By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV
Today is the first big day at the 2008 WSOP. The five-day $50,000 HORSE extravaganza begins at 5pm. Personally, I feel that 50K HORSE is the most important event at the WSOP, especially with the Main Event final table delay this year.
Who knows what to expect. It could be exciting. It could be totally lame. Bottom line... 100+ of the top players in the world will be in the event along with a few people you say, "Wait? How the hell did XXXX get staked for this event?"
I was fortunate to get a piece of 2007 Player of the Year Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schneider. My money, albeit a small amount, is in play today in the HORSE event. So I'll be definitely be keeping an eye on DonkeyBomber's progress.
There are four events today with one final table...
Event #42 $1,000 Seniors NL - Final TableHere's the final table for the Seniors...
Event #43 $1,500 PLO8 - Day 2
Event #44 #1,000 NL w/ Rebuys - Day 1
Event #45 $50,000 HORSE - Day 1
Event #42 $1,000 Seniors NL - Final Table:
Seat 1: Marc Fluss (Scottsdale, AZ) - 873,000
Seat 2: Charles Wood (Austin, TX) - 531,000
Seat 3: Ed Clark (Sacramento, CA) - 504,000
Seat 4: Martyn Wilson (Bridgnorth, UK)- 454,000
Seat 5: Peter Silverstein (Houston, TX) - 435,000
Seat 6: Dale Eberle (Akron, OH) - 1,414,000
Seat 7: Fred Berger (Slidell, LA) - 518,000
Seat 8: Dan Lacourse (Toledo, OH) - 1,364,000
Seat 9: Jerry Yamachika (North Las Vegas, NV) - 558,000
12:01pm...
My tech issues seemed to be resolved. I sent my buddy Daddy to investigate. He was equipped with a roll of duct tape and a blow torch. The result? He fixed the intertubes and sent me a cryptic text that read " Anyone ever jerk off into an old mitten? And if so, did you blow into the thumb part, or the combined finger section?"
I'm 35 years old. Most of the people in my life are mentally imbalanced souls, degenerate gamblers, drug fiends, and compulsive masturbators. And those are my close friends.
Arrived early to prep for HORSE, which means I got here early and bet on the O/U for the total number of runners today. I think it's gonna be 169. I have several bets for UNDER 170, UNDER 175, UNDER 180, and OVER 155.
Off to watch Germany vs. Turkey in the Final Four of the European Championships.
1:54pm...
The Germans won 3-2. The feed went out due to a lightning strike, so I went on slight-tilt not being able to sweat my bet. Anyway, the Germans advanced to the finals and I have them to win it all. Spain plays Russia tomorrow. I bumped in Anguila from Madrid. He's in town to play the 6-handed event on Thursday which is set at the same time as Spain's game. He wondered who he has to grease to the get the game on one of the big screens.
Event #44 NL Rebuys: Slew of online guys in this event juicing up the prize pool such as TheWacoKid, BelowAbove, Bond18, ShaunDeeb, Nordberg, and Gobboboy. YelowSub and Terrence "not johnny" Chan are among the chipleaders. Kristy Gazes in in for 9K.
A few moments ago, Lance swore that he saw a guy walking past the press box who looked like Chip Reese. I think it was Chip's ghost returning to sweat his friends.
3:14pm...
Harrahs stooped to a new low when they sold advertising space in the actual urinals. Instead of pissing on a generic plastic freshness, some of them have been replaced with a branded gizmo that even lights up so you'll look down and see what the hell you are pissing on.
I'm waiting for them to start whoring out the toilet paper and when you go to wipe your ass, you'll see an ad for Penn and Teller, before you crinkle it up and wipe away.
Event #44 NL Rebuys: Sad day for Shaniac and Gobboboy fans. They are both out of today's event. Several Europeans have built up stacks in early play such as Nicholas Levi, Dag Martin Mikkelsen, and Thomas Wahlroos. That event is split up between the Amazon Room and the Brasilia Room. I have been taking secret passage ways to peek in on both events to avoid the clusterfuck in the hallway. By day 27, getting pitched stuff like third-rate energy drinks has gotten a old, although I never get tired of the strippers plugging Sapphire Pool.
90+ minutes until HORSE. Only 23 tables set up in an extremely spacious section. I gotta say that I like the set up since they'll be playing in front of the pressbox. Still no official word on how many players signed up. However, Joe Hachem made a Day 2 of PLO8. Wonder if that will prevent him from playing HORSE?
4:20pm...
PokerShrink said there are 136 players registered in today's HORSE. That number should increase a bit... but it's gonna be close if they break last year's number.
Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!
* * * * *
5:10pm...
Event #45 50K HORSE: HORSE is underway. 90 minute levels. They will play five levels today.
Jeffrey Pollack asked for a moment of silence in memory of Chip Reese.
"We are going to play a poker game he loved the most," said Freddy Deeb before he announced, "Shuffle up and deal."
DonkeyBomber drew Chad Brown, German pro Markus Somethingorother, and Chau Giang's table, which includes a couple of guys I had never seen before.
Access to the floor is limited, unless you are a Milwaukee's Beast girl then you can stroll through the tournament area.
I'm sitting in between everyone's favorite spicy Brazilian dish, Maridu, and Otis in the press box which for the first time since the WSOP began is completely packed. Even photographers are camped out looking for a couple of shots.
Benjo and I had a blind draft. He and I both picked five players who we thought would win. Since we both had Ivey and Benyamine on our lists, both were ineligible. We both picked two more players and our teams were set.
Benjo: Barry Greenstien, David Singer, Mike Matsuow, David Chiu, and Doyle BrunsonWe have bets on who's gonna win, who makes a final table, and who cashes.
Pauly: Andy Bloch, Daniel Negreanu, Rob Hollink, Marcel Luske, and Mike Sexton
Sexton is my wild card and Marcel has been running good.
The tournament clock reads... 129 players. Registration is still open. If you have $50K to blow and want to play in a WSOP event, hurry up and come down to the Rio!
Isabelle Mercier sighting. She's glowing and is wearing a tight red shirt. She's sitting at a table in front of the press box snuggled in between Dario Minieri and Jeff Lisandro.
The toughest table I saw so far... Ralph Perry, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Perry Friedman, Johnny World, RW3, and OMGClayAiken. The only unknown at that table is... the dealer.
6:10pm...
Event #45 50K HORSE: Man oh man. The most erotic thin you can see at the WSOP is Isabelle Merceier eating a banana.
John Juanda already hard at work and getting a massage.
TJ was raking in a pot and I swear that he was dreaming of boxcars. He has former WSOP champion Jim Bechtel at his table. When Bechtel won the WSOP in 1993, he won $1 million. That's chump change these days.
Here's another rough and tumble table... Andy Bloch, David Oppenheim, Lyle Berman, mig.com, Jen Harman, and David Singer.
Here's an odd table. Chainsaw Kessler, Andy Black, Sheiky, Bill Chen, and Barry Greenstein. One part of the table won't shut up and the other will just bore you to death.
The following players are not in today's HORSE event: Vinny Vinh, Eskimo Clark, Patrik Antonius, and two-time WSOP bracelet winner John Phan.
No Finnish boy toy. "Something must be wrong," remarked Maridu. "He just doesn't miss something like this. He would take action on a $1 prop bet. I don't care if he has a tonsil sticking out of his neck. Something's not right."
I also didn't see Johnny Chan listed... until he walked in 67 minutes later.
The pressbox is a jam packed with people I have never seen before. Vultures, Hipsters. Fly-by-night reporters. Newbies. Oldies. And a couple of crackheads from Wicked Chops Poker.
Michalksi is a no-show.
When one fan takes a photo with flash, the floor guy gets on the mic and says, "No flash photography please." And then another one goes off five minutes later.
Guys who I think should have saved their money? David Bach and Chris Reslock. Most likely both had backing. Watch, both players will make the final table.
8:27pm...
I'm mainly focusing it on HORSE, but there are a few other events going down.
Event #42 Seniors: We have a new bracelet winner. His name is... Dan Lacourse.
Event #43 PLO8: Erik Seidel shortstacked with 16 to go.
Event #44 NL Rebuys: Newly signed PokerStars pro William Thorson is playing in the rebuys event. With the favorable exchange rate of the dollar vs. Swedish Kronor, I'm shocked that he didn't buy into the HORSE event. Ah, he's a nutty NL player and that's his game. Bond18 is also in the mix along with Johnny Mushrooms. Terrance Chan is among the chipleaders. Sadly Kristy Gazes is busto.
Event #45 50K HORSE: The Great Dane is out in front of the pack. Fear Gus Hansen and his manliness. There are 147 players according to the board. Durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr is one of the young internet pros in the mix. And yes, DonkeyBomber is dwelling in the cellar.last in chips on the leaderboard.
The once packed pressbox has thinned out a bit which makes it more breathable. There are plenty of fans left on the rail, though, snapping pics with cellphones.
HORSE is on a dinner break and will resume at 9:30pm. Registration is still open until 9:30pm. If you have $50,000 and want to play HORSE, your seat awaits you at the Rio.
Dinner break means it is time to binge drink with British journalists and act like football hooligans.
9:21pm...
Event #43 PLO8: Erik Seidel remain alive with 11 to go. Seidel is putting himself in position to make another final table and try to win his 9th bracelet. Once again Seidel flies under the radar. While everyone is focused on the HORSE event, Seidel is quietly chasing history in the Brasilia Room. I think he'd prefer that... to play cards away from the spotlight and out of reach from the cameras and intense media scrutiny.
Event #44 NL Rebuys: Real Estate guru Tommy Vu is playing in the event along with John Phan. Brandon Schaefer is still alive.
Event #45 50K HORSE: Players are still on a dinner break, but there are 148 players listed on the board. Someone bought in at the very last minute.
I heard a rumor that cards were marked by players in the HORSE and had to be removed from play. I'm going to investigate that and dig around.
Update: A dealer mentioned to the floor that there was some shenanigans going on with the cards in the HORSE event. The marked card (an Ace) and entire deck was pulled. Three decks in total were removed from play during the break. I heard a number that was as high as six decks. And the cards that were marked? Aces of course.
As one veteran poker player said, "Heck, some of the biggest card markers in poker are playing in the HORSE event today."
When players returned from the break, a woman with huge boobs asked Marcel Luske for a pic. He obliged, of course. TJ Cloutier was caught by this writer sneaking a peak. Good for TJ.
I later found out that the chick was a hooker who had wandered onto the floor and straight up asked the guys of they needed her services.
10:23pm...
Event #43 PLO8: Final table bubble. Players returned from a break. Shortly before they left, Seidel doubled through German online pro Martin Klaser. That hand pushed Seidel up to second in chips. One more elimination and Seidel makes his 26th final table at the WSOP.
Event #45 50K HORSE: Score one for the math geeks. Bill Chen on top of the chip count. Tony G sat out the first couple of levels before he showed up at dinner break. When he finally arrived, he quickly ordered a masseuse. Last year? The G was the first to go busto.
Who's got the Bose? Several pros are rockin' noise reduction head phones and may or may not be listening to music or simply drowning out the sound. I can glimpse out into the entire HORSE field from the pressbox and noticed that Todd Brunson, Erick Lindgren, Chad Brown, Daniel Negreanu, David Levi,and Eli Elezra all wore noise reduction head phones.
Players just going with simple ear buds... John Juanda, Steve Sung, Dario, Thor Hansen, Gus Hansen, Marcel Luske, and Billy the Croc.
DonkeyBomber raised the hood on his hoodie. He's going full blown DonkeyBomber mode. He wandered over to Matusow's table and the two joked back and forth. Matusow must be on his proper meds today because he's unusually quiet.
11:25pm...
Event #43 PLO8: Final table is set. Erik Seidel is second in chips and will try to win his 9th bracelet tomorrow.
Event #44 NL Rebuys: 180 to go. Bumped into Brandon Schaefer at the break. His face was all red which meant that he was drinking. One of his buddies tried to get him to start at noon, but he held out for a few hours. When he finally gave in, he knocked back Crown & Cokes. Many. Several. Lots. He stopped drinking an hour ago.
Event #45 50K HORSE: Official numbers released. 148 runners. I won a few prop bets. Same number of players as last year.
First player out is Aussie strip club owner Jamie Pickering. He took second in PLO against Vanessa Selbst a couple of weeks ago. He was shithoused drunk at the final table and had a hot stripper girlfriend on the rail sweating him. Well, he was back and way overmatched. He simply donated his PLO winnings to this tough crowd.
DonkeyBomber was near the bottom until he picked up a pot and got back on track. He was looking chipper during the break. Thank God my horse wasn't the first to bust. Although I lost a bet. I know, if The G finds out that I bet him to bust out first, I might get shot. I know what goes down on the streets. After all, I saw Boyz n the Hood six times... Can we have one night where there ain't no fightin'; nobody gets shot?
12:24am...
I went into the Poker Kitchen and it was friggin freezing. They had the AC on full blast. The cashiers were bundled up in hoodies and fleece jackets. The ROlling Stones was pumping on the speakers. Bracelet winner Dan Heimiller sat around with a couple of friends and chomped down on a piece of cold pizza.
Event #44 NL Rebuys: A sober Brandon Schaefer is still alive along with Aussie Sarah and ShaunDeeb. YellowSub is short. I saw Steve Dannenmann signing autographs shortly before he busted out.
Event #45 50K HORSE: 147 left. mig.com racing towards the early chiplead.
Fossilman bantering with fans on the rail. A really drunk guy was double fisting it and cracking jokes with Tony G while wife snapped a photo. He shouted out to Matusow's table, "Yo Mouth!" Matusow gave him a wave and the guy continued to shout out at different pros. A couple ignored him.
In the hallway, Scotty Nguyen posed for a picture with another fan. Scotty was pimpin' the wifebeater t-shirt today. While Mike Sexton is sporting his pink Party Poker shirt.
Dario is in turtle mode. He's getting a massage and his scarf is pulled up over his mouth and nose.
1:27am...
Event #44 NL Rebuys: Day 1 is complete. 116 remaining out of 879 runner. Brandon Schaefer made it to day 2.
Event #45 50K HORSE: Players returned from a break. mig.com is the chipleader. 146 left after Aaron Katz busted.
No respect for Ali! Ali Nejad waked through the players area and was kindly asked by security to leave.
Most of the rail has gone and the once jam packed pressbox has thinned out. Of course, not one Michalksi sighting today.
Lime tossing! Today was Otis' first day and we did a little lime tossing out back for old times sake. We both missed. Push.
2:33am...
Event #45 50K HORSE: Maybe Hellmuth should have sat out Day 1 and showed up on Day 2... one full day late in true Hellmuthian fashion. He busted out during Level 5. He wandered by Juanda and Matusow's table and mentioned something that I couldn't hear. When he left, several players at the table began ragging on Hellmuth.
The online guys are making a run. OMGClayAiken and mig.com are at the top of the leaderboard.
One of the cute dealers, or as Snake calls DILTF, has a down at DonkeyBomber's table. Donkey is past 100K in chips. Wait, isn't that what they started with?
Isabelle went to the headphones and iPod. She's rockin out to something very Eurotrash.
Patrik Antonius ordered massage. He took a couple of minutes while he instructed the masseuse what to do. She was barely listening and couldn't wait to get her hands on the Finnish boy toy.
RW3 has been sporting a wild Hawaiian shirt. He's a Dallas guy and he knows Michalski from Dallas. Last night Michalski asked him to wear a Pokerati patch and RW3 said, "What's Pokerati?"
2:55am...
Event #45 50K HORSE: Day 1 is complete. Action will resume at 3pm. 140 players remaining.
According to Lance, Phil Ivey tipped a floor guy $100 to bag up his chips for him. Ah, the life of Ivey. He also wasted his $100 HORSE food comp because he used the back to write up all the prop bets he had been doing all night long.
That's it. I'm outta here. Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.
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.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment