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

 
Charity Tournament for Leah

I need to improve my karma as much as possible and promoting worthy causes on my poker blog is a great way to start. After I helped save BG's ass, I got a slew of emails asking me to pimp chairty events. Thanks to everyone who blogged about and played in the one this past Sunday at Full Tilt. It was fun and I played. I had Erik Seidel at my table and Daddy convinced Jen Harman that he worked in a sausage factory.

Anyway, I got an email recently about a tournament scheduled for Thursday. According to Chad O., Noble Poker is not only donating the price of admission, but an additional $250 to his friend Leah who has been diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. Pretty nice of them. If you are unable to make it this Thursday, another tournament is in the works on Poker Stars.

Site: Noble Poker
Date: Thursday March 2nd, 2006
Buy-in: $10 + 1
Time: 7:30pm ET
Password: charity

Coupon code to use when registering (if you need to register an account): help4leah

A little about Leah, from Chad:

This tournament is being held to raise funds to help out my good friend Leah. On Tuesday February 7, 2006, Leah was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a very rare form of bone cancer. Medically, Ewing's Sarcoma is best summed up as a cancerous tumor that attaches itself to a bone and destroys it. As I could not find Canadian statistics on this I will use USA stats. In the USA, there are only 150 new cases reported in a year. Of those 150 cases, only 9% affect Leah's age group of 20 to 30 which is the oldest age group affected. Treatment of Ewing's Sarcoma includes chemo, radiation and surgery to remove the tumor.

On a more devastating note, this form of cancer can result in amputation of limbs or even death.

Leah is a vibrant, confident, caring, beautiful woman who would do anything for anyone of her friends. She is the exact type of person who does not deserve to be going through this. Leah lives in Regina, Saskatchewan and because of this, she needs to travel to Calgary, Alberta for treatment. Her boyfriend Barry will be going with her standing beside her through every thing. The costs of both of them being away from work and living in hotels in a completely different province will be substantial at best.

I couldn't think of two more deserving and devoted friends who need our help. I want to personally thank you for joining this fundraising tournament to help my friend Leah through this difficult time. She really needs to focus on getting healthy and should not have to worry about the financial burden this will cause.

Thanks to Gracie for letting me cut & paste all of this entry. I encourage you to spead the word about this tournament, blog about it, and sign up. It's the least that we can do.
posted by Pauly at 2/28/2006 04:19:00 PM |

 
In Cold Blood: Another Night at Murderer's Row

"Oh, look at Reek. He's so cute I want to breastfeed him. Sorry, Henry." - Mrs. HDouble

Nothing is more unnerving than walking into a situation where you cannot control any of the events. It reminds me of those old John Ford westerns that I used to watch when I was a kid. I always had trouble sleeping and I'd sneak into the living room and view late night movies in the dark while my parents and my brother slept. This was in the days of pre-cable, DVDs, and VCRs and I'd have to settle on whatever flick they chose to run on ABC's Late Night Movie. I was always fascinated with old school westerns, where a new gunslinger rode into town on a healthy horse ready for a shootout with the grizzled locals where at some point, he wandered into the local saloon/bordinghouse/whorehouse for a piece of ass, a shot of whiskey, and a game of cards. Poker has been part of the outlaw subculture for a century and a half and when I walked into Murderer's Row two Saturdays ago, I secretly wished I was packing heat.

The infamous homegame at Murderer's Row in West L.A. is a place that no matter how well you played, you're still not guaranteed to leave without getting your junked kicked so far up into your esophagus, that you're gonna need emergency colon surgery just to pluck out your swollen testicles from your digestive track.

The Murderer's Row game is filled with some of the best minds in poker including an eclectic collection of the astute programmers and members of the poker blogging elite. Whether it's cash games, tournaments, online poker, or playing in the super loose local cardrooms... you'll easily find a successful player in one of the regular seats at Murderer's Row. With a mine field cluttered with tight players and loose maniacs, you're constantly playing the guessing game and must switch gears on every hand in order to survive. It's hard enough to play against a guy like Ryan who spent the last six weeks playing against pros everyday or a guy like HDouble who routinely kills the cash games at the local casinos. But then throw in a very drunk and uber-loose Lance into the mix or the cagey Mrs. HDouble who can and will play any two cards and set you on tilt for weeks, and you have a challenging table and a rough night ahead of you.

The Poker Geek mentioned something that's he's down over $1K since he started playing at Murderer's Row. I'm sure that's an inflated number to illicit sympathy, but with games like Columbine, it's not entirely impossible to lose that much money in one session. Usually pots in Pot Limit Hold'em tend to be bigger than most NL pots.

I played at Murderer's Row in December for the first time with Grubby and Grubbette. (You can read Part 2 and Part 1 of that night.) That fateful night Change100 sent me to the rail in the tournament when she cracked my A-A after she flopped a set of 5s. I got so hammered during my first Murderer's Row game that I passed out on the drive back home to Grubbette's. At least I made some money in the cash game to save my dignity.

HDouble is a great host and tries to cushion the blows early with free booze and free pizza before the tournament started. He squeezed two poker tables into his tiny apartment, and as soon as one table broke, a cash game popped up on the other. The routine was a $50 tournament to start followed by cash games. Top 4 places paid with $340 going to the winner. I ended up taking 3rd place. I had been running pretty good I thought considering that two days earlier, I took third place in the LA Poker Classic Media tournament. I was also in the middle of erasing my losing streak, so my confidence was pretty high despite the high caliber skill of play.

My Starting Table:
Seat 1: Wampler
Seat 2: Facty
Seat 3: Laurie
Seat 4: Pauly
Seat 5: Bill
Seat 6: HDouble
Seat 7: Shyam
Seat 8: Shane Nickerson
Seat 9: Ryan

I don't recall much. I didn't take very good notes, which was unusual. I was drinking steadily after I skipped out of work early to play. I thought I left Commerce Casino at a reasonable time. No such luck. Driving on two freeways was awful. The traffic on the I-5 and I-10 was a pain in the ass which is normal for Friday rush hour.

The first hour went by quick. Laurie arrived late and when I reraised her she snapped, "Don't you know who I am?"

"Errrrr, you're the hot chick from Full Tit with the red hair!"

I was worried that if I pissed off too many Full Tilt employees then I'd end up getting the doom switch dropped on my ass whenever I played. Most of the first hour was dedicated to making prop bets with Bill Rini. We'd bet on "highest card" that we'd pull out of the muck.

Ryan built up a stack early. He was telling me how he watched pros continuously limp into unraised pots as he did the same. Facty and Laurie had their stacks evaporate and they were some of the first players busted from our table. I folded and was chipped down the first hour until I found J-J. Nickerson opened up with a raise and I came over the top for an re-raise. He called. On a flop of 6-4-2, he bet out and I moved all in. He reluctantly called with 7-7. My Jacks held up and Nickerson was busted. That was the beginning of my mini-rush.

When Ryan was shortstacked he raised my blind from the button and I popped him back with A-8. He moved all in and I had a tough decision to make. I eventually called and was ahead of his J-10. He flopped a pair and I rivered an Ace to bust him.

A few hands later, I sent Bill Rini to the rail. With 4-6o, I flopped middle pair and an opened straight draw on a board of 3-4-5. Rini moved all in with A-3. I called thinking I was behind, but having a decent draw. Instead I was ahead and my hand held up. At that point, I was one of the table chipleaders.

I rivered the Wheel against the Poker Geek and I crippled him. HDouble tripled up with 10-4s against K-K and A-Q. And HDouble took a big hand from me when his 9-9 held up against my A-Q. I eventually busted the Geek and was the chipleader once the final table was seated. Lance looked like he was the closest to me in chips, while Wampler looked strong as well. Kori made the final table too along with HDouble, Shyam, Franklin, and Katkin.

Lance won a ridiculous hand with K-6 on a hand he almost folded in a multi-way pot. He ended up busting Franklin's 9-9 and Kori's A-10 on the same hand when he flopped trips. I lost a big hand to Lance when he slowplayed a flopped straight. He had Q-J on a board of A-K-10. I had K-8s and flopped second pair. The hand was checked on the flop and turn. I rivered trip Kings and figured I was good. I bet out, Lance value raised, and I called. He had Q-J and I felt like Erik Seidel at the 1988 World Series of Poker when Johnny Chan flopped the nuts against him.

That hand crippled me. HDouble finished in the money in fourth and I was out soon after in third. Shyam lost heads up to Lance, and in true fashion Lance sucked out on Shyam to win it all. I wish I could have kept all my winnings, but Spaceman had 25% of my action so I had to give him a cut. After the disastrous cash game, I'd end up leaving down a few bucks.

* * * * *
After a quick smoke break with Change100, I joined a cash game. Right away I started to piss away my third place winnings. My nemesis for the night was Mrs. HDouble. At first glance, Mrs. HDouble looks like a sweet Swedish girl, but that's part of her deception. She an existentialist at heart, can cuss like a sailor, and rip out your eyeballs at any moment. If you want to be victorious against her, you better have the balls to go all the way to the river and hope that your hand holds up. I discovered the hard way that it's impossible to push her off a pot. I had to dig into my pocket for three rebuys during the PLH game. Most of my chips went to Mrs. HDouble's stack. Like a good socialist, she spread the wealth around the rest of the table. Unfortunately, I was not able to win any of my money back from her.

Mrs. HDouble is full of hilarious one liners. She's easily the most quotable player in the game. She kept asking me about Daddy the Donkey Fucker. The last time I played at Murderer's Row, we explained to her the entire donkey fucker trend. At first she thought Daddy was fucking monkeys, but grew angry at the thought about his sexual trysts with donkeys.

Take a peek at Change100's recap of the game. She won the largest pot every in the history of Columbine against pocket rockets and SMTL.

"Columbine. It's a 4-way all-in. AA vs. JJ vs. 78o vs. snowman-taterlegs on a 783 flop. Ephro of course had the taters. Rini had one of the big pairs and gazed at the felt in utter disbelief, glassy-eyed and weaving heavily from his Heineken-laced bloodstream as I tabled my top two pair to rake in a pot worth over $250. I couldn't fucking believe it. And this, after a horrible beat I put on the Geek when he got his money in with two small pair and my AA spiked a set on the turn. This must be how Katkin feels every week."

Change100 was up $250 at Murderer's Row which is like having an ERA under 1.50 at Coors Field. I lost all my tournament winnings and didn't care too much. I had a great time. I sat next to Ryan during the cash game and shot the shit with him.

That particular game I attended held special reverence because that's gonna be the last Murderer's Row game for a while. HDouble informed the crew that the sorry lot of hooligans who populate his homegame have gotten to loud for his neighbor's tastes. It takes a lot of weirdness to spook out the freakazoids in this town, but all the frenetic energy late night bad beats and suckouts seeped through the walls and rattled the neighbors.

The Murderer's Row game will start up again after the dust settles. That's why certain poker rooms or homegames have shelf lives. External circumstances like law enforcement, criminal elements, and broke players often ruin a good game. Enjoy every moment at the tables because in this world of legal uncertainties, you can get pinched at any time. This instance, the game was busted up temporarily. Dozens of degenerate gamblers scampered down dimly lit streets in the City of Angels seeking a new refuge for poker like cockroaches scurrying through my kitchen at 3:30am. Wherever and whenever Murderer's Row reconvenes, it's still going to be the toughest homegame to beat on the West Coast.

* * * * *
Over the past week or so, I posted a series of L.A. pictures over at the Tao of Pauly. I also been writing a ton since the WPT Invitational and the LAPC ended. Take a peek at a piece I wrote called LA Stories: Let's Do Lunch. Yeah, even Otis liked it a lot. Here's a bit:

The 11am sunlight ripped through the blinds and illuminated the entire room with a radioactive glow that burned the eyelids off my face. That was my daily alarm... a high concentration of natural light piercing my retinas. If I was able to conquer the insomnia for a rare night, I never slept in too late because the solar rays prevented me from falling back to sleep. My first glimpses each day were traces of a large palm tree shooting up out of the ground and towering over the garage across the alley. That's the first reminder that I was in Los Angeles... more

posted by Pauly at 2/27/2006 03:16:00 AM |

 
Suckout on Luekemia

I will be playing in a tournament on Full Tilt on Sunday afternoon. It's for a worthy cause called Suckout on Luekemia. A member of the Full Tilt Forum named Jill was diagnosed with Leukemia. Her friends put together a private tournament at Full Tilt to raise money for Jill. The private tournament is a $10+$16 NL tourney, with $15 of the fee going to the fundraiser. Visit this link this link for more details on the Suckout on Leukemia tournament. I hope all of you can play. I'll be there are so are a few pros such as Erik Seidel and Andy Bloch and even SirWaffle is playing!

What: Suckout on Luekemia (check under Private tourney tab)
When: Sun, Feb 26th @ 17:00 EST
Where: Full Tilt
How Much: $10 + 16
Password: playforjill

It's at 2pm West Coast or 5pm Waffle time. I hope I can get up early enough to play.
posted by Pauly at 2/26/2006 01:10:00 AM |

 
Truckin' - February 2006, Vol. 5, Issue 2


I just published another issue of your favorite e-zine Truckin'. Thanks to Maudie for the new banner, which gives Truckin' a more professional look! The second issue of 2006 features several old writers such as Otis, Human Head, and AlCantHang. Strips clubs, cokeheads, and shit trucks. Sounds like another exciting issue, eh? Especially with another poem from Jaxia. This issue also features a new writer, Ben Rillie. Check out his story called Merry Fucking Christmas. Finally, I decided to go with a bus story and something that happened to me one late night in Atlantic City.

1. Highway Job by Tenzin McGrupp
They smelled like a combination of three-day old urine and rotten eggs as the aroma of depravity made me nauseous for the entire fifteen minutes I sat and waited for my Greyhound bus bound for NYC to arrive... More

2. Action Island by Otis
I couldn't see any coke on his nose. Still, if you'd told me there hadn't been some marching powder shooting up his nostrils in the last couple of hours, I would've called you an idiot... More

3. Tomorrow Thoughts by Jaxia Kiley
Window's open. A soft breeze runs across our skin and under the sheets as we dance together... More

4. The Honey Wagon by AlCantHang
I drive the shit truck. The Honey Wagon. I'm a drunk. It's my job and I hate it. The job, not the drink... More

5. Two Loves by Human Head
A person with self-esteem as fragile as mine often questions the reality of things. Everything is easy when nothing stinks, enough money is in various accounts, and cartoon bluebirds flutter to and fro in the background, but sooner or later Mr. Yin makes a call to Mr. Yang and the balance sheets are once again set in order... More

6. Merry Fucking Christmas by Ben Rillie
The only thought in my tiny, tiny brain at the time was, "Man, this is going to be a monster of a fart," and I immediately pondered the best way to record it so I could email it to my friends... More

7. Can I Hit It and Quit? by Tenzin McGrupp
She reminded me of a young Meryl Streep. Her accent was thick and she smelled like flowers and blueberries. She sipped on a Sea Breeze or some sort of vodka-cranberry concoction... More

I ask that if you like these stories, then please do me and the rest of the writers a huge favor: Tell your friends about your favorite stories. It takes a few seconds to pass along the URL. I certainly appreciate your support. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you know anyone who is interested in being added to the mailing list.
posted by Pauly at 2/25/2006 11:16:00 PM |

 
WPT Invitational - Final Table


Sorry, folks. I will not be able to cover the final table of the WPT Invitational. I had a minor traffic accident and ran over an old Hasidic lady's cat. She lived next door to Change100 and I spent most of the afternoon consoling the old lady and more importantly convincing her not to sue me or notify the authorities. Dead cats can sure kill a guy's karma and bankroll, even in Hollyweird.

Anyway, for complete updates of the WPT Invitational final table, please check out updates from my good friends in the poker media. Visit Poker Wire for chipcounts and stop by to read BJ's hand-to-hand coverage of tonight's final table that features Barry Greenstien, Jesse Jones, Blair Rodman, Tom Lock, Allen Kessler, and Ugur Marangoz.

I'll be back on Monday with a recap of last week's Murder's Row homegame, which might end up being the last one for a while. Until then...
posted by Pauly at 2/24/2006 09:01:00 PM |

 
WPT Invitational - Day 2

"Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood." - Wil Wheaton, Stand by Me

We're back for the second day of the WPT Invitational at the Commerce Casino located just outside of Los Angeles. There are 88 players remaining out of the original 317 who started. Only the top 6 places pay and first place gets a seat in the WPT Championhips at the Bellagio in April. Ugur Marangoz ended day one as the chipleader. Some of the biggest names in poker players are left in the hunt (Phil, Gus, Barry, and Isabelle) along with some of your favorite celebrities hanging around as well including Wil Wheaton, Jason Alexander, and Mimi Rogers.

Because of the accelerated blind structure, the tournament is a crap shoot. Anything can happen today. Action will not stop until we are down to 6.

Here's some notable players left: Scott Fischman, Gentleman John Gale, Joe Cassidy, Jason Alexander, Lee Watkinson, Alan Goehring, Quinn Do, Phil Hellmuth, Bill Edler, Isabelle Mercier, Steve Lipscomb, Chad Brown, Evelyn Ng, Gus Hansen, Amnon Filippi, Steven Dannenmann, Humberto Brenes, Barry Greenstein, Clonie Gowen, Allen Kessler, Todd Brunson, Noli Francisco, Mimi Rogers, Jesse Jones, Blair Rodman, Davood Mehrmand, Tuan Le, Paul Darden, Tony Cousineau, Jon Favreau, Hoyt Corkins, Kevin Weisman, Gavin Smith, Casey Kastle, Alexander Stevic, Nick "Takeover" Schulman, Danny Masterson, Wil Wheaton, Nam Le, Al Ardebili, Kathy Griffin, Tony Ma, Ben Roberts, Farzad Bonyadi, Marco Traniello, Dick Van Patten, Karina Jett, David Levi, and Mike Matusow.

End of Day 1 Chicpounts (Courtesy of Poker Wire):
1 Ugur Marangoz $ 96,800
2 Scott Fischman $ 94,600
3 John Gale $ 92,700
4 Shawn Buchanan $ 76,600
5 Joe Cassidy $ 68,400
6 An Lu $ 68,300
7 Jason Alexander $ 63,700
8 Lee Watkinson $ 62,100
9 Coley Laffoon $ 61,300
10 Alan Goehring $ 61,300
11 Judson Swimner $ 58,600
12 Quinn Do $ 55,000
13 Dante Oliveto $ 54,700
14 Phil Hellmuth $ 54,300
15 Matt Carboy $ 53,400
16 Jeff Liebster $ 53,100
17 Bill Edler $ 52,100
18 Will Alaimo $ 48,400
19 Isabelle Mercier $ 48,100
20 Steve Lipscomb $ 47,900
21 Adriano Zimonyi $ 47,300
22 Chad Brown $ 45,300
23 Evelyn Ng $ 42,700
24 Craig Hartman $ 42,200
25 David Prat $ 41,600
26 Gus Hansen $ 41,200
27 David Norrie $ 38,100
28 Denny Williams $ 36,200
29 Amnon Filippi $ 34,700
30 Tom Lock $ 34,600
31 Audrey Kania $ 34,100
32 Steven Dannenmann $ 33,200
33 Humberto Brenes $ 32,700
34 Barry Greenstein $ 32,300
35 Clonie Gowen $ 32,000
36 Johan Storakers $ 30,400
37 John Esposito $ 30,200
38 Allen Kessler $ 29,700
39 Todd Brunson $ 28,300
40 Noli Francisco $ 28,200
41 Scott Jensen $ 27,400
42 Mimi Rogers $ 26,500
43 Jesse Jones $ 26,500
44 Jimmy Tran $ 26,400
45 Blair Rodman $ 25,900
46 Steve Diamatas $ 25,600
47 Davood Mehrmand $ 24,700
48 Matt Smith $ 24,300
49 Andy Goetsch $ 24,300
50 Matt Lefkowitz $ 23,400
51 Herman Zango $ 23,200
52 Louis Drogin $ 22,900
53 Tuan Le $ 22,500
54 Paul Darden Jr. $ 22,400
55 Tony Cousineau $ 22,400
56 Jared Smith $ 22,300
57 Jon Favreau $ 22,000
58 Hoyt Corkins $ 21,700
59 Lynette Chan $ 21,200
60 Ali Sarkeshik $ 21,200
61 Kevin Weisman $ 21,100
62 Gavin Smith $ 20,400
63 Casey Kastle $ 19,300
64 Alexander Stevic $ 18,900
65 Sam Simon $ 18,400
66 Nick Schulman $ 17,700
67 Danny Masterson $ 17,700
68 Wil Wheaton $ 17,500
69 Rossi Morreale $ 16,200
70 Bob Van Horne $ 14,700
71 Nam Le $ 14,600
72 Joe Viceroy $ 14,600
73 Al Ardebili $ 14,300
74 Marko Trapani $ 13,400
75 Kathy Griffin $ 13,300
76 Chuck Pacheco $ 12,700
77 Philippe Rouas $ 12,600
78 Tony Ma $ 12,400
79 Jeannette Crandall $ 11,500
80 Ben Roberts $ 11,100
81 Doug Carli $ 11,100
82 David Welch $ 10,900
83 Farzad Bonyadi $ 10,300
84 Orlando Maldonado $ 10,100
85 Bart Hansa $ 9,900
86 David Cossio $ 9,800
87 Mark Tenner $ 9,100
88 Adrian de Carteret $ 8,600
89 Neil Wright $ 8,500
90 Marco Traniello $ 6,100
91 Dick Van Patten $ 5,800
92 Karina Jett $ 5,600
93 Charlie Donaldson $ 5,300
94 Andy Simpson $ 5,300
95 Danny Smith $ 4,600
96 David Levi $ 3,200
97 Mike Matusow $ 2,300
98 Steve Mould $ 2,100

***** Live Blogging Updates *****

5:45pm... Wil Wheaton frantically called me, "Doc, I'm on severe traffic tilt." Wil thought that today started at 6pm. Actuallty it's 6:30, so he's fine. Here's Wil's starting table:

Day 2 - Wil's Table:
Seat 1: Steve Lipscomb $47,900
Seat 2: Amnon Filippi $34,700
Seat 3: Wil Wheaton $17,500
Seat 4: Scott Fischman $94,600
Seat 5: Tom Lock $34,600
Seat 6: Adriano Zimonyi $47,300
Seat 7: Coley Laffoon $61,300
Seat 8: Judson Swimner $58,600
Seat 9: Blair Rodman $25,900

6:00pm... The Poker Wire girls confrotned me about my blog. "I have some issues," mentioned Poker Wire Heather. "About the Top 5 Things Tournament Reporters Do On Breaks... post." Yeah, they wanted me to set the record staright that they do not download German pissing porm, nor masturbate in the Men's room like Spaceman, nor do they do "hookers and blow" on dinner breaks. When everyone is on a break, the Poker Wire girls are hard at work on the floor getting chipcounts. They don't take breaks and are the hardest working media reps in the business.

6:15pm... Wil arrived and now he's ready to double up against some bigtime pros. I'm sitting in press row next to Foiled Coup and in front of the Poker Wire Girls.

6:25pm... Prop Bet Update: We have two. The O/U is set at 1:30am. BJ has the under. And I also have a last longer with BJ. He has Isabelle Mercier and I got Wil Wheaton. He's giving me 3 to 1. I also have a last longer with the crazy Norwegians who have been kicking my ass in Olympics prop bets. They are giving me 6 to 1 that Gus Hansen will last longer than Wil Wheaton.

6:31pm... Cards are in the air!

6:45pm... Recent Eliminations: Several quick bustouts. You can hear dealers announcing, "All in!" Karina Jett, Marco Traniello, Dick Van Patten, Ron Levi, Bob Van Horne, ared Smith, Jeannette Crandall, David Cassio, David Welch, and Adriano Zimonyi are all out. Dick Van Patten's 10-10 were cracked by A-4. The guy caught trips on him.

6:50pm... Wil Wheaton Update: Wheaton 1, Fischman 0. Phil Hellmuth was moved to Wil's table. With 3-3 Wil raised rpeflop and Scott Fischman raised him half his stack. Wil thought about it for a moment and called. Fischman had A-6. The flop had three clubs and Fischman had the Ace of clubs. Wil lead all the way and rivered a full house to double up. He has 37K now and looking strong.

6:56pm... Recent Eliminations: Jimmy Tran is out. Phil Hellmuth was sent to the rail by Scott Fischman. I'm bummed that Hellmuth got busted. I wanted Wil to drop the Hammer on him and get Hellmuth on uber-tilt.

7:11pm... Recent Eliminations: Jon Faverau, Evelyn Ng, Paul Darden, Sam Simon, Chad Brown, Louis Drogin, and Charlie Donaldson are all out.

7:12pm... Wil Wheaton Update: Wheaton 1, Anne Heche's husband 0. Wil Wheaton won a monster pot in a three way hand with pocket aces. He busted Amnon Filippi's 7-7 and doubled through Cooley Laffoon's J-J. Wheaton now has over 90K and has a shit eating grin on his face. We need to check his shorts for cum stains because I think he jizzed in his pants.

7:15pm... Wil Wheaton Update: Wheaton was just moved to a new table. He's got the stunning Lynette Chan to his right and Al Ardebili, Gus Hansen, and Tuan Le to his left. He's got 95K and looking good.


Lynette Chan, Wil Wheaton, Al Ardebili, and Gus Hansen (far right)
7:30pm... Recent Eliminations: Lynette Chan was busted by Al Ardebili. Cooley Laffoon, Steve Diamantas, and Ali Sarkeshik are also out.

7:37pm... Recent Elimination: I never had a chance to grope Mimi Rogers. She was just eliminated. There are about 56 players remaining. Probably less. Around 9 celebrities left.

7:42pm... Mike Matusow is singing a song called, "Alan Goehring is my hero."

7:45pm... Recent Elimination: Gus Hansen, JR Liebster, and Hoyt Corkins are all out. Gus Hansen was busted by Barry Greenstien. I just won 600 Euros. I had Wil Wheaton in the last longer against Gus Hansen. I was getting 6-1 which was a steal. Thank you Wheaton. You just got me unstuck from my Olympic prop betting with my friends in Norway.

Top 5 Chipcount:
1 Scott Fischman $200K
2 Ugur Marangoz $135K
3 An Lai Lu $110K
4 Will Alaimo $110K
5 Wil Wheaton $102K

8:00pm... Recent Eliminations: Kathy Griffin, Nam Le, Farzad Bonyadi, Kevin Weisman, Davood Mehrmand and Bob Van Horne are out. We're down to under 50 players.

8:15pm... Bouncin Round the Room: At the break, I got another interview with Wil and he introduced me to Jason Alexander. He lost a big pot early in the day to get crippled... boat over boat. Mike Matausow walked up to Alexander and said, "Good luck. What's your name again? Who are you?" I'm sure he was joking around.


Mike Matusow, Steve Dannenamann, and Jason Alexander


Wil Wheaton, Jason Alexander, and Danny Masterson
8:25pm... Recent Eliminations: Ben Roberts and Judson Swimner are both out.

8:30pm... Recent Eliminations: Jason Alexander, Matt Lefkowitz, Todd Brunson, and Gavin Smith are both out. Jason Alexander had 9-9 and lost a race to John Esposito's A-K. We're down to 5 tables and about 44 players remaining.

8:45pm... Shane Nickerson is in the house to sweat. Wil Wheaton. He has 100K.

9:00pm... Recent Eliminations: Al Ardebili, Tony Cousineau, Joe Cassidy, Quin Do, Doug "Rico" Carli, Alan Goehring, and Philippe Rouas are all out. Mike Matusow tripled up, busted Alan Goehring, and got a 10 minute penalty for dropping an F-bomb on the same fuckin' hand. With Q-8 he rivered a Queen to send Goehring's K-8 to the rail. Blair Rodman's A-K was no good too.

9:04pm... Smile Mean Gene. Isabelle Mercier just doubled up.

9:05pm... Recent Eliminations: Gentleman John Gale is out along with Shawn Buchanan. Danny Masterson is also out when Jesse Jones busted him. I think that there is just one other celeb in the field.... David Norrie. The celebrity who lasts the longest wins $10K for their favorite charity. Wil Wheaton said he was playing for my foundation... The Wayward Home for Sexual Promiscuous 19 Year Old Women.

9:15pm... Former Star Trek Actor Wins Celebrity Last Longer in WPT Invitational! Congrats to George Takei. Just kidding. Congrats to Wil Wheaton... for outlasting all the celebs. I can't wait to see how an evil corporation like AOL takes financial advantage of that future post and exploits Wil. Anyway, Wheaton has to outlast Isabelle Mercier so I can win my prop bet with BJ.

9:20pm... Recent Eliminations: 3 tables left. 26 players remaining. Johan Storakers, Craig Hartman, and David Norrie are all out.

9:25pm... Wil Wheaton Update: One of the tournament directors annoucned that Wil Wheaton won the celebrity last longer and that he won $10K for his charity... City of Hope. Everyone applauded and one player at his table joked, "Go all in now!"

Wil's New Table:
Seat 1: Jesse Jones
Seat 2: Wil Wheaton
Seat 4: Scott Jensen
Seat 5: Scott Fischman
Seat 6: Barry Greenstein
Seat 7: Tuan Le
Seat 8: Steve Lipscomb
Seat 9: An Lai Lu

9:35pm... Recent Eliminations: Steve Dannenmann and Will Alaimo are both out.

9:40pm... Recent Eliminations: Wil Wheaton is out. With 10-10 on the button, he moved all in and ran into Scott Jensen's A-A. He took 23rd place. 22 Players remain.

9:41pm... Time stamps have been fixed. Wil is doing a bustout interview with the WPT (minus Courteny Friel). He did mention poker bloggers int he interview and something about Otis having a nice ass.


Wil's bustout interview
10:45pm... Prop Bet updates: Sorry for the delay in updates. I was drinking in the sports bar with Wil and Shane. Stay tuned for a real update. I won a prop bet with Shane & Wil over the last digit of the tab. I had 1-3, Shane had 4-6, and Wil had 7-9. I came through in the cutch. I also settled my prop bet with BJ. Yes... BJ 1, Pauly 0. I'm still geeked out about nailing a 6-1 prop bet with a consortium of nihlist Norwegians from a smoky pub in Oslo, who all thought that Gus Hansen aka The Great Dane would outlast Wil "Fuckin" Wheaton. Little did they know that Wil harnessed the powers of the Monkey. That huge win almost unstuck me for the entire Olympics.

11:00pm... Recent Eliminations: Mike Matusow and Tuan Le are out. Tuan was busted by Steve Lispcomb. Isabelle Mercier was busted by a brutal river suckout. Her 10-10 was holding up until Audrey Kania spiked a Jack on the river with A-Js.

11:30pm... Recent Eliminations: Scott Jensen, Casey Kastle, John Esposito, An Lai Lu, and Matt Korby are all out. Clonie is the chipleader.

Recent Chicpount courtesy of Poker Wire:
1 Clonie Gowen $650K
2 Steve Lipscomb $380K
3 Tom Lock $350K
4 Ugur Marangoz $220K
5 Blair Rodman $215K
6 Barry Greenstein $210K
7 Scott Fischman $200K
8 Jesse Jones $180K
9 Humberto Brenes $160K
10 Lee Watkinson $130K
11 Herman Zango $80K
12 Allen Kessler $70K
13 Audrey Kania $23K

12:01am... Recent Eliminations: Lee Watkinson was busted by Barry Greenstien and Audrey Kania was sent tot he rail by Allen Kessler. Clonie lost a pot with A-K to Tom Lock's K-K. She slipped to $325K. With 11 players remaining, Tom Lock is the chipleader with $850K.

12:20am... Recent Elimination: Humberto Brenes is out. We're down to 9.

Final 9 Chicpounts:
1 Tom Lock $780K
2 Barry Greenstein $469K
3 Steve Lipscomb $397K
4 Blair Rodman $385K
5 Scott Fischman $296K
6 Clonie Gowen $237K
7 Jesse Jones $196K
8 Ugur Marangoz $162K
9 Allen Kessler $82K

12:30am... Recent Elimination: Steve Lispcomb was knocked out by Barry Greenstein. Bad beat too. Barry's K-3 beat Liscomb's A_10 when Barry flopped trip Kings. Barry is the new chipleader with 8 players left.

12:45am... Recent Elimination: Down to 6. Play is over for the night. Clonie Gowen's 10-10 was eliminated by Barry Greenstein's J-J. She took 8th. Scott Fischman finished in 7th place. Blair Rodman's 5-5 held up against Fischman's A-2s.

Final Table Chipcounts (courtesy of Poker Wire):
1 Barry Greenstein $1.119M
2 Tom Lock $740K
3 Blair Rodman $573K
4 Jesse Jones $279K
5 Allen Kessler $166K
6 Ugur Marangoz $64K

12:47am... Prop Bet Update: BJ 2, Pauly 0. I lost the O/U for finishing time. BJ's been hot during the last week!

12:48am... Stay tuned for a photo gallery of Day 2.


Umberto Brenes


Isabelle Mercier


Steve Lispcomb, WPT founder & creator


Wil with a clean shaven Scott Fischman


Phil Hellmuth


Fischman's big stack


Jon Faverau & Paul Darden


Clonie Gowen


Wil's 100K stack


A former Star Trek actor and his monkey...


Dick Van Patten & Gentleman John Gale


Gus Hansen


Blair "Kill Phil" Rodman


Isabelle at work
See you at 5pm on Friday.
posted by Pauly at 2/23/2006 08:52:00 PM |

 
WPT Invitational - Day 1


Some of the brightest stars are out in numbers at Commerce Casino for the annual WPT Invitational, where some of the top names in Hollyweird are rubbing shoulders with poker's elite. As the name suggests, this is an invitation only event so this was the hottest ticket in town. And yes, I wiggled myself an invite.

Change100 asked me this morning of there was going to be a red carpet at the WPT Invitational. She's used to those sorts of things cause she worked in Hollyweird, and I quickly scoffed at the notion, "It's just a poker tournament."

My oh my, I was wrong bigtime. This is not just a poker tournament. It's a Hollywood Poker Tournament. With all the glitz and cheesyness factor rolled into one messy poker burrito. As soon as I drove into the parking lot, I saw the tent and red carpet ready to great limos and Hummers. I had to get new press badge for the event and fumbled through that process. It was border line hellish and reminded me of a scene from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, when Hunter S. Thompson stumbled into the Mint Hotel to check in under a head full of liquid sunshine. I was not mentally prepared for the zoo of paparazzi, with photographers following camera crews and publicists shuffling their clients down the media line, as the Commerce was flooded with reps from several mainstream media outlets. Of course they got first priority, while the normal poker press like Card Player and Poker Wire got pushed to the back of the line. Lucky for me, I mentioned that I wrote for Fox Sports and they quickly ushered me to the front in between Access Hollyweird and the local ABC affiliate.

"Kent Brockman News 4," one news anchor said to me as he shook my hand. His name wasn't really Kent Brockman, but he reminded me of a cross between Kent Brockman from The Simpsons and J. Peterman from Seinfeld.

"Pauly. Doctor Pauly. Fox Sports and the Tao of Poker," I slurred in between sips of my Seven & Seven.

I never drink those. But Ron Rose was drinking Seven & Sevens when I shot the shit with him while we stood in line. And he's a WPT Champion so if it works for him, it works for me. The hallway upstairs was cluttered with banquet tables serving random food. I liked the chocolate covered strawberries. I found the open bar quickly and that's where I realized I could find some of your favorite pros getting sauced up for the event.

Last 5 Pros I Saw at the Open Bar:
1. Ron Rose
2. John Gale
3. Tony G
4. Men the Master
5. Mark Seif

And yes, Men the Master was knocking back Coronas. I stood in the corner with the Poker Wire girls as we watched the security guards turn away big time pros from entering. This is work for some of the media folks and it was hard to enjoy yourself at a cocktail party when you have work looming overhead. I have no problems drinking on the job, so I headed back for a refill.

I didn't work the room. I hate schmoozing people and kissing their asses. If I dig something, I usually keep it to myself. I chatted mostly with Jen Leo and John Caldwell from Poker News. I found Foiled Coup too. Jen Leo cornered Jon Favreau and he told her that his show Dinner for Five will not be on anymore. John Caldwell is a music guy and he was talking to the drummer from No Doubt.

I finally went inside to take photos as they seated everyone. I will post a gallery of photos at the end of this entry.

***** Live Blogging Update *****

7:07pm... Cards are in the air. About 317 players are here.

7:10pm... Here's who's palying: Amir Vahedi, Alan Goehring, Amnon Filippi, Antonio Esfandiari, Bill Edler, Bill Gazes, Brad Berman, Capt. Tom Franklin, Carmel Petresco, Clonie Gowen, Cyndy Violette, Dan Alspach, Daniel Alaei, Daniel Negreanu, Danny Masterson, David "Chino" Rheem, David Levi, David Sutcliffe, Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Evelyn Ng, Gavin Smith, Chau Giang, Gus Hansen, Isabelle Mercier, J.C. Tran, Jean-Robert Bellande, Joanne Liu, John Juanda, John Phan, Jon Kelley, Kenna James, Kristy Gazes, Laura Prepon, Lilly Elvira, Liz Lieu, Lyle Berman, Mario Ho, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Michael Michrachi, Mike Sexton, Mike Wattel, Minh Nguyen, Nenad Medic, Phil Laak, Robert Mizrachi, Scotty Nguyen, Shannon Elizabeth, Steve Brecher, Todd Brunson, Joe Sebok, Josh Arieh, Scott Lazar, Jeff Rine, Humberto Brenes, Adrian Young from No Doubt, Anne Heche, Billy Burke, Boyd Coddington, Camryn Manheim, Carlos Bernard, Cheryl Hines, Chau Giang, Chris Masterson, Christopher Rich, AlCantHang, Cindy Margolis, Coleman Laffoon, David Norrie, David Sutcliffe, Dick Van Patten, Erik Palladino, Gavin Maloof, Jack Black, James Garner, James Woods, Jason Alexander, Jean Smart, Jennifer Tilly, Jon Favereau, Josh Morrow, Kathy Griffin, Kevin Weisman, Kyle Gass, Lou Gossett, Jr., Lou Diamond Phillips, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Matthew Lillard, Meatloaf, Mimi Rogers, Morris Chestnut, Norm McDonald, Patrick Labyorteaux, Richard Kind, Ricki Lake, Rossi Morreale, Sam Simon, Shannon Elizabeth, Stephen Collins, Tom Everett Scott, Wil Wheaton, Willie Garson, Mark Gregorich, Mike Matusow, Patrik Antonius, and Jesse Jones.

7:14pm... Joe Sebok, Clonie Gowen, Mike Matusow, Men the Master, and Amir Vahedi are all at the same table.

7:15pm... Wil Wheaton was playing and he was late due to an audition, but finally arrived. He originally was seated at a table with the 2006 WPT Commerce Champion Alan Goehring and The Grinder. Lucky his seat got filled and he found himself at a table with Mike Sexton, Jason Alexander, and Thomas Everett Scott, who was the celebrity who lasted the longest in the 2005 WPT Invitationa;. I told Wheaton that I'd pay out bounties... $27 to any Scientologist that he busted. I also told him he'd get $100 if he busted anyone with The Hammer.

7:40pm... Recent Elimiantions: Norm MacDonald is out. Steve Z busted along with Cheryl Hines from Curb Your Enthusiasm. She truned trip Jacks with A-J but was rivered by a two outer.

8:00pm... We have to set up in the far hallway, so I can't see the action. I have to do updates and run inside. I'm sweating Wil and watching Isabelle Mercier's table. Ohhh la la. Eat your heart out Mean Gene, or as the say in France... Mangez votre coeur hors de Gene moyen.

8:10pm... Recent Eliminations: Arnold Spee is out. He lost with top pair to someone who flopped a set.

8:15pm... Wil Wheaton folded the Hammer to a raise. It would have won with a Seven high straight.

8:20pm... Recent Elimination: Liz Lieu is out and she begged me not to post it! Her AKs lost to A5s. The river gave Liz a straight, but gave her opponent a nut flush. She wanted me to make sure that my brother Derek knew that she said, "Hello." Looks like Derek's got a big fan!

8:30pm... Players were on a break. I asked Jon Favereau how he was doing.

"I'm up but it's not because I'm good," he said.

Isabelle Mercier updated me on her progress. "I had 15K, now I have 7. I made a stupid play and lost to a fucking flush."

I love hearing F-bombs roll off the tongue of hot women, especially with French accents.

Wheaton and I did an interview in the hallway and we ogled at Jen Tilly's boobs. That is some prime real estate, let me tell you. Mimi Rogers is stunning in real life.

8:47pm... Recent Elimination: Boston Rob is out, along with Allen Cunningham.

8:51pm... So close, yet so far. Here's an actual conversation that I had with a random B-list female celebrity while I was waiting to interview Wheaton.

"Oh my God, you're Dr. Pauly!! I love your blog," she said.

"Really?" I answered as I faked aloofness. "Thanks for reading."

"Yeah, I read you all the time. My boyfriend show me your site during the WSOP. Now I read everyday."

She had me at "Oh!" and lost me with "boyfriend." Of course she has a boyfriend. What hot chick doesn't? Just when I thought I had a shot of bedding a bona fide Hollyweird B-lister, I was brought back down to the harsh reality that I'm still a ugly duckling in a pond of swans. When I realized that I had less than a 2% chance of seeing her naked, I quickly folded.

9:01pm... Recent Elimination: Amanda from Poker Wire told me that Daniel Negreanu busted Carlos Mortenson.

9:15pm... Recent Elimination: Rob Mizrachi, Cindy Margolis, James Krazy Kanuck Worth, and Barry Shulman.

9:20pm... Wil Wheaton update: He's got 13K in chips. You have to file this post under.... Former Star Trek Actor bluffs former Seinfeld actor out of a pot. Yep, Wheaton made a move on Alexander. Wesley Crusher 1, George Costanza 0.

9:35pm... Erick Lindgren folded the Hiltons when Riki Lake moved all in on him. He knew she had him beat and folded. She flashed pocket aces.

9:40pm... Recent Eliminations: Daniel Negreanu is out when his 4-4 lost to A-Ks. Jen Tilly is out as well and is giving a bustout interview with the WPT crew. Jean-Robert Bellande is gone too.

9:55pm... Recent Eliminations: Chip Jett is out. Amnon Filippi busted Chris Masterson. Allen Kessler sent Tom Everett Scott to the rail. Scott moved all in with K-8 and Kessler called with A-K. Jeff Rine is also out.

10:01pm... Recent Elimination: Matt Lillard is out. Joe Sebok is gone as well. He was crippled when he lost a three-way pot. Mel Judah had A-A, Sebok had A-K and a third player had 8-8. The third guy flopped a set of 8s. A few hands later, Sebok was out.

10:15pm... Players are on a break. Wheaton has 15K. During my interview we walked to get a hotdog. We bumped into Matt Laborteaux and his wife. He was in one of my favorite movies of all time. He played Ed in Ski School. He's still in the hunt.

Last 5 Celebrities I Took a Piss Next To:
1. Lou Diamond Philips
2. Danny Masterson
3. Richard Kind
4. Rob from Survivor
5. Matt Lillard

10:25pm... Recent Elimination: Richard Kind is out when he was sent to the rail by Bill Edler. James Woods is out along with Men the Master, who got sent to the rail by Mike Matusow.

10:30pm... Wheaton told me a funny quote. He overheard Mike Matusow corner Matt Savage. "You call this a celebrity tournament? I'm at a table with nine fuckin' pros!"

10:40pm... Nick "Takeover" Schulman and Scott Fischman have over 50K in chips. Isabelle Merceir has 19K in chips.

10:43pm... Recent Elimination: Stuttering John is ooooooooooooooo-ut.

10:45pm... Wil Wheaton Update: John Juanda joined Wheaton's table and he flashed me a look of, "Oh shit!"

10:52pm... Recent Elimination: Wil Wheaton sent John Juanda to the rail. With just 900 in chips, Juanda was all in with K-Q. Wheaton had A-A and flopped an ace! Juanda was sent to the rail and Wheaton has over 16K now.

10:55pm... Recent Eliminations: James Garner, Huck Seed, Amir Vahedi, David "The Dragon" Pham, Ricki Lake, Mike Sexton, Hung La, Jan Fisher, Vince Van Patten, David Wells, Mark Gregorich, Robert Varkonyi, Steve Brecher, Miami John Cernuto, David Plastik, David Chiu, Capt. Tom Franklin, Phil Laak, and Louis Asmo are all out. Ricki Lake had her K-K snapped off by Erick Lindgren's Hilton Sisters.

11:01pm... Recent Eliminations: Tony G and Jerry Buss are both out.

11:30pm... Recent Elimination: Anne Heche is out.

11:45pm... Recent Eliminations: Allyn Shulman, Camryn Manheim, Tom McEvoy, John Phan, Chau Giang, Erick Lindgren, Mark Seif, Antonio Esfandiari, and Nenad Medic.

12:15am... Wil Wheaton Update: With 16K, Wheaton was moved to a new table. He's got Allen Kessler, Joanne Liu, Barry Greenstien, John Kelley, and Jon Favreau at his table. On the brink of elimiantion, Favreau was all in with 4-4 in a three way pot against Barry Greenstien's A-A and John Kelley's A-Q. He spiked a 4 on the river for a set to triple up.

12:20am... One drunk guy is yelling at Shannon Elizabeth's table, "American Pie girl! American Pie girl! I have some rose petals for you."

12:30am... Recent Elimiantions: David Williams, Mel Judah, John Kelley, The Grinder, Linda Johnson, and Lou Diamond Phillips are all out. Willie Garson is also out. As he walked past media row he muttered, "This is the walk of shame. I cannot believe she made that terrible call. She's an awful player."

12:40am... Play is over for the night. About 10 tables left and somethinglike 90 players remaining. Stay tuned for final numbers and a complete photo gallery. Wil Wheaton survived day one. He has a little more than 17K in chips. Action will resume at 6pm on Thursday.

3:01am... Here's a gallery of photos from tonight's event. There are over 30. Feel free to click on each image to see an enlarged view.


James Woods


Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier


Daniel Negreanu


Dick Van Patten


VVP (Far left) and Liz Lieu


Dan Alspach & Patrik Antonious


Monkey Poker


Paul Darden & Tom McEvoy


David Williams


Evy Ng


WSOP Ladies Champion Jen Tilly


Clonie Gowen & Joe Sebok


"All you can eat, baby!"


Ricki Lake & Erick Lindgren


Former Star Trek actor plays poker


Layne says, "I'm gonna raise your blind every time!"


Jason Alexander, Willie Garson (in background), and Mike Sexton


My office...


Todd Brunson


Isabelle at work


Max "The Italian Pirate" Pescatori


Unabomber


Lou Gossett, Jr. and Gus Hansen in a deep conversation


Cowboy Kenna James


Dr. Jerry Buss


Jon Favreau moments before cracking Barry Greenstien's aces


Wil plays with Barry Greenstien (far right)


Blair Rodman & Phil "I Can Dodge Bullets" Hellmuth


Shannon Elizabeth & Al Ardebili


Danny Masterson & Gentleman John Gale


More Wil


Jesse Jones


Humberto Brenes


Wil survives Day 1 of the WPT Invitational

See you at 6pm PCT for Day 2 for more live blogging updates. Wil got a good draw for Day 2. Here's Wil's seating assignment couresty of Poker Wire:

Day 2 - Wil's Table:
Seat 1: Steve Lipscomb $47,900
Seat 2: Amnon Filippi $34,700
Seat 3: Wil Wheaton $17,500
Seat 4: Scott Fischman $94,600
Seat 5: Tom Lock $34,600
Seat 6: Adriano Zimonyi $47,300
Seat 7: Coley Laffoon $61,300
Seat 8: Judson Swimner $58,600
Seat 9: Blair Rodman $25,900

End of Day 1 CHipcounts:
1 Ugur Marangoz $ 96,800
2 Scott Fischman $ 94,600
3 John Gale $ 92,700
4 Shawn Buchanan $ 76,600
5 Joe Cassidy $ 68,400
6 An Lu $ 68,300
7 Jason Alexander $ 63,700
8 Lee Watkinson $ 62,100
9 Coley Laffoon $ 61,300
10 Alan Goehring $ 61,300
11 Judson Swimner $ 58,600
12 Quinn Do $ 55,000
13 Dante Oliveto $ 54,700
14 Phil Hellmuth $ 54,300
15 Matt Carboy $ 53,400
16 Jeff Liebster $ 53,100
17 Bill Edler $ 52,100
18 Will Alaimo $ 48,400
19 Isabelle Mercier $ 48,100
20 Steve Lipscomb $ 47,900
21 Adriano Zimonyi $ 47,300
22 Chad Brown $ 45,300
23 Evelyn Ng $ 42,700
24 Craig Hartman $ 42,200
25 David Prat $ 41,600
26 Gus Hansen $ 41,200
27 David Norrie $ 38,100
28 Denny Williams $ 36,200
29 Amnon Filippi $ 34,700
30 Tom Lock $ 34,600
31 Audrey Kania $ 34,100
32 Steven Dannenmann $ 33,200
33 Humberto Brenes $ 32,700
34 Barry Greenstein $ 32,300
35 Clonie Gowen $ 32,000
36 Johan Storakers $ 30,400
37 John Esposito $ 30,200
38 Allen Kessler $ 29,700
39 Todd Brunson $ 28,300
40 Noli Francisco $ 28,200
41 Scott Jensen $ 27,400
42 Mimi Rogers $ 26,500
43 Jesse Jones $ 26,500
44 Jimmy Tran $ 26,400
45 Blair Rodman $ 25,900
46 Steve Diamatas $ 25,600
47 Davood Mehrmand $ 24,700
48 Matt Smith $ 24,300
49 Andy Goetsch $ 24,300
50 Matt Lefkowitz $ 23,400
51 Herman Zango $ 23,200
52 Louis Drogin $ 22,900
53 Tuan Le $ 22,500
54 Paul Darden Jr. $ 22,400
55 Tony Cousineau $ 22,400
56 Jared Smith $ 22,300
57 Jon Favreau $ 22,000
58 Hoyt Corkins $ 21,700
59 Lynette Chan $ 21,200
60 Ali Sarkeshik $ 21,200
61 Kevin Weisman $ 21,100
62 Gavin Smith $ 20,400
63 Casey Kastle $ 19,300
64 Alexander Stevic $ 18,900
65 Sam Simon $ 18,400
66 Nick Schulman $ 17,700
67 Danny Masterson $ 17,700
68 Wil Wheaton $ 17,500
69 Rossi Morreale $ 16,200
70 Bob Van Horne $ 14,700
71 Nam Le $ 14,600
72 Joe Viceroy $ 14,600
73 Al Ardebili $ 14,300
74 Marko Trapani $ 13,400
75 Kathy Griffin $ 13,300
76 Chuck Pacheco $ 12,700
77 Philippe Rouas $ 12,600
78 Tony Ma $ 12,400
79 Jeannette Crandall $ 11,500
80 Ben Roberts $ 11,100
81 Doug Carli $ 11,100
82 David Welch $ 10,900
83 Farzad Bonyadi $ 10,300
84 Orlando Maldonado $ 10,100
85 Bart Hansa $ 9,900
86 David Cossio $ 9,800
87 Mark Tenner $ 9,100
88 Adrian de Carteret $ 8,600
89 Neil Wright $ 8,500
90 Marco Traniello $ 6,100
91 Dick Van Patten $ 5,800
92 Karina Jett $ 5,600
93 Charlie Donaldson $ 5,300
94 Andy Simpson $ 5,300
95 Danny Smith $ 4,600
96 David Levi $ 3,200
97 Mike Matusow $ 2,300
98 Steve Mould $ 2,100

See you at 6pm.
posted by Pauly at 2/22/2006 10:29:00 PM |

 
WPT LA Poker Classic Day 6: The Final Table


After six longs days of poker, we've finally reached a final table for the LA Poker Classic at Commerce Casino. 692 players, celebrities, and satellite wnners forked up $10K each for a shot at $2.3M first place prize, a set in the $25K WPT Championships, and bragging rights for winning the biggest poker tournament (total prize pool) ever in California. Right now, JC Tran sits on top as the chipleader, with WPT champion Alan Goehring still in the hunt for his second title. Per Ummer from Sweden is trying to win his first WPT event.

Final Table Chipcounts (courtesy of Poker Wire):
1 JC Tran (Sacremento, CA) $3.72M
2 Per "Nemo" Ummer (Cyprus, Greece) $2.87M
3 Michael Woo (Desert Hot Springs, CA) $2.195M
4 Alan Goehring (Henderson, NV) $1.9M
5 Daniel Quach (Monrovia, CA) $1.655M
6 Steven Simmons (Watertown, NY) $1.505M

Quick Stats:
Chipleader: JC Tran
Total Entrants: 692
Prize Pool: $6,643,200
First Place: $2,391,550

Here's a final table payout list:
1st: $2,391,550
2nd: $1,162,560
3rd: $571,315
4th: $338,803
5th: $265,728
6th: $199,296

***** Live Blogging Updates *****

4:00pm... We're waiting to be let inside. In the meantime, the Poker Wire girls ate BLT sandwiches for lunch, while BJ ate McDonalds and got a St. Pattys Day green milkshake. Spaceman ate corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and baked chicken. I ate In & Out Burger... the double-double with cheese.

4:15pm... I'm set up in media row, sitting in the far corner with Spaceman and BJ. Stay tuned for action. We're supposed to start at 5pm PCT. The crowd just got let into the stage area and the crew is finsihing up last minute preps on the set.

4:20pm... Smoke break!

4:45pm... Prop Bet Update: We got four going in media row to keep things interesting.

1. The O/U in today's tourney was set at 11:20pm. I took the over and BJ has the under.

2. I bet Spaceman that the first bustout will be a bad beat. He has the best hand winning.

3. In the media pool, Spaceman has Per Ummer, BJ has Alan Goehring, and I went with Michael Woo. In these pools, you cannot take the chipleader and I got the last pick. So I'll be pulling for my man Mike Woo today.

4. BJ thinks it will take less than 4 hands before we see our first flop. I got 5 or more.

5:15pm... Celeb Sightings: The Grinder and James Woods is sitting in front of us in Media Row. Juha Helppi is here along with Paul Darden.

5:30pm... Player introductions are starting as we speak. Mike Woo was the first player to win a single table satellite to the LAPC. And now he's here at the final table. JC Tran is the chipleader.

5:38pm... Cards are in the air.

5:39pm... Prop Bet Update: BJ 1, Pauly 0. We got to see a flop on the first hand. I'm already in the hole before the first pot has been pushed to a player! Danoel Quach took down the first pot.

5:41pm... JC Tran is still the chipleader after won a pot against Alan Goehring.

6:00pm... JC Tran is up to $4.1M in chips.

6:06pm... Bouncin Round the Room: Announcer Linda Johnson pointed out that James Woods was in the crowd. He took 24th place in this event and was playfully talking smack with Mike Woo, who busted him when his A-A held up against Q-Q. By the way, Evelyn Ng is also here in the crowd.

Updated Chipcount:
1. JC Tran $3.8M
2. Per Ummer $2.7M
3. Daniel Quach $2.4M
4. Mike Woo $2.2M
5. Steven Simmons $1.290M
6. Alan Goehring $1.2M

6:13pm... In the biggest hand of the day, Steven Simmons raised preflop to $150K. JC Tran raised to $400K and Simmons moved all in over the top. Tran thought about calling for a while before he folded. Simmons has the reputation of being a tight player, so we suspect he had a big hand like Aces or Kings. That was the first hand he played so far, through 14 hands.

6:30pm... Per Ummer won his first pot of the day and won another one soon after. JC Tran was in both hands with him. 22 hands in and we're still looking for the first bustout.

6:38pm... Daniel Quach was the second player to move all in today. He went over the top of JC