit when she lost a pot that she admitted she played poorly. Plenty of Dennis Phillips clones on the rail clad in white oxfords and red St. Louis hats. One older clone wandered over to Maridu and asked her for her autograph. She happily signed his red hat.

Peter Eastgate is sitting at a table near the crossroads of the Amazon Ballroom. ESPN's cameras are hounding his table as the defending champion gets a thorough massage. The rail is three and four deep as spectators elbow for position to catch a camera phone pic of the youngest ever Main Event champion.

Howard Lederer is sitting in front of the press box and he's rapidly ascending the leaderboard due to a glitch. That extra 0 can be the difference between a short stack and a decent one.

Dutch pro Rob Hollink is dunzo along with everyone's favorite sloppy drunk Scoty Nguyen.

And today's smoke break is brought to you by...



* * * * *
5:20pm... 2,095...

At the break, there are a shade under 2,100 players remaining. With two more levels to go, the field should dip under 1,600. I hope. I have a lot of under bets at that level.

On the dinner break, I went back to my hotel room. When the dinner breaks are 90 minutes, players take advantage of the longer break to rest up in their rooms, especially with a break in the late afternoon. When I exited the elevator of my hotel, standing right in front of the elevator was former Main Event champion Berry Johnston. He was noshing on ice cream and snubbed me when I nodded at him, to let him know that U knew who he was.

I walked back to the Rio with a steady stream of players from the Palms and Gold Coast. I overheard a fair share of bad beats and post-dinner strategy plans.

Players usually loosen up after a dinner break, let's hope that's the case.

* * * * *
6:45pm... Under 2,000 Remaining...

Chip Leaders: Troy Weber, Josh Arieh, David Benyamine
Recent Eliminations: Gavin Griffin, Lee Childs, Brett Richey, Howard Lederer, The Grinder
Shorties: Humberto Brenes

A bunch of mayhem unfolded... three-way all in with AA vs. KK vs. KK. One of the guys with Kings four-flushed on the river and won the monsterpotten. He screamed, "Heart! Heart!" And one of them spiked.

With about thirty minutes into this level after the dinner break, there's not much to report aside from this is the time when people start disappearing.
* * * * *
7:45pm... Ivey Rising; Eastagte Falling

Chip Leaders: Phil Ivey, Troy Weber, Brian Lemke
Recent Eliminations: David Sklansky, Maya Geller, Robert Williamson, AprStyles
Shorties: Defending champion Peter Eastgate

French actress Alexia Portal is sitting at a table in front of the press box. She doubled with Aces vs. Kings. Also near us is Cyndy Violette and her lucky stones.

But that's not all... Phil Ivey has chips. Look out. He's closing in on 250K, but Troy Weber is over 400K ad nearing 420K.

Little Stevie Chidwick is sitting in the audience at the secondary table. He's sweating on his friend Maridu. If you don't know, Chidwick supposedly won 100 different seats to the Main Event last year. I wonder how many he won this year.

Humberto is quiet and shortstacked. Once the cameras pass by, he perks up. For now, the chark is starving.

The Big Randy is over 100K and as long as he doesn't do anything stupid, he should squeak into Day 3.

Helllmuth continues to draw a crowd at the TV table, and Peter Eastgate is also shortstacked. He's been attracting all the gawkers and picture hounds.

I wandered into the poker kitchen where one-eyed Michalski has set up shop. Not only was their a bird flying around, but I also saw Eskimo Clark wandering around aimlessly. Last night, around 3am Benjo spotted Eskimo throwing wadded up pieces of paper at a cash game table.

* * * * *
8:45pm... Last Level; 1,750 to Go

Chip Leaders: Phil Ivey, Troy Weber, Brian Lemke, Elky
Recent Eliminations: Johnny Lodden, Durrrr, Bryan Devonshire, Ylon Schwartz, Bernard Lee, and Tim Vance
Shorties: Defending champion Peter Eastgate

At the start of Level 9, there were less than 1,750 players left.

I took a tour of Brasilia. I watched a couple of hands of Nicolas Levi's table. He has around 170K. Most of the cameras were surrounding Bill Gazes table, even though he had a stack that was slightly below average. Jen Harman, Cahu Giang, and Noah Boeken were among some of the familiar faces I knew.

And Durrrrr is out. Now he can focus on nosebleed cash games and try to finish his 50K hand challenge against Patrik Antonius before next year's WSOP begins.

* * * * *
9:45pm... Under 1,600...

Chip Leaders: Phil Ivey, Troy Weber, Brian Lemke, Elky
Recent Eliminations: Marlon Wayans and David Plastik
Shorties: Devilfish and Eastgate

Paul Wasicka was moved next to Joe Hachem. Peter Eastgate is on life support. Phil Ivey is getting most if not all of the attention in the room.

The field has dwindled to under 1,600. With less than an hour to play, I'm hoping it dips below 1,500 so I can collect a winning prop bet.

I was told that the staff prefers a field under 1,500 so that way, they won't have to use the Miranda ballroom and they can contain Day 3's entire field to just the Amazon Room and Brasilia.

* * * * *
10:45pm... Day 2B Complete

Chip Leaders: Phil Ivey, Troy Weber, Elky
Recent Eliminations: Hal Lubarsky, Paul Magriel, Marlon Wayans

And action for Day 2B has come to a halt. There wasn't too much of significance to report over the final level. The pace of most of the day was very quick with rapid fire eliminations. However, that pace slowed down as players nitted it up in order to say they made Day 3.

Tomorrow is a rare day off so Day 3 will kick off at noon on Friday. Both Day 2s will combine and I heard rumors that they will try to play down to 750 players on Saturday... even if it takes an extra level (six instead of five).

End Day 2B Top 10 Chips:
1 Amir Lehavot (Weston, FL) - 610,500
2 Peter DeBaene (Shelby Township, MI) - 465,000
3 Troy Weber (West Terre Haute, IN) - 453,200
4 Dan Bilzerian (Tampa, FL) - 439,500
5 Franklin Grigsby n (Austin, TX) - 424,400
6 Gabe Walls (Billings, MT) - 417,900
7 Mikael Thuritz (Los Angeles, CA) - 395,400
8 Jason Brice (Sugar Land, TX) - 376,100
9 John Hammer (Coquitlam, BC, Canada) - 359,400
10 Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, NV) - 346,200

Stay tuned for a recap....

Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/08/2009 02:51:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 40: Dollar Bill Blues and What Does Benjo Think, Vol. 4

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

"Fuck him. Like the great philosopher Sun Tzu said... 'when you’re done fucking your enemies, fuck 'em some more.'" - Ari Gold

Good news folks. I have finally made the jump from the media to the big time. I started my own talent and management company called T.A.O. Management. I partnered with the 24th richest man in Sweden. He's going to be focusing on teenage online poker pros and biatheles in the Nordic countries. I'm developing a player management company for poker players and competitive eaters. This new business venture is going to be bigger than the British Crown's stranglehold on opium in the 18th century.

It all started with a guy named Cliff from Dallas. He's one of Michalski's Pokerati boys and Michalski had been exploiting Cliff's by making him wear a Pokerati patch for an appalling low sum of money. I stepped in and negotiated a much better deal. After Cliff went deep in the Donkulous, I saw potential in his poker ability and knew he'd be a perfect person to help build upon a new budding player management empire.

On just a 285th place finish out of 6,000+ runners, I worked out a sweat deal for Cliff on one of the new Latin American poker circuits. I scored him juicy sponsorship with an gaming company called GoombaSportsbook.com. They gave him a house, maid, driver, security detail, and access to other extracurricular activities.

And two days earlier, I signed another former Team Pokerati player, the Big Randy, who was another one of Michalski's boys from Dallas. The Big Randy was a legend on the strip club poker circuit and he even went deep in the 2005 Main Event. He advanced to Day 2 of this year's Main Event, and we worked out a deal with an Icelandic sports book that launched a new poker site called ScandiDonk.com.

The Icelanders loved the idea of adding a hotshot Texan on their team of sponsored players, which includes 13-year old online phenom Lars 'Sn00p_420' Liqöör from Helsinki and former Norwegian adult film star Karl Hungus, who might know from such films as Logjammin'.

The heart and soul of T.A.O. Management are the Dallas boys... Cliff and the Big Randy. The DonkeyBomber is next on my list along with his lovely wife, AngryJulie. They are not my clients... yet. I have grandiose plans for the former WSOP Player of the Year and two-time bracelet holder along with his wife, AngryJulie, who made the final table of Triple Draw.

I also signed a controversial French poker pro named Pierre Fromage. He had a shady past including an alleged incident involving sexual misconduct with a poodle. Despite the fact that it was never proven (the pictures were way too blurry) that Pierre routinely felated canines, the major French online poker sites did not want to sponsor him. That's where I came in and introduced him to some special people. The Nevada sex industry greeted Pierre with open arms. We inked a deal with Glitter Gulch and Asian Delights Massage (not the one on MLK Blvd., but the one on Warm Springs behind the Jiffy Jube... look for the pink neon sign). Pierre is expected to crush the French Poker League against all of those Francodonks and he's going to take a shot at EPT Siberia and WPT Slovakia.

I also have one non-poker client, and his name is Hiroshi Nagai. Remember that name. He's going to be a huge star on the competitive eating circuit.


Hiroshi is currently living in Boulder, Colorado and training for his debut on the World Eating Tour at the next Krystal Square Off. He's expected to upset the world champion Kobiyashi in a few weeks. GoombaSportsbook.com has him listed at 420-1. Lock him in now before the line moves after he destroys the field next weekend in Fort Collins, CO's annual flapjack eating content.

Lucky for us at T.A.O. Management, Hiroshi is being courted by Abe Frauman, the Sausage King of Chicago. I have a multi-year sponsorship deal on the table including free frozen sausage biscuits for life.

Back to poker... as the Main Event rolls along, I'm keeping tabs on players who have the potential to go deep so I can sign them and exploit their marginal talent, overbearing egos, and severe psychological personality flaws to generate millions of dollars in revenue.

For my team, I want to represent very intelligent individuals who have a deep passion for the game and a firm grasp of reality. I'm looking for versatile players who can speak multiple languages, handle themselves eloquently at the table and in front of the cameras. I'm seeking out grounded, family-oriented and environmentally conscious people.

And if that doesn't work, I'll find the hottest chick with the biggest tits still left in the tournament and slap a patch on her mountainous regions.

With a mobbed up sports book in Costa Rica and a sports betting exchange in Iceland, I have plenty of options to place potential clients. Oh, and let's not forget about the local adult entertainment industry. The future is more than bright... it's blazing with the November Nine around the corner and the newly formed PokerStars Arctic/Antarctic Poker Tour. I'm gonna be like Sham-Wow rich. I can almost count the millions.

And my newest client? Dan Michalski. Stay tuned for a special announcement involving sponsorship of his new eye patch.

* * * * *
What Does Benjo Think, Vol. 4

Real questions by degenerate gamblers. Real answers from an angry Frenchman. Here's the latest installment of What Does Benjo Think? It's a game that Otis and I play in the press box to keep things loose. We wager on what we think Benjo would answer a series of random questions...

1. What is weight (in pounds) of a whale's vagina?
Otis: 120 lbs
Pauly: 500 lbs.
Benjo said, "Fish have proper sex organs? Whales have vaginas? Someone actually weighed one?"
Otis said, "Yes. Whales are mammals so they have vaginas."
Benjo said "I have to say 50 lbs."
Result: Push 0-0-1

2. If the WSOP gets a new sponsor in 2010, what industry will it be in?
Otis: Alcohol
Pauly: Feminine Hygiene
Benjo said, "Well, the WSOP have taken a step down from Mr. Peanut to beef jerky. I have to say that a new sponsor will be something like diapers for incontinent old people. At the Seniors event instead of free beef jerky, you get free diapers. Smaller lines at the bathrooms on the break."
Result: Push (0-0-2)

3. If you could date one female pro for one month... Isabelle Mercier, Kathy Liebert, Erica Schoenberg, and Vanessa Rousso... who would it be?
Otis: Erica
Pauly: Vanessa
Benjo said, "That is tough, but Erica. I'm interested in everything that David Benyamine does. Although my second choice is Isabelle."
One random European media rep passing through the press box piped in, "Oh Isabelle? I'd pick her. Everyone that I know who slept with her says she's crazy in bed."
Result: Otis wins (0-1-2)

4. How many tricks does an Amsterdam window hooker turn in an average day?
Otis: 13
Pauly: 11
Benjo said, "Let me see, if they work 8 hour shifts and each guy is twenty minutes, but maybe five minutes if he cums fast, so I'd say 25."
Result: Push (0-1-3)

5. In a 100 yard dash... which writer from Poker Stars Blog would win? Otis, Bartley, Howard, or Lina?
Otis: Lina
Pauly: Bartley
Benjo said, "Otis? Out of the question. No offense. He could beat me in a race though. Lina? She smokes, so no. Howard is slim and is a non-smoker. Bartley is a ginger. No way. So, I have to say Howard."
Result: Push (0-1-4)

Otis won this round and has taken a slight lead. He has 6 correct answers to my 5. We also pushed 14 times when we could incorrectly predict Benjo's answers. Stay tuned for a new installment of What Does Benjo Think? Only at the WSOP can we gamble on angry chain-smoking Frenchmen!


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/08/2009 04:20:00 AM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Live Blog - Main Event Day 2A

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Welcome to Day 1.... no wait. It's Day 2. Right? Day 2A, I believe? I always lose time in Las Vegas. I have no idea what actual date it is. July... something. 6th? 7th? And it's Montuewedthursday? I blame Las Vegas. All of that pure casino oxygen warps the brain and messes with your circadian rhythms.

740 is the special number today. I bet my French colleague that there will be 740 or more runners who advance to Day 3 from this flight. He thinks that the number will be way lower. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

No special ceremonies today. No Chaka doing shuffle up and deal. Just 1,476 players who are desperately trying to be among the chosen few who advance to Day 3. Since Day 1A and Day 1B played four levels instead of five, they will play our five levels today.

Here's the Top 5 Chipcounts:

Brandon Demes - 137,075
Redmond Lee - 134,275
Andrew Gaw - 126,100
Jean Docquier - 122,755
Nick Maimone - 122,500

Some of the players I'll be keeping tabs on today? Loren Finkelstein, Kara Scott, Louie Cohen, Johnny Mushrooms from Australia, LJ, Anguila from Spain, and Ilya Gorodetskiy from Russia.

* * * *
12:40pm... Kara Quads; Where's Gobbo

Sorry for the delayed blog. I was busy covering the Michael Jackson funeral for a music magazine. Now that's over, let's get back to some poker.

There were a handful of tables set up in Brasilia, but they have been moved one by one into the Amazon Ballroom.

The lovely Kara Scott flopped a set then rivered quads in early going.

I'm just going to cut and paste the following sentence: John Duthie looks relaxed while getting a massage.

Jimmy 'Gobbo' Fricke is currently a no show. Jimmy, if you are reading this right now, get your ass down to the Rio! Or if Gobbomom is reading this, call Jimmy and tell him he's getting blinded off.

Gavin Smith is seated next to Billy the Croc. Talk about two of the more interesting characters in poker... the fun=loving soused Canuck and the Aussie bookie.

I found Louie Cohen and he was moved over into the red section. And Loren Finklestein is seated at Greg FBT Mueller's table.

* * * * *
1:40pm... Germans Down While DonkeyBomber & Frenchies Soar

Chip Leaders: Fabrice Soulier, DonkeyBomber
Recent Eliminations: Johnny Chan, Gus Hansen, Johnny Mushrooms, Brian Townsend, Pearljammer, Richard Brodie, Jen Tilly, Johannes Strassmann, Sandra Naujoks, Rene Angelil, Katja Thater

Lost of bustouts in the first level including Jen Tilly and German pro and "Shooting Star' Johannes Strassmann. Another German, the sultry Sandra Naujoks is also busto along with former bracelet winner Katja Thater. Former WSOP champion and All-In energy drink shyster Johnny Chan also hit the rail. And yes, the Great is never more. Expect to see him at Bobby's Room or one the nose bleed tables on Full Tilt shortly.

And yes, Celine Dion's husband is also out along with Johnny Mushrooms. Dammit. My favorite Aussie pro is busto.

And yes, a Frenchie is out in front... Fabrice is chipping up despite playing a lot of small ball. And the DonkeyBomber is out in the front pack.




* * * * *
2:40pm... George Is Getting Chips

Chip Leaders: Fabrice Soulier, DonkeyBomber, Jason Alexander
Recent Eliminations: 96-yr old Jack Ury, Jerrod Ankenman, Anthony Nardi, Mike Caro

Yes, it's true. Jason Alexander is accumulating chips and among the leaders. He's obviously drawing the attention to the most of the media in the room.

The oldest player in the Main Event, Jack Ury, is out.

Anguila has Erik Seidel to his left and an ESPN Camera crew hovering over his table. Part of the rail is sparse while the other part is unnavigable. Lots of stanky Eurofans clogging up the aisles. At least it doesn't smell like shit.

We just had "All in an a call!" three consecutive times within fifteen seconds. I whiffed on my prop bet with Benjo. Even Matt Savage was ragging on me for my pick. I'm gonna offer Benjo a buy-out.

* * * * *
3:40pm... Day in the Life... LJ Out... Gobbo Wakes Up

Chip Leaders: Fabrice Soulier, DonkeyBomber, Jesus, Andy Black, and some unknown Eurodonk with a soccer jersey three-sizes too small
Recent Eliminations: Tony G, LJ, Newhizzle, Barry Greenstein, Sam Khouiss, Johnny World, and The Unabomber

I made the rounds and got followed into the bathroom by a poker agent. A Tao reader stopped me when I popped into the Brasilia Room and he unleashed a bad beat story without giving me a dollar. Then I watched a guy break up with his girlfriend in the hallways as crocodile tears ran down her face. I have to avoid the hallways.

As I returned to the floor a ESPN cameraman kidney punched me as he rushed to a table to capture a hand with Joe Sebok. Of course, nothing happened in the hand. Was it worth being a douchebag to waste tape?

I checked in on Loren Finklestein and he's got about 63K. Louie Cohen is sitting at the same table as French old school pro Michel Abecassis. He studied to become a doctor and got the degree and didn't practice for too long because he discovered Bridge and became one of the top players in the world. He got into journalism and became editor of several magainzes before he discovered poker in 2000. He's one of the Ambassador of French Poker. Lucky for Louie Cohen, Abecassis is short stacked.

I never made it over to see LJ, she busted out and tweet'd, "i must learn to fold when i'm deep."

And the almighty Tony G is out. I heard he's been betting six figures on Aussie rules football. What's 10K? Toilet paper, that's what.

Jesus sat over at the secondary table while his look-a-like sat next to Thor Hansen, except the fake Jesus had a PokerStars patch on his brimmed hat.

Gobbo woke up. Finally. He arrived late and his tablemates wished that he slept in after picking up Aces on one of the first hands he played. He's now up to 75K.

* * * * *
4:20pm... Smoke 'em if you got 'em

Today's smoke break is brought to you by PokerStars...


And yes, Ray Rahme? He chain-smokes like a champ. If smoking on a break was am Olympic sprint, then Rahme is Carl Fuckin' Lewis. e should get sponsored by Marlboro.
* * * * *
5:20pm... Waitin' Around to Die

Chip Leaders: FBT, Andy Black
Recent Eliminations: Michael Craig, Jason Mercier, Shaun Deeb, and Raymond Davis. Shit those four should live together in a small apartment and film it as a sitcom.

5-Bets against Aces? No good for Shaun Deeb, who lost a chunk of his stack before the break. Jason Mercier is

also busto.

I took a straw poll in the press box and inquired aout suggest sel-mutilation music. This was the results...

Music to cut yourself to after busting out of the Main Event...
1. Cold Play
2. Morrisey
3. Townes Van Zant's Greatest Hits
4. Joy Division

The airwaves are filled with frequent bellows of "All in and call!"

The media event this year is being run by Dream Team Poker which will include a team format this year. My team is called Tao of Poker. I'm the captain and I'm playing with Mean Gene and Change100. Our jerseys were finally ready and Mean Gene asked if he could tag along. For the first time in a long time, there was a spring in is step. We picked up a large plastic bag with the blue sleaveless softball jerseys. Mean Gene could not wait until we got back to the press box and while we stood in the rotunda, he tore into the bag like a kid on Christmas morning. I had not seen him that happy since I took him to the Rhino last year. Anyway, the media event is in two days. We're the team to beat.

* * * * *
6:20pm... Those Aren't Pillows

Chip Leaders: Samer Rahman, FBT, Andy Black, DonkeyBomber
Recent Eliminations: Hoyt Corkins, Mel Judah, and Beth Shak
Players Remaining: 1,078

Samer Rahman is way out in front, while Kara Scott slipped to 75K.

Mean Gene and I passed Beth Shak in the hallway. She was obviously doing the walk of shame and speaking into her cell pone as she recanted a bad beat story.

"No way those are real," I blurted out.

"No way," said Mean Gene.

Players are going on dinner break. See you at 8:20 local time.

* * * * *


In the meantime, listen to the latest episode of Tao of Pokerati where Benjo fills in for Michalski and we discuss the Day 1D debacle...

Episode 11.30: The Day 1d Debacle featuring Benjo (5:51)

And if you don't know, Tao of Pokerati is brought to you by Dream Team Poker...

* * * * *
8:44pm... Mouth Busto; 890 to GO

Chip Leaders: Samer Rahman, FBT, Andy Black, DonkeyBomber
Recent Eliminations: Mike Matusow, Loren Finklestein, Wendeen Eolis, Michael DeMichele, Alex KGB, Mike Gracz
Shorties: Roland de Wolfe

The hallways were empty. A rare sight for a Main Event. In the hour after the dinner break, you could only see a handful of bored folks sitting on benches. Some had books. Others thumbed through the free reading material dispersed throughout the convention center which included a rag or two that I wrote for. Those uninspired folks were the ones who came to sweat their friend, significant other, or family member in the WSOP but had no idea that poker.

890 to go and I'm toast for a the O/U. Loren Finklestein just busted after he was taken out by Greg FBT Mueller. Loren said that FBT was running over the table and playing phenomenal. Looks like FBT's confidence and run goodness is spilling over into the Main Event.

Matusow is busto. I didn't see the hand, but he as holding court in front of the press box before he moved into the center of the Amazon Ballroom. The entire film crew stood around for several minutes while the Mouth rattled on and on, while few fans patiently waited to get an autograph from their favorite pro.

DonkeyBomber is sitting in front of the pressbox at Pam Brunson's table. She had been building a stack until the DonkeyBomber took away a nice chunk.

I saw Otis bite into kangaroo burrito that he scored in the poker kitchen.

Quote of the day from one of the Pocket Fives reporters: "Everytime you hear 'All in and a call, a donkey gets its wings."

* * * * *
9:44pm... Frenchies Down

Chip Leaders: Samer Rahman, FBT, Andy Black, DonkeyBomber
Recent Eliminations: Arnaud Mattern, YellowSub, Gavin Smith, Aussie strip club owner Jamie Pickering, Todd Brunson, Antony Lellouche, Billy the Croc, and Nikolay Evdakov
Shorties: Roland de Wolfe

I made the rounds...

French cash game specialist Antony Lellouche hit the rail. My Aussie bookie Billy the Croc is also busto.

Gavin Smith failed to make Day 3 along with Jeff 'Yellowsub' Williams.

Frenchman Arnaud Mattern is also out. He'll be in the VIP section at the Rhino shortly.

Godfather of Scandi poker THor Hansen was in the middle of a massage.

Jason Alexander was seated at the featured TV table with Greg Raymer. Alexander has two bottles of water and a red bull sitting on a small table behind him, way out of view of the cameras. There are also two unopened bags

of beef jerky. All featured table players get spammed with free samples of beef jerky. over on the secondary table, Jesus is sitting with Newman.

Dutch pro Rolf Slotbloom lost a pot to Pam Brunson. Her brother Todd is already out and her father busted on Day 1. She's using Doyle's Ghostbusters lucky cardcapper.

* * * * *
11:24pm... Anguila, Brad Garrett, and Slim Eliminated

Chip Leaders: Bradon Deems, Samer Rahman, FBT, Andy Black
Recent Eliminations: Angulia, Amarillo Slim, Brad Garett, Mandy Baker, Dewey Tomko
Shorties: Roland de Wolfe

Kara Scott can't paid off with quads. How many times is she gonna get them? This last time... quad Aces. Gobbo has been up and then down and now back up to over 100K.

I ran into Anguila in the hallways. The Spanish pro from Madrid busted out before the last break. He started at a a tough table with Erik Seidel to his left. As soon as his table broke, he found a better table where he quickly went to work and almost doubled up. His biggest disappointing hand? All in with A-A vs. A-A for a chopped pot. I told him it could have been worse and he could have been four flushed out of the tournament. He hit the rail soon after with Big Slick. Anguila played three Main Events and the Spaniard busted from all three with A-K.

Mean Gene has been stealing me Kit Kats out of the UB suite and hooking me up in media row. If Hellmuth finds out, I might get cut off.

I passed an irritated Eskimo Clark in the hallways as he argued with a guy in a bright yellow shirt who looked like a tweaker. He spoke in a drawl and insisted that Eskimo give him Eskimo's car keys. He muttered something about a spilled beer and the guy darted into the bathroom. An infuriated Eskimo stood and glared down the near empty hallway. Eskimo slowly shuffled away. A few seconds later, the guy in the yellow shirt bolted out of the bathroom. The two exchanged words again and Eskimo snatched his car keys out of the guys hand. It almost seemed the guy asked For Eskimo's keys so he could snort crank in the bathroom.

Anyway... back to more hallway hijinks... I passed a working girl at the Rotunda. I was headed towards the casino and she was headed towards the Amazon Ballroom. Talk about fast service.... bust out of the Main Event and hate fuck a hooker after a wicked bad beat. If someone has no qualms about burning $10,000, they won't blink twice about forking over $400 for an hour of chocolate love.

Hookers and poker have a long lasting relationship, like Cracker Jack and baseball games. It's hard to think about one and not the other.

* * * * *
12:44am... Day 2A COmplete

Chip Leaders: Bradon Deems, Samer Rahman, and FBT
Recent Eliminations: former WSOP champion Berry Johnston, Eli Elezra, Juha Helppi, and APPT Sydney Champion Grant Levy

At Midnight there was 657 players remaining, and Aussie cricket God Shane Warne was closing in on 180K. When they ended it looked like 625 or so players were left. They all advanced to Day 3 which will be played on Friday.

Louie Cohen has 16.9K. Poor guy has to stick around until Friday and then bust in the first 5 minutes.

As the night winded down there was plenty of speculation about Day 2B. With almost 3,000 runners there was not enough space to fit everyone. Feldman from ESPN suggested that they are going to have some tables play 10-handed.

"I hear they are seating tables in the toilets and three in the parking lots," said Johnny Mushrooms.

"They are even playing inside the Bally's pool," added Benjo.

Johnny Mushrooms is part of ChipMeUp, an Aussie staking site. He said that they are putting a koala in the Main Event next year.

Copared to Days 1C and 1D, today was fairly slow. It was simply an extension of the smaller yet low-energy fields on Days 1A and Day 1B.

Well, that's it for now. See ya tomorrow for Day 2B, which should be a crazy day. Can they get from 3K to 2K players in only four levels? Tune in to find out.


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/07/2009 03:33:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Day 39 - Main Event Day 1D: No Soup for You

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I knew something was rotten in Denmark when I walked into the Rio and it smelled like shit. I figured that a sewer pipe had busted or all of the donkeys gearing up to play in Day 1D defecated all over the hallways. From that moment, I should have known that we were in for a long and controversial day.

At 8am on Monday, WSOP officials had to close registration for the Main Event. They had reached capacity and were sold out. Players with $10,000 in cash were turned away... something that had never happened before.

The WSOP's decision to turn away players on Day 1D was "the biggest single challenge we have faced in the last four years" according to WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

And for the few hundred or so that got the short end of the stick? They were wicked pissed. So much so, that a special press conference was set up so Pollack could address the denied players.

I navigated a jam-packed hallway in order to get to the Poker Palooza, where the meeting would be held. The massive ballroom, which once house the Poker Palooza, was empty aside from players sitting in the middle of room. A security guard called them over to the far corner of the room where a small room was set up with 120 or so chairs. Players quickly filled the seats and among them were Minh Ly, Capt. Tom Franklin, and Melissa Hayden. A dozen or so media reps gawked on the sidelines while a dozen suits stood in front of the room in silence. I had not seen that much firepower from Harrah's in sometime as Jeffrey Pollack stepped up to the podium.

"We are sorry and I am sorry," said Commissioner Pollack as he addressed the restless crowd. "The last thing we want to do is deny players entry into our events... we simply reached capacity today... we are unable to accommodate any more players for the Main Event this year. We're disappointed about this. I wish more people had played other days of the Main Event. I wish that we accommodate you, but we can't... I apologize for this. You have my word and my promise that this is going to be topic #1 as we plan for 2010."

"Why can't we play from Midnight to 12?" one player screamed as a few others walked out.

"What about alternates?" asked Melissa Hayden.

"No. We have not alternates for this event and will not start now," explained the Commish.

Pollack when he was grilled by one player who had first-hand knowledge of a well-known European pro who got into after registration was closed.

"As far as I know, there was no special treatment," said Pollack. "There should not have been any special treatment."

Well, actually, there are several instances and stories and rumors where that was not the case. One family member of a former world champion was given a late seat. A significant other of another bracelet winner also got seated a few hours after start time. And another well-known pro and multi-bracelet winner helped his buddy get in at the last minute.

And then there was documented stories about rock star Sully Erna and high stakes pro Patrik Antonius. At the onset of the tournament, ESPN had reported that both Antonius and Erna were shut out and later on that both were eventually seated.

A French reporter asked David Benyamine how exactly did Antonius get in and he gave a suspicious non-answer. He flat out remained silent and did not say a word. The explanation that I was given was that someone from the Bellagio had bought Antonius... yet he somehow forgot and tried to buy himself in. Do you actually believe that story? I'm dubious. (Editor's Note: After a glimpse of Day 1D starting list, Antonius was not among the entrants.)

Several players shouted out suggestions such as alternates, playing Day 1E, or even starting action at Midnight and playing until the next morning. All of those ideas and many more at some point were considered, but ultimately were rejected.

"We are pretty well versed in the mechanics of a large poker event. We are simply at capacity and there's nothing else we can do today," said Pollack.

"Why can't we play from Midnight to 12?" one player screamed as few others gave up and walked out.

"We do not want to be in the business of turning people away," said Pollack. "This is not our preferred outcome. Operationally, we are at capacity today. It's unfortunate."

One player from Europe said that he traveled a long distance to play and his dreams to play in the WSOP was crushed.

"It crushes me as well," said Pollack. "It crushes all of us."

When asked about making Day 1D ten-handed tables, Pollack answered... "We're not comfortable running today ten-handed when we started the other days nine-handed."

"What is the worst thing that can happen by opening this up?" one player asked.

"It would not be appropriate for us to simply allow people in this room in. We have already drawn the line this morning and that is obviously unacceptable to some people," said Pollack.

"What part of $3 million don't you like? Let's play some poker!" screamed one guy.

"Let them play!" one player shouted from the back obviously pulling a line out of a Bad News Bears sequel.

"I apologize. I apologize," were Pollack's last words before the Commissioner ended the press conference.

Several players spoke out while others tried to talk over one another. But it didn't matter what they said or pleaded. A decision had been made by the Harrah's junta. At the end of the press conference, the head of security motioned that Pollack and the rest of the executives exit through a side entrance in order to avoid any confrontations or potential altercations from angry players. I gotta say that despite the angry players, they all kept their cool unlike the scene I witnessed in Mexico when the federales shut down the LAPT in the middle of the tournament, and a group of drunk and rowdy Venezuelans almost started a riot.

I asked former WSOP TD Matt Savage his thoughts on the fallout of Day 1D's sellout... "While I am fully aware of their concerns," said Savage, "This is the first time in 40 years that a player with $10,000 and a dream has been shut out of the Main Event. 10-handed play and alternates, while not ideal, were options and it is sad for those that came so far had to miss an opportunity of a lifetime. However, it is hard to feel sorry for those that had ample opportunity to register and chose not to. Year after year Harrah's has made improvements when needed and I am sure that they will have this as top priority for 2010."

"Every player has a cosmic right to play in the WSOP, but in this instance it was not possible," said Joe Sebok who understood both the appeal to play and also knew Harrah's limitations.

Sean, one of my Australian colleague summed it up, "What a day. No winners, just WSOP management shrugging their shoulders and angry players walking the hallways."

"Sadly, this is one of those times where everyone gets screwed," said MeanGene. "You had the very strange scene of 150 poker players demanding that Harrah's take their $10,000, and a score of men in suits holding up their hands and saying, 'We're very sorry, we can't take your money.' It was surreal."

Did logistics outweigh greed and overall number of entrants? The Poker Shrink thought that in the history books the 2009 WSOP Main Event entrants should contain an asterisk (just like Roger Maris) next to it. Without the cap, the number would have surpassed last year's mark.

Although most of the people I spoke to said that the players were ultimately responsible, there were definitely a few steps that Harrah's could have done since ten events had sold out at the 2009 WSOP prior to the Main Event.

"They really should have been better prepped for this possibility," added BJ Nemeth.

Then again, registration was open for 24 hours since the WSOP began. Seth Palansky, Communications Director for Harrah's Sports & Entertainment Division, said it best, "You had plenty of time to register. Why didn't you show up earlier?"

Harrah's had repeatedly warned the masses about an impending sellout. Some people dismissed it as PR spin since the first two days attracted the lowest fields since the WSOP was moved to the Rio.

On Sunday afternoon, the press corp received an email from Harrah's stating...

Media: Please help us alert any potential WSOP players that there is a good chance Main Event Day 1D tomorrow may reach capacity. Seating is limited and first come first serve and once all available seats are sold, the tournament officially closes. Players are encouraged to get to the Rio as soon as possible if they intend to play in the Main Event.

Of course, several hundred players ignored the warning.

"Poker players are procrastinators. It's the nature of the beast," said Flipchip who has been around the WSOP since its infancy in the 1970s at the Horseshoe, when no player was ever denied entry to the Main Event. "Let's go back to the old system where you pay your $10,000 and get your seat assignment and that's it. You play when they say you play."

That used to be the policy of the Main Event until enough players complained, so Jeffrey Pollack and company changed that rule and allowed players to pick their starting day. That eventually backfired and it appears that privilege might not be around next year.

"It's most unfortunate about TJ Cloutier," explained Flipchip about the Hall of Famer. "You know he probably just scraped the money together, too. For TJ, this might be the first Main Event that he's ever missed. When you get to be TJ's age, how many more years do you have left to play? These days, they throw you out of you drool on yourself."

TJ failed to get into the Main Event, maybe because he lacked the connections that some of his counterparts had. In life, it's not what you know... it's who you know. And these days, aside from craps dealers, TJ doesn't have quite the pull like Phil Ivey. supposedly Ivey was able to avoid playing on one of the featured TV tables, even though his table was picked before the day started. Somehow, Ivey managed to keep himself out of the spot light.

Yes, there's star system in poker, much like there is in real life. Stemming all the way back to high school when the dumbass jocks get to bang all of the hot cheerleaders, and leading into today's poker world, if you're one of the elite, you control the power and get to call the shots.

The big scandal on Day 1D was not the fact that players were turned away because of a sell out. That was an unfortunate byproduct of mismanagement by (pick a side... players or Harrah's). In my eyes, the atrocities occurred when players were able to get into the Main Event in favor of other lesser known players and amateurs.

The system is inherently corrupt on all levels and players were able to circumvent the safeguards in place by exploiting the weaknesses of some of the staff. In a city like Las Vegas, where cash is king, that's not very hard to do.

Whether personal favors were called in or people were straight up bribed... I don't know. But it's hard for me to ignore all of the whispers from people in the industry whom I trust the most that tell me they know for a fact that certain players gained entry after the supposedly cut off point that WSOP officials made at 8am on Monday.

The room where the press conference was held already had a somber tone to it before Commissioner Pollack spoke. It almost reminded me of those bizarre FEMA press conferences after Katrina decimated New Orleans where a slew of helpless politicians just stood there and pretty much said, "We're fucked. You're fucked. There's nothing we can do about it."

At this point, the 2009 WSOP Main Event is not even out of its first official day and it will always be known as the one where players were shut out.

"We have come to a solution," joked one Harrah's executive. "Next year, we will have flights starting with Day 1A and ending with Day 1R."

That's a grand idea. Start the WSOP in late May and let it run five and a half months with the Main Event running over two months. At least that way, there will be no more final table delay.

* * * * *
Post Script: Inconsistencies

Kudos to Kevin Mathers for doing his homework and checking the player list from Day 1D. He posted on a 2+2 thread about four players who appeared in the 10 seat, despite assurances that action would not be 10-handed...

Jeppe Nielsen - Amazon Green 143/10
Joe Reitman - Amazon Green 144/10
Marco Bertaccini - Amazon Green 145/10
Dale Poynter - Amazon Green 146/10

* * * * *
Day 1D Numbers and Stats

The crack unit of math interns at Tao of Poker came up with these numbers...

2009 Main Event Runners:
Day 1A: 1,116
Day 1B: 873
Day 1C: 1,696
Day 1D: 2,809
Overall: 6,494

Survivors:
Day 1A Survivors: 655
Day 1B Survivors: 821
Day 1C Survivors: 1,106
Day 1D Survivors: 1,816

Day 2A Runners: 1,476
Day 2B Runners: 2,922
Overall Remaining: 4,398

End of Day 1D - Top 10 Chip Counts:
1 Troy Weber (West Terre Haute, IN) - 353,000
2 Tyson Marks (Missoula, MT) - 196,500
3 Stephen Costello (East Longmeadow, MA) - 192,000
4 Mads 'Not Wizzing' Wissing (Copenhagen, Denmark) - 185,750
5 Jose Sanders (Lima, Peru) - 175,800
6 Mikael Ay (Gothenburg, Sweden) - 173,900
7 Carter King (Columbia, SC) - 170,000
8 Mark Weil (Cincinnati, OH) - 168,575
9 Paul Wolfe (West Palm Beach, FL) - 163,000
10 Alessandro Pastura (Guidizzolo, Italy) - 160,900

Notables (Thru 420 Places):
15 Tran, J.C. 139,975
17 Hougaard, Jesper 138,675
20 Arieh, Josh 135,700
21 Kalmar, Jon 135,050
26 Banghart, Jeff "Mr. Rain" 132,650
30 ELKY 127,475
35 Friedman, Prahlad 124,125
41 Boyd, Dutch 121,050
57 Dang, Hac 112,525
87 Dypvik, Borge 103,300
119 Boeken, Noah 94,175
161 Levi, Nicolas 87,400
169 Kostritsyn, Alexander 86,400
173 The Big Randy 85,625
174 Norce, Mike 85,420
186 Ivey, Phil 84,025
199 Benyamine, David 81,700
200 Esquandoles, Marco 81,420
253 Esfandiari, Antonio 75,025
275 Gazes, Bill 73,300
279 Hilger, Matthew 73,000
293 Alvarado, J.C. 71,600
296 Beevers, Joe 71,450
305 Baldwin, Bobby 70,900
311 Shaniac 70,400
341 Violette, Cyndy 69,000
374 Phillips, Lou Diamond 66,650
388 Tran, Kenny 65,600

Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/07/2009 05:45:00 AM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Live Blog - Main Event Day 1D

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Welcome to the zoo. It's more like a clusterfuck. The Main Event was sold out by 11am because everyone decided to wait to the last minute to register despite numerous warnings from this scribe and plenty of other media outlets.

Lots of angry players were livid after learning they could not buy a ticket to the richest tournament in poker. Rocker Sully Erna got shut out and according to Andrew Feldman from ESPN,a few late arriving high rollers such as Patrik Antonius and Brandon Adams were told that they would not gain entry. And even poker Hall of Famer TJ Cloutier was denied entrance.

This is the most crowded I have seen the Rio since the Main Event began. Players are sitting in front of Buzio's and Miranda is full, but there's a potential melee about to break out in the hallways.

Lon and Norm from ESPN said, "Shuffle up and deal!" Lots of schtick. Too bad they could not cover up the turnmoil going on outside in the hallways.

* * * * *
12:20pm... Mutiny?

I bumped into a loyal reader from Sweden named Fredrick. He said that he won a $5 satellite on Party Poker to win his seat into the Main Event. He was supposed to play today, but Party Poker fucked up his registration. Supposedly, a dozen or Party Poker qualifiers are in the same boat. They were originally shut out but placed on a waiting list. Their qualifiers were told that they would get seated after 1pm. Is Harrah's making an exception or rectifying an error on their part?

One media rep walked into the pressbox and said, "I have something more for the Jack Effel Is Full of Shit File. Jack told everyone that every single available table was being used for action today. Yet there's cash games running in the poker room!"

More Effelshit to shovel around today. I don't envy the suits and the Commish who have to tell the late players that there's nothing they can do and that it's the players fault for not taking advantage of early registration.

* * * * *
1:20.... Day 1E?

There's a rumor that 1,000 players were turned away and there's a potential riot in the hallways. There's rumblings of a Day 1E to accommodate the lagtards who decided to wait to the last minute to register.

"They are all idiots," said Benjo. "They deserve to be shut out! They would have busted out on Day 2 anyway. They are saving their money by not getting in."

More wisdom from Benjo.

One of my British colleagues, Homer, said, "You know what, if you didn't get in, it's your own fucking fault. You've had four days to choose from, and more than enough time to buy in."

Yeah, players had more than four days... almost two months.

According to the Poker Shrink... "(Overheard) Start the late reg. players at 3 PM, have them play four levels and toss them in with the Day 1A-B players tomorrow."

According to Aaron, players in the "Diamond Registration" room were told to come back at 3pm and they would get seated. Sully Erna managed to get in despite being originally turned away.

* * * * *
2:20pm... Antonius = In the Field

Big Stacks: Josh Arieh and Kristy Gazes
Recent Eliminations: Dario Minieri.... insert your own joke here _____.

I'm finally had a chance to check in on some friends who I'm gonna try to feature on Tao of Poker such as Shirley Rosario and Matt Parvis. Shirley flopped a set of nines on the first hand against Aces and won a small pot, while Matt took a hit early on.

Lots of conflicting reports about the players who were turned away. Feldman from ESPN originally told me that Antonius was turned away, but it turns out someone had bought him in so he's in today's event after all.

In case you were wondering... Erick Lindgren is on the featured TV table, while Peter Eastgate is on the secondary table.

I asked around and one Harrah's official said that they do not have an official number as of yet. However, I'm off to the Poker Palooza where Commish Pollack will be making an announcement and addressing the angry players. Stay tuned for more info on this debacle.

* * * * *
3:20pm... The Meeting

I navigated a jam-packed hallway in order to get to the Poker Palooza. The massive ballroom was empty aside form a hundred or so shut out player sitting in the middle of room. A security guard called them over to the far corner of the room where a small room was set up with 120 or so chairs. Players quickly filled the seats, about 150 players who were shut out. Among them were Minh Ly, Capt. Tom, one of the Lerner twins, and Melissa Hayden. A dozen or so media reps stood on the sidelines while a dozen suits tood in front of the room. I had not seen that much firepower from Harrah's in sometime.

"We are sorry and I am sorry," said Commissioner Pollack as he addressed the crowd. "The last thing we want to do is deny players entry into our events... we simply reached capacity today... we are unable to accommodate any more players for the Main Event this year. We're disappointed about this. I wish more people had played other days of the Main Event. I wish that we accommodate you, but we can't... I apologize for this. You have my word and my promise that this is going to be topic #1 as we plan for 2010."

"Why can't we play from Midnight to 12?" one player screamed as a few others walked out.

"What about alternates?" asked Melissa Hayden.

"No. We have not alternates for this event and will not start now," explained the Commish.

Several players spoke out while others tried to talk over one another. But it didn't matter what they said or pleaded. A decision had been made. At the end of the conference, the head of security motioned that Pollack and the executive exit through a side entrance in order to avoid any confrontations from angry players.

I will be working on this story throughout the day. For the meantime, I apologize for lack of updates.

Personally, I want to see everyone who wants to play... get a chance to play.But I also understand the logistical issues that Harrah's has to deal with that makes it impossible from their end.

This reminds me a quote from Full Metal Jacket... "It's just one big shit sandwich and we all gotta take a bite."

* * * * *
4:20pm... Mayor Ivey

Chip Leaders: Nicolas Levi, Matt Hilger, Phil Ivey, and Josh Arieh
Recent Eliminations: WPT founder Lyle Berman, Scott Montgomery, John 'Spider' Salley the former Rambling Wreck from GA Tech and Detroit Pistons fame.

Shirley Rosario is up to 60K after flopping another set, but Frenchie Nicolas Levi jumped out to the lead at the end of Level 2. Matt Parvis is alive and well with almost 50K.

Supposedly, Phil Ivey's starting table was supposed to be on the feature table. Every morning ESPN hangs signs over tables telling them to report to the featured TV table or the secondary table. However, he's currently sitting on the floor at Orange #90. His table was never moved. I'm hearing whispers that since he's Phil Ivey, he called the shots and asked to remain on the floor. Ivey is not a guy who wants to mug for the cameras. He just wants to play poker. Ivey is the real mayor of Las Vegas. This is Phil Ivey's world and we're just paying rent.

Today's smoke break is brought to you by... PokerStars!


* * * * *
5:20pm... Unofficial Numbers: 2,808 for Day 1D

Chip Leaders: Nicolas Levi, Matt Hilger, Phil Ivey, and Chad Brown
Recent Eliminations: Torrie Wilson

Phil Ivey runs good. I caught the action on the flop as a crowd was huddled around Ivey's table. He was all in with pocket Kings against a player with 10-9 who flopped two pair. Ivey turned a King for a set and his hand held up to win the pot. Wow, I actually wrote up a poker hand on Tao of Poker.

Ivey is trying to go deep undercover. He's got a hoodie pulled up over his baby blue Full Tilt hat.

I forgot to mention that Chad Brown is sitting to Shirley Rosario's right.

Day 1D unofficial official numbers... 2,808. Overall? 6,493 runners in the Main Event.

* * * * *
6:20pm... Rapid Bustouts

Chip Leaders: Nicolas Levi, Dutch Boyd, Phil Ivey, and Chad Brown
Recent Eliminations: Jeff Madsen, Torrie Wilson, Olga Varkonyi, Roy Winston, former champions Huck Seed, OMGClayAiken, Nordberg, Mimi Tran

Brad Garrett has a hot girlfriend. Either she loves those Everyone Loves Raymond resdiual checks, or he's swinging a paint can between his legs.

Shirley Rosario went heads with Chad Brown. Downtown Brown wins with a set over set. She slipped to 30K.

A flurry of bustouts over the last hour or so including a couple of online legends (OMGCLayAIken and Nordberg) and a couple of bracelet winners in Jeff Madsen and Huck Seed.

Players will be heading to dinner in about thirty minutes. I'm still waiting for official numbers of entrants. 2,808 is the unofficial number.

* * * * *
7:20pm... Official Numbers

Official numbers for WSOP Main Event...

6,494 runners.

Day 1C? 2,809.

Prize pool = $61 million.

Top 648 places pay out.

Winner? $8.5 million.

November Nine 2009 Payouts:
1st - $8,546,435
2nd - $5,182,601
3rd - $3,479,485
4th - $2,502,787
5th - $1,953,395
6th -$1,587,133
7th - $1,404,002
8th - $1,300,228
9th - $1,263,602

* * * * *
8:30pm... LDP, Marlon, and Soccer Coaches

Chip Leaders: Blair Hinkle, Nicolas Levi, and Chad Brown
Recent Eliminations: Mark Seif, Charlie Ciresi, French soccer coach Raymond Domenech
Shorties: Sweet Svetlana Gromenkova, Lynette Chan, and the sixth richest man in France Phillipe Rouas

2,371 players returned from the dinner break and they will play out two more levels. It was the first really crazy break since the Main Event started. With so many people on the premises, the restaurants were packed.

On the celebrity note... one of the Wayans brothers is playing and still alive. Marlon was put in by PokerStars according to Otis, Bartley & Howard at PokerStars Blog. AlCantHang swore that he saw AJ Soprano walking around, but we can't find him on the player list. PokerStars put in a few hoops players including John Salley (who already busted), Torrie Wilson (the busty WWE star who also busted) and Jordan Farmer from the Lakers. Lou Diamond Phillips (whom my brother loves to call LDP) was also in the mix and backed by PokerStars.

The coach from the French national soccer team, Raymond Domenech, played on Day 1D until he busted. He is supposedly so far left on the French political system that he might as well be a communist... not that Benjo cares, because he's also a commie pinko bastard. Where's my Freedom Fries?

* * * * *
9:30pm... "All in and a call!"

Chip Leaders: Blair Hinkle, Nicolas Levi, and Chad Brown
Recent Eliminations: 2008 runner up Ivan Demidov, Shirley Rosario, Alex Gomes, Lynette Chan, Sweet Svetlana Gromenkova, Yuval Bronshtein, and Christian Harder
Shorties: Paul Darden

This is the time of the day when you hear frequent cries of, "All in and a call!"

Players are busting out, but are they going fast enough? Hmmm... With less than 2,300 players to go, about 420 or so have to bust to have a managable Day 2B (1,106 survived yesterday) otherwise there will be a chance that they will have problems seating 3K plus players.

A handful of Russians have hot the rail including former Ladies bracelet winner Sweet Svetlana and last year's runner up Ivan Demidov. I didn't see the hand, but Shirley Rosario is out. And yes, I know she's not Russian.

Shamus told me a funny exchange at Robert Varkonyi's table. The former champ is seated next to NBAer Jordan Farmer. Players and fans were asking Farmer for his autograph, but passed over Varkonyi. The always overlooked Varkonyi felt left out, like a red-headed step-child at a family picnic.

Rafe Furst was in the middle of an arm massage, while Kristy Gazes sported a Redondo Beach Police hat. I asked her if she got busted by the federales and had to wear the hat in exchange for her freedom. She said that it was her boyfriend's favorite and lucky hat.

Quote of the Day: Overheard floor supervisor tell a dealer, "Although you should be terminated tonight, you won't be. We need dealers."

* * * * *
10:30pm... Raymond Felted, Chau Loves His Eyebrows Rubbed

Chip Leaders: Blair Hinkle, Dutch Boyd
Recent Eliminations: Ray Romano, Dag Martin Scandi, Grant Hinkle, Lika Gerasimova, Paul Snead, Raptor, TheWacoKidd, Mimi Tran, Luis Velador
Shorties: Amir Vahedi

David Benyamine said three words to Benjo and the kid cannot contain himself. Benjo asked Benyamine if he had trouble registering and Benyamine said that e did so a few days ago. When Benjo asked the more important question about Patrik Antonius' questionable entry, Benyamine went silent. Like a mime.

Speaking of Frenchies, Nicolas Levi is no longer in the top spot. Elky was up over 100K for a while until he lost a pot. He rattled off 5 hands inside of 17 seconds to Benjo.

I wandred into Brasilia and made a pass by Matt Parvis' table. He was short-stacked and doubled up to 20K. Homer told me about a hand when Phil Tom slowrolled an opponent. Phil is the father of Scott Tom who everyone allegedly knows is one of the original superusers at Absolute Poker.

Jen Harman looked like Liittle Red Riding Hood, except she was wearing a grey hoodie.

Chau Giang was in the middle of an intense head and eyebrow massage. I wonder how much the masseuses charge to rub his nipples in counter-clockwise motions?

Annette15 passed me in the hallway and asked where the ladies room was. She has no clue since she hasn't played in a single WSOP event since she's not 21 yet. But why is she roaming the halls? Hmmmmm.... I wonder who she's been backing into the Main Event this year.

* * * * *
11:30pm... The Last Hour...

Chip Leaders: Troy Weber, Blair Hinkle, Dutch Boyd
Recent Eliminations: Luis Velador, Archie Karas, Aussie fashion guru Chris Chronis, Amir Vahedi, Shawn Sheikhan, and David Williams
Shorties: Scott Clements, Robert Varkonyi

Oliver Tse only client, Luis Velador, busted out. Velador is #1 on the All Time Mexico money list.

According to Twitter... Rafe was super short and he hasn't hit any flops, and Matt parvis is barely holding on by the skin of his balls.

Lucko is up to 54, while Troy Weber is one of the first players to pass the 200K mark.

Rare sightings? Kirk Morrison is here. Kristy Gazes was moved to his table.

Sorry for the lack of comprehensive updates. I spet 45 minutes in two different, yet diverse conversations... talking to a Harrah's exec about today's sell out and discussing strip club banter with a French pro. I won't say which one... but his name rhymes with pattern.

* * * * *
12:30am... Day 1D Complete

Chip Leaders: Troy Weber, Carter King, Dutch Boyd
Recent Eliminations: Michael Binger, Steve Sung, LarsLuzak, Chip Jett, Pat Pezzin

One of the more interesting days of the 2009 WSOP came to a close. It started out with a potential mutnity when several hundred players were told that Day 1D was sold out. A press conference was called at 2:30 to address the angry players but that's all they got was an apology from Commissioner Pollack and assurance that would not happen again.

And before the night was over, the WSOP experienced one the more deviant prop bets went down involving durrrr and 10 shots of tequila. Matt Marafioti collected a cool $5,000 for downing ten shots of Patron in 15 minutes... without puking.

Stay tuned for a recap of today's sellout debacle.

Thanks to everyone who followed along today. I'll be back to live blogging Day 2A tomorrow afternoon. See you then.

Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/06/2009 03:22:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Day 39 - Main Event 1C: Welcome to the Psychedelic Circus

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I love a spectacle.

"This is the day of the freak show," muttered my French colleague as he angrily pecked away at his keyboard. "We have the crazy Indian, the Devil who scares the fuck out of Otis, and Phil Hellmuth."

The circus descended upon Las Vegas on a Sunday. Dreamers. Entrepreneurs. Politicians. Disaster capitalists. Brainwashed masses. Even a couple of animals or two filed into the Rio for the greatest show on Earth. The only thing missing was a glint of lysergic acid diethylamide to transform the surreal into the real.

It's hard to explain my specific role to my friends outside of poker who ask me about the daily grind as a poker writer. I mean, my life seems very normal to everyone in the poker industry... I travel the world watching people gamble large sums of money and write about it. That's pretty much it.

But outside of poker, my friends think we live in this glamorous universe with rainbows and strippers where everyone is richer than God. How do I explain to my friends what happened on Sunday? That I waited for thirty minutes with a rabid menagerie of fans and international media for a performance of epic proportions as a grown man, a professional at the top of his field, carried into a convention center by four other half-naked men, while a cavalcade of eleven women in body paint trailed behind while the hallway was adorned with one hundred scantily clad women who clapped at the one and only Phil Hellmuth's stately entrance.

Phil Hellmuth as Julius Caesar? That was the crux of the gauche publicity stunt by the heart of Hellmuth's UB machine. But let's not forget history... the almighty Caesar was stabbed to death by his colleagues.


Photo by Benjo
In the last few years, I've seen Hellmuth enter the Amazon Ballroom in many diverse forms, which demonstrated the gigantic size of his ego along with his showmanship ability. After all, poker is not a sport, rather it is sports entertainment.

Hellmuth was once flanked by bodyguards upon his arrival inside the Amazon Ballroom. To out do that gimmick, he arrived in a stretch limo and greeted by ESPN cameras.

The next year? He crashed a UB race car. That PR gaffe sorta fell apart the day before when Hellmuth rammed a race car into a pole in the parking lot, but Hellmuth arrived the next day very stiff and looking like a Nascar driver with eleven models (representing all 11 bracelets that he had won).

And last year? Hellmuth arrived in a military convoy as he went for the General Patton look with models decked out in camouflage. The Caesar spectacle was his latest attempt to signal out his greatest (while subtly drawing attention to UB) as his entrances to the Main Event grew more and more theatrical, so much so that it became the story of the day in what has been a lackluster WSOP.

What's going to happen next year? Maybe Hellmuth's entrance will be coordinated by Michael Bay and he'll skydive onto the roof and crash through one of the ceiling panels... with eleven models following behind and lots of explosions, of course.

I wandered out into the densely packed hallway and watched almost one hundred leggy models line up. I actually counted seventy-two. Anyway, they wore tight white dresses with UB patches. Even the skanks were logo'd up. The models each stood arms length and awaited the arrival of God's Greatest Gift to Poker.

Security guards pushed back the surging media, ogling spectators, and citizen paparazzi trying to capture a digital image or video of Hellmuth dressed like an extra from the porno version of Ben-Hur called... Bend-Hur Over.

Most of the crowd was comprised of Hellmuth haters and people wanted to see how high on Douchebag Meter would Hellmuth's stunt would register. While conversely, eager fans camped out for hours for a perfect viewing spot as they anticipated the first glimpse of Hellmuth.

One lady was so confused that she thought the grand entrance was set up for Phil Ivey. I politely corrected her and told her that a low profile guy like Ivey usually snuck in the back door.

"This extravaganza was all set up to promote the greatest living hold'em player of all time... Phil Hellmuth," I assured her.

"Oh? That asshole?" she snickered and walked off elbowing one of the models.

Hellmuth made his way down the hallway and the area plunged into mayhem. One guy played a trumpet and another banged on a drum to signal Hellmuth's grandiose arrival just in case the flurry of cameras and cannibals in the media didn't tip you off. I snagged a few photos and listened to the chatter among the jaded fans and disgruntled members of the press. Some of the models had no idea who Phil Hellmuth was, let alone what a poker tournament was. They're just on an assignment and turning a trick like the rest of us.

Hellmuth eventually took the secondary stage amidst an avalanche of flashes from fans' cameras. An ESPN film crew captured his every move as he took he seat. Someone in the crowd screamed, "Idiot!"

All of that happened inside of an hour. So when my friends ask me what I do for work, how do I explain that spectacle?

"I work in the circus. You know the guy who stands behind the elephants and cleans up all the shit? Well, I'm the guy who glistens up the turd and helps pass it off as entertainment."

* * * * *
Day 1C Numbers and Stats

The crack unit of math interns at Tao of Poker came up with these numbers...

2009 Main Event Runners:
Day 1A: 1,116
Day 1B: 873
Day 1C: 1,696
Day 1D: Expected... 2420

Day 1A Survivors: 655
Day 1B Survivors: 821
Day 1C Survivors: 1,106

End of Day 1C - Top 10 Chip Counts:
1 Joe Cada (Shelby Township, MI) - 187,225
2 Tyler Patterson (Everett, WA) - 179,500
3 Sebastian Stier (Heidelberg, Germany) - 160,050
4 Chance Kornuth (Denver, CO) - 150,025
5 Ariel Schneller (Blacksburg, VA) - 147,275
6 Jeff Lisandro (Salerno, Italy) - 146,950
7 Tim Little (San Antonio, TX) - 133,650
8 Kelly Kim (Whittier, CA) - 132,475
9 Raul Mestre (Valencia, Spain) - 131,575
10 Matt Palmucci (Nashua, NH) - 131,550

Notables (Through 420):
Le, Tuan 110,000
Bonomo, Justin 103,425
Fuller, Rick 101,850
Khan, Hevad 97,800
Bolotin, Alex 92,500
Watkinson, Lee 91,050
Saul, Kevin 87,850
Poels, Pat 87,200
Hachem, Joe 84,550
Van Alstyne, James 82,900
Junglen, Adam 80,475
Harrington, Daniel 76,025
Dang, Di 75,300
Habib, Hasan 72,800
O'Dea, Donnacha 70,650
Hawrilenko, Matt 67,150
Chan, Terrence 67,075
Kessler, Allen 65,525
Phillips, Dennis 62,325
Lederer, Howard 58,300
Nguyen, Scotty 57,075
Koo, Thomas 55,625
Shak, Daniel 55,200
Juanda, John 54,875
Little, Jonathan 53,125
Dill, Gordon 53,100
Hollink, Rob 52,075
Bellande, Jean-Robert 51,950

Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/06/2009 04:20:00 AM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Live Blog - Main Event Day 1C

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Five levels today according to Jack Effel. Some players are pissed, but not all of them. I heard the rumor about 15 hours ago and it's true.

Today's field is much larger than the initial two flights. The hallways were crowded with players and fans and supporters. It finally looked like the Main Event.

As you already figured out, the Main Event is so big that it's hard to keep track of people (even with Twitter). I have a handful of players (both amateurs, pros, and friends) who I keep tabs on during the tournament. Today's Tao of Poker's featured players? John "Schecky" Caldwell, Liz Lieu (in a sexy pink outfit) and Action Bob from the Borgata. Nolan Dalla called the legendary Action Bob, "the tightest player in the tournament."

Otis is already on tilt. There's a guy that he refers to as The Devil. He sends Otis on mega-tilt.

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) spoke for a few minutes before he uttered "Shuffle up and deal."

After Frank spoke, the Devil jumped up and slammed two cymbals four times. The floor staff rushed over and gave him a warning for excessive celebration. He's now into the SCMODS system and has been yellow-carded.

Cards went in the air at 12:09pm. The almighty Phil Hellmuth will be arriving in a chariot around 1:30pm with 11 muses and 100 girls following around him.

* * * * *
1:01pm... 1,600?

Bluff is reporting that 1,566 runners today. Brasilia is definitely being used today along with most of the tables in the cash game section.

The buzz in the hallways is about Phil Hellmuth. He always has a grand yet late entrance. Some media reps refuse to cover his hijinks. I think it's absurd, but this is show business. Hellmuth is one of the most successful businessmen in poker and his entrance proves why. He knows how to create buzz and he knows that the popularity of future Main Events (along with the future of online poker) is driven by the TV exposure on ESPN. Yes, I'm awaiting the Hellmuthian arrival.

The Dennis Phillips clones returned with red hats and white oxford shirts. I even think that I heard the truck horn.

According to Change100, someone is holding a stash of dank nugs in the Blue section. In the words of Clonie Gowen, "It smells like a skunk."

And the Indian headdress guy is here. I was told that he was one of Commissioner Pollack's stalkers. As luck would have it, both the Indian and the Devil are sitting at the same table. ESPN cameras are hovering on that table.

The Devil? I heard a story that he registered and un-registered no less than four times in order to secure his favorite seat. One floor guy told me that he wandered through the Amazon Ballroom one night when it was empty and walked around feeling the backs of the chairs. I guess he was scooping out the vibrations. I have no idea. He's the Devil for fuck's sake. Anyway, the Devil ended up at Table 88 Seat 8. 888. That's a very special number in many Asian cultures.

* * * * *
2:01pm... Hellmuthian Entrance

Hearing rumblings that the current count 5,670 including today and some of tomorrow's entrants. That number should swell to over 6,000. Get t hose hedge bets in now!

Liz Lieu gave me a hug and one of the Poker News floor reporters ran over and asked if he could smell the last remnants of Liz's perfume on my lapel. She's sitting right in front of the press box much to the delight of F-Train. We've given him a bib to keep the drool off of his laptop. I have one myself. I told the Poker Diva that she looked sensational (as always in a tight pink outfit and red highlights in her hair) and she suggested that the allure was her "knee high boots." Hubba Hubba.

Jamie Gold is already down to 13K. The former champ took a hit early on in the Brasilia Ballroom.

Schecky is sitting at Table 50 right on the corner to accommodate his huge legion of fans on the rail. He spent a few moments in front of ESPN cameras. Someone asked who he was and he said, "Chris Moneydingle." He's had lots of people stop by and check on his progress including a bevy of photographers. Someone on the rail asked me who he was and I said that he was one of the Blowfish in Hoootie and the Blowfish. Anyway, Schecky lost a couple of small pots already but only slipped to 23K.

I wandered out into the densely packed hallway and watched the leggy models line up . They wore white togish dresses with UB patches. They each stood arms length and awaited the stately arrival of Phil Hellmuth, God's Greatest Gift to Poker. It was a mad frenzy in the hallway as security guards pushed people back. Media. Spectators. Citizen paparazzi. Executives. Cameras. Cameras. Everyone was buzzing with anticipation. Most of the people wanted to see how big of douchebag Hellmuth was going to be, while eager fans couldn't wait for the pomp and circumstance. In short, everyone was anticipating the first glimpse of Hellmuth.

One lady was so confused that she thought all the hinjinks were for Phil Ivey. I politely corrected her and told her that Ivey usually sneaks in the back door.

"This was all set up to promote the greatest living hold'em player of all time... Phil Hellmuth."

"Oh? That asshole?" she snickered and walked off elbowing one of the models.

I heard that Hellmuth was to arrive on a chariot, but he was carried in on a sedan chair by four guys dressed as ancient Roman slaves as he burst into the convention center. 11 hot chicks adorned in body paint followed behind as his muses, each of which designated one of his 11 bracelets.

As God Hellmuth made his way down the hallway, the area was plunged into mayhem as a guy played a trumpet and another banged on a drum. I did my best to snag a few photos and listen to the chatter among the fans and disgruntled media. Some of the models had no idea who Phil Hellmuth was. They're just on an assignment, like all of us.

Hellmuth eventually took the stage as someone in the crowd screamed, "Idiot!"

I reminded my friends in the press box that Julius Caesar was eventually stabbed to death by his colleagues. All Hail, Hellmuth.

* * * * *
3:00pm... The Grand Entrance

Here's the RawVegas video of Hellmuth being Hellmuth...

Thanks to the hombres at Wicked Chops Poker.

At this point, we're thirty minutes into Level 2. Things appeared to calm down a bit after all the Hellmuth excitement. There was some buzz in the far end of the room, but that was someone who got quad jacks and won $100 worth of beef jerky.

Terrence Chan is sitting in front of the press box. He's among the early chip leaders and sporting an apple near his stack. An apple a day keeps the donkey away.

* * * * *
4:01pm... Danny Boy Dunzo

Chipleaders: The Devil, Some French douchebag that Benjo can't stand, and an internet kid who can't stop four-betting with air who never had sex
Recent Eliminations: Danny Negreanu, The Maven, and Evy Ng
Shorties: Jamie Gold and Neil "Bad Beat" Channing

We're at the end of Level 2 and a couple of well know pros hit the rail. Daniel Negreanu's stint at the featured TV table was shorter than short. He barely had time to mug for the cameras before Danny Boy was busto. His fellow Canuck, Evy Ng, is out as well and they're both probably playing video games together.

The bobbular Lacey Jones has three Frenchies at her table and two of them are drooling Winamx qualifiers. Benjo has no idea who they are because they're a bunch of internet Eurodonks, but if any of them ask Lacey out on a date, he's gonna be pissed off and put his Gauloise cigarette out in their eye sockets. That's how they roll in Lille.

Celebirty Death Watch? Jamie Gold and UK cash game guru (and Snoopy's boos) Neil Channing are on life support.

Rare sightings? Isabelle Mercier playing in the Main Event... her first tournament aside from Ante Up for Africa.

"The most interesting thing is seeing David Sklanasky reading an actual newspaper," said Katkin. I asked him if Sklanasky was checking the personals.

* * * * *
4:20pm... "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

Today's smoke break is brought to you by... PokerStars!


* * * * *
5:01pm... Senter's Wish

Chipleaders: Jeff Lisandro, Yan Chen, The Devil
Recent Eliminations: 2008 November Niner Chino Rheem and 2009 bracelet winner Matt Graham
Shorties: Jamie Gold and Liv Boeree

Everyone's spicy Brazilian dish, Maridu, was moved to fellow Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem's table. She's got around 55K after she sniffed out a bluff from Hachem.

Schecky slipped to 21K. He has a soft table, but has been unable to take advantage of it. I stopped sweating him because there's a smelly guy also on the rail who is sweating someone at the adjacent table. I can't stand the foul odor. Foreign travelers in Nevada during the summer? Atrocious.

Liz Lieu is sitting on 30K or so. ESPN is filming Terrance Chan's table. He's chipping up and racing past 60K. His buddy Thomas Koo is also in today's field and sitting on 30K or so. Rizen is down to under 20K.

Matt Clark told me a touching story about 55-year old Kent Senter. He's a blue collared guy from Pittsburgh, PA. He used to unload trucks for a living until he suffered an accident. When the doctors administered an MRI, they discovered that he had Multiple Myeloma otherwise known as the Jimmy V Disease. Senter's doctors gave him six months to live. One of the tings he always wanted to do was play in the WSOP. Senter got his wish courtesy of PokerStars. Right now, ESPN's cameras were filming a few hands that he played. Senter has around 20K. He took a couple of beats early on but compared to his struggles with cancer, his rough patch at the onset of the Main Event is a cake walk.

* * * * *
6:01pm... Bored Boobs

Chipleaders: Jeff Lisandro, Yan Chen, ZeeJustin
Recent Eliminations: Durrrr's dad, William Rockwell and Jacobo Fernandez
Shorties: Jamie Gold and Liv Boeree

I wandered around (or dare I say, bounced around the room) and here's what I saw...

Liz Lieu finished off a Caesar Salad.

A couple of lazy media reps played online poker in the press box.

Schecky is not quite plush and was around to 24K until he took two massive hits. He had flopped a straight and lost to a runner-runner flush. Shortly after he ran Aces into A-Q. The flop? Q-Q-x. Ooooooooooooomph. He's now short-stacked Schecky.

A very bored Lacey Jones was doing chip tricks and studying her opponents. Smelly Italians on the rail taking pics of her boobs. When she's not looking, the old French guy sitting next to her is sneaking a peak at her sensational cleavage every other hand.

Antonio Traver was also bored and had his arms crossed. He seemed more interested in what was on one of the TVs.

Action Bob is seated with Jon Little. Action Bob slipped to 12K. At the table next to him is Joe Hachem and Maridu.

Tom McEvoy and a healthier looking Maimi John Cernuto are seated at the same table.

* * * * *
7:01pm... 1,696 and Schecky & LaceyJones = BUSTO

Chipleaders: Jeff Lisandro, Yan Chen, Mark Naaldan
Recent Eliminations: John Caldwell, AC grinder ActionBob, Jamie Gold and LaceyJones
Shorties: Annie Duke and Matt Savage

There are 1,698 runners on Day 1C. Day 1D is rumored to be sold out with tables in Buzio's seafood restaurant if need be.

Action Bob busted out before the dinner break. He was short and could not mount a comeback. LaceyJones also hit the rail. As soon as I left her table, she busted.

And poor poor Schecky. He made a run and got back up to 33K before he ran Kings into Aces.

Scotty Nguyen is here and walking back and forth in front of the press box. He took a seat at Antonio Tarver's table. AlCantHang noted that he has a beer in front of him. If Scotty fucks off too much, Tarver will bury him.

Rare sighting? I think I saw Brandon Schaeffer in field.

Yep, it's chow time. Wow, our first legit dinner break instead of eating around 4:30 with the geriatrics the last two days! Action will resume around 8:20pm local time. When players return they will play 2 more levels.

* * * * *
9:01pm... Two More Levels

Chipleaders: Jeff Lisandro, Hevad Khan, Yan Chen, Mark Naaldan
Shorties: Annie Duke and Matt Savage

Pinky, a friend of mine from London, is playing today. I totally forgot. I have a small piece of him and he was up to 38K at the break.

The clock lists that 594 places will get paid, which means they are approaching 6,000 players.

John Juanda is getting a massage, as per usual. He sitting in Seat 1 at Terrance Chan's table.

Our favorite mulleted an bling encrusted Scotty Nguyen returned from break with a Michelob Ultra.

* * * * *
10:01pm... Brasilia Tales

Chipleaders: Jeff Lisandro, Hevad Khan
Shorties: Annie Duke and Antonio Tarver

I went into the Brasilia Room to sweat Pinky. He had an Aussie to his right and Gabe Thaler to his left.

Since the Main Event spill over shares the area with satellites, I had to dodge a few broke dicks who were desperately trying to win their seat in the Main Event. It just reeks of losers over there. I knew one guy who I tried to avoid as he made a beeline for me. He asked me to stake him into one sat. I refused and then he asked to borrow $200. I ducked underneath the ropes into the playing area so he wouldn't follow me.

Erica Schoenberg and Chainsaw were both near the rail. Erica fumbled around on her iPod while Chainsaw looked bored off his ass. Sarne Lightman is sitting at a table with James Van Alstyne and Steve Dannenmann. Van Alstyne is one of the short stacks.

Don Peters told me about one guy who had a shirt that read "Slavery Gets Shit Done." The floor staff made him put another shirt on to cover up the one that some people might find offensive. It's a full moon tonight, right?

* * * * *
11:01pm... Getting Tired

Chipleaders: Jeff Lisandro, Hevad Khan, Igor Borukhov
Shorties: Marcel Luske, Alex Jacob
Recent Eliminations: Eric Liu, Annie Duke, Chad Batista, Antonio Tarver, former champion Tom McEvoy, David Singer, the lovely Erica Schoenberg, 2009 bracelet winner Brandon Cantu

Liz Lieu has been having problems with her phone which has been slowing down her tweets.

I got word that there is over 6,000 players in the Main Event with 2,400 runners on the lost for tomorrow. They might get a few hundred more walk ups tomorrow. Yikes. Talk about a heullva Day 2B.

As Michalski said, it looks like people are tired, especially Dan Harrington. This was the part of the night that Day 1A and Day 1b players did not experience.

The rail has thinned out a bit and Scotty Nguyen is still cackling with a beer in front of him. Same shit. Different year.

Sorry for the lack of meat in this update, I was out taping a few episodes of Tao of Pokerati.

* * * * *
12:01pm... After Midnight Edition

Chipleaders: Jeff Lisandro, Hevad Khan, Igor Borukhov
Shorties: Marcel Luske, Alex Jacob
Recent Eliminations: Marcel Luske, Liv Boeree, Alex Jacob, JJ Liu, Abe

Mosseri, Frank Kassela, Matt Savage, Brett Richey, Matt Matros

Irish pro Don O'Dea moved to Pinky's table. He's still alive with 35K or so. My horse might advance to Day 2. He has to survive just thirty more minutes.

The hallways are sparse aside from me passing a priest and Eskimo Clark within minutes of each other. Otis tweet'd that he spotted a priest in the hallway. We suspect that he was conducting an exorcism for the Devil.

The Devil has been short the last hour or so, but he's been hanging on.

There area handful of poker window's sleeping on benches in the hallway. Haven't seen that yet this year.

In Lime Tossing News...

Sunday Lime Tossing Results: Otis +120, Pauly +40
Overall: Otis +80, Pauly -80

It was a tough battle. I stepped up first and tossed a lime that landed in the $200 grid, but skidded out. My second toss landed in the $40 grid for a mark. Otis went too far right on his first throw, but he nailed a $120 grid on his second. I won $20 on Saturday to pull even, but Otis regained the lead with a strong Sunday night performance.

* * * * *
12:40am... That's a Wrap! Day 1C Complete

Players are tagging and bagging their chips. They survived five levels and advanced to Day 2B. Terminally ill Kent Senter was among the players who made it.

Stay tuned for official info and a recap.


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/05/2009 12:01:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Day 38 - Main Event Day 1B: Theme from the Bottom

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Happy birthday, America.

We proudly celebrated the July 4th holiday that my British counterparts call "the day the colonies revolted and pulled away from the Crown." My favorite quote about July 4th comes from Richard Linklater's epic flick Dazed and Confused, "Don't forget what you're celebrating, and that's the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes."

And that's what makes poker so special. The WSOP is an extension of the American Dream. Go west young man and win millions of dollars in the richest poker tournament in the world. For many individuals, poker was an alternative way to live life and earn a living without having to be dependent upon the system.

And winning WSOP? The ultimate fulfillment of the American Dream... that anyone at any given time can rise up from the depths of despair and seize the spotlight. These days, I don't think many Americans (or international players for that matter) care about getting their Andy Warhol-laden fifteen minutes of fame, as much as they want $15 million in cash.

If given the choice between fame and money? I'll take money every time.

This year's Main Event winner will not win $15 million, but you get my point. However, a few million is definitely up for grabs to the one person who can fade a field of 6,000 or so players. Day 1A saw 1,116 runners while Day 1B had a lot less with 873. Overall, 1,989 entrants are in this year's Main Event. The numbers for the last two flights have been discussed thoroughly among executives, players, and media. Sources indicate 4,000 players will show up on Sunday and Monday.

If 2,000 or more players buy into the last two flights, there's a potential problem because after four levels, there will be too many players returning to Day 2B. The Rio can't handle 3,000 players in one sitting unless they seat players in the Poker Kitchen and at the Hooker Bar.

One rumored solution? Playing out five levels on the final two flights and re-adjusting the levels on Day 2. For example, Day 2A (comprised of players who survived Day 1A + Day 1B) will play five levels because they originally played four. Meanwhile Day 2B (made up of flights 1C + 1D) will play four levels because they started out with five. That way guarantees that every play who advanced to Day 3 played the same amount of levels (nine).

None of this would have been a problem if they simply played out 5 levels on the first two days. Alas, this murky situation was what I heard being discussed in the press box over the last level. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens on Sunday. What will TD Jack Effel do?

Aside from the low turnout on Day 1B, there was not much going on during Day 1B except an inebriated player who disappeared in the middle of the tournament. A reader of the Tao of Poker known as SenatorKevin was seated at a table with someone I'll refer to as the drunk guy. According to SenatorKevin, the drunk supposedly claimed that he played weekly tournaments at the Borgata. When he sat down, he asked if first place in the Main Event was going to win $1 million. When he was told that a few members of the November Nine might win that much, the drunk guy was completely stunned. It was as though he had no clue how about the payouts in the Main Event! At that point, the drunk guy was actual sober but then proceeded knock back Chivas in bulk. Large glasses of booze.

At one point, the drunk guy promised to blow another guy at the table if he won a pot with pocket deuces. Later on in the level, SenatorKevin thought the drunk guy was going to blow chunks at the table. And this was just in the first few hours of play. Their table eventually got broken and drunk guy was sent into the blue section.

Sometime after dinner break, I got wind of a player who left his table with almost all of his chips minus a single 100 denomination chip. The players at that table told the floor staff that an inebriated player bailed with about 3K to 5K in tournament chips. They thought he went to the bathroom, but he never came back. Ah, it was the same drunk guy from SenatorKevin's table. Supposedly,the drunk has revealed his name as Santo and that he was a wiseguy from New Jersey who obviously loved Chivas.

The chips were ruled void as soon as he left the table with them. The drunk guy's 100 chip was eventually blinded off and he was eliminated from the tournament. The staff tried to figure out who the drunk guy was. They had just one clue... Santo from New Jesey. I looked up the player's list for Day 1B. Sure enough, there's a Santo from New Jersey on the list. His last name included three vowels and ended in one too. I don't mean to play on ethnic stereotypes here, but I grew up in the Bronx with people named Vinny the Barber and Nine-and-Half Fingered Vinny. (And yes, they were all married to girls named Marie).

The drunk guy was identified by the staff (by process of elimination and high tech surveillance cameras) and using SCMODS, the vast computer networks at their finger tips, the figured out he was a guest at a sister property of the Rio. Yes, Big Brother is watching your every move in Sin City. He knows when your sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good and that street walker that you picked up on Tropicana.

A couple of thick-necked security types went to the drunk guy's room to investigate if he still had WSOP chips in his possession. I have no idea what happened after that. After all, there are a lot of holes in the desert. The staff seemed to think that he was just a drunk dude and not some cheat. Based on SenatorKevin's observations, that theory seemed to fit. He was indeed just some drunk wanna-be wiseguy splashing around $10,000. If he really wanted to cheat and pass off chips to his friends, he would have waited until the first break and palmed a bunch of orange chips. That's what some of the cheating teams have done in the past.

It almost seems too good to be true. Drunks spewing chips at the WSOP.

Anyway, 655 players out of 873 advanced to Day 2A, which will play out on Tuesday. After the dinner break, Russian cash game pro Vadim Gruzglin emerged as one of the chipleaders. He ended the night 10th overall.

End of Day 1B - Top 10 Chip Counts:
Brandon Demes (Tempe, AZ) - 137,075
Andrew Gaw (Philippines) - 126,100
Nick Maimone (Charlotte, NC) - 122,500
Samer Rahman (Sweden) - 122,400
Max Casal (Burbank, CA) - 121,100
Jim Bookstaff (Pigeon Forge, TN) - 120,750
Craig Hopkins (Chesterfield, UK) - 118,850
Aaron Fang (Las Vegas, NV) - 118,725
Jesse Rios (Salida, CA) - 117,150
Vadim Gruzglin (Moscow, Russia) - 116,100

Notables:
Soulier, Fabrice 97,725
Sebok, Joe 78,800
Fitoussi, Bruno 58,100
Davis, Raymond 58,000
Eslami, Ali 56,425
Deeb, Shaun 55,100
Demichele, Michael 54,325
Kravchenko, Alex 53,650
Levy, Grant 52,225
Dragomir, Cristian 49,475
Preston, "Amarillo Slim" 48,075
Helppi. Juha 46,325
Slotboom, Rolf 46,100
Boutin, Burt 46,000
Corkins, Hoyt 45,325
Raymer, Greg 43,750
West, Tim 40,550
Young, Jason 40,325
Pagano, Luca 40,125
Matusow, Mike 37,875
Hansen, Thor 34,950
Brunson, Todd 32,950
Bechtel, Jim 30,000
Carli, Douglas 'Rico' 29,175
Crowe, Owen 27,000
Brunson, Pamela 24,850
Ferguson, Chris 24,050
Ury, Jack 23,075
Newhouse, Mark 22,925
Johnny Muhsrooms 21,575
Bruel, Patrick 18,925
Greenstein, Barry 18,900
Rash, Allen 18,800
Ankenman, Jerrod 17,100
Mortensen, Carlos 15,425
Lester, Jason 13,850
Edler, Bill 13,800
Cohen, Louie 11,000
McConnell, Page 10,900
Caro, Mike 10,850
Billy the Croc 8,575

Only 218 unlucky souls flushed $10,000 down the toilet last night. Heck, these shortened Day 1s does wonders for your self-esteem even if you squeak into Day 2! Anyway, the players who survived on Saturday will play on Day 2A on Tuesday with the 821 players who survived Day 1A.

* * * * *
Bouncin' Round the Room...

Since it was sort of a slow day, Otis and I continued our prop bet madness with another episode of What Does Benjo Think? We asked Benjo five questions and gambled on the answers...

What Does Benjo Think, Vol. 3

1. What is the combined weight of Doyle Brunson, David Benyamine, and Steve Diano?
Otis: 1200
Pauly: 1100
Benjo said, "That is tough. I say 1000."
Result: Push (0-0-1)

2. How many pros were rolled by a hooker last night?
Otis: 1
Pauly: 3
Benjo said, "Rolled by hookers? Three."
Result: Pauly wins (1-0-1)

3. In a fight between Melissa Castello and Dario Minieri, how long does it take Melissa to win?
Otis: 2 minutes
Pauly: 30 seconds
Benjo said, "Dario has little fists that hurt. He can punch fast. If he has a proper helmet, he can last three minutes."
Result: Push (1-0-2)

4. If Dario is allowed one non-lethal weapon to use in the ring against Melissa, what would it be?
Otis: Scarf
Pauly: Piano Leg (getting 2-1 on this selection)
Benjo said, "Scarf. He'll tie it around her neck and choke her."
Result: Otis wins (1-1-2)

5. What Michael Jackson song will Benjo sing on American Idol?
Otis: Billie Jean
Pauly: Beat It
Benjo said, "The Jackson 5 song I Want You Back. It was the greatest song of the 1960s."
Result: Push (1-1-3)

Stay tuned for a new installment of What Does Benjo Think? Only at the WSOP can we gamble on angry chain-smoking Frenchmen!

* * * * *
Around the Horn...

Here are some of my daily reads...

Benjo's French poker blog for all things French poker
Hard Boiled Poker for stellar writing
Wicked Chops Poker for tits and ass
Las Vegas Vegas for Flipchip's photos
Poker Shrink for head shrinking on the pros
Poker Road for BJ Photos
Pokerati for world standings
World Series of Poker for official chip counts

And don't forget you can follow me on Twitter.

Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/05/2009 09:09:00 AM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Live Blog - Main Event Day 1B

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

It's the Fourth of July, a day when America celebrates their independence from tyrannic rule from those monarch-loving folks across the pond who drive on the other side of the road and add an necessary 'u' to words like humour and colour.

Don't worry. They won't be playing God Saves the Queen today, although it would be pretty bold if they did. Instead, the walk in music was U2's greatest hits.

The doors opened promptly at 11:45pm 11:45am and ESPN's camera followed Robert Varokinyi inside. The lovely Kara Scott (most known as the EPT hostess who went deep in last year's Main Event) is sitting at a table in front of the press box.

We're playing four levels today and expecting a couple of less runners than yesterday's anemic number of 1,116. Will this be the lowest Day 1 of the WSOP since it was moved to the Rio?

Jack Effel reminded everyone about the quad Jacks promotion. They get a lifetime supply of beef jerky. OK, that's not true. They only get $100 worth of beef jerky.

"This is the slowest structure ever for the Main Event!" proclaimed Jack Effel after he told everyone that have them 30,000 in chips this year.

Effel also reminded players that if they cause any trouble and given an infraction, their name will be added to SCMODS (State County Municipal Data System), which is Harrah's way of tracking pedophiles and WSOP troublemakers.

As many of you know, I don't do chip counts because I can't count. Click here for chippies if you're that kind of person.

* * * * *
12:20pm... Day 1B Begins; Day of Champions

Cards went in the air at 12:07pm after we heard the national anthem. Even Benjo and the Germans stood up to honor America.

96 year old Jack Ury is playing in the WSOP today. Just like last year and the year before, he was the oldest player at the Main Event. He's was born when back when Vegas was nothing more than a Mormon mission.

Also in the mix are a slew of former Main Event champions including a late arriving Jamie Gold, Greg Raymer, Carlos Mortensen, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, Chris Moneymaker, and Jim Bechtel.

Notables in Day 1B... Jeremiah Smith, Barry Greenstein, Bill Edler, Burt Boutin, David 'The Dragon' Pham, Neverwin, Erik Seidel, Hoyt Corkins, Todd Brunson, Pam Brunson, Jason Lester, Owen Crowe, Jason Young, Jerrod Ankenman, Mike Caro, Joe Sebok, Shaun Deeb, and Kara Scott

Euros in the field? Jani Sointula, Fabrice Soulier, Barny Boatman, Juha Helppi, Patrick Bruel, Kirill Rabtsov, Luca Pagano, Thor Hansen, Vicky Coren, and Rolf Slotboom.

Oh, I walked by the Brasilia Ballroom? It's empty aside from some satellite players. That's an indication that there will be less players today. They used a few tables in Brasilia yesterday.

* * * * *
2:01pm... Pokerpalooza?

Chipleaders: Ray Davis, Jeremiah Smith, Carlos Mortensen, Kara Scott

Sorry for the lack of updates. I wandered into the Pokerpalooza to look around. Joe Hachem has a new book out called Pass the Sugar. I hung out at the Aussie Millions booth and chatted up with some old friends from the Crown Casino including Jonno and Mike. Awesome guys and we shared some old stories about my time Down Under. I covered the Aussie Millions twice and had to skip this year in order to cover the PCA in the Bahamas for PokerStars Blog.

Anyway, the Pokerpalooza is kinda lame. A friend of mine was joking around that the convention area is filled with people who have poker-related products that are going to miserably fail. Those cool poker-themed t-shirts and card protectors and pooper scoopers might have sold during the poker boom, but in these troubled times, it's tough to get broke people to buy those kitchy items.

Pre-UIGEA, the Palooza was called the Expo and online poker sites hired the skankiest chicks in town to hawk their goods. Do you remember the BoDog loft? Where they had scantily clad models engaging in chubby-inducing pillow fights? Sweet Jesus.

You know it's bad when a bunch of Jesus freaks rented out space in the Palooza and are hawking the Lord and reminding us that we're going to hell for having fun in Sin City.

* * * * *
3:01pm... Free Wine and Hose Water

Chipleaders: Ray Davis, Jeremiah Smith
Short Stacks: Greg Raymer, and Joe Sebok, Barry Greenstein, Chris Moneymaker

Free wine in the hallway. They are giving out free samples for some booth that is hawking their different wines. I'm not a wine snob. I just like drinking stuff that will not give me a hang over. When I visited Australia for the first time, I got addicted to the their different selections of Shiraz. I could drink it in bulk without acquiring a nasty hangover the next day.

The lovely Kara Scott had some ESPN camera hovering around her for a bit. They left her alone and now she could go back to playing poker.

What happened to All In products? I notcied earlier in the WSOP, that their energy drink was no longer offered and Red Bull was back in the mix, much to the pleasure of Red Bull-addicted players (e.g. Burt Boutin). They were still serving All In water, which was probaly water from a hose poured into fancy plastic bottles that may or may not give you testicle cancer. Nothing is worst that cancer of the nut. Anyway, I noticed that the cocktail servers are back to serving... Rio water bottles. I'm gonna go into the major drink station in the back hallway and snoop around. Some of the cooler folks at the WSOP are the people who handle the beverages. They blast classic rock tunes while they pour drinks.

There's a French player sporting a Zidane jersey. Benjo refuses to cover him. "He's such a douche, trying to show up Americans with his idiotic nationalist pride."

* * * * *
4:01pm... Money & Winky = Busto

Chipleaders: Shaun Deeb, Ray Davis, Jeremiah Smith
Players Remaining: ????
Recent Eliminations: Pro boxer Winky Wright and Chris Moneymaker
Short Stacks: Joe Sebok and Barry Greenstein

I might be the cooler today. I made the rounds and thirty seconds after I passed Chris Moneymaker's table, he headed to the rail after he ran his pocket tens into Aces, according to a French player sitting at next to Moneymaker. And after I wandered by the secondary table with Doyle Brunson, boxer Winky Wright busted out.

At one time, he was a light middleweight champion. Some of the better fights I saw with my brother were the Sugar Shane Mosely and Winky Wright fights back in 2004. Last summer, Winky lost a fight to Bernard Hopkins when Hopkins head-butted him resulting in a bloody gash. In previous WSOPs, Lenox Lewis and Antonio Tarver played. Neither managed to go deep.

I watched the featured table for a few hands and noticed that Mike Matusow was unusually quiet. The crowd was hanging on for dear life and praying and hoping and awaiting one of his infamous blow ups where he goes batshit apeshit. I love using the word shit and throwing an animal in the front of it. Dogshit. Donkeyshit. Oceletshit. Anyway, the media were lurking about hoping for a a sound bite from Matusow to spice up their coverage.

I'm still awaiting on official numbers. At this point, the few tables that were using in the cash game tables were broken.

* * * * *
4:20pm... "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

Today's smoke break is brought to you by... PokerStars!


* * * * *
6:01pm... Back from Dinner; Two Levels to Go

Chipleaders: Vadim Gruzglin, Shaun Deeb
Players Remaining: ????
Recent Eliminations: David Steicke and Ralph "Up My Sleeve" Perry
Short Stacks: The Dragon

Still trying to get an official number of entrants. I'm hearing anywhere from 950 to 1,000.

Dinner break was at 4:30pm with the old folks. There will be two more levels tonight. It's been rather slow for July 4th. The drunks have yet to show themselves tonight.

"Everything seems pretty thin on the ground," said my colleague Homer about the first two levels.

Yeah, much like Day 1A, it's been kinda dull. On a good note, Johnny Mushrooms and Kara Scott are both alive, as Shaun Deeb raced toward the front pack. And a Russian is out in front and one of the first players to pass the 100K mark.

* * * * *
7:01pm... 873 and Benjo Ends Strike! New Episode of Tao of Pokerati

Chipleaders: Vadim Gruzglin, Nick Maimone
Players Remaining: 830 out of 873
Recent Eliminations: Jeremiah Smith, The Dragon

Official numbers courtesy of TD Steve Frezer... 873 runners on Day 1B. 1,989 through the first two days. They will have to average 2,006 runners over the last two days to break 6,000.

Ilya, one of my Russian colleagues, gave me some background on one of our chipleaders named Vadim Gruzglin. It appears that Gruzglin is one of the two SuperNova Elites on PokerStars. He's a big cash game player who plays up to 20 tables at a time online. He's a former gamer turned poker pro. Hmmmm.... sounds familiar. Vadim Gruzglin might have come out of nowhere, but he's been well known on the Russian poker scene for some time.

Interesting table... Billy the Croc, Alex Kravchenko, and Greg Raymer.

And yes. All of you Benjo fans can breathe a sigh of relief. He returned to the Tao of Pokerati and filled in for a sick Dan Michalski. We recorded an episode earlier today. We caught the tail end of the National Anthem and Texas Dolly kicking things off with "Shuffle up and deal." Then Benjo proceeds to go off on French donkeys with soccer jerseys. He also rags on how Americans refer to football as soccer.

Check it out...

Episode 11.29: Poker de la Liberte with Benjo (3:06)

* * * * *
8:01pm... Doyle Brunson Busto and Walk Away with Chips

Chipleaders: Vadim Gruzglin, Nick Maimone
Recent Eliminations: The superstitious Frenchman Pascal Perrault, Doyle Brunson, and Vicky Coren the former scribe turned pro from the London
Short Stacks: Eddy Sabat

The always lovely and talented Team PokerStars pro Vicky Coren hit the rail mid-way during level 3. And the legendary Texas Dolly has been ill the last few weeks. He didn't look like his usual chipper and smiling self during 50K HORSE. He's out of the 2009 Main Event. According to Twitter, "i'm freaking out again. some guy went nuts with a gut shot aganist my hidden trips. all the money went in on the flop...geeeez"

Everyone's favorite EPT hostess Kara Scott has 35K according to her last tweet.

Apparently, one player walked away from his table with 3K to 4K in tournament chips. He left a single 100 denomination chip on the table. His tablemates assumed he left for the bathroom, yet he never came back. Homer knew one of the players at the table and said that the fellow was a "wiseguy from New Jersey and very very very drunk." His drink of choice? Chivas?

Tournament rules state that once a chip is removed from a table (with exception of in a rack during a table change) they are no longer valid. If they player ever returns, all chips will be null and void. If he's trying to help a friend cheat? He's a moron and should have left when he had a 30K stack. If he's a drunk? Then well, he's a drunk. Nice way to piss away $10,000. If he wanted a soused adventure, he should have given me $10,000 and I would have hit him over the head with a tequila bottle and given him a hit of liquid sunshine.

I got to the bottom of the lack of All In drinks at the WSOP. They were serving All In water prior to the Main Event and now it's just regular Rio bottled water. I asked the Eastern European bartender in the back what was up. He joked that the company probably went out of business. I wouldn't doubt it. Did anyone really drink that third-rate sugar water that made your pee turn bright shades of fluorescent orange?

This is why I love Wicked Chops Poker. Hubba Hubba.

Players are going on break. When they return, they will play one more level.

* * * * *
9:01pm... Here Come the Russians?

Chipleaders: Vadim Gruzglin, Nick Maimone
Players Remaining: 684/873
Recent Eliminations: David Icke (not the British author who believes in reptilian shape shifting aliens who are conspiring among us)
Short Stacks: French actor/singer Patrick Bruel

Erik Seidel is getting a massage. Joe "Not Serock" Sebok issued a bad beat and is up to 63K. Seriously. I'm hurting for content tonight.

Johnny Mushrooms and Kara Scott are both alive, but both below average.

So who's playing from overseas?

13 Aussies
2 Austrians
6 Brazilians
2 Chileans
1 Colombian
4 Fins
6 Huns
2 Kiwis
4 Norwegians
and 21 Russians

And I think there's a hooker hanging out on the rail. I have no idea who she's waiting for.

The NL cash games are in full swing. Best time to play cash games? Over the next few days with all this dead money floating around.

* * * * *
10:01pm... 5 Levels on Days 1C & 1D?

Heard from a few sources that due to the high turnout of players expected for Day 1C and Day 1D (which is supposedly sold out), that they will play 5 levels tomorrow and Monday. That means Day 2A players will play 5 levels and Day 2B players will play 4 levels to even things out.

Again, this is just a rumor if numbers are substantially high (over 2,000 each day) and only four levels are played, there's a chance that 3,000+ players return for Day 2B.

I heart Jack Effel's audibles.

* * * * *
10:30pm... Day 1B Complete

And we're done with the smallest flight of the Main Event since the WSOP was moved to the Amazon Ballroom at the Rio. Here's some stats from Change100...

Day 1B 2006 - 2,182
Day 1B 2007 - 1,545
Day 1B 2008 (also played on July 4th) - 1,158
Day 1B 2009 - 873

Stay tuned for official information, chip counts, and a recap from yours truly.


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/04/2009 02:46:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Day 37 - Main Event Day 1A: Summer of George?

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

It all began with an itch.

Every single player (1,116 to be exact) who bought into Day 1A of the $10,000 Main Event championship each had one thing on their mind... winning millions of dollars in the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. It doesn't matter about the faltering economy or waning popularity of poker. What does matter is that Las Vegas (and specifically the Rio) over the next two weeks has been transformed into the Mecca of poker. Players, both amateurs and pros alike, have traveled lengthy distances to take their shot at the big time.

Several pros have a tinge of self-awareness and know that they are a long shot to win the Main Event. While other amateurs are blinded by the tantalizing allure of seizing their moment in the bright lights while bathing themselves in stacks and stacks of money.

Dreamers. The Amazon Ballroom was filled with dreamers on Day 1A and thousands more will show up over the next three days. They each paid their $10,000 for a ticket to a lottery of a lifetime.

Yet, only nine players will advance to the November Nine. As most pros note, the worst day of the year is when they bust from the Main Event. These days $10,000 means a lot. It's a nice chunk of change even for the pros with the deepest of pockets. And for the broke dicks out there? It's just another hunk of cash that they owe their backers.

Day 1A kicked off on time. Kudos for the tournament staff for launching the Main Event in a timely matter. The only travesty was the hairy beast and the mascot from WSOP sponsor Jack Link's Beef Jerky kicked off festivities with "Shuffle Up and Deal!" Actually the Chaka on steroids couldn't even speak, but grunted the words.

Alas, just a quick reminder that the WSOP has gone corporate these days. I wished they would have focused on the rich history of the WSOP and allowed a former WSOP champion or a Hall of Famer to do the honors. After all, they survived the gritty days when poker was full of lying scumbags, cheats, criminals, and other people of ill repute. It's the elders in poker who deserve a nod and recognition, and not some a guy in a fuckin' monkey suit.


Chaka tries to eat Commissioner Pollack
Photo by MeanGene
The biggest story of Day 1A involved the number of entrants. I knew my OVER bets were toast when cash games were still running in the Amazon Ballroom at the start of the tournament. I also took note of the handful of tables utilized in the Brasilia Ballroom. Overall, only 1,116 runners were in the field on Day 1A, down from 1,297 the year before.

That number meant that last year's Main Event tally of 6,844 might not be broken. Some suits were worried about the 6,000 level not being reached. At this point, I'm guessing the overall number will be somewhere in between. 6,420 is a solid bet.

TD Jack Effel also announced that action would be reduced to four levels instead of the usual five. That was done in order to make sure the money bubble does not break before Day 3 due to the smaller amount of runners. Many conspiracy theorists suggested that the real reason was to generate cash for the various Harrah's proprieties since they're keeping more people around for the next few days while they wait to play Day 2. As much as I'm partial to my fellow media reps who sport tin foil hats and subscribe to Alex Jones newsletters, I gotta say that the staff was looking out for the best interests of the players in this instance... however, they also welcomed the byproduct of their decision... that more players will be lingering around to spend money.

Day 1A was one of the most subdued opening rounds of the WSOP that I had seen since the WSOP was moved to the Rio. Even media director Nolan Dalla had similar feelings. I told him that the room lacked a certain frenetic energy like in years past. The Amazon Ballroom and the hallways used to be a zoo with a carnival like atmosphere. Not this year. Much more mellow. I could walk from one end to the room with relative ease.

When I covered the 2006 WSOP for the PokerStars Blog, I was responsible for covering their pros. That year, it seemed like 40% of the room was filled with players who sported PokerStars gear. Hats. Hoodies. Shirts. What have you. This year? There was a serious lack of branding in the Amazon Ballroom. The only obvious branding occurred with the players who managed to reach the featured TV table or the secondary table. Agents were swarming and hounding those lucky players who were moved under the bright lights. It appeared that the three online poker rooms (PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Ultimate Bet) were the most aggressive and locked up as many unknown players as the could. The battle for the hearts and minds of online poker players still continued, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Most of the railbirds clocked to Gus Hansen's table. The Great Dane sat at Blue #5, right on the corner of the crossroads inside the Amazon Ballroom. An ESPN camera crew hovered over his table for most of the last two levels as spectators, fans, and women with wet snatches stood five and six deep to catch a glimpse at one of the more popular pros in the room. One douchebag in a wrinkled Margaritaville shirt literally shoved me out of the way to catch a glimpse. At the time, I had hidden my badge and was undercover and embedded with railbirds. It seems that drunk assholes treat their fellow spectators with the same amount of disdain as they do media reps. I told the soused Parrothead to stop pushing me and the second time he did it, I just gave him a quick elbow to the ribs. It's a dirty, yet effective trick I learned from playing basketball on the mean streets of the Bronx,. He spilled his beer all over himself and stormed off.

Most of the buzz involved the starting table with two celebrities... Nelly and Jason Alexander. Nelly's claim to fame is that he's the dude with the band-aid on his face who belted out the ever popular, "Hot in Herre." I still have no idea why there's the extra 'R' and if I get a cance to interview him, I'll ask. And Jason Alexander is most known for his role as the ultra-neurotic and sex-crazed George Costanza. Nelly busted out early on and Alexander ended up accumulating chips at a much faster rate than both his celebrity peers and everyone else in the room. When the day ended, Alexander was among the Top 31 in chips.

End of Day 1A - Top 10 Chip Counts:
1 Eric Cloutier (Canada) - 150,750
2 Redmonf Lee (London, UK) - 134,275
3 Jean Docquier (Paris, France) 122,755
4 Marcucci Gianluca (Claviere, Italy) - 118,000
5 Peter Buermann (Parts Unknown) - 117,400
6 Ebrahim Mourshaki(Irvine, CA) 116,025
7 Balazs Botond (Budapest, Hungary) - 113,000
8 Alexander Grishchuk (Moscow, Russia)- 111,875
9 Guinther, Jimmie (Hudson, NH) - 110,425
10 Arthur Rhea (Indianapolis, IN) - 109,275

Notables:
Alexander, Jason 89,575
Warne, Shane 87,625
Elezra, Eli 83,375
Olson, Carl 80,825
Schneider, Tom 79,600
Serock, Joseph 78,700
Williams, Jeff 77,550
Naujoks, Sandra 76,725
Hennigan, John 76,250
Maier, Lana 75,600
Sexton, Paul 70,350
Lunkin, Vitaly 68,300
Nguyen, Van 66,550
Jelassi, Ramzi 66,525
Mahmood, Ayaz 65,750
Fricke, Jimmy 63,425
Arnaud, Mattern 62,575
Lawson, Ted 60,000
Gracz, Maciek 59,375
Black, Andrew 56,475
Baker, Amanda 56,400
Lellouche, Antony 55,150
Pickering, Jamie 53,650
Ludovic, Lacay 53,425
Laak, Phil 53,025
Rahme, Ray 52,125
Nardi, Anthony 47,775
Rasmussen, Thayer 45,700
Pinchot, Dale 42,400
Tony G 42,325
Mizzi, Sorel 41,375
Finkelstein, Loren 41,125
Mercier, Jason 41,125
Sexton, Mike 41,000
Hansen, Gus 38,075
Baron, Isaac 37,500
Etayo, Javier 37,300
Garrett, Brad 36,625
Caby, Taylor 36,600

(Editor's Note: I only posted notables from the Top 420 players)

Controversial former hockey pro Eric Cloutier ended Day 1A as the chipleader. That made all the Canadian media smile, despite all of his tax evasion and fraud charges.

LJ ended up 71st in chips! Spanish pro/blogger Anguila also made the cut.

My buddy Carl 'The White Phil Ivey' Olson finished the day 50th in chips. A couple of Frenchies also survived along with AC pro and Borgata regular Dale Pinchot.

Aussie cricket legend Shane Warne finished in 35th overall while online pros such as YellowSub and Gobboboy all advanced to Day 2A.

Day 2A will start on July 7th, while Day 1B will begin at noon on Saturday which is the 4th of July.

Don't forget, you can follow along with my Twitter updates. My screen name is @taopauly.


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/04/2009 11:11:00 AM | Permalink |

 
2009 WSOP Live Blog - Main Event Day 1A

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

This is the day that everyone has been waiting for. The 2009 WSOP Main Event starts in less than three hours at Noon (Pacific Time). The Tao of Poker will be providing coverage. I dunno if updates will come every ten minutes or every hour. That's the beauty of it all. Rest assured, this is the place to get the straight dope on the Main Event.

And don't forget, I have been utilizing Twitter a lot this summer (along with last summer). You can follow along with my Twitter updates. My screen name is @taopauly.

* * * * *
8:58am... New Tao of Pokerati Episodes

Yeah, last night I went to the Bluff party at Sapphire. Last year, it was the party of the year. This year? I have no clue, because I skipped all the other parties. This year was tons of fun as expected. Hung out with lots of friends who were attending their first ever Bluff party. How could I complain about the free booze and the strippers? I was molested by a Russian duo. I think they loved the porn stash.

As soon as I walked into Sapphire, AlCantHang had a brown chest-heavy beauty on his lap. He had his glasses off and the two largest glasses of Southern Comfort adorned the table.

Anyway, even though Michalksi could not attend due to a medical matter, I recorded two episodes of Tao of Pokerati with special guest hosts...

Episode 11.27: The Best Party of the Year with AlCantHang (1:27)

Episode 11.28: Grindcore Poker with Change100 (2:51)

For older episodes of Tao of Pokerati, feel free to visit the archives.

Time to shrug off the hangovers and go to work...

* * * * *
11:11am... Beef Jerky Spam?

There are people in red shirts wandering through the tournament area and spamming the tables with free samples of beef jerky. The Everest people have already spammed the chairs with Everest Poker seat cushions. We're gonna use the leftover ones in random throwing things prop bets.

But for the most part, it's very calm in the Amazon Ballroom. Ah, the calm before the storm.

The first song over the P.A.? Jessica by the Allman Brothers Band. Makes me wanna gobble a fist full of mushrooms.

* * * *
11:33am... Prop Betting on Main Event Runners

Lots of speculation on the official numbers. I have a few bets that are all over last year's numbers and I have one over 6,900 and 7,000. For today's action, I placed a small bet on 1,600 OVER for Day 1A against MeanGene. I have a couple of other bets 1,500 OVER for today and tomorrow.

The Shrink thinks the overall numbers will be less. "The glitch getting money out of Full Tilt and Poker Stars might affect numbers," said the Shrink.

One interesting note... the hallways are not as crowded as in previous years. Is that an ominous sign?

* * * * *
11:47am... The Doors Open...

The security staff opened the doors and allowed players and spectators to wander inside. They didn't knock down the door, like in previous years. The slowly walked inside and wandered over to their seats as TD Jack Effel mentioned a few things over the PA. Most of that was ignored as many first timers soaked up the fulfillment of their dream... to play in a WSOP Main Event.

Interesting note... the cash game area is currently running cash games. In the past, those tables were shut down and turned into Main Event tables. With Brasilia and Miranda, there's no need to convert cash game tables. After all, once players bust out, the suits want them to stick around and play cash games. Churn 'em and burn 'em.

I always tell my friends that the best time to play low limit cash games? During the WSOP Main Event. Hit up the Rio in late afternoon. Players who bust are playing and players who are scheduled to play the other days will be biding their time at the tables. Definitely find out where all of the internet qualifiers hang out... the PokerStars qualifiers are usually put up at Palms. The cash games there are more than juicy. Just ask Otis.

* * * * *
12:00pm... Wow, On Time Start!

Commish Pollack introduced TD Jack Effel who said that any player with Quad Jacks will get a special gift from Jack Link's. I think it's free beef jerky. Go figure.

AC pro and Borgata regular Dale Pinchot gave me his free bag of beef nuggets. He said I need it to keep up my energy level. I would have preferred Adderral.

Players start with 30,000 in chips. I heard whispers that they are only playing 4 levels today instead of 5. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Unless numbers are so atrociously low, this is a bad idea.

The Jack Link's mascot is here. He's like Chaka from Land of the Lost, but on steroids. The beast did the honors for "Shuffle up and deal!" I can't recall a beer can doing that last year.

Cards are in the air. The Main Event officially begins.

* * * * *
12:16pm... Donkey Down

We have our first elimination. Most of Amazon Ballroom cheered at one guy's misfortune.

I asked Otis to name five pros sitting in the section in front of the press box. He was struggling. I didn't blame him. Lots of unknown faces in the crowd. I did spot Taylor Caby and Perry Freidman and saw Ray Rhame wandering around.

* * * * *
12:24pm... Steve Rosenbloom Sighting

The infamous Steve Rosenbloom made a cameo in the press box. He's the only legit sports journalist in the building. It's an honor to be in his presence and I always learn something about life and writing.

* * * * *
1:01pm... Slim Pickins in Brasilia

To be honest, this crowd doesn't have the "feel" of a Main Event. The Amazon Room is definitely buzzing, but it lacks the intensity of previous Day 1s.

I wandered over to the Brasilia Room. Only 11 tables are used. A few others have just a dealer sitting and waiting to accommodate late registrations.

Biggest fear? Players getting shut out on Day 1D because they wait until the morning of that day to buy into the Main Event. Just a word of advice, if you want to play on Day 1C or Day 1D, I suggest you register ASAP.

Jimmy 'Gobbo' Fricke is sitting in front of the pressbox. I can keep great tabs on him for Gobbomom. He showed up thirty minutes late along with a handful of other [pros who wanted to avoid the initial crush such as The Unabomber, who quietly snuck into his seat.

Katkin told me that Nelly and Jason Alexander (aka George Costanza) was seated at the same table. Sure enough, they were. Right next to each other.

The biggest international celebrity in the room (not named Nelly, but I argue that a cricket God is more well known than a pop/hip hop star) has to be Shane Warne. He's like the Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth of the cricket world. I met him in Australia many moons ago because he's mates with Gaz, who I used to work with at Poker News. Warne can't walk down the street in Australia without a mob gathering around him. Even my British friends (who rarely display any inkling of emotion) ere giddy when I told them that I met Warne. Cricket is huge in the former British colonies and in countries like India and Pakistan and the Caribbean. Alas, this is one of the few places where Warne can just be another guy playing poker.

* * * * *
2:01pm... Who's Here?

The Main Event always attracts a handful of celebrities. This year? Jen Tilly, Nelly, Jason Alexander, Brad Garret, Shane Warne, Voitto Rintala (Finnish metal singer) and Orel Hershieser are all in the mix on Day 1A.

Change100 got a Dodgers hat for Orel to sign for her father, who is a huge Dodgers fan, but she left it back in our hotel room. On the break, she managed to score a baseball. I tried to show Benjo how to grip it and throw a two-seam fastball. He seemed unimpressed.

Other notables included Michael Craig, DonkeyBomber, Gavin Smith, YellowSub, Gobbo, and LJ who is somewhere out there in the killing fields.

Jerry Yang is here. Thankfully Oliver tweet'd his seat assignment so I can keep tabs on the former champion.

Recent Eliminations: First player of note to hit the rail? John Phan.

Still waiting on official word of the number of runners today.

On the first break, DonkeyBomber told me that he had 1,500 more than he started with. The former WSOP Player of the Year had an awful summer and cashed in one event out of something like 20 events that he played. His wife, Julie, went 2 for 2 including a final table in Triple Draw. Combined, them might have broken even for this WSOP. Anyway, DonkeyBomber, like many pros who were shutout this summer, is hoping that his luck turns around for the Main Event.

* * * * *
3:01pm... Surviving the First Break

Chipleader: Tony G (wow, will The G go deep this year?)
Players Remaining: UNKNOWN at press time
Recent Eliminations: George "The Original Scarf Boy" Danzer

Players returned from a break and were greeted by a bracelet ceremony for David Bach's victory in the 50,000 HORSE event. As I walked into the Amazon Ballroom, one online pro rushed passed me into the hallway. He refused to watch the national anthem. He was American and not being un-patriotic. Rather, he thought the entire thing was bullshit and detracted from the Main Event. He said he was here to play poker. I walked inside and stood next to Joe Sebok as they played the Star Spangled Banner.

I first wandered by one of the massage stations where six or seven massage girls gathered. They exchanged bad beat stories from the opening level. Two were absolutely disgusted at the foul smelling beasts that they had to work on. Another was shocked that a European player asked her to come up to his room on the dinner break for some oral relaxation therapy.

"I would have done it to Gus," one of them joked. "And for free to."

The first break of the Main Event is always interesting if you like to eavesdrop and listen into people's conversations. Several amateurs could not contain their excitement as they phoned their loved ones back home and told them about their progress. Some had stories about sitting at a table with a pro, while others bitched and moaned about bad beat stories. I definitely heard more international chatter. Lots of groups of five or more players from a random European country standing around chain-smoking cigarettes and making fun of Americans.

I gotta say, that I prefer the no smoking rules in the hallway. My first WSOP in 2005? It was bloody awful to have to walk through a hallway filled with thick second-hand smoke. It feels good to be able to breathe.

* * * * *
4:01pm... Where's the Hooker Bar?

Chipleader: Ludovic Lacay

Recent Eliminations: Japanese industrialist Masaaki Kagawa, online pro Mike Sowers, Belgium pro Davidi Kitai, and German pro Jan Von Halle.

Who's getting massages? Will 'The Thrill' Failla and Shane Warne.

Been hearing whispers about 1,100 entrants today, which means my overall numbers are in jeopardy along with today's wagers! Plenty of theories swirling around on the real reasons they will be playing four levels. The tin foil hat kids think this was a plan to keep the players on property to play cash games or table games. After talking to a few floor people who explained me their thought process, I'm understanding that they're anticapting a smaller field than last year and don't want the money to break on Day 2.

At least three of the members of the international press asked me the precise whereabouts of the Hooker Bar. It's become a landmark.

I walked over to the Brasilia Room and two tables were broken. They have around ten left in there.

More late arrivals included Johnny Chan and a wobbling Gus Hansen. "Gus might be drunk," said one member of the Aussie press.

* * * * * *
4:20pm... "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

Today's smoke break is brought to you by... PokerStars!


Just so you know, there will be a dinner break at 4:30pm. I know. Who eats dinner at 4:30pm besides your grandma down in Florida? The WSOP Main Event players, that's who. Since we're playing four levels tonight, the break is after level 2.

* * * * *
6:05pm... Grub Time Over; Two Levels To Go

Chipleaders: Ludovic Lacay and YellowSub
Recent Eliminations: AC's Nicky Frangos

Did you enjoy your Early Bird dinner specials? I wonder how players today are at a disadvantage because they didn't know about four levels and a 90 minutes break at 4:30 instead of closer to 7pm. Some poker pros are creatures of habits. They need their meds to kick in at certain times or know how long to space out meals.

We don't know how many players remain. I can guestimate that 1,100 or so were in today's event. I heard some rumblings from the dealer's smoking porch that the number might be lower tomorrow.

Benjo's buddy Ludovic Lacay is among the chipleaders. Could this be the year of the Frenchie? Or will Lacay be that guy who jumps out to an early lead on Day 1, only to fizzle out before the money? It's almost like a curse to go into Day 2 of the Main Event with the chiplead.

Gobbo, Dale Pinchot, DonkeyBomber, and LJ are all alive.

Alas, two more levels to go. I'm gonna hit the floor and check out the Poker Palooza.

* * * * *
7:05pm... Officially 1,116

Chipleaders: Dragan Galic(who Benjo says is a "Croation Donk"), DonkeyBomber
Recent Eliminations: UK wizard Chris Moorman, Aussie ad boy Mark Vos, I love this name... Wooka Kim, 'My Main Man' Freddy Deeb, AC mixed game grinder Matthew Glantz, and Nelly. Poor Nelly couldn't make it to a shortened Day 2!

It's official. 1,116.

I saw one horrible hand. All in preflop. 6-6 vs. A-5. 5 on the flop. 5 on the turn. 6 on the river. I love poker.

Norm Chad was wandering around the tournament area glad handing fans. A few were trying to convince Norm to give them face time on ESPN.

I spotted a slender Vinny Vinh roaming the hallways. I asked him what day he was playing and he shrugged his shoulders.

Marcel Luske bought me Starbucks. Chris Moneymaker wandered through the Orange section of the Amazon Ballroom. By now, all of the Brasilia Room tables have been broken. The rest of the Main Event players are all inside the Amazon.

* * * * *
8:05pm... One More Level

Chipleaders: Dragan Galic, Eli Elezra

Aussie cricket legend Shane Warne slowly walked past the press box. I wondered if he had to piss or if he went busto?

Not as much online poker room branded players like I saw in previous years. In 2006, half the room was draped in PokerStars. This year, aside from a few patches and international poker sites, the room looks fairly normal.

Still alive? Taylor Caby, Michael Craig, Dale Pinchot, and Gobbo, who's getting a massage.

The action has been mellow and lacking that frenetic energy like previous Main Events. The rail is very quiet and not a zoo. Let's see if things get interesting during the last level. Mayb more of them will start drinking and get rowdy.

Level 3 is going on a break. When players return they'll play one more night.

* * * * *
9:05pm... Orel, Yoda, and Mr. Kotter Strike Out

Chipleaders: Dragan Galic, YellowSub
Players Remaining: 910/1,116
Recent Eliminations: Orel Hershieser, Jerry Yang, Gabe Kaplan, and Perry Friedman

More celebrities goes busto on Day 1a. Mr. Kotter is nevermore and L.A. Dodger pitching ace, Orel Hershieser, hit the rail shortly before the break. Luckily, Change100 was smart enough to get his autograph for her old man before the dinner break just in case he busted out.

An ESPN camera crew hovered over former champion Jerry Yang's table. He was super short and on life support. According to Change100, he was all in preflop with "Jd7d vs. AK. 7 on flop, K on turn." And Yang hit the rail at the start of Level 4.

Gobbo lost half his stack earlier but after the massage, he's cruising as he slowly builds a pyramid of chips. He's already starting a second story on his stack.

YellowSub and Galic (who is actually German, but Benjo calls him the Croatian Donk) are among the first players to pass the 100K mark.

EPT Dortmund champion, Sandra Naujoks from Berlin, is among the chipleaders. Lots of people are curious of the German bombshell.

I asked the cashier in the gift shop about this year's sale. She said that they were not as good as last year. A couple of popular t-shirts sold out while no one has touched other gaudy items like jackets. The gift shop is selling old school hardback editions of Super System for $150.

According to Ted Lawson's wife, a player got hit by a taxi in the parkinglot on dinner break. Despite the injuries, he returned to play in the Main Event. I hope he knows a good lawyer.

So who played today? According to the official list...

39 Germans
2 Albanians
3 Belgians
5 Czechs
13 Russians
4 Fins
3 Kiwis
6 Norwegians
and 1 player from Flevoland.

I'm not making this up. His name is Stephan Swillens and he's from a small province in the middle of the Netherlands.

* * * * *
10:05pm... On the Cusp of Advancing

Chipleaders: Redmond Lee, DonkeyBomber, Jason Alexander
Players Remaining: 890/1,116
Recent Eliminations: Scandi wunkerkind Soren Kongsgaard, Isaac Haxton, David Grey, and Darryl 'Deep' Dicken

The most railbirds in the room surrounded Gus Hansen's table since he as on a corner table. An ESPN crew continuously taped Hansen until he played a pot.

I forgot to mention that Johnny Chan and Jerry Yang were at the same table before Yang busted.

French pro Arnaud Mattern rushed past the press box. It seemed like he was doing the "I can't wait for the break because I gotta piss now" walk. He returned a few minutes later and headed back to his table. Fellow member of Team Winamax Ludovic Lacay slipped out of the chiplead.

Over on the two TV tables (the featue table and the secondary table), a couple of unknown players scored a few extra bucks to wear online poker gear. Savvy agents hung out near the tables and convinced these guys to wear PokerStars, Full TIlt, and Ultimate Bet. At Sam Farha and Greg FBT Mueller's table, three guys proudly displayed brand-spanking new UB hats.

With about twenty minutes to go, players tighten up because they want to make it to Day 2. Perfect time to start picking up chips.

LJ, Gobbo, Dale Pinchot, and Carl Olson who John Caldwell was nicknamed 'The White Phil Ivey'.


* * * * *
10:30pm... Day 1A Complete

Chipleaders: Redmond Lee
Players Remaining: ???/1,116
Recent Eliminations: Andy Bloch, Allen Cunningham, Men the Master, MrSmokey1

Wow. The fastest Day 1A that I've ever covered. 4 levels or just 8 hours of play. In that short time, Jason Alexander jumped out to the lead pack. We'll have to wait and see for official chipcounts to see how far up the food chain that the actor ended up with on Day 1A. He started the day with Nelly at his table. Although Nelly and a handful of other celebs hit the rail, Alexander flourished.

Just before the day ended, a couple of high caliber Full Tilt pros, Allen Cunningham and Andy Bloch.

Players who survived Day 1A will return to play on Day 2A... or Tuesday.

Day 1B will begin at noon local time. See you then for live updates.

And stay tuned for an official end of day recap.


Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
posted by Pauly at 7/03/2009 11:54:00 AM | Permalink |