The gambling ramblings of Pauly -- a writer, traveler, and degenerate

 
WSOP Day 32 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Back for Day 32 of the WSOP. A little late start to today because of HORSE last night. Have a slight HORSE hangover. Four events today....

Event #49 $1,500 NL - Final Table
Event #50 $10,000 PLO - Day 2
Event #51 $1,500 HORSE - Day 2
Event #52 $1,500 NL - Day 1

And here's today's final table...

Event #49 $1,500 NL - Final Table:
Seat 1: Christoph Kohnen (Moers, Germany) - 293,000
Seat 2: Joe Pelton (Irvine, CA) - 1,093,000
Seat 3: Jesper Hoog (Stockholm, Sweden) - 320,000
Seat 4: John Conroy (Dublin, Ireland) - 501,000
Seat 5: Robert Kalb (Offenbach, Germany) - 456,000
Seat 6: JC Tran (Sacramento, CA) - 1,438,000
Seat 7: Chad Siu (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) - 185,000
Seat 8: Peter Nguyen (Tustin, CA) - 870,000
Seat 9: Rasmus Nielsen (Copenhagen, Denmark) - 2,998,000

Can JC Tran win a bracelet? Or will another Euro take it down?

* * * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!



* * * * *
5:20pm...

Event #52 $1.5K Final Table: Down to 2. Rasmus Nielsen has over a 3 to 1 chiplead over JC Tran.

Event #50 10K PLO: 46 players remaining including Johnny Chan. Tony G recently busted. Josh Arieh is the chipleader. Go Billy Madison! My favorite Josh Arieh story happened in Monte Carlo at the EPT Grand Finale in 2007. Arieh dragged a monsterpotten against a Scandi. A member of a foreign news outlet didn't know who Arieh was and asked him hos name. Arieh responded, "Billy Madison."

* * * * *
7:11pm...

Event #49 1.5K NL Final Table: Rasmus Nielsen is stil ahead, but JC Tran caught up a bit.

Event #50 10K PLO: Josh Arieh's stacks finally got counted by FTrain and Camillo. They finally figured out he had 681K.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Down to 81. Bubble time. Chad Brown = chipleader.

... back by popular demand!

Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To:
1. Greg FBT Mueller
2. Hoyt Corkins
3. JDags
4. Scotty Nguyen
5. Dan Alspach

Jesus was in the hallway posing for autographs again. He's always accommodating.

* * * * *
8:12pm...

Event #49 1.5K NL Final Table: JC Tran comes from behind to win the bracelet. He beat a Scandi from Copenhagen to win it all. Plenty of Tran's friends were in the crowd including Tuan Le, Quinn Do, and Tuan Lam. Tran won his first bracelet and said, "this was very difficult. I have been playing at the WSOP for five years. I made lots of final tables but could not get over the hump even though I kept getting close."

He had some interesting strategy.

"I played this like it was my last every tournament, like my last chance to win. That means that I would play harder."

Whatever Tran did to psyche him up, it worked.

Event #50 10K PLO: Down to 37. Josh Arieh has over 11% of the chips in play.

Event #52 1.5K NL: 600 remaining out of 2693 runners. Yep, they are going quick. Erica Schoenberg is in the Top 10 in chips.

* * * * *
9:12pm...

Event #50 10K PLO: 30 to go. Josh Arieh's domination has subsided. He's still the chiplead but no longer has a commanding lead. Aussies Billy the Croc and Jamie Pickering are chasing down Arieh. Day 2 was being played out in the Brasilia Room but ESPN got them to switch the last couple of tables to back into the Amazon Ballroom. Better lighting and more branding. They will be shooting b-roll for the PLO final table. Might turn out to be a good one. Oh, and Nikolay Evdakov set a new record for number of cashes. He now has ten this year.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: 75 to go. They're in the money with Chad Brown second in chips.

Event #52 1.5K NL: 460 to go. Erica Schoenberg and Devilfish = busto. The dragon is the chipleader.

* * * * *
12:42am...

Blew off the All In party. Left the Rio to go see Get Smart at Red Rock. It was blah. I passed out and fell asleep during the end of the second act.

* * * * *
1:42am...

Both Day 2 events are trying to play down to a final table. The PLO one most likely will happen. The HORSE one? It might get down to about 15/16 players before the end play.

Event #50 10K PLO: 16 to go. Kido Pham out in front. Josh Arieh still alive along with Billy the Croc and the Grinder.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: With 32 players to go, Phil Hellmuth is second in chips. Allen Cunningham and Joe Hachem are both still alive.


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 6/30/2008 09:11:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 31: Scotty Nguyen = Horsemaster

By Pauly
las Vegas, NV

Like the previous $50,000 HORSE Championship events, they start on one day and no not end until the next morning. This year's event began on Sunday and spilled into Monday morning. I was there from start (dleayed because Huck Seed was late) to the final hand at 5:03am.

Action was three-handed at the final table for several hours as time slowed down. Erick Lindgren was shortstacked but hung tough like a cockroach while Scotty Nguyen and Michael DeMichele battled back and forth for the chiplead. Lindgren's posse was led by an inebriated Gavin Smith. Several players who Lindgren backed in the past and present were on the rail cheering him on which included Bill Edler, Nordberg, Chris Bell, and Gavin Smith. I dubbed that section "Lindgren's Stable."

While on the other side, it appeared that Michael DeMichele and Scotty Nguyen each had a few people on the rail that were only there because they had pieces of them. I cannot confirm. but I have a sneaky suspicion that Todd Brunson had a piece of Scotty but Layne Flack had 36% of the former world champion. Several online guys like YellowSub and ShaunDeeb had pieces of DeMichele.

The agents were swarming. The media were circling. The backers were licking their chops. A couple of hookers strolled the hallways. Just another night at the WSOP.

Around 1:30am, Lindgren made a heroic comeback to almost pull even with DeMichele and Scotty. That's when Scotty lost his shit for a full level. He was drunk and irritated. Happy Scotty was gone and Evil Scotty took his place. He was out in the deep end and he berated dealers and started to head down the path towards utter tiltdom. Lucky for him, he was saved by the bell. Scotty sobered up and two decisive pots from DeMichele to jump back in the lead.

Scotty never looked back. Just after 4:20am, Erick Lindgren was eliminated in third place. Scotty Nguyen was heads up with a nifty lead against Michael DeMichele, who was just 13 years old when Scotty won the world championship in 1998. It would only take Scotty less than twenty minutes to win his fifth bracelet and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy.

Click here to view Flipchip's winner photos.

I could write a several thousand word recap, but I'll let the live blog from Day 31 do the talking. It appears below...


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 6/30/2008 02:23:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 31 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

At the end of today (more likely in the wee hours of Monday morning), the WSOP will crown its next HORSE Champion. Since the Main Event's final table will be delayed until November, the HORSE bracelet will be the most prestigious bracelet awarded this summer.

This is the last Sunday before the Main Event starts and five tournaments will be played out and two bracelets will be awarded.

Event #45 $50,000 HORSE - Final Table
Event #48 $2,000 NL - Final Table
Event #49 $1,500 NL - Day 2
Event #50 $10,000 PLO - Day 1
Event #51 $1,500 HORSE - Day 1

And here are both final tables for today...

Event #45 $50,000 HORSE - Final Table:
Seat 1: Matt Glantz (Philadelphia, PA) - 1,445,000
Seat 2: Huck Seed (Las Vegas, NV) - 1,200,000
Seat 3: Patrick Bueno (Paris, France) - 695,000
Seat 4: Lyle Berman (Minneapolis, MN) - 1,430,000
Seat 5: Scotty Nguyen (Las Vegas, NV) - 3,535,000
Seat 6: Barry Greenstein (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) - 1,955,000
Seat 7: Michael DeMichele (Las Vegas, NV) - 905,000
Seat 8: Erick Lindgren (Las Vegas, NV) - 3,680,000

Event #48 $2,000 NL - Final Table:
Seat 1: Dan Rome (Millington, IL) - 650,000
Seat 2: Ryan D'Angelo (Blacksburg, VA) - 520,000
Seat 3: Marco Johnson (Walnut Creek, CA) - 2,135,000
Seat 4: Kirill Gerasimov (Moscow, Russia) - 1,145,000
Seat 5: Robert Brewer (Sherman Oaks, CA) - 1,050,000
Seat 6: Gabe Costner (Long Beach, MS) - 1,475,000
Seat 7: Alan Cutter (Vernon Hills, IL) - 535,000
Seat 8: Alexandre Gomes (Curitiba, Brazil) - 1,075,000
Seat 9: Sverre Sundbo (Oslo, Norway) - 685,000

* * * * *
12:31pm...

Sitting in Scheckytown and watching Spain/Germany in the Euro Championships. Spain is up 1-0 at halftime. I have more money on Germany than Spain so I need a stellar second half from the Germans.

* * * * *
1:35pm...

Well, the Germans screwed me and Spain won 1-0. Great effort from Spain and a lackluster effort from the Germans. That is my last sports bet until football season. At least Benjo won a big bet with Spain.

* * * * *
3:42pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Cards in the air at 3:42pm.

Huck Seed arrived 26 minutes late. The night before ESPN told him he had to be at the Rio by 2:30pm for his interview. He said, "I'll be sleeping at that time."

It was the battle of the logos. Who is wearing what?

Seat 1: Matt Glantz - PokerStars and PokerRoad
Seat 2: Huck Seed - FullTilt
Seat 3: Patrick Bueno - NONE
Seat 4: Lyle Berman - WPT BootCamp, PokerRoad, All In
Seat 5: Scotty Nguyen - Full Tilt, WPT BootCamp, All In
Seat 6: Barry Greenstein - PokerStars and PokerRaod
Seat 7: Michael DeMichele - Ultimate Bet, All In, WPT Boot Camp, a patch for a poker agent
Seat 8: Erick Lindgren - Full Tilt, RawVegas, and Poker VT

Either Patrick Bueno is not for sale or his price is too high. He's the only player at the final table without a logo.

The new Chip Reese Trophy? Totally ugly. His cute daughter presented it. The only cool think about the trophy is that it is a perpetual award which will be housed at WSOP head quarters. The names of the winners will be engraved.

It arrived chipped and Jeffrey Pollack said that he felt it was fitting (since it's named after Chip Reese) so they decided to keep it.

"This is a really special tournament," said Doyle Brunson.

He also mentioned, "Chip Reese was the best player I ever played against."

Plenty of pros in the crowd including Joe Sebok, Doyle Brunson, Gavin Smith, Jeff Madsen, Todd Brunson, YellowSub, and Steve Wong. I have a feeling that YellowSub has a piece of Michael DeMichele.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!


* * * * *
4:42pm...

Event #48 2K NL Final Table: Eight players left. Tony G's horse Kirill Gerasimov is in the middle of the pack.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 7 players remaining.

Recent elimination: Patrick Bueno

Big stacks: Erick Lindgren, Scotty Nguyen, Michael DeMichele

Shortstack: Huck Seed

Beuno is busto. I walked up to the final table and Benjo whispered, "Bueno is about to go out. He's shortstacked."

The French businessman is a semi-pro. He plays in the biggest cash game in Paris once a week. I guess you can say it's his weekly homegame.

Lindgren took our Beuno in Razz. Down to 7. Lindgren still out in front. More of his horses came to sweat him such as Chris Bell and Nordberg and Gavin Smith. Gavin Smith ripped open a bag of sunflower seeds. He then ordered two trays of cocktails and delivered a drink to Todd Brunson who is sweating Scotty Nguyen. I wonder if Todd has a piece of Scotty?

Phil Hellmuth came up and shook Michael DeMichele's hand since Hellmuth is a UB spokesman and DeMichele is branded with UB. Layne Flack also made an appearance.

Several dealers came by to sweat the final table on their break. After all, they are players and fans too. I heard a few say who they were secretly rooting for. Dealers root for guys based on their nice guy factor. If a pro is a dick, the dealers have very little respect for them. If they are nice guys like Erick Lindgren, you have a hordes of dealers cheering you on.

"Dealing the final table is fun, but stressful," one veteran dealer told me. "Sometimes dealing on TV makes things easier when you have difficult players. They tend to be softer and nicer on TV than when the cameras are not on them."

One example was John Bonetti. The saltiest poker player on the circuit passed away the other night. Max Shapiro wrote me an email at the end of last week and mentioned that Bonetti was in a hospice. Pokerati had the scoop on Bonetti's passing.

Another dealer told me that when news of Bonetti's death reached the dealer's break room, there was a standing ovation. Bonetti was historically known for being one of the worst dealer abusers in the game.

That same dealer told me the only other time he witnessed dealers cheering about a pro's death was with Puggy Pearson. He was in the middle of dealing an event when news got out that Puggy died. Everyone in the dealer's room went nuts and cheered on Puggy's death. He was notoriously known for being the worst dealer abuser in the history of poker.

"Puggy? He was just plain mean. He pissed on two female dealers. He used to wear steel-toed shoes and kick dealers underneath the table."

As Doyle Brunson wrote on his blog, "Puggy Pearson is also on my list. I remember at the old Dunes card room, he got into a fight with a lady dealer name Kim. When a male dealer jumped in to hold Pug back, Kim took off her high heel shoe and was beating Puggy on the head. We laughed about that for years."

Bottom line? Respect your dealers. They're people too.

* * * * *
5:44pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 6 players remaining.

Recent bustout: Huck Seed

Big stacks: Scotty Nguyen, Erick Lindgren, and Matt Glantz

Shorties: Barry Greenstien

Event #48 2K NL Final Table: Kirill Gerasimov busted out in 6th place. Must have been his chic sunglasses that looked like something Michalski would wear. Down to 5.

Several poker agents are lurking around the final tables sweating their players. Extra bonuses kick in if players finish in the top three and especially if they win it all. The HORSE Champion can collect over six figures for wearing a patch. Judging from what went down the last 24-36 hours behind the scenes, it's going to be an all out bidding war during the 3 month delay for the Main Event final table.

Change100 pointed out that Huck Seed was drinking some sort of green wheat grass smoothie or some other concoction.

By Hand #41, the crowd got restless. Several fans already bailed. They finally realized that watching poker on TV is much more exciting than watching it live on the stage. The editors who splice together poker tournaments do an amazing job at cutting out all the dull moments. HORSE might be a 12-15 hour affair spliced down into two hours of coverage. Alfred Hitchcock once said that his movies were just like real life, "with all the dull parts cut out."

One of the dealers told me that she dealt to Erick Lindgren in the 10K PLO event that started at noon. Both him and Greenstein were in that event. Junkies. Addicts. They both have prop bets against each other for number of bracelets and player of the year points. Every event counts. Oh, and both were eliminated from PLO. They are simply focusing on the HORSE final table. Pretty much whoever finishes higher in today's event has an edge on winning Player of the Year... unless John Phan or Jacobo Fernandez wins the Main Event or the last $1,500 donkament which starts tomorrow.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Both Coach and Shirley Rosario are playing in today's event.

Here's Coach in action...



* * * * *
7:13pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 5.

Recent elimination: Barry Greenstein

Big stacks: Scotty Nguyen, Erick Lindgren, Michael DeMichele

Todd Brunson was wearing a "Go Scotty Baby!" t-shirt.

Matt Glantz's buddies brought him a plastic bag filled with snacks and junk food.

There's a spot saved in media row for an AP writer. Of course the AP has yet to spend one day at the WSOP and there's a spot given to them over other outlets and writers who have been here since Day 1. He/she is not here yet. Wonder if they will ever show up?

Where's Scotty's monkey? Be cool to see it run around the stage and shit on Nolan Dalla's laptop.

The poker table used for TV tables is perfectly designed for shilling. After four years ESPN got it down to have logos in the perfect places... ESPN, Rio, Milwaukee's Beast, and Everest Poker.

Event #48 2K NL Final Table: Alexandre Gomes, a Brazilian, is heads up for a bracelet.

Event #49 1.5K NL Kristy Gazes shortstacked but still among the final 64.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Coach has 2825 at the break. Steve Dannenmann sat down to Coach's left, then quickly busted. Also in today's event are DonkeyBomber and Sam Simon from The Simpsons. Jen Creason was also playing "I'm playing PONY!" she joked. Sweet Svetlana walked past me and did not say hello.

* * * * *
9:09pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 5 players left. They are on a dinner break.

Big stacks: Michael DeMichele and Scotty Nguyen

Shorties: Lyle Berman

Event #48 2K NL Final Table: Alexandre Gomes beat CrazyMarco heads up and won Event #48. Gomes becomes the first Brazilian to win a bracelet at the WSOP. My buddy Felipe (from Portugal) made a bet with Flipchip that a player from Brazil will win a bracelet this summer. Flipchip said no way and bet him a free dinner anywhere in town. Looks like he's buying Felipe a lobster dinner after Alexandre Gomes took it down. By the way, if there's one victory party you wanna go to at the WSOP...it's the one thrown by the Brazilians. Gonna try to crash that one...

Event #49 1.5K NL Kristy Gazes made the final four tables. She asked me if I had a PokerNews patch. I had one and she's now branded in Full Tilt and PokerNews logos. I wish I had a Tao of Poker patch to slap on her!

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Coach up to 6500! DonkeyBomber is the chipleader.

* * * * *
10:10pm....

Eskimo Watch: I forgot to write about my Eskimo encounter today. Just outside the poker kitchen, Eskimo was stopped by a fan. They were standing in front of Isabelle Mercier as she smoked a cigarette. The fan told Eskimo that he saw him on TV a bunch of times. Eskimo asked the guy to borrow some money. Just at that moment, L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss sauntered by with his hot twenty-something year old Asian girlfriend. He patted Eskimo on back and left.

Michalski told me that Bryan Micon and David Sklanasky were seated at the same table. Sklansky refused to acknowledge Micon, who taunted him to no end.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 4 remaining.

Recent elimination: Lyle Berman

Big stacks: Scotty Nguyen

Shorties: Matt Glantz

Scotty Nguyen ordered a beer and things got interesting. The beer makes Scotty's face flush beet red. He also perks up and starts hamming things up for the camera. Once action got four handed, it became the Scotty Nguyen Show. During a hand with DeMichele, Nguyen bet on the river and DeMichele went into the tank. Nguyen than picked up his three down cards and showed them to the crowd. That got chuckles from everyone especially Layne Flack who stood behind him. Then Scotty picked up each card one by one. Brooks the floor guy didn't think it was funny and gave Nguyen a warning.

"But I didn't see the cards," protested Flack. "I can't see them from here."

If anything it was a perfect shot for the AP photographer who stood next to me behind the scenes. Nguyen kept laughing. DeMichele called and Nguyen won the pot to take back the lead.

Event #49 1.5K NL Kristy Gazes went out in 34th on a sick beat. "Fucking river!" was her text message.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Coach up to 8200.

* * * * *
11:11pm...

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Three players remaining.

Recent elimination: Matt Glantz

Big stack: Scotty Nguyen

Short stack: Erick Lindgren

Daniel Negreanu is in the crowd and he's doing his best Scotty Nguyen imitation for the crowd. Bill Edler is also sitting in Lindgren's cheering section. He needs a lot of help since hes short stacked.

There's a fat white guy in Scotty Nguyen's entourage who is a clone of Scotty with the mullet, bling, and funky clothes.

Fuck up of the day? They played 11 hands of Stud 8 before anyone noticed. They are supposed to play eight hands then switch to the next round. Ooooooops.

* * * * *
After Midnight...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 3 remaining.

Big stack: Scotty Nguyen

Shorties: Erick Lindgren

It's after Midnight. That's when the freaks come out to play. The hookers wake up and crawl out of their holes and plaster layers of cheap samples that they stole from Dillards.

At the 2006 WSOP HORSE final table, the stands were empty at 5am. The interns were told to go out into the casino and encourage people to sit in the stands. One of them brought back a drunk hooker. She kept pestering Harrahs officials for money to stay.

Crowd has thinned a bit. Scotty Nguyen has a lot of chips and Lindgren is on the verge of busting out. Lingren has the most pros cheering him on. Scotty is the fan favorite among all the random spectators who came out to watch the event. At different times the Milwaukee's Beast Lounge was packed. I tried to catch the action from different angles... from sitting in the stands to hanging out in the lounge, to sitting in media row with MeanGene, Logan, and Change100 who are live blogging the final table for PokerNews. Last year, BJ and I called the action. He was the play-by-play and I was color.

Harrahs suits came to check out the action. Some of them were chatting about they were excited that NBC would shooting some footage of 50K HORSE.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Coach's table broke and he got moved to Mickey Appleman's table. He's shot, under 3900. He did flop quads during hold'em but didn't bet paid off.

* * * * *
1:01am...

I spotted a hooker playing at a 2/5 NL table. It's either a very slow night or been a very good night.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 3 remaining.

Big stack: Michael DeMichele

Shorties: Erick Lindgren

I wandered back to the final table.The crowd was sort of mellow compared to before. It was Sunday night so the drunks were not out in force. The only ones knocking back any booze of sorts were Lindgren's railbirds led by the always festive Gavin Smith. Lindgren's stable of horses was there... Edler, Bell, Nordberg. Layne Flack and Daniel Negreanu were also milling around. Occasionally Negreanu would shout out random phrases in his best Scotty Nguyen impression.

Devilfish was in the stands with his twenty-something girlfriend. She looked bored to death and neurotically did that weird thing where she would bite on her nails or play with her lip like Juliet Lewis in Cape Fear.

YellowSub has been in the audience since 3pm. Either he's a true friend or an anxious backer of Michael DeMichele

Todd Brunson is still in Scotty's corner. He tossed on his shades and is sitting pretty. He has to be backing Scotty. Why would he sit there for so long?

And then there was Chainsaw Kessler sitting in the stands chewing gum.

There's one guy from the third-rate energy drink company that has been spamming the crowd at the final table all afternoon and night. When he's not handing out cheap shit, he's hitting on the ditzy WSOP hostess. That was the same guy who came into the pressbox on Day 1 and tried to get everyone to buy cases of his sugar-water which eats the paint off of cars. They also have bottled water which tastes like mercury. I have visions of a warehouse full of illegal immigrants (most likely from Guadalajara) who are pouring tap water into slick designed water bottles then sealing the caps with blowtorches. They wrap them up and then ship them off to the Rio.

While all of that went down, Nolan Dalla was hard at work and diligently writing out his end of day recap. Hat tip to one of the best in the business.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Coach's table broke again. He has Keith Sexton at his table along with Bart Hanson from Poker Road. When one guy in Seat 7 busted out, he took a photo of his stud hand then left. At the table next to them, Perry Friedman pontificated about why poker movies suck. Another nearby table included Gank, Jerry Buss, and DonkeyBomber.

* * * *
2:02am...

Munchies setting in. I ate my second six-pack of Oeros today.

Lime Tossing Update: In our second match, Otis and I went scoreless again. Another push.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 3 remaining.

Big stack? Hard to tell. Players went on a break and they all have dirty stacks, especially Scotty Nguyen. He's been tilting the last hour. I dunno if the lack of nicotine is getting to him or the pressure or the hot lights or the fact that he's hammered. One thing is for sure, he's heading down the wrong road and giving Lindgren or Michael DeMichele a chance to win it.

Scotty's eyes look mean. He has been berating dealers over the last level. Brooks had to give Scotty a talking to on three different occasions.

Erick Lindgren made an amazing comeback. He was on the verge of getting the boot and stormed back to almost get everyone even in chips.

Gavin Smith got in trouble with Nolan Dalla for almost inciting a riot at the final table. OK, maybe not a riot, but Gavin was promoting binge drinking.

"$100 to anyone who chugs this beer!" he offered up.

ESPN cameras were quick to capture the scene.

Marcel Luske sighting in the crowd.

Event #50 10K PLO: 87 players remaining. Josh Arieh has the chiplead.

Event #51 1.5K HORSE: Coach out. Valiant effort. His two pair was chased down by a bigger two pair. Chad Brown and Phil Hellmuth are among the chipleaders.

* * * * *
3:03pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 3 remaining.

Big stack: Scotty Nguyen

Short stack: Michael DeMichele

After the break, Scotty got his shit together and won two pots off of DeMichele. He took the lead and all of a sudden DeMichele found himself the shortstack. The hunter to the hunted.

I hung out in the Milwaukee's Beast Lounge for most of the last hour. I hid my badge and tried to go undercover. Be just a regular guy on the rail. The bar was still open and serving drinks. I hung out with Marcel Luske. He was getting compliments from different fans. I watched one big hand with Marcel when DeMichele doubled up. He was analyzing something but I had no idea what Marcel was talking about. Either I'm super faded on pharmies or he was speaking Dutch. Maybe both.

A couple of poker fans were in front of me discussing one hand that they felt DeMichele played wrong. Even the drunks in the lounge at 3am are experts and critics.

Change100 told me that she saw two hookers in the bathroom while on her break.

* * * * *
4:04am...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 3 remaining.

Big stack: Scotty Nguyen

Chainsaw Kessler sighting. He stopped chewing gum but still hanging tough in the stands. I wonder if he has a piece of Scotty?

I heard a rumor that Layne Flack has 36% of Scotty Nguyen. I believe it, because 36% is such an odd number that it must be true. I wonder how much Todd Brunson has?

Lindgren supposedly backed 12 guys into almost every event at the 2008 WSOP. Most of his horse are sitting in his cheering section. I call that place Lindgren's Stable. He's got 25 horses ready to run in the Main Event and wanted to get as many as 50. He's currently seeking applications.

Plenty of dealers and floor supervisors are rooting for Lindgren to come from behind and win it. "He's the best tipper," was a phrase that I heard several times.

By the way, the same two dealers who started the event are still here. They deal 16 hands then switch. Troopers for sure.

Mike Matusow sighting. As one Harrahs exec said, "I heard his voice from the other side of the room and I knew Mike was at the final table."

Phil Hellmuth stopped by when his baby HORSE event completed Day 1. He tried to get camera time and went up on stage to shake Scotty's hand. He stood in one area that Steve Frezer dubbed, "the pros who want to be on camera section." That group included Daniel Negreanu, Layne Flack, Mike Matusow, Hellmuth, and Marcel Luske.

Flack was out of control at one point and had to be given a talking to by security and floor staff. He was jumping up and down and screaming, "What's up baby! What's up baby! What's up baby! What's up baby!" He was waving his arms and screaming and jumping up on stage.

ESPN guys are thinking 7am or 8am for the final hand.

"If it goes to seven, I hope it goes to eleven!" screamed Gavin Smith as he walked past me as players went on a break.

As I walked back to the pressbox, I passed the cash game tables. One old guy was screaming, "Steam raise! Steam raise! Steam raise! Steam raise! Steam raise! Steam raise!"

The cash games are still running at 75% capacity. Don't these people have homes?

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Two players remaining.

Erick Lindgren was just eliminated in third place. Scotty Nguyen is the chipleader over Michael DeMichele.

You know it's a long day when there are two smoke breaks! This morning's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!


* * * * *
5:05pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Scotty Nguyen wins! He collected his fifth bracelet after defeating Michael DeMichele heads up.

Before Scotty won, it was a crazy scene. Although Lindgren's stable emptied out, a new batch of drunks sat in that section. Layne Flack was in there and super wasted... like Dudley Moore drunk in the flick Arthur. He screamed a lot and was cheering on Scotty who had two massive piles of chips.

Some of the things he yelled...

"What's up baby!"

"I'm not drunk. Chill the fuck out dude!"

"What game are we playin'?"

"Brick!"

Scotty yelled out, "Brick this! Some asshole yelled out brick!"

Before Scotty had put Michael DeMichele all in during Hold'em Scotty uttered one of his most famous lines, "It's gonna be all over baby!"

And in a flash, at 5:03am Michael DeMichele was all in with A-3 against Scotty's A-10. Scotty's hand prevailed. He won his fifth bracelet and the 50K HORSE title and $1,989,120.

Respect to Scotty. Well played, sir.

HORSE will be aired on ESPN on August 19th. Check local listings.

Well I guess that's it. Amazing night. One of my favorite that I had ever had in poker. Memory burn for sure.

I will post my recap shortly. Time for a last beer and some breakfast before I return to Scheckytown to write. Thanks for following along. You have been an awesome crowd.



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 6/29/2008 03:04:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 30: HORSE Day 4 - Erick Lindgren and the Killing Floor

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

It was another one of those Saturdays at the WSOP. Thousands of souls were crushed in the $1,500 killing fields while in one small part of the Amazon Room, the spectators were captivated with feeding frenzy in the rectangular tank where the world's most treacherous sharks tore each other to shreds until eight of them were left to battle it out on Sunday at the final table of $50,000 HORSE.

While everyone on the rail watched the players, I soaked up the insanity on the rail. That was the real freak show sort of like a religious revival on steroids meets a Star Trek convention. Most of the tourists were good folks having a grand time on their paid vacations. The loved poker as a hobby, as a pastime, as something to bide their time in between the everyday banality of the Monday through Friday grind.

But a few of them stood out. And in the poker carnival where every other person you meet was a "freak and a very weird dude" in their previous lives before the got into poker that's saying something.

You know that expression... "falling through the cracks of society?" Well that describes poker. That's where the misfits end up, me included.

There was a guy with the mullet wearing the wifebeater standing behind Daniel Negreanu. His beer gut hung several inches over the rail. Due to poor table spacing by Harrahs, one table was right up against the wall of spectators. All the sweat and drool from the railbirds almost drowned Danny Boy's starting table that also included Matt Glantz, my main man Ray Davis, Erick Lindgren, Edwin Ting, David Bach, The Grinder, and the legendary Doyle Brunson.

The foreign guy next to the mullet guy couldn't figure out how to remove the flash function on his camera. Every other minute a flash went off and the floor person issued a warning shot over the microphone.

"Please no flash photography," he pleaded. Alas, his warning ended up disappearing into the void.

The ghost of Chip Reese was somewhere in the dense pack of spectators on the rail. The entire room was dominated by the massive field in the last Saturday $1,500 event which attracted weekend warriors from all over North America. The $1,500 are the events where amateurs have the biggest chance at winning a bracelet, where as the higher buy in championship events are geared towards the pros. $50,000 HORSE was created for pros. It was a pissing match among the best of the best to prove who really had the biggest cock in the room. It somehow got tossed into the greed machine and hyped up by the poker media and made an integral part of ESPN's WSOP coverage. It's really a poker fans wet dream to see familiar faces at the table unlike a bunch of unkowns that often make up the weekly WPT snoozefests.

One side of the Amazon Ballroom was flooded in the carcasses of the losers in the $1,500 slaughterfest. Call them whatever. Donkeys. Emus. Pigeons. Fish. Pigs. Dogs. Rats. They were causalities and within hours of taking their seats, they ended up on the killing floor. When the survivors trudged through the HORSE area, they tracked donkey blood all over the carpet. Harrahs cleaning crews worked around the clock using an extra-strength extract from special Guatemalan fruit (previously used by porn stars in Hollywood in increase the distance of their cum shots) which helped erase the blemishes.

A couple of agents slithered around the HORSE event looking for more fresh blood. One in particular had the personality of a pawn shop and tried to glad hand as many of the unknowns. Find the pros. Ride them to the final tables. Get them on TV. Suck the life out of them. Then spit them out and find another pro to feast on. The true bottom feeders.

The top feeders. The ones stuck in the middle and don't forget about everyone else who has to fight over the last bits of fatty tissue.

One by one, the sharks washed up on shore. The online whizkid mig.com bowed out before the money bubble along with The Grinder, Brandon Adams, and Freddy Bonyadi. Poor Mike Wattel ended up as the 50K Horse Bubble Boy which is one of the most excruciating distinctions to receive in the poker world. HORSE Bubble Boy. Talk about a kick in the junk. $50,000 pissed away.

The Sweet 16 includes several legends such as Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson. Both cashed but didn't make the final table. Ivey made a smooth exit and everyone barely noticed that he slipped out the side door. Brunson's exit was slightly more raucous. Everyone on the rail gave him a jubilant send off. He tipped his hat to the crowd and hobbled out the side door into the hallway where he was swarmed with a mob of fans.

With Daniel Negreanu's departure in 13th place, I lost my only chance to win a last longer with Benjo. The lucky fuck still had Barry Greenstein left among his five picks.

Action passed the Midnight hour and eleven players remained... among them two former world champions and a couple of Big Game players and two 2008 bracelet winners in Erick Lindgren and Barry Greenstein. Otis and company focused on Greenstein while the cameras tended to pass over the always quiet and shy Greenstein. He's never one to mug for the cameras so Scotty Nguyen got the entire spotlight to himself and ordered a beer. A pack of Winstons sat near his big stack and he always flashed a used car salesman smile for the cameras.

On the rail the spectators were sort of baffled with the players on Lindgren's table. A couple of them pointed to Matt Glantz and Michael DeMichele and asked me who they were. I told them their names and then one guy point to Ray Davis.

"Who is the black guy?"

"Ray Davis," I said.

"Never heard of him," he said so matter of factly.

"Well, you will," I assured him.

Ray Davis is a player from Southern California who paid his dues in various L.A. card rooms. He plays in cash games and lots of the big events. He bought in to HORSE and admitted to Doyle Brunson that he had never played 'ORSE' before. Of course, that was the con Davis was running. He won an 08 tournament at the Bike. He made a final table in the SHOE event at the 2007 WSOP. And 50K HORSE was his 10th career cash at the WSOP. A brief scan of Davis' stats reveal that he has won over $1.2 million playing tournaments. He succeeded own in the smaller buy-in events in and around the Los Angeles area. Gardena. Commerce. The Bike. Hollywood Park. Ray Davis was a true L.A. grinder.

"I love his Gucci fedora," added Change100. "And he sometimes wears those funky earings."

Ray Davis stood out because of his fashion panache that everyone favorite Hollyweird fashionista approved. Ray Davis always displayed little bling here and there and wears slammin' lids that only slick cats like Ray Davis could get away with.

David Bach went out in 11th. When it got down to ten players, Ray Davis slipped to one of the short stacks. He busted out in 10th place and wasn't happy. On his way to the payout room, I overheard him explain several hands to three friends/backers who accompanied him to the cage. In the bathroom I overheard two guys talking who both said they had pieces of Ray. The way everyone was talking in the hallway, who didn't have a piece of Ray?

The final nine players were consolidated to one table. It took only one hand before the final table of eight was set. A dejected Ralph Perry bubbled off the final table.

Erick Lindgren ended Day 4 as the chipleader by a slight margin. He's riding the spirit of Chip Reese all the way to the final table. Lindgren went several years without winning a bracelet. He's on the cusp of winning his second one this year but has to get past Scotty Nguyen and six other tough players.

$50,000 HORSE - Final Table:
Seat 1: Matt Glantz - 1,445,000
Seat 2: Huck Seed - 1,200,000
Seat 3: Patrick Bueno - 695,000
Seat 4: Lyle Berman - 1,430,000
Seat 5: Scotty Nguyen - 3,535,000
Seat 6: Barry Greenstein - 1,955,000
Seat 7: Michael DeMichele - 905,000
Seat 8: Erick Lindgren - 3,680,000

Event #45 $50,000 HORSE Money Winners:
9. Ralph Perry - $177,600
10. Raymond Davis - $177,600
11. David Bach - $159,840
12. Phil Ivey - $159,840
13. Daniel Negreanu - $142,080
14. Joseph Michael - $142,080
15. Andy Bloch - $124,320
16. Doyle Brunson - $124,320

Event #45 Final Table Payouts:
1. $1,989,120
2. $1,243,200
3. $781,440
4. $568,320
5. $444,000
6. $355,200
7. $284,160
8. $230,880

Stellar final table definitely made up for the genocide on the other side of the Amazon Room.


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 6/29/2008 06:46:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Derek Wins Saturdays with Dr. Pauly

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV


Sydney 8 was trying to win his third Saturdays with Dr. Pauly and consecutive events. He had been on a tear... until my brother stopped his streak.

This week for Saturdays with Dr. Pauly, we had 25 runners. The top 3 were paid.

JohnPings was Gigli. I missed the start of the event and sat out for a bit.

I played on the way to the Rio as Change100 drove. Ironically, I busted out just as I got to the same intersection where I wrecked my rental car eight days earlier.

I took 18th place when I missed a royal flush gutshot draw. BigHeeb flopped a boat and I was toast.

I got to the RIo and had to cover Day 4 of HORSE. Derek made the final table as one of the big stacks. Sydney 8 made the final table but finished in 9th place. What a run... first, second, first, 8th. Great job.

Holdinragz! was Bubble Boy.

When heads up began, dredful was the chipleader. Derek trailed 29.5K to 8K.

Derek won a big hand to almost pull even in chips. He eventually took it down.

Week 22 Money Winners:
1. HermWarfare (Derek) -$125
2. dreful - $75
3. WudupBuster - $50

Congrats to Derek for the victory. And thanks to everyone who pimped and played the event. See you next week.

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 6/29/2008 05:31:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog Day 30

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Wow. I wrote 30 for the first time. It seemed like only a few days ago that I reached the double digits in covering the WSOP.

Today is a Saturday which means a slew of donkeys, pigeons, and other assorted farm animals will be shitting their brains out in the hallways while the rest of them will be slaughtered in the killing fields.

HORSE is in the fourth of five days and there are two final tables.

Event #45 $50,000 HORSE - Day 4
Event #46 $5,000 NL Short-handed - Final Table
Event #47 $1,500 Stud8 - Final Table
Event #48 $2,000 NL - Day 2
Event #49 $1,500 NL - Day 1

And yeah, two bracelets will be given out today. Sklansky is in the hunt for one in Stud 8. There are still two tables left in that event and they will play down to a champion. The short-handed final table includes 200 bracelet winner David Kitai...

Event #46 $5,000 NL Short-handed - Final Table:
Seat 1: Sam Trickett (Nottingham, UK) - 1,000,450
Seat 2: Davidi Kitai (Belgium, Brussels) - 298,000
Seat 3: Joe Commisso (Las Vegas, NV) - 1,961,000
Seat 4: Richard Lyndaker (Chaumont, NY) - 2,345,000
Seat 5: Tom Lutz (Dayton, OH) - 1,493,000
Seat 6: Edward Ochana (Elgin, IL) - 928,000

Yep, today will be the last crazy weekend before the Main Event begins next week.

* * * * *
2:01pm...

In position in the press box. 2,700+ entrants in today's noon event. A sea of dead money before me. I'm glad we have donkey repellent in the pressbox. Today is gonna be a long day.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Action resumes in one hour. For now, here's the table draws courtesy of Poker News...

Table#1:
Seat 1: James Mackey - 151K
Seat 2: Farzad Bonyadi - 365K
Seat 3: Ralph Perry - 1.043M
Seat 4: Joseph Michael - 647K
Seat 5: Lyle Berman - 939K
Seat 6: Barry Greenstein - 1.311M
Seat 7: Mike Wattel - 474K
Seat 8: Phil Ivey - 145K

Table #2:
Seat 1: Michael DeMichele - 1.351M
Seat 2: Andy Bloch - 421K
Seat 3: Brandon Adams - 290K
Seat 4: Huck Seed - 190K
Seat 5: Chad Brown - 81K
Seat 6: Patrick Bueno - 806K
Seat 7: Gabe Kaplan - 360K
Seat 8: Scotty Nguyen - 1.033M

Table #3:
Seat 1: Matt Glantz - 521K
Seat 2: Raymond Davis - 438K
Seat 3: Erick Lindgren - 485K
Seat 4: Edwin Ting - 261K
Seat 5: Daniel Negreanu - 1.226M
Seat 6: David Bach - 801K
Seat 7: Michael Mizrachi - 701K
Seat 8: Doyle Brunson - 777K

And Benjo and I have 2 players each in our last longer.

Pauly: Negreanu 1.2M, Bloch 421K
Benjo: Greenstein 1.311M, Brunson 777K

It's gonna be close. Top 16 get paid. We have bonuses for players who cash, final tables, and the overall bracelet.

* * * * *
3:02pm...

Event #48 2K NL: Nikolay Evdakov broke a record for most cashes in a single WSOP. Several players were tied with 8. He was eliminated from Day 2 but secured his ninth cash.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Day 4 just kicked off. 24 players left. Top 16 get paid.

David Bach is already getting a massage.

Several agents were slithering around the HORSE area seeking out new clients (that did not have representation) or recently signed clients.

Lyle Berman was all smiles as he took his seat.

First fuck up of the day by Harrahs? Putting HORSE in the wrong part of the orange section. Imagine a rectangle and the final three tables inside. Well only one of the four sides could house railbirds. Two sides were adjacent to the dokament tables. The third was against the wall and used by tournament staff. That left only one side for the hundreds of railbirds. HORSE attracted the biggest crowd I have seen so far at the WSOP. By using the area closest to the main doors, the directly caused a major traffic jam with people trying to enter the Amazon Room. The lack of viewing space on the rail made it almost impossible for non-official media to get their jobs done. All in all, it's a big clusterfuck for the biggest event at the WSOP.

Their intentions were good but execution of their plan was poor. Big 'F' for day 4 before it has even started.

Yes, the poker fansare seven and eight deep on the rail. Several of them are hanging over the ropes, the saliva dripping from their mouths and onto the tables. Poor Daniel Negreanu needs an umbrella to shield himself from the drooling spectators. The rest of them need sunglasses to block out all of the flashes that are going off ever few minutes. What good is having a rule when no one listens to it?

* * * * *
4:03pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 21 players remaining.

Recent eliminations: Mig.com, Chad Brown, and Gabe Kaplan

Big Stacks: Ralph Perry, Michael DeMichele, Daniel Negreanu, Matt Glantz, Barry Greenstein

Mr. Kotter is out. Boooooooo.

There will be some changes at the first break. They will move one of the tables away from the rail which will mean that Danny Boy will be dry.

I feel bad for the surly security guys. They had their hands full keeping out the unruly railbirds who thought they were slick by doing an end around to try to get cellphone pics of their favorite pros. Other non-official media reps were trying to sneak inside and get pictures even after they were kicked out numerous times. One Harrahs official had to physically remove a photographer who refused to abide from the rules.

The spectators were cleared out of the room a few minutes before the other event went on a break which alleviated the congestion on the rail. So for a few moments, the reaming 21 runners can play in peace until the vultures return shit all over the place. I think the smell of spilled donkey blood from the other side of the Amazon Room has gotten everyone restless.

Welcome back to the Saturday killing fields.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Congrats to my brother Derek. He won Saturdays with Dr. Pauly! Congrats bro!

Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!



* * * * *
5:03pm...

By the way, head over to Pokerati and vote for Tao of Poker in their latest poll.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 20.

Recent eliminations: The Grinder

Big stacks: Ralph Perry, Michael DeMichele, Scotty Nguyen, Matt Glantz, Daniel Negreanu

Michael DeMichele is locked in and focused. "He lost a pot but it didn't affect him. He's playing on negative tilt," mentioned one of the PokerNews reporters.

The staff moved up the one of the tables so more spectator drool flooding Negreanu's table. The spectators are back and standing nine deep on the rail hoping to catch a glimpse of Texas Dolly. Flashes keep going off. Several spectators have professional cameras with lenses that rival Flipchip's. Despite Brooks the floor guy's plea for "no flash photograph" the fans still click away.

There are a few cute railbirds, but nothing of interest to the horny hombres at Wicked Chops Poker.

Event #46 5K Short-handed: Down to three.

Event #47 Stud8: Down to a final table. Finally. David Sklansky busted out in 8th place. Since it's Saturday night, he'll be back to trolling MySpace profiles looking for 16 year old white-trash nymphomaniacs with daddy issues.

Event #49 1.5K NL Kristy Gazes playing in today's event. "Oh my God!" she said. "I have a table of 12 year olds at my table."

* * * * *
6:02pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 17 players remaining. We're on the money bubble.

Recent eliminations: Farzard Bonyadi, Brandon Adams and Edwin Ting

Big stacks: Ralph Perry, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Raymond Davis, and Scotty Nguyen

Big racks: there's one chick on the rail who is holding up two melons. She must have horrible back problems, I mean, with gravity and all. Good lord, them some 'tig ol bitties' for sure.

On life support: Mike Wattel is super short and praying for a miracle.

Very impressed with Scotty Nguyen. He's actually been flying under the radar. He
s not drinking which you will often see him doing. Focused Scotty.

During hand-for-hand Lyle Berman got up and chatted with his son who is sitting on the rail. Most of the players are standing around and chatting it up with each other. Ivey sat and talked with Huck Seed.

Danny Boy getting a massage.

Event #46 5K Short-handed Final Table: Heads up for the bracelet between Joe Commisso and Richard Lyndaker.

* * * * *
7:06pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 16 to go.

Recent Eliminations: Mike Wattel = Bubble Boy

Big Stacks: Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Matt Glantz, Ralph Perry, and Lyle Berman

The final 16 players all cashed and made the money. David Bach made me look bad. He cashed when I thought he'd be one of the first to go.

TeamPokerStars bloggers and suits are jizzing in their pants right now with Greenstein and Negreanu one-two in chips counts. I might have to hand Otis a towel to clean up all the spooge in the pressbox.

One of the PokerStars Supernovas (second every to become a supernova behind Elky) Joseph Michael is still alive with chips. He was saving up for an Aston Martin. He got a down payment to his house paid for by PokerStars. Talk about the hook up. He also bought into the 50K HORSE event with his FPPs.

Final two tables redrew for seats. Here's the breakdown:

Orange 32: Patrick Bueno, Huck Seed, Joseph Michael, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, David Bach

Orange 39: Erick Lindgren, Ray Davis, Michael DeMichele, Lyle Berman, Andy Bloch, Ralph Perry, Daniel Negreanu, Matt Glantz

Benjo and I both have two picks left.

During the break of the donkament, a horde of players tracked losers' blood in the HORSE area as they stopped to sweat the final two tables of action. I nearly slipped and barreled into one of the cocktail waitress wearing those rendunkulous shirts that Harrahs whore out to the highest bidder.

According to Brian B, Lindgren put only three horses in the 50K HORSE this year as compared to 8 last year.

I set the O/U for 3:13am with Otis. He took the over. Otis also purchased a Pai Gow snack....



* * * * *
8:01pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 14.

Recent Eliminations: Andy Bloch and Doyle Brunson

Big stacks: Matt Glantz, Ray Davis, Scotty Nguyen, David Bach, Huck Seed

On life support: Joseph Michael is super short, but tripled up to avoid elimination.

Two former world champs are in the lead pack. Erick Lindgren silently inching his way into contention.

Benjo and I were taping another episode of Tao of Pokerati when Doyle Brunson busted out. He got loud send off from the crowd and quickly exited the side door. He cashed and finished in 16th place.

Andy Bloch went out in 15th place. He was one of my picks in a last longer. And since Benjo picked Brunson, we both lost a player. Down to one each... Negreanu vs. Greenstein. I got Danny Boy.

ESPN is shooting some b-roll of the final two tables. Scotty Nguyen perked up once the cameras showed up at his table. He started laughing and the crowd of media around the table collapsed and moved in to get a closer look of the action.

Joe Sebok is on the rail sweating his dad Barry Greenstein. Brad Berman was here earlier sweating his old man. Didn't see Todd at all.

Security did another sweep and kicked out a lot of spectators who trickled into areas where they did not belong. More flashes. More drooling yardbirds. More flashes.

"Where's Bill Hellmuth?" one guy asked.

"Is that Scotty the Master?"

"Is that John Popper?"

Event #49 1.5K NL Kristy Gazes is still alive. In her last text: "Playing 1500 lotto...2nd break...5500k"

* * * * *
8:41pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 13. Players on a dinner break.

Recent bustouts: Joseph Michael

Big stacks: Erick Lindgren, Matt Glantz, Huck Seed, David Bach, Scotty Nguyen

Just before players headed to dinner, Lindgren jumped into the chiplead. He slowly accumulated chips during the first three levels.

Daniel Negreanu and Patrick Bueno are both shortstacks.

* * * * *
9:42pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Players are back from their dinner break.

Patrick Bueno ordered a massage right away. The rail behind Negreanu's table is thick and dense with a wall of spectators. The droolfest returned as Negreanu was in rare form. The salesman in him quickly took advantage of the ESPN cameras. His time might be limited with a short stack.

Event #47 Stud8 Final Table: We have a new bracelet winner.... Ryan Hughes.

* * * * *
10:40pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 13 players remaining.

Big stacks: Matt Glantz, Huck Seed, Erick Lindgren, Ralph Perry, and Michael DeMichele 1,390,000

Daniel Negreanu is the shortstack and talking it up for ESPN's cameras. Scotty Nguyen wandered over and the two chatted it up.

"Get in the zone, baby!" was the advice Scotty offered up to Negreanu.

"I'm trying. I'm waiting for Stud 8 and then I'll get in the zone," said Danny Boy.

Sitting next to Negreanu is a surly Ralph Perry. He's been trying to get a drink for several minutes. "Someone call a cocktail chick over before Ralph Perry completely loses it," said one media rep who overheard Perry steaming over his inability to get a drink.

* * * * *
11:58pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 11 players remaining.

Recent eliminations: Phil Ivey, Daniel Nergreanu

Big stacks: Matt Glantz, Erick Lindgren, Ralph Perry, Huck Seed, and David Bach.

Daniel Negreanu was holding on for his dear life with a short stack before and after the dinner break. He finally busted out. Ivey also headed to the rail. He failed to win a bracelet and time is running out for him this year.

Benjo is freerolling our last longer. He only gets paid if Greenstein is among the final eight and more if he wins it all. Nice catch, pigeon.

Ralph Perry has been bitching and moaning about something that was reported yesterday on PokerNews. Perry slowrolled Gene Fisher (one of the nicest guys in poker) and it was reported. Perry didn't even read it. His wife read it and said something almost a day later to Ralph. The result? Another pissed off player ambushing PokerNews bloggers on a break.

There's always been a frigid relationship between The G and Ralph. The entire "feel my powah" and "Get on your bike" theme stemmed from the Tony G vs. Ralph Perry bouts in the Intercontinental Poker Championships.



Event #46 5K Short-handed Final Table: Joe Commisso from Las Vegas won the bracelet.

Event #48 2K NL: Down to 21. Russian Kirill Gerasimov is among the chipleaders.

Event #49 1.5K NL Kristy Gazes up to 24K. Weeeeeeeeeeee.

* * * * *
1:01am...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 11 players remaining.

Big stacks: Erick Lindgren, Scotty Nguyen, Matt Glantz, Michael DeMichele, and Patrick Bueno

On life support: Ray Davis

Patrick Bueno went from being a short stack to one of the big stacks. Nice rush this past level. Lindgren is back on top.

The railbirds are still here. There are not as many of them, but the ones left are drunk and rowdy and a bunch of anarchists breaking rules.

Mean Gene was trying to take a few pictures when a group of spectators rushed in front of him and stood in an area they were not supposed to be in. The security guy tossed them out. "Family and media only," he barked.

One drunk guy pipped up, "My wife gave Doyle Brunson a hand job once. Does that count for something?"

Norman Chad wandered by and watched about three minutes of the action before he left. That's a lot for Norm. I rarely see him sweating the action. I've been her for 30 days and only saw him a couple of times.

Scotty Nguyen is drinking Michelob Ultras. His face is red and caught a buzz. Scotty likes beer.

Event #49 1.5K NL Day 1 is complete. Kristy gazes cashed and advanced to Day 2. She ended with 20K.

* * * * *
2:03am...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 10 players remaining.

Recent eliminations: David Bach

Big stacks: Erick Lindgren, Scotty Nguyen, Matt Glantz, Ralph Perry, and Barry Greenstein

On life support: Ray Davis

Action slowed down a bit before David Bach busted out in 11th place. Greg "FBT" Mueller walked by and shouted, "Hey Huckleberry, stay awake."

Seed had a bag of trail mix underneath his chair. Somewhere nearby, there was an empty Dibs container. One of the messy railbirds got hungry, stuffed his face, then left his trash behind. At this time of night, plenty of empty beer cups and cocktail glasses cluttered the adjacent unused poker tables and empty beer bottles are tossed on the ground by the drunks.

On their last break, I spotted Scotty Nguyen walking back from a fan encounter. He headed back into the Amazon Ballroom. I followed behind the two fans as they discussed their brush with the former world champion.

"You should have said, 'What's up baby!'" one guy said.

"I should have asked for a picture," the other said. "Jimmy is never gonna believe that we saw Scotty."

I wandered into the casino to get something to drink. Jesus was in front of Buzios and got stopped by two different groups of fans. He took pics with both.

* * * * *
2:22am...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Final table set! 8 players remaining.

Recent eliminations: Ralph Perry and Ray Davis

Ray Davis went out in 10th place. He wasn't happy. The final nine players consolidated to one table. On the very first hand... Ralph Perry went out in 9th place on the final table bubble. In the immortal words of Tony G, "Get on your bike!"

The final table will be... Erick Lindgren, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, Lyle Berman, Matt Glantz, Michael DeMichele, Huck Seed, and Patrick Bueno.

Lindgren and Greenstein going after their second bracelets of the 2008 WSOP. Lindgren starts the final table as the chipleader.

Final table is at 3pm local time.

Thanks for following along. You've been a great crowd. See everyone 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.
posted by Pauly at 6/28/2008 05:18:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 29: HORSE Day 3 - Texas Dolly

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Shortly after midnight, with the camera happy blooming Friday night crowd on the rail, the grizzled gunslinger took over the chiplead with 27 players remaining in the $50,000 HORSE World Championship. With his trademarked white Stetson cowboy hat, Doyle Brunson was sitting plush with the biggest stack in the room and welcomed all challengers as he flashed a wry smile.

One hour earlier, the legendary Texas Dolly limped past the press box with the assistance of his crutch. Brunson made his way out into the hallway and was besieged with autograph and picture requests from dozens of rabid fans who wanted a piece of their hero.

Brunson spent 90% of his break fulfilling requests from fans before he slowly returned to the tournament area and took his seat at Orange #1. Brunson looked more like a tired warrior than the once invincible poker player who everyone in their right mind wanted to avoid.

Then word got out the hobbling hero had taken over the chiplead. That's what made the moment even more special. More sweeter. Much more epic. Almost like Jack Nicklaus' victory at the 1986 Masters or Jimmy Connors magical run at the 1991 U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows.

TJ Cloutier was eliminated on Day 1 but stopped by to ogle Brunson's big stack. Cloutier had been dreaming of boxcars all night, yet wanted to wish one of his oldest foes he best of luck.

There's a fine line between luck and misfortune. On one end of the Amazon Ballroom, Eskimo Clark was milling around the cash game area looking for a buy-in while on the other side of the room, a slew of media surrounded Brunson's table. As Brunson raked in a pot during Stud, reporters from four different countries jotted down the hand. Didn't matter if it was in French, German, Swedish, or English... Texas Dolly as the chipleader was big news.

Brunson held the lead for about an hour before he slipped a bit. He remained in the lead pack for the rest of the night as Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, and Michael DeMichele were all gunning for the top spot.

Brunson ended Day 3 in the Top 10 in chips. He'll begin Day 4 in good shape to make another final table at the WSOP. Brunson made the first ever final table in HORSE and he's going to try to make another one once cards are in the air on Saturday.

Has Brunson slipped a bit? He'll be 75 in August. It's been three decades since he won back-to-back world championships. Michael DeMichele and Jame Mackey were not even born yet. The fact that Brunson still competes with the best in the world is a testament to his heart, ability, and experience. However, he is nowhere near the player that dominated every single game that he played in.

Since he won his 10th bracelet in 2005, Brunson has only $1.2 million in tournament earnings according to Hendon Mob. His biggest score during that time frame was third place at a Bellagio WPT event at the end of 2005 for roughly half that amount.


Brunson wins his 10th bracelet in 2005
Photo credit: Flipchip
There is no direct way to determine how much money Brunson cleared in various cash games, which should be much higher depending on the source. Although, Brunson admitted in his blog (entry from 6/22/08) that he had been stuck in the middle of a losing streak.

"Summer officially begins and this is the longest day of the year. I'm taking a couple days off from poker, tournaments, and cash games. I'm going to regroup and get ready for the 50k HORSE tournament on Wednesday. If I don't do well in that, I'll be greatly disappointed. For the life of me, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong at the poker table. Losing 5 sessions in a row at the cash game tells me I'm not playing the way I should."

But Doyle Brunson comes from good stock. He might live another two decades. He also wrote...

"My uncle Bill, recently passed at the age of 99. I come from a long line of folks who flirt with 100 years before they die...

...I am blessed to still have pretty good endurance left, but lets face it... I'll turn 75 this summer so I have to face the fact that I am not a kid and I need to start pacing myself. As much as I would love to win my eleventh bracelet this year, I've got a lot going on so I don't want to wear myself out playing too many tournaments so I am going to be selective about which ones I play. I feel good, so I might knock off a bracelet anyway...

...Someone sent me a longevity test to see how long your life expectancy is. If you reach my age you figure to live until you are 84. After factoring in the answers to the 26 questions about your health, habits and genetics on the test, my life expectancy is 87.4. Good thing us poker players don't have things like stress and money problems huh? Anyway, I've lived 27,310 days and have only 4500 more days left. I've got a few guys I want to beat before I go to that big game in the sky, so I had better get busy..."

Brunson is very aware that he's in the winter of his life. That's why I have a gut feeling that if he gets a shot at the final table, then he's going to win it all. Nothing would shut Hellmuth up more than Brunson winning #11 to tie the Poker Brat.

Not to mention how many random bracelet prop bets that Brunson might have. He gave Ivey 3-1 that Ivey would not win a bracelet and won another prop when he bet that Negreanu or either of the bald Lees (Watkinson and Markholt) would win a bracelet before Ivey or Allen Cunningham.

There are 26 more players that stand in between Doyle Brunson and his 11th bracelet. If he has to, he'll pick them off one by one.


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 6/28/2008 06:36:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 29 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Wow, we completed four weeks at the 2008 WSOP and today marks the 29th straight day of coverage on Tao live from the pressbox.

We're smack in the middle of 50K HORSE along with a couple of other events...

Event #44 $1,000 NL w/ Rebuys - Final Table
Event #45 $50,000 HORSE - Day 3
Event #46 $5,000 NL Short-handed - Day 2
Event #47 $1,500 Stud8 - Day 2
Event #48 $2,000 NL - Day 1

And here is today's final table which has two Danes...

Event #44 $1,000 NL w/ Rebuys - Final Table:
Seat 1: Scott Freeman (Los Angeles, CA) - 675,000
Seat 2: Max Greenwood (Toronto, Canada) - 728,000
Seat 3: Curtis Kohlberg (Weston, MA) - 209,000
Seat 4: Rene Mouritsen (Aarhus, Denmark) - 1,007,000
Seat 5: Alex Bolotin (Brooklyn, NY) - 308,000
Seat 6: Albert Iversen (Aarhus, Denmark) - 921,000
Seat 7: Aliaksandr Dzianisau (Vitebsk, Belarus) - 186,000
Seat 8: Phung Ngo (Commerce, MI) - 556,000
Seat 9: Jesse Chinni (Ellicott City, MD) - 2,160,000

Can another European win a bracelet?

* * * * *
2:07pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Day 3 is starting in less than an hour. 67 players left.

Benjo and I have a last longer. Here's the update...

Benjo
Barry Greenstein : 473,000
Doyle Brunson : 366,000
OUT: Mike Matusow, David Chiu, and David Singer

Pauly
Daniel Negreanu : 374,500
Andy Bloch : 362,500
Rob Hollink : 317,000
Marcel Luske : 99,000
OUT: Mike Sexton

I have four left to Benjo's two. He got a ton of hate mail over his picks. Alas, anything can happen today.

Seating assignments have been released. One of the toughest will be #6... Minh Ly, Miami John Cernuto, Barry Greenstein, Bill Chen, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Layne Flack, and Patrick Bueno.

* * * * *
3:30pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 64 players left.

Recent bustouts: Max Pescatori and Jeff Lisandro.

Big stacks: Lyle Berman, Patrick Bueno, Barry Greenstein, Minh Ly, and Chris Reslock.

On Life Support: Chainsaw Kessler is shortstacked.

Four feet? Phil Ivey and Layne Flack are sitting next to each other. Ivey is sitting still while Flacks feet can't stop moving. He's been shaking his legs and feet non-stop. Flack is always in constant motion. His mouth, his hands, his feet, his mind. Ivey? It seems like Ivey's life passes by in slow motion. You never see him walk fast (unless he's trying toe scape a barrage of fans), say much, or exert much energy.

Event #46 5K Short-handed: Gobboboy busted out shortly before the money bubble broke. Elky is the chipleader as action is hand-for-hand.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!



* * * * *
4:32pm...

Event #44 NL Rebuys Final Table: Down to 4. Two Scandis left in the hunt for a bracelet. Rene Mouritsen = chipleader.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 61 players left.

Recent bustouts: Tad Jurgens, Douglas Ganger, Steve Sung, and Chainsaw Kessler.

Big stacks: Lyle Berman, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Bill Chen, and Huck Seed.

Isabelle Mercier showed up wearing an adorable green short. Very tight. Very delicious. She should be her very own Ben & Jerry's flavor called No Mercy. It comes with chunks of mints, bananas, cherries, and chocolate ice cream.

Players just went on a break and when they walked into the hallway, they were swarmed by fans trying to get autographs and pictures and hoping that the Big Game players would toss $100 chips their way, sort of like centuries ago in Europe when royalty left their castles and walked among the peasants handing out gold coins.

On the break Marcel Luske headed to the poker kitchen and bought... a Ben & Jerry's ice cream cup.

* * * * *
5:23pm...

Event #44 NL Rebuys Final Table: Although everyone is focused on HORSE, I checked out the only final table. It was down to three. One young American and two Scandis. Flicphip and I caught one hand where Scott Freeman doubled up to get back into contention. His cheering section is very loud, but there are plenty of rowdy Danish fans sweating their guy. They are standing up in the Milwaukee's Beast lounge wearing crowns and knocking back cups and cups of shitty bear. It's a festive atmosphere and even though the final table area is not filled to capacity, it's the loudest area in the Amazon Room. Every few minutes you hear a roar followed by a bunch of clapping and whistling. Both sets of railbirds are chanting and screaming like it's a soccer match instead of a poker tournament.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 58.

Recent bustouts: OMGClayAiken, John Hanson, and Lee Markholt.

Big stacks: Lyle Berman, Barry Greenstein, Bill Chen, Huck Seed, and Joseph Michael.

Dario Minieri is on suicide watch. He's short stacked and might hang himself with his scraf if he doesn't win a pot anytime soon. Durrrrrrrrrrrrrr is aslo among the shorties.

Bad day for the bald guys. John Hanson and Lee Markholt were both eliminated.

* * * * *
6:30pm...

Just had a not-so fun trip to the sportsbook. Wanted to watch some of the Yankees-Mets game. Drunk guy wouldn't leave me alone so I left.

Event #44 NL Rebuys Final Table: Heads up. Scandi vs. Yank Cannuck. Rene Mouritsen vs. Max Greenwood. Rene's Danish friends are chanting non-stop. Fun final table.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 46 players remaining and we're only two levels in.

Recent bustouts: Robert Williamson III, Roy Thung, Rob Hollink, Isabelle Mercier, Joe Bunevith, Rafi Amit, Stephen Wolff, Dario Minieri, Pat Pezzin, Greg "FBT" Mueller, Durrrrrrrrrrr, and Thor Hansen

Big stacks: Joseph Michael, Barry Greenstein, Edwin Ting, Lyle Berman, and Chad Brown.

I saw RW3 walked past me in the hallway after his elimination. Just 3.5 hours earlier, he was running past me and rushed to get to his seat.

Poor Isabelle is out along with one of my picks... Dutch bracelet winner Rob Hollink.

* * * * *
7:37pm...

Event #44 NL Rebuys Final Table: We have a winner. Canada cockblocks Denmark when Max Greenwood wins bracelet as Denmark's Rene Mourtinsen took second.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 42.

Recent eliminations: Kenny Tran, Layne Flack, George Lind, and Minh Ly.

Big stacks: Patrick Bueno, Huck Seed, Joseph Michael, Barry Greenstein, and Edwin Ting.

On life support: Brandon Adams and Raymond Dehkargani.

Lots of guys from last year's final table are out. But, Mr. Kotter is still alive and plenty of big names are still left like Ivey, Negreanu, Brunson, Berman, and Lindgren.

I'm up 3-2 in the last longer with Benjo. Negreanu, Luske, Bloch are holding up against Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein.

* * * * *
8:32pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 41.

Recent eliminations: Raymond Dehkargani.

Big stacks: Barry Greenstein, Michael DeMichele, Patrick Bueno, Edwin Ting, and Joseph Michael.

Action has slowed down with only one bustout in the last hour.

Players are on a dinner break until 9:45pm.

* * * * *
9:35pm...

HORSE is still on dinner break. They will play three more levels or stop at 24 players... whichever comes first.

Event #46 5K Short-handed: 32 to go. Elky is third in chips.

Event #47 Stud8: 35 to go. Chris Bjorin is one of the chipleaders. Sklanasky and Men the Master are both still alive.

Event #48 2K NL: 440 remaining out of 2317. Big field for sure. Stig Top Rasmussen one of the chipleaders. William Thorson, Luca Pagano, Sweet Svetlana and Maria Ho are all out.

* * * * *
10:35pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 37.

Recent eliminations: Keith Sexton, Chris Reslock, John Cernuto, and Joe Bunevith

Big stacks: Michael DeMichele, Barry Greenstein, Joseph Michael, Daniel Negreanu, Edwin Ting

On life support: Billy the Croc

Biggest mover was Daniel Negreanu. He hovered in the top ten in chips for most of the day before he made a run since everyone returned from the dinner break.

The are was reconfigured to allow more spectators who surrounded the final five tables. They are standing five and six deep since it's prime time on a Friday night. Lots of pictures are being taken with cell phones and mini digital cameras. Every few minutes a flash goes off and the floor guy gets on the mic to explain to them they can't do that. And as soon as he finishes his warning, another flash goes off.

A couple of hot railbirds are standing behind Mike Wattel. Definitely a much better crop of high end ass here tonight... both for free and for sale.

Snake and I checked out all of the hot chicks and we also made fun of the guys with massive beer guts. There were to in particular and one guy's gut was slung over the rail. Talk about a massive surface area. It could replace the Hoover Dam if needed.

Katja Thater is the only player getting a massage, oh wait, I forgot about Danny Boy in the corner.

Phil Ivey is sitting calm and cool as ever. He doesn't seem to be jaded by Billy the Croc's hat... which is a green crocodile.

Jen Creason is on the rail sweating Andy Bloch, while Gerasimov is sweating fellow Russian, Alex Kostritsyn, who occasionally gets up in between hands and wanders up to the rail and they speak Sputnik.

* * * * *
11:49pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 34 players remaining. Two more levels of play left tonight, or until they get down to 24 players (final three tables).

Recent eliminations: ZeeJustin,Steve Z, and Abe Mosseri

Big stacks: Michael DeMichele, Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Joseph Michael, and Andy Bloch

Change100 told me that Abe Mosseri was making throwing things prop bets... empty bottles of water for $20. Change100 also wrote up some random facts such as... Of those 16 players who cashed last year, only 3 remain in this year's field: Barry Greenstein, Gabe Kaplan, and Mark Gregorich. Yeah Mr. Kotter us going deep once again. Up your nose with a rubber hose.

Snake said he saw Boston Rob playing a cash game. When I wandered over there, I saw Cyndy Violette in some sort of 75/150 game and Barbara Enright playing NL.

Katja Thater still getting a massage.

* * * * *
12:31am...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 27.

Recent eliminations: Jim Bechtel, Billy the Croc, Mark Gregorich, Gene Fisher, Marcel Luske, Greg Mascio, and Katja Thater.

Big stacks: Doyle Brunson, Michael DeMichele, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, David Bach

On life support: Mickey Appleman and Alex Kostritsyn

Holy cactus shit, Texas Dolly with the chiplead with 27 to go? No way! Action went rather fast over the previous level. 1.5 levels left for Day 3. Or if there are three more eliminations, action will stop for the day.

Hot chick from the latest cover of an Italian poker magazine has been showing off her goodies on the rail. Supposedly, her boyfriend "bought the cover" for her in hopes that she would get a poker sponsorship. She was posing for pics and rubbing her breasts for at least one poker agent. I mean, she had huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge tracks of land and could be spotted as far away as Barstow. Of course, the two biggest horndogs at the WSOP, Michalksi and Foiled Coup, were lurking around with cameras.

Benjo had not so nice words about her. "She's a sad and pathetic human being. Whoring herself for buyins or whatever fame she wants to achieve. Shes the embodiment of everything I despise about poker. People like this? She's like 'look at my boobies.' What kind of booshit is that? You should be judged on how you play at the tables, and not how big your boobs are."

Of course, Benjo is just a sexual frustrated chain-smoking malcontent journalist and he secretly wishes that he could have his way with her. But we definitely understand his point.

I'm tied with Benjo for our last longer...

Benjo
Barry Greenstein : 1.3M
Doyle Brunson : 1.04M
OUT: Mike Matusow, David Chiu, and David Singer

Pauly
Daniel Negreanu : 1.13M
Andy Bloch : 460K
OUT: Mike Sexton, Marcel Luske, Rob Hollink

Both Hellmuth and Matusow wandered into the HORSE section. They both looked like they wanted some attention but the remaining pros were too focused on laying than to shower them with love and their undivided attention. Of course, they both gravitated towards each other and talked some smack.

Eskimo Watch: Spotted him wandering around the cash game area looking for buy-ins.

* * * * *
1:50am...

Event #45 50K HORSE: 24 players remaining. Action has been suspended and Day 3 is complete.

Recent Eliminations: David Oppenheim, Mickey Appleman, and Alex Kostritsyn.

Plenty of big names left... such as Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, Michael DeMichele, Chad Brown, Phil Ivey, Huck Seed, Erick Lindgren, Andy Bloch, mig.com, Mr. Kotter, Brandon Adams, Mike Wattel, Farzad Bonyadi, The Grinder, Scotty Nguyen, Freddy Bonyadi, Ralph Perry, David Bach, and my main man Ray Davis.

Day 4 will start at 3pm on Saturday. Final table is on Sunday.


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 6/27/2008 05:26:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 28: Horse Day 2, The Procedure Part II, and More Existentialist Conversations with Strippers

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

"I'm addicted to pain," slurred the stripper as she slowly turned her arm to expose her left wrist. Through the faint light I could see several marks. She pulled my hand towards her wrist and I felt the roughness of her scars.

"It took me almost ten years, but I finally figured out that I'm addicted to pain. I love misery. I can't be happy unless I'm hurting."

Never swing at the first pitch.

That was one of the few words of advice my father gave me. However, when we walked into the Rhino a little after 2pm, MeanGene, BadBlood and myself were swarmed with strippers as we enacted part two of the Procedure. It was a routine invented and perfected by BadBlood back in G-Vegas.

Booze + Strippers + Poker = The Procedure

I had only done it once before with BadBlood and Grubby last December. The magic worked for us. We all played a tournament at the Venetian. Grubby made the final table and I bubbled off the final table when Grubby busted me.

Lucky for me, my girlfriend is totally cool with me frequenting strip clubs. It was even her birthday and I got a pass. She even gave me $225... which I quickly blew on overpriced watered down cocktails and the cover charge.

One moment we sauntered through the front door of the Rhino and the next moment we had a girl each on our arm. I headed to the bar to get a better look. The bar at the Rhino has the best lighting in the joint. If there's one place to inspect the goods, that's it.

She was drunk when she grabbed me and led me to the bar. I bought a round while she hung on my hip. I could smell the booze on her breath. Great, how the hell did I attract the drunk stripper? Karma? Lack of karma? Or simply bad luck?

I originally had a choice. Stripper A or Stripper B. Since I politely turned down the first stripper, I went with Stripper B. Looking back, I should have swung at the first pitch.

"I've only been taking Proazac for three days," she screamed over an AC/DC song.

On the third day of Prozac? That pretty much summed up my visit to the afternoon shift. The stripper was drunk, sedated on happy pills, sloppy, and slurring her speech like Albert Finney at happy hour.

Her name was Dylan.

"Like the singer?" I asked.

"No, like the 90210 character," she said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Oh my God, I'm on the South Beach diet," she blurted out.

She could never stay on the same topic for more than ninety seconds before the conversation had more multiple plot twists than a M. Night Shyamalan flick, except she didn't see dead people.

Dylan was also OCD, ADD, and definitely suicidal. She had model looks with the mental stability of Courtney Love.

"People think I'm really fucked up," she said.

"Why? Did you kill your husband, fake the suicide note, and then squeeze his band members out of millions of dollars in royalties?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. So where you from?"

"Oklahoma. Oh my God, the last time I went home, I had not been there in seven or eight years, I saw some old friends from high school and you know what they were doing?"

"Cooking up a fresh batch of crank?"

"Almost. They were huffing propane. Driving around in a car, smoking cigarettes, and huffing propane."

"Did you join them?"

"Hell no."

The first fifteen minutes of our encounter were interesting and fascinating. Some strippers reveal very little and ask lots of questions and let you talk. Others will tell you all of their problems. Dylan unloaded on me. As I said, the first few minutes were great as I soaked up her life story and hung on every word. Part of the fun of hanging out with strippers is trying to dig deep and figure out what made them tick. What tragic event in their life led them down the path towards the pole? With Dylan, I didn't get to play the game. She was so drunk that she spilled the beans and then some.

Former gymnast. Majored in English at some college in Denton, TX. Got knocked up at 20 and dropped out of school. Had a botched back-alley abortion and can't have kids. Her step-father murdered her mother and knocked up her half-sister. She was a real life Jerry Springer episode gyrating on my lap and spilling Grey Goose all over my Ecco shoes.

She kept telling me that she was a gymnast. It was like when a former high-school athlete can not stop living in the glory days and they tell you the same old stories about how they hit the winning shot to win the league championship. The drunk stripper had her mind frozen on the happiest time of her life... senior year in high school.

"Since I was such an awesome gymnast, I could do all these cool tricks on the pole," she bragged. "But I like to drink, so I don't do them. Om my God, the last time I tried to get super fancy and show off to my friend Becky, I was so fuckin' wasted that I slipped and fell flat on my face. I chipped a tooth and I got seven stitches in my chin."

She lifted up her chin and let me feel those scars.

"Did you get off on the pain?"

"Yeah. I love the sight of my own blood."

"Do you have a livejournal page?"

"What's that? I'm on Myspace. Oh my God, did you Saturday Night Live this week? I love that show."

I looked over and BadBlood had a tall exotic Nordic woman sat on his lap. To my right was a happy MeanGene. On his lap sat a dominatrix-looking chick who could have been an extra from the freaky S&M inspired party scene at Zion from the last Matrix flick. All she was missing were a few firearms.

"Oh, but she definitely had some guns," mentioned MeanGene.

At the time, he had the top four buttons of his shirt undone. She slipped one hand inside and did some sort of scratching motion. That's when I noticed Stripper A had joined us. She said she was from Italy and looked like Kate Hudson. I did my best to bring her into my conversation. At some point I plotted the switcheroo. I desperately wanted to ditch the drunk and go for the quiet European one. Every time I tried to shift the conversation, the drunk girl interrupted. I kept making eye contact with Stripper A but she didn't get it and left. I had a second chance at her and blew it again. The result? More depressing and soused ramblings from Stripper B... the happy-pill popping, drunk, former gymnast who had a sister with a daughter/sister. Wait a sec, wasn't that the plot from Chinatown?

I asked to go into the VIP room because I thought it would shut her up. Nope. Didn't work. She still kept yammering and would stop in the middle of a dance to yap about something totally annoying. That was a sick bad beat.

"I used to love Xanax," she said. "When I first took it, I would be sleepy and pass out. Then after a while I took so much that all I felt was..."

"You felt normal?"

"Yeah, how did you know? You sound like you have a lot experience with pills. What do you do again?"

"I'm a psychiatrist."

Forty minutes in, she had not asked me my name nor what I did. I was a little bummed out. We already made up cover stories before we went to the Rhino. BadBlood stuck with his usual cover... hot air balloon pilot. My cover? A psychiatrist from San Diego named Geno Papageorgio.

MeanGene was a last minute addition to the team. He had never done the Procedure before. He didn't even know he was going to a strip club. He made an impulsive decision at the last moment. He didn't even have a cover story planned and scrambled to come up with one during the taxi ride to the club. He decided to make it simple and told the truth... that he was a freelance writer who traveled the world. That made all chicks wet.

The VIP room with the drunk stripper was such a letdown. Nothing is more disappointing in life than getting a horrible lap dance. I couldn't wait to leave because she wouldn't stop talking. She kept bombarding me with her life's bad beat stories. It was totally depressing and I almost wanted to put on the new Coldplay album then kill myself.

As we left the VIP room, Dylan had the balls to ask for a tip.

"Why would I tip? You did a shitty job. You are lucky I didn't ask for my money back. I should have ditched you the moment we met, but I felt sorry for you."

For the first time since she latched herself onto me, she was dead silent. Freedom at last.

I left the VIP room and noticed that MeanGene and BadBlood were still inside. Day 2 of the 50K HORSE event was about to start and I needed to get MeanGene back to the Rio. BadBlood eventually finished up and joined me outside. I had to tip the bouncer to boot MeanGene out of the VIP room. The massive looking guy who could have been a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders trudged over to the corner and told MeanGene that it was time to leave.

MeanGene and his girl were holding hands as they left the room.

"Heya Doc, can I'm a little short. Can I borrow a few bucks?"

"Sure thing," I said and turned to his stripper. "How much does he owe you? $40? $60?"

"$300," she said.

What the fuck? Geno, you sex-pot. I turned to him and mouthed, "300?"

MeanGene smirked and shrugged his shoulders as I peeled off three Benjamins and handed it to the latex-ladened stripper.

"Oh and don't forget a tip," she said.

I handed her a $20 bill and she gave MeanGene a kiss on the cheek. She turned around and disappeared into the darkness of the Rhino.

We were nearly blinded by the blazing sun when we left the Rhino. As soon as my vision cleared up, I noticed that MeanGene's hair was messy. He had random scratch marks all over his neck and several lipstick smudges all over his cheek.

"At least I got her number," he said as a devious grin illuminated his face.


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 6/27/2008 06:09:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog - Day 28

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Today is gonna be one of those crazy, hazy, summer days at the World Series of Poker. Hookers trolling the floor. Spain vs. Russia. Day 2 of HORSE and sweatin' the DonkeyBomber. Erik Seidel chasing down his 9th bracelet. Plenty of action everywhere. Lots of friends in town. A quick trip to the Rhino for the afternoon shift. Oh and it's Change100's birthday.

Back to five events today.

Event #43 $1,500 PLO8 - Final Table
Event #44 $1,000 NL w/ Rebuys - Day 2
Event #45 $50,000 HORSE - Day 2
Event #46 $5,000 NL Short-handed - Day 1
Event #47 $1,500 Stud8 - Day 1

Erick Seidel will be trying to win his 9th bracelet after he made his 26th final table at the WSOP. He's running hot this year. Runner-up at Aussie Millions. He won a WPT event at Foxwoods. Now this...

Event #43 $1,500 PLO8 - Final Table:
Seat 1: Joseph Haddad (Portland, OR) - 135000
Seat 2: Tom Chambers (Chicago, IL) - 263,000
Seat 3: Larry Wright (McQueeney, TX) - 117,000
Seat 4: Chad Burum (Grants Pass, OR) - 117,000
Seat 5: Michael Fetter (Vallejo, CA) - 288,000
Seat 6: Casey Kastle (Chicago, IL) - 188,000
Seat 7: Jon Maren (North Andover, MA) - 377,000
Seat 8: Martin Klaser (Rheinbach, Germany) - 337,000
Seat 9: Erik Seidel (Las Vegas, NV) - 340,000

And Anguila is in Vegas to play Event #46 but he's conflicted because his hometeam Spain is playing Russia at the same time that the event kicks off at noon. I told him to grease a floorguy to put on the game for him.

Also playing today are a couple of Blue Parrot alum... Coach and Dawn. They are battling in Stud8 which starts at 5pm. The BlueParrot was a regular home that I used to play in back in New York City hosted by our buddy Ferrari. Both FTrain and I have cashed in previous WSOP events and we're hoping that two more BlueParrot players can do the same.

* * * * *
11:41am...

Poolside at Scheckytown. Waiting for Spain vs. Russia to kick off. Today is Change100's birthday. Stop by her blog, Pot Committed, and send her birthday wishes

* * * * *
12:42pm...

Wow. Scoreless first half. Tied 1-1 0-0 at halftime. I love that Irish guy doing the studio halftime report. You know he's got a cocktail underneath his desk and sweating a huge bet on Spain.

* * * * *
2:04pm...

Go Spain. 3-0 over Russia. Weeeee. Spain vs. Germany in the finals.

BadBlood is here and we're gonna do the Procedure. Drinking. Strip Club. Poker. I can't bring my laptop into the Rhino, so you'll have to follow along on Twitter.

* * * * *
4:01pm...

Returned from a visit from the afternoon shift with Bad Blood and MeanGene. I drew the drunk stripper who said that she's been on Prozac for three days. Sloppy is the best way to describe her. As far ability goes... she was below average. Stories? Man, she had an abundance and wouldn't shut up. Stay tuned for another installment of Existentialist Conversation with Strippers.

Event #43 PLO8 Final Table: Down to 6. Seidel is third in chips. Casey Kastle is the chipleader.

Event #44 NL Rebuys: Down to 83. Almost bubble time. Brandon Schaefer busted out recently and did not cash. Joe Tehan out in front.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 13 to go. Three people busted on Day 2; David Levi, Chris Bjorin, and Diego Cordovez are busto.

Benjo updated our prop bet list...

Benjo
Barry Greenstein : 153,700
Doyle Brunson : 137,000
Mike Matusow : 103,300
David Chiu : 71,700
David Singer : 17,900

Pauly
Rob Hollink : 149,400
Mike Sexton : 141,700
Andy Bloch : 101,100
Marcel Luske : 96,200
Daniel Negreanu : 54,200

Of course, the guy I tooled on yesterday, Chris Reslock, is in first place in chips. Erick Lindgren and Finnish boy toy are also at the top of the leaderboard.

Event #46 5K Short-handed: Hevad Khan is one of the chipleaders. No reports of random outbirts and crazy dudes running around with chairs on their heads. Gobboboy is still in but shortstacked. The Eggman and the Unabomber just busted. Shaniac, Liz Lieu, Phil Hellmuth, and Fabrice Soulier are also dunzo.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!



* * * * *
5:11pm...

Event #43 PLO8 Final Table: Still 6 to go. Seidel third in chips. According to Pojo, he's only played like 4 hands today.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Ray Dehkharghani. Get to know that name. He's the chipeader, and holds a slight lead over Bill Chen.

Tom Schneider is in full blown DonkeyBomber mode as has the hoodie up. He has 138K and stuck at a tough table with Mike Wattel, Andy Bloch, Johnny Chan, and David Grey.

Michalski sighting...

My brother sent me a text and said that my beloved NY Knicks got an Italian player. I'm not thrilled. Is this the next Fredric Weiss?? At least Isaiah the Cancer is no longer with the organization.

The intertubes have been acting up. "It's been great for 27 days. But today it sucks," explain Nolla Dalla to the Rio's tech guy.

Massages: Bruno Fitoussi, Katja Thater, Patrick Bueno, and Nick Schulman are all getting rub downs.

Bill Gazes was fiddling around with his backpack before he pulled out a huge notebook. He scribbled something down in between hands.

Johnny World, Rafi Amit, and Jack Effel were joking around about something.

* * * * *
6:20pm...

Event #43 PLO8 Final Table: Down to 5. Seidel is 4th in chips.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr is one of the chipleaders.

Down to 125. Recent eliminations include... Annie Duke, Andy Black, Frank Kassela, David Grey, David Woo, and Ram Vaswani.

Tony G on life support. The G is one of the shortstacks. He's about to get on his bike and pedal home.

Isabelle was moved to Patrik Antonius and Daniel Negreanu's table.

More spectators on the rail taking pics with flash. The floor guys have to give them a friendly reminder every time a white light goes off. Of course, when that happens, I get a minor flashback.
* * * * *
7:03pm...

Event #43 PLO8 Final Table: Down to 4. Seidel is third in chips with Casey Kastle up front. We will see just how bad Seidel wants the bracelet. He knows that you don't get too many chances these days, so this might be his only shot this year.

Event #44 NL Rebuys: Down to 41. Denmark's Rene Mouritsen is the chipleader. Scandi leading the rebuy event? Yep.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 121 and counting. Players are slowly busting out like Tony G, David Singer, and Soheil Shamseddin.

Benjo's pick David Singer is busto. I hold a slight edge in our bet.

Isabelle likes her new table. She went from one of the middle stacks to one of the bigger ones.

Lyle Berman getting his shoulders worked on by a masseuse.

DonkeyBomber has the hoodie up and is getting his back worked on. He has about 130K.

Event #46 5K Short-handed: Gobboboy still alive.

Event #47 Stud8: Coach had 2800 the last time I checked.

* * * * *
8:04pm...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 112 players. Young Russian Alexander Kostritsyn is the chipleader. Isabelle 6th in chips. That makes Mean Gene happy.

Several more bustouts including Bruno Fitoussi, Brian Rast, Hoyt Corkins, Johnny World, Jesus, and Chau Giang.

Sherkhan Farnood is shortstacked and getting a foot massage. Dario is getting one too.

DonkeyBomber still hovering around 130K.

Matusow has been warming up over the last 30 minutes. You can hear him ranting and raving from all the way up in the press box. He seemed much more calmer and subdued yesterday. Wonder if it is time for more Adderall?

* * * * *
9:39pm...

Listening to Jerry Garcia Band.

Event #43 PLO8 Final Table: Down to 2. Seidel busted out in 4th place. No 9th bracelet for EK. Boooooo. I was hoping he'd win one this year. I suddenly lost interest in the final table. In case you were one of the hordes of Tao of Poker readers from German, Martin Klaser has a decent lead over Casey Kastle for the bracelet.

Event #44 NL Rebuys: Down to 21. Nordberg is still alive. JC Tran recently busted along with Nicolas Levi from France.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Players are back from dinner break.

Down to 109. Recent eliminations? Alex Kravchenko and Eli Elezra.

Shortstacks? The brother of the Grinder and Gus Hansen.

DonkeyBomber had 130K. He's had that all day it seems.

Abe Mosseri and some dude named Doyle Brunson are the chipleaders. Isabelle still running strong and in the Top 5 in chips. She left Las Vegas for a couple of weeks to attend to her ill mother. She returned just in time to play HORSE.

Event #46 5K Short-handed: 210 left out of 805. 2+2 vet Steven 'Cornell Fiji' Ware is the chipleader. Elky is up near the top of the leaderboard. Gobboboy is still alive. Antonio Esfandiari and Beth Shak recently busted.

Event #47 Stud8: Coach is out. He ran into some tough hands. BWOP is shortstacked and Dawn is up to 5K. Johnny Mushroom has chips. "Stud hi/lo is my game!" he joked.

* * * * *
10:34pm...

"Benjo has lost it," deadpanned Otis. "He's tossing water bottles around like a monkey chucking his own feces."

Event #43 PLO8 Final Table: Martin Klaser won the bracelet. Third bracelet for Germany and another bracelet for the Europeans.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 98.

Recent bustouts: Gus Hansen, Mike Sexton, David Benyamine, Howard Lederer, Perry Friedman, and Jason Gray.

Chipleaders: Patrick Bueno, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, mig.com, and Alexander Kostritsyn.

Maureen Feduniak and Tom McEvoy wandered over to say hello to TJ. Nick Schulman is sitting next to TJ. I dunno if he was alive when McEvoy won the Main Event in 1983.

Girl on girl action! Isabelle Mercier is getting a massage from one of the hot masseuses. Both Jan von Halle and his wife Katja Thater are getting simultaneous massages of two different tables.

* * * * *
11:42pm...

Just got rivered playing PLO on Full Tilt. Booooooooooo.

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 91. Currently on Level 10. Will play two more levels tonight. Should get down to around 83 or 84 tonight.

Recent eliminations: Allen Cunningham, Greg Raymer, Patrik Antonius, Nick Schulman, Hasan Habib, Tim Pham, David Chiu, Markus Golser, John D'Agostino, and the brother of the Grinder.

Big stacks: Patrick Bueno, Erick Lindgren, mig.com, Douglas Ganger, and Raymond Davis.

"Yes, yes, yes!" screamed Mike Matusow before he jumped up and unleashed a couple of fist pumps. I didn't see the hand, but I heard Matusow's reaction to it. Everyone in the Amazon ballroom heard it. When I caught up the table, the dealer was pushing two mounds of orange chips towards Matusow.


Photo courtesy of PokerNews.com

* * * * *
12:54am...

The after midnight edition. By now, the room is only filled with drunks and degenerate gamblers. Only the diehard media reps are here covering the last level of play in HORSE.

Event #45 50K HORSE: 75 players left.

Recent bustouts: Last year's champion is out. Freddy Deeb = busto. Jennifer Harman, Dario Alioto, Kirill Gerasimov, Johnny Chan, Bill Gazes, Toto Leonidas, Jan von Halle, and Dewey Tomko.

Big stacks: David Bach, Barry Greenstein, Patrick Bueno, Erick Lindgren,and Mike Wattel

On life support: Todd Brunson and Thor Hansen.

DonkeyBomber Watch: Tom Schneider not looking good. He slipped to 35K.

Benjo was excited since a Frenchman held the chiplead for a while. Although I picked David Benyamine to win it all in an article for PokerNews, he busted out early and it was Patrick Beuno who was out in front of the star-studded field as action passed the Midnight hour.

* * * * *
2:01am...

Event #45 50K HORSE: Down to 69, dude.

Big stacks: Patrick Bueno, Barry Greenstein, Chris Reslock, David Bach, and Mike Wattel

Recent eliminations: Mike Matusow, Ted Forrest, Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schnieder, Todd Brunson, and Change100's favorite player... Too Wang Fu.

Sadly, DonkeyBomber is nevermore. He went out in 75th place. My horse in the HORSE event is out. Oh well. I think it was a worthy investment and I'd take a piece of the DonkeyBomber anytime.

I gotta say that it was a lot of fun having some of my cash in play in the 50K HORSE event. Sure it was only a tiny percentage compared to the staking that some of the big dogs were doing, but that didn't matter. For the first time, I knew what it felt like to be that guy on the rail wanting instant updates on his horse. I had a nice backer's high for almost two days. With DonkeyBomber's departure, I can focus on the Spain/Germany match on Sunday.

* * * * *
2:40am...

That's it. HORSE Day 2 is complete. About 67 players are left. Michael Binger and TJ Cloutier busted out in the last twenty minutes.

Day 3 will start at 3pm local time. See you then.

Thanks for reading. I'm outta here............


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 6/26/2008 02:46:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 27: HORSE - Day 1

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

The average American household earns roughly $50,000. Husband. Wife. 2.5 kids. Car. Dog. Picket fence. Apple pie. Atlanta Braves baseball. God bless America.

148 players forked over the equivalent of one year's salary for the average American to play in the HORSE World Championship event at the World Series of Poker. Think about that for a second. Poker players are putting 50K into play at a shot to win close to $2 million. Only 16 players will actually get paid prize money. So 132 players will leave empty-handed after they pissed away $50,000.

What kind of material items you can buy with $50,000? How many years of college tuition can $50,000 pay?

You've seen those "feed the children" commercials where a bloated and emotionally high-strung Sally Struthers openly weeps for the cameras and guilt trips you into sending her foundation money after seeing photos of emaciated African kids covered in flies. For only the cost of a cup of coffee, you can feed all the starving children in the world.

There are campaigns where you send $8 a month or roughly $100 a year. At that equation, one buy-in to the HORSE event could feed 500 starving children for one full year.

Or how about an example in more practical terms in a manner that my readers can relate to... if you are a pothead, $50,000 can buy you 15 pounds of the dankest bud on the planet. If you are AlCantHang, $50,000 can buy over 2,000 bottles of Southern Comfort.

The third ever 50K HORSE event kicked off at 5pm. Pros usually arrive several minutes late to regular WSOP events in order to avoid the rush and the crowds. But the HORSE event is one of the rare moments when pros arrive several minutes before game time in order to hang out and chat with some of their friends and colleagues that they have not seen in a while.

Pros mingling with other pros. Talking shit. Swapping percentages. Sharing gossip. Repaying loans. Prop betting Phil Ivey. And everyone wanted to hug Isabelle.

DonkeyBomber paced back and forth like a caged Lion while Doyle Brunson stood behind him and was interviewed by a camera crew. The bright light from the camera illuminated Texas Dolly's million dollar smile.

Jeff Lisandro wandered over to talk smack with DonkeyBomber. Nenad Medic and Mike Matusow exchanged pleasantries but didn't show off their new bracelets.

The HORSE event also attracted a second wave of media. Otis and his PokerStars crew arrived including Harold, Bartley, Lina, and Maridu (who had been around - but playing in events, kicking ass, and taking names). There were plenty of hugs exchanged in the press box with more European press giving each other double kisses. Yeah, for the first time since Day 1, there were random vultures that I had never seen before who arrived just in time to pick apart the leftover flesh on the pros who perished over the five day slaughterfest.

I saw some familiar faces that you'd expect to see in the 50K HORSE event like last year's champion Freddy Deeb. And then there's the Big Game regulars like Minh Ly, Chau Giang, Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Jen Harman, and Barry Greenstein.

A few pros played the HORSE for the very first time such as German pros Katja Thater and Jon von Halle.

"This is the biggest event we've played to date," mentioned Jan. "We're excited."

It was a good day to be a German, since Germany beat Turkey earlier in the day in the European Championships semi-finals.

Charlie made an announcement that the HORSE tournament area was for media only. A couple of agents and other poker leeches slithered away into the sea of gawking spectators.

At 5pm on the dot, Jeffrey Pollack grabbed the mic to bust out the jams. He said that the HORSE "bracelet is tweaked up just a bit with a couple of extra karats and diamonds."

Tweaked? When I hear that word in Vegas I think about a bunch of tatted up guys in wife beaters cooking up a batch of crystal meth in the Redneck Riviera.

Then reality set in. Pollack asked everyone for a moment of silence for Chip Reese. A last minute reminder that poker is just a game. But was 50K HORSE just a game? Hell no. It was a bare-knuckle brawl and I got a second row seat from high up in the press box.

148 warriors entered the Amazon room. Only one will leave. And that lucky soul will walk away with the most prestigious bracelet at the WSOP and almost $2 million in cash. Oh, don't forget that cheesey WSOP branded coffee mug and the $100 food comp that all of the HORSE players were given before the event began.

Bring out your dead. Gigli on Day 1 was Jamie Pickering. The Aussie strip club owner donked off 50K pretty quickly and busted out first. Tony G took the honors last year. His fellow Aussie Pickering followed suit this year. Also out on Day 1? David Williams and God himself... Phil Hellmuth.

Isabelle Mercier played at the table right in front of the press box. She actually sat right in front of Benjo and the PokerNews' crew (which included Change100, Logan, and Mean Gene). You gotta know MeanGene was nearly jizzing in his pants being so close to Isabelle. She looked perky and actually glowing. Maybe she was excited to be sooooo close to MeanGene?

I have seen many moments in poker. Nothing is more erotic than watching Isabelle Mercier eat a banana.

Of course, the highlight of my night was watching the chick with huge tits stumble into the playing area just as the players were returning from their dinner break. At first I though a drunken tourist snuck past the security guard and wandered up to Marcel Luske for a photo. She then wandered over to Negreanu's table and then to Gus Hansen's table. It turned out she was a working girl hawking her wares. In the middle of the HORSE event. Talk about perfect timing.


Hooker photo courtesy of Wicked Chops Poker
Yesterday I wrote about the dumbest hookers on the planet who tried to cash in Bellagio tournament chips which they got from their johns. Well the working girl who crashed the HORSE tournament might have been the smartest prostitute in Las Vegas. She knew those high rollers and ballers didn't have time to stop at the Hooker Bar. She went right to the source. I wonder if any of those guys are knocking boots with her as I write this?

Yes, Las Vegas is the place where can you have hookers delivered to your table. God bless America.


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 6/26/2008 07:27:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 27 - Live Blog

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 Table
Event #43 $1,500 PLO8 - Day 2
Event #44 #1,000 NL w/ Rebuys - Day 1
Event #45 $50,000 HORSE - Day 1

Here's the final table for the Seniors...

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 Brunson
Pauly: Andy Bloch, Daniel Negreanu, Rob Hollink, Marcel Luske, and Mike Sexton

We have bets on who's gonna win, who makes a final table, and who cashes.

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.
posted by Pauly at 6/25/2008 04:40:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 26: The Bucket List, Dumb Hookers, and Phan 2.0

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Benjo told me a hilarious story about how Bellagio hookers were trying to cash tournament chips at the cage.

Apparently, a couple of horny and angle-shooting poker players removed $1,000 denomination tournament chips out of play. They used those chips to pay off hookers, who were not very bright and accepted the chips in return for sexual favors. Of course they did not read the fine print on the chips where it said it's not legal tender and only a tournament chip.

Horny Poker Players 1, Dumb Hookers 0.

* * * * *
"Well, playing in the World Series of Poker is on my list of things to do before I die," said Ray.

Ray was in his seventies. The former sales rep from Oregon flew to Las Vegas to play in the Seniors Event. He had just busted out and sat in an empty seat next to me at the All American Bar & Grill.

Ray told me that he had seen the film The Bucket List which inspired him to play in his first ever WSOP event. CHange100 read the original script many years ago when it was titled Things to Do Before I Die...

"The movie wasn't very good. However, when I got home I made a list," said Ray.

"So what else is on your list?"

"Visit New York City and Mt. Rushmore. I also want to try surfing."

The 2008 Seniors event has the largest turnout since the WSOP began Senior events. The majority of players were under 65, but a large amount of the players in their late 60s and above played in the WSOP because they were also inspired by the Bucket List. That's sort of sad and invigorating at the same time. It takes a lot of courage and balls to recognize that you are in the winter of your life and then take the steps to do the things you never did. I applaud the hundred or more souls who made the trek to Vegas.

The WSOP is like Mecca. If you are a poker player, you have to make at least one trip to play in the WSOP before you die.

Tao of Poker reader Lonnie Boeding from Kansas went deep in the Seniors event. He cashed and finished in 43rd place, just a few spots ahead of Men the Master. Congrats to Lonnie for a job well done.

* * * * *
The WSOP crowned their first multiple-bracelet winner in John Phan. The Razor took down the Triple Draw event. FTrain covered the event and mentioned there was a specific incident with Gioi Luong that lit a fire under Phan's ass. Gioi Luong and Phan had been jawing all day. Phan had a massive lead but blew it and found himself the shortstack. He obviously battled back and took it down. Chalk up another bracelets for the Asians.

* * * * *

Tao of Pokerati is back with a new episode. Yeah, I know, we released Episode 14 before Episode 13. Don't forget that Michalski is from Texas and can't add.

Anyway, here's how he described the latest episode:

All In Energy buys the shirts off the WSOP waitstaff's backs... and fuels a large-ass playing field with All In "energy water" — meaning it's powered by" PokerNews proprietary water molecules that have been personally purified by Johnny Chan!

This time, your Tao of Pokerati hosts discuss the Nascar-ization of Poker, one poker-medio's addiction to a liquid Chan enterprise, and what the success (or failure) of a pseudo-freeroll bounty tourney just before the main event means for the future of poker. Damn, that's a lot to swallow in three(ish) minutes... hence the need for a chaser....

Download Episode #13: Energy Bucks

And yes, you can visit the Tao of Pokerati archives to listen to older episodes.


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 6/25/2008 01:02:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog - Day 26

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Late start for me, due to some crooked doctor and insurance adjuster business. I asked the doc to give me what I need to stay on the field and keep playing. He handed me a jar of Balco and a tube the the clear. I can write everyday for the next three weeks and hit 50 home runs.

Anyway, we're back at the Rio. Four events on the eve of HORSE.

Event #40 $2,500 Triple Draw - Final Table
Event #41 $1,500 Mixed Hold'em - Final Table
Event #42 $1,000 Seniors NL - Day 2
Event #43 $1,500 PLO8 - Day 1

And here's the only final table today...

Event #40 $2,500 Triple Draw - Final Table:
Seat 1: Ben Ponzio (Elmwood Park, Illinois) - 113,000
Seat 2: Shun Uchida (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 200,000
Seat 3: David Sklansky (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 78,000
Seat 4: Gioi Luong (Westminster, California) - 291,000
Seat 5: Robert Mizrachi (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 215,000
Seat 6: John Phan (Stockton, California) - 294,000

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is brought to you by Borgata Poker blog.


Friedman and Tropical Steve are blogging the main event as we speak. If you don't know, my next reporting gig will be with the Borgata in September. Stay tuned for more details.

* * * * *
4:40pm...

The mega-satellite is running for HORSE. $2,250 buy in. Several familiar faces in the last sat before HORSE tomorrow.

Event #40 Triple Draw Final Table: Down to 4. David Sklansky is out in 6th place. No bracelet for over boy. The Razor is in the chiplead seeking his second bracelet. The brother of the Grinder is the shortstack.

Event #42 Seniors: 126 left. Former WSOP champion Tom McEvoy is one of the chipleaders. Tao of Poker reader, Lonnie Boeding, made the money. He's way above average in chips and looking good. The oldest player in the event, Harold Waite, busted out.

* * * * *
5:20pm...

Event #40 Triple Draw Final Table: Down to 3. All remaining players are of Asian-decent. The Razor has 50% of the chips in play and is trying to win his second bracelet this year. Phan attracts plenty of young hot Asian ass and they have been hanging out on the rail.

Event #42 Seniors: Caught a crazy hand involving Lonnie. He had Aces. His opponent held 9-3s and flopped two pair. All the money went in on the flop. The board paired on the river and Lonnie doubled up to about 100K.

Damn, blogger.com has been acting up today.

* * * * *
6:20pm...

Event #40 Triple Draw Final Table: Still three to go, but Phan lost his lead and is now the shortstack.

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em Final Table: Three to go. The brother of the Binger is first in chips.

Serious technical difficulties today. I'm almost ready to give up and call it a day, especially since HORSE starts tomorrow and I'm not gonna sleep for five straight days.

Who knows if I'll be back...


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 6/24/2008 07:17:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 25: Save the Eskimo, Save the World

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV


Attention Hippies,

The Eskimo needs your help. Put down the bong. Stop campaigning for Obama (Dick Cheney already rigged the November election, the Beijing Olympics, and the next two American Idols) and get your patchouli-smelling ass down the Rio Casino in Las Vegas because the Eskimo needs your help.


The Eskimo in his natural habit before global warming and pre-poker boom
The Eskimo is another casualty of global warming and will slowly melt away with the ice caps. A violent death by drowning awaits, like Al Gore's adorable polar bears.

Every time someone buys an SUV, another bit of Eskimo dies. Eskimo is doomed unless you and your fellow hippies come to his rescue. Hurry up and act now before Phish gets back together and you drop everything you do to follow them around the country hoping to hear Fluffhead for the first time since 9/29/00.

The Eskimo needs your help. Global warming is on the rise and several of your favorite animals are on the verge of extinction including seals, whales, musk oxen, walruses, over a dozen species of migratory birds, polar bears, and the Eskimo.

There used to be a time when the Eskimo's sole enemy were the sharks that infest the Arctic waters and the card rooms of Las Vegas. Now time and an increasing warmer climate are the Eskimo's biggest fears. Climatologists in Norway believe that the Eskimo will be extinct by the 2009 WSOP unless reversals of fortune are made immediately.

The Norwegian Eskimo Institute has been tracking and tagging Eskimo for several years observing them in his natural habit. From the data collected by Dr. Sigbjorn Amdal and his scientists has been widely publicized and the future is grim. For three years, they sought out the answers to two questions... What does the Eskimo do? And where does he go?

"The Eskimo's once fertile feeding grounds have vanished due to an increase in melting arctic ice and the influx of teenaged Scandinavian online poker players feasting on the schools of fish that used to feed the Eskimo's voracious appetite,"explained Dr. Amdal during a keynote speech at the Kyoto Climate Summit in 2007.

"Large masses of ice are breaking up as glaciers melt earlier and earlier every year. Rapid changes to the environment are causing a ecological nightmare which caused the Eskimo to relocate to the Nevada desert where chances of survival are less then 2%. The Eskimo will soon perish."

Act now to save the Eskimo. Help end the war on global warming. Eskimo's blood will be on your hands unless you make immediate steps towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Every time you wipe your ass with recycled single ply toilet paper, Eskimo gets another buy in to a satellite.

Every time you install an energy saving light bulb in your home, Eskimo gets another buy in to the 2/5 PLO game in the Amazon Room.

Every time you buy a Prius hybrid, Eskimo gets another buy in to a donkament.

Every time you choose not to fly on commercial airlines, Eskimo gets another buy in to the Main Event.

Only you can prevent Eskimo from drowning. Don't waste water. Reducing your flushing habits. Remember... Yellow = be mellow. Brown = go down.

The fate the of the Eskimo is in your hands. Can you allow another endangered species on this planet become extinct by the evils of mankind and the corporations that control them?

This is my call to all the hippies in North America... to all my brothers and sisters in Vancouver, Boulder, Eugene, Olympia, Bellingham, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Humbolt County, Austin, and Vermont. This is a time for change in America. This is our time to rise up and make an impact on a global scale.

President John F. Kennedy once said, "The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it; and the glow from that fire can truly light the world."

Save the Eskimo. Save the world.

Yours in the bong,
Pauly


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 6/24/2008 04:20:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 25 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

The Seniors event is today which means lots of players with decades and decades of life experience.

I'm not going to out my fellow media reps, but I must say I was rather disappointed that several people decided to show up late. And the ones that did cracked geriatric jokes. I gave them crap for being ageists. Respect your elders, bitches!

This is another mellow day with four tournaments and only one final table.

Event #39 $1,500 NL - Final Table
Event #40 $2,500 Triple Draw - Day 2
Event #41 $1,500 Mixed Hold'em - Day 2
Event #42 $1,000 Seniors NL - Day 1

And here's the only final table today...

Seat 1: Eric Beren - 640,000
Seat 2: David Woo - 1,090,000
Seat 3: Habib Khanis - 645,000
Seat 4: Michael Glasser - 495,000
Seat 5: Curtis Early - 1,225,000
Seat 6: Jim Paras - 535,000
Seat 7: Matthew Wood - 675,000
Seat 8: Thom Werthmann - 1,600,000
Seat 9: Thanhdat Tran - 1,255,000

* * * * *
3:09pm...

Michalksi sighting in the press box. Shocker.

Event #42 Seniors: The most touching moment of the day was when Charlie the floor guy took the mic and asked everyone to stand up (that was not wheelchair bound). They were going to see who was the oldest person.

"If you are 55 and under, please sit down," he said.

"If you are 65 and under, please sit down," he said a few moments after. Almost two-thirds of the Amazon Room had taken their seat.

Then Charlie started getting specific... 68. 70. 72. 75. 80. 85.

And then he hit the 90s.

Spaceman and I were standing in the press box peering out over the crowd to see if anyone was left standing. It was down to two gentlemen standing in the same section.

"91," said Charlie and one of the guys slowly took is seat.

Charlie walked over the the guy still standing. It was Harold Waite and he was born in 1917.

The room gave Harold a standing ovation. That was the most touching moment at the WSOP thus far.

* * * * * *
4:20pm...

Event #40 Triple Draw: 30 players started Day 2 and seven have busted already included Bill Chen and Antony Lellouche. Fossilman started the day as the chipelader, but hie's slipped a bit. Everyone's favorite poker Lothario, David Sklansky, is still in the hunt for a bracelet... and an 17-year old girlfriend. Then again, aren't we all?

Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!



* * * * *
5:21pm...

There's a HORSE mega-satellite going on for $2,250. I only see 14 players signed up so far. That might be the only satellite where you see named pros playing in a live setting. Plenty of them are trying to qualify for the Main Event online. Although the satellite area across the hall in the Tropical Room is considered the "lost city of gold" according to poker scribe Michael Craig. The other night he was telling me about a guy who was literally passing out at his table and had to be woken up by the floor person when it was his action. He thought the guy was super sleepy after a long session. I was convinced the guy was riding the H train. Chasing the dragon. Popping the Oxycontin or what the kids used to call hillbilly heroin. Craig was happy to have the waste of life as an opponent. How come I can't get a got to nod out at my table?

Event #39 $1.5K NL Final Table: Down to 6. Chipleader is Woo. Second place is Wood. I wanna see a Woo vs. Wood heads up match. Thanh Dat Tran busted out in 7th place. Say that fourteen times really fast. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran. Thanh Dat Tran.

Event #40 Triple Draw: Ray Davis is a fixture in the LA casinos. He's always pimpin' with a cool lid. He's second in chips. The brother of the Grinder is moving up on the chart. The legendary Billy Baxter is my pick to win it. Fossilman and the always controversial David Sklansky are both shortstacked.

Event #42 Seniors: Official numbers are in... 2,218 runners which is a new record. Top 198 get paid. Tom McEvoy and Men the Master are among the chipeladers. Eskimo Clark is nevermore and among the first players to bust out. Eskimo is another casualty of global warming and will slowly melt away with the ice caps and drown in a violent death like the Al Gore's adorable polar bears. Every time you drive your SUV, another bit of Eskimo dies. Eskimo is doomed unless the hippies come to save him.

* * * * *
6:39pm...

Event #39 $1.5K NL Final Table: Down to three. I might get my Wood vs. Woo heads up match after all!

Event #40 Triple Draw: Down to 14. My new main man Ray Davis busted out in 14th place. According to Christian, he said that Ray Davis and Billy Baxter made a $500 last longer bet. At the time Baxter had 5K in chips and Davis had 35K... and Baxter still took the bet without odds. Man, Baxter won. Unreal. F Train mentioned that he started the day as a shortstack and took over the lead with three tables to go. Fossilman and Dirty Old Man Skalansky are still in the hunt. Did you know that "Fossilman" in Cherokee is loosely translated into "wears socks with sandals."

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em: 55 to go. Fabrice Soulier just busted and is in media row talking with French reps about his bust out hand. Of course, I could be making all of that up since my French is bad and Benjo is not here to translate. Rumor has it that he's on a date with an upstanding woman with a graduate degree in pole dancing that he met the other night. Michalski said that he could neither confirm nor deny the allegations.

Event #42 Seniors: Down to 610. Almost 70% of the field is busto. Capt Tom's Penis is the chipleader. According to Tassie Devil who is covering the event, a lot of the players are here because of their "Bucket List" of things to do before they die. I'm going to write a screenplay... The Bucket List meets Rounders.... where two codgers con the Russian mob and take the money they stole to play in the WSOP. There will be a cameo from Neil Patrick Harris and Sam Farha. And yes, the entire second act takes place at The Rhino.

* * * * *
8:20pm...

I limped down the hallway and walked past the Sapphire Pool booth. A five-foot two Latina beauty with the tits the size of beach balls handed me a free drink coupon.

"Get a free drink at Sapphire pool," she said with a coy smile.

"Will you be at the pool?" I asked

"Yes," she said.

"You fuckin' liar! Your advertising is a false as your num nums" I muttered.

Event #39 $1.5K NL Final Table: I'm almost jizzing in my pants. I might have to put on a condom so I don't wet myself. At last... Wood vs. Woo heads up matchup. Woo holds a slight lead over Wood.

Event #40 Triple Draw: The brother of the Grinder is on top with 12 to go. The Razor has been flying under the radar and trying to make another final table and win his second bracelet this year. Fossilman is shortstacked. He made two final tables last year and is trying to make his first one this year.

I wandered by the HORSE mega satellite and spotted a few familiar faces including Maureen Feduniak, Yosh Nakano, Sheiky, Dr. Roy Winston, and Sabyl Cohen. We'll find out just how many players are broke this year, or simply will not want to fork over 50K of their own money. I don't blame them in such a tough field. It's going to be a a battle among the big stakers and their many horses. A couple of European fat cats will most likely put a few horses in the race.

* * * * *
9:20pm...

Back by popular demand...

Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To...
1. Paul Darden
2. Tony Ma
3. Jon Little
4. David Chiu
5. Max Pescatori

Event #39 $1.5K NL Final Table: Wooooooooo is the winner. Woo defeats Wood for the bracelet. Another American of Asian-ancestry takes it down.

Event #40 Triple Draw: Dario "I'm not the gay-scarf wearing Italian named Dario" Alioto went out in 11th place. Fossilman busto in 10th. The Razor and Billy Baxter are out in front while Sklanasky is on life support.

* * * * *
11:08pm...

Degen of the Day: The latest bracelet winner, David Woo, actually made a final table in a donkament last year. He was so pissed off with his performance (5th place) that he took all of is 188K winnings and blew it all playing blackjack... in less than thirty minutes. Whatever casino got that score was lucky.

Event #40 Triple Draw: Billy Baxter bubbled off the final table in 7th place. The final table of six is set and consists of three virtual unknowns; Ben Ponzio, Shun Uchida, Gioi Luong... who are up against three big dogs; David Sklansky, the brother of the Grinder, and the Razor... John Phan.

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em: 20 to go. The brother of the Binger is the chipleader. DanDruff is still alive.

Event #42 Seniors: Capt. Tom's Penis is trying to get back on track with the chiplead. He slipped to second.

So Sklansky made a final table and Capt. Tom's Penis is one of the chipleaders in the Seniors event... on the same day. Brandi must be rolling around in her grave right now.


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 6/23/2008 05:47:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 24: Belgium Bracelets and Spanish Sundays

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Quiet day... until the pharmies kicked in.

Several people used "quiet day" to describe a mellow Sunday at the World Series of Poker. There were only four events running instead of six and only one final table. The weekend warriors flew back home as several pros took the day off to relax before the HORSE event on Wednesday. The vibe in the Amazon Room was mellow and everyone seemed to be on autopilot. The day was so bland that I almost pulled a trick out of Hemingway's play book wrote about the weather.

"How could you not be bored?" asked Bond18 who wandered up to the press box a couple of times.

Boredom is the hobgoblin that gets me into the most trouble. When I'm bored in Vegas, I head to the nearest sports book where I can do some real damage.

I was on a head full of pharmies. Watson 368. I know them well. Too well. Some of you do too. Yeah, I'm talking to you closest pill-poppers, which I have a feeling makes up about 82% of my readership. It takes a junkie to know a junkie. After all, America is a nation of pill-popping used car salesmen. And if you ain't popping pills, you're dangling death sticks between your lips, or swallowing poisonous cups of coffee, or donking off your last paycheck at the tables.

The Watson 368s have been dissolving throughout my bloodstream for several straight days. They help numb the pain so I can function. I headed over to the sports book to watch the European Championships. Spain and Italy played for a spot in the semi-finals. I had several bets on Spain (to win the game and a hedge to win it all) and eagerly sweated the action like the deviant junkie that I am. The sports book was standing room only and I didn't have enough room to pace around, so I wandered over to the Hooker Bar where I watched the end of the second half. It was also super crowded ironically with more soccer fans than hookers.

Although Spain was the favorite, Italy played them tough and the match was tied at the end of regulation. The final result would be decided in a dramatic shootout. Italy won the World Cup against France in 2006 on penalty kicks but fell short on Sunday. Spain won and my bet hit.

I barreled through the crowded casino on a mission. I weaved past the zombies anchored to the slot machines, and ran by the muppets at the craps tables, and rushed by the slow-moving tourists. I was nearly out of breath when I arrived at the window to cash my ticket. Nothing is sweeter in Las Vegas than cashing a winning sports bet ticket. It's a natural high especially after getting jacked up on adrenaline while sweating the results.

Of course, the enablers at the cage asked me if I wanted to let my winnings ride. I pondered a couple of bets before I came to my senses and I opted for the cash.

Fuck you, bitch. Pay me.

With Spain's victory, the final four for the European Championships is set. Spain plays Russia and Germany takes on Turkey. Russia and Turkey knocked off the two favorites (Holland and Croatia) going into the quarter finals.

I turned into a soccer freak only because I figured out how to bet on it. Soccer was utterly meaningless to me until I bet on it and thereby gave it some sort of significance. I have been betting heavily on something I have very little knowledge about... and winning. Sounds like the story of my poker life.

I barely knew soccer existed. Here's proof... I can only tell you the names of three players; Pele, Mia Hamm, and David Beckham.

Everything I know about soccer, I learned from Hollyweird. One of my favorite flicks as a kid was Victory! starring Michael Caine, Pele, and Sly Stallone as the goalie. And one of my favorite flicks as an adult is Bend It Like Beckham because I often fantasize about the nimble Keira Knightly frolicking around with other teenaged girls.

Once the Spain/Italy match was over, I reluctantly shuffled back to the convention area. I was bummed that I had to return to work. I had so much fun watching soccer than I wanted to avoid the lackluster excitement in the Amazon Room.

The 5pm Mixed Hold'em event attracted a decent sized-field compared to the star-studded field in the Triple Draw event which in turn attracted all the slack-jawed railbirds. Several pros busted out of Triple Draw and quickly bought into the Mixed Hold'em event. And the ones that didn't play, probably went home to play online.

Benjo told me an interesting story about David Benyamine. Instead of going out to celebrate his bracelet victory on Saturday night, Degenyamine went directly to the Bellagio where he sat in Bobby's Room and played in a big cash game. And the very next day at noon, Benyamine was back to the Rio to play in the Triple Draw event. He even signed up to play in the 5pm event. When Triple Draw went on a ninety minute dinner break, Benaymine headed over to his Mixed Hold'em table and played his stack there.

I was punchy and floated around about a foot off the ground for most of the day. There were moments when I was a puddle and just mush. The lights above the tables had a groovy aura around them. I could have stared at the light for four straight hours and that would have been more interesting that watching the restart of the donkament stuffed with a couple hundred unknowns in the Brasilia Room.

I lurked around the final table for a bit which was being aired on ESPN360. I sat in the crowd in the David Kitai fan section which included several French and Belgium pros. I covered Kitai in Spain when he took 11th place at the EPT Barcelona. His only other significant poker accomplishment was a 404th place finish in last year's Main Event, but he was on the verge of making history. Only Chris Bell stood in his way.

Kitai is a sponsored player for Winamax, a French online poker site that Benjo works for. He had to cover Kitai's run at the final table and sat with his friends who were sweating Kitai.

Benjo was on a natural high from the Benyamine's victory from the night before.

"Well, now you have to remember what was my answer when you asked 'Who do you think is the best French player in the world?'," said Benjo.

On Day 7, in the Tao of Five interview, Benjo said that David Benyamine was the best French player. Period. Benyamine backed up Benjo's statement by cashing in four different types of games (O8, Stud 8, Deuce-to-Seven, and PLO). He also made three final tables, finished in 10th place in another event, and won a bracelet in Event #37.

"I do this job for moments like that," explained Benjo. "Pure emotion. Overwhelming. I've been fortunate to feel this kind of emotion three times this season... Arnaud Mattern in Prague, ElkY in the Bahamas, and now Benyamine in Vegas. Just wow. What a great day."

And he said that to me before Kitai made a run at the final table and got heads up with Chris Bell, a seasoned pro from North Carolina, who already made one final table earlier this year.

The French guys were having fun so I joined them in the audience. They were all knocking back beers and having a good time supporting Kitai.

"Allez! Allez!" they'd shout in between sips of room-temperature Milwaukee's Beast from the can.

At the time Bell held a sizable advantage, but Kitai battled back to take the lead. Bell had some famous railbirds, but they were preoccupied playing Chinese Poker in the second row of the stands. That group included Nordberg, Michael Gracz, and Layne Flack. When Gavin Smith and Chris Fargis busted out of Triple Draw, they started up a second game. Erick Lindgren stopped by during his dinner break. Bell was one of Lindgren's horses and he was just checking up on his investment.


Chinese Poker on the rail...
Photo credit: Flipchip
The heads up battle lasted over 187 hands and almost five and half hours in length. On one side of the stage, Kitai's merry Frenchmen drank and joked around while on the other side, Bell's buddies were too busy gambling. Ah, I love the contrast in cultures.

When it was all over, David Kitai won the bracelet. He made history by becoming the first WSOP bracelet from Belgium. With his $244,546 payday, Kitai moved into second on the All Time Belgium money list.

David Kitai also became the third consecutive European player to win a bracelet. He's the fourth European bracelet winner in the last six final tables. Since Event #22, Europeans have won nine bracelets in total, and five bracelets in the last ten events. The 2008 WSOP started out as the "Year of the Pro" but the Europeans have made a legitimate run over the last two weeks.

* * * * *
The best part about my assignment this year is that I can write whatever I want on Tao of Poker. I'm the warden, the guards, and the criminal all rolled up into one. So I have no one telling me that I can't write about the wasted guy in the bathroom who stumbled out of the stall after blowing rails of coke. He furiously rubbed his nose and asked me for the time.

"1:30," I said.

"What day is it?"

"Monday morning. It's 1:30am."

"Shit. I missed my flight."

He ran out of the bathroom and I never saw him again.

A few hours earlier a drunken Mark Vos stumbled into the bathroom wearing his shades. A Rio security guard stood next to him and he began taunting the guy.

"If I pee on you, will you shoot me?"


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 6/23/2008 07:14:00 AM | Permalink |

 
The Week in Review and New Episodes of Tao of Pokerati

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I really had fun with writing about the WSOP over the last week. In case you've been away or been in a coma or something, here's the week in review...

Day 18: Never Trust a Junkie... Action. The rush. The buzz. The sustained high. Doesn't matter the medium. Craps. Poker. Slots. Blackjack. Baccarat. Dog races. NBA games. Video poker. It's the anticipation of the outcome that gets everyone fired up. The moment of truth when life sizzles through your bloodstream and you're jacked up on so much adrenaline it takes you days and weeks and months to come down from the cosmos. The anticipation... the crest of the gambler's high... where nothing else matters as the entire world pauses during that millisecond before your fate is determined.

Day 19: Looking Through a Glass Onion... My inner action junkie is the size of Gary Coleman and wrapped up deep and deep inside buried behind so many layers of complicated phobias, addictions, and other unresolved mental health issues. It takes years and decades to peel off all of the excess layers before we get to the source. But if our souls were glass onions and you could peek through all the layers, we'd see the true essence of existence... and that's to constantly challenge and prove to yourself that you're truly alive. And gambling is one of those opportunities when ordinary activities take on a role of vital significance by simply wagering on the outcome.

Day 20: Scandi Ghosts, Degenadario, and the Tao of Deutschland... I first met Dario Minieri at the 2006 WSOP, when I covered the Main Event for PokerStars. I recall saying something to Otis that some kid (who looks like he's 15, doesn't even shave, and may or may not be a girl) had a shitload of chips. Cardplayer had the official media coverage that year and listed him as Dario Roma. Almost, but not quite. He was Dario Minieri and hailed from Rome, Italy. I asked him his name and he said in a very dramatic and flamboyant voice, "I am Dario! Me English not so good."

Day 21: Donkeys, Pigeons, Possums, and Kangaroos... She could have 'big timed' it and blew off security by entering through the back door like Jen Tilly, Howard Lederer, and Phil Ivey have done many times before. Not for Kathy. She wanted to be treated like any of two thousand other players in the event. She also brown bagged her lunch instead of paying for overpriced kangaroo meat that they pass off as food in the Poker Kitchen. When you lather it in hot sauce and dip it in Ranch dressing it tastes just like chicken.

Day 22: Layne Flack Six Pack and the Luckiest Man... Anyone can get up on a soapbox and judge get on someone for being a drunk or a druggie. Unless you've been there you really don't know how much easier it is to give in to temptation than to make a stand and wrestle with those intoxicating demons. Everyone has a weakness. Puggy Pearson told Flipchip that "Every man has a leak." And if you are a vulnerable person living in a city like Las Vegas, it's only a matter of time before you self-destruct. Implode. Lose your mud. Dive into the abyss.

Day 23: The Killing Fields, Benyamine Wins First Bracelet, and the Corridor of Hookers... Location is the key to any successful business. That's why the Hooker Bar was such a popular hang out. But a few girls are hustling in the hallways leading up to the Amazon Room. That's what is great about that long corridor. Inside of thirty seconds you can crash a Mexican wedding reception, buy a cold overpriced personal pie from Pizza Hut, pick up a copy of Bluff Magazine, and negotiate a hummer from a hooker.

* * * * *
And yes, Michalski posted 1.5 new episodes of Tao of Pokerati.

Episode 12 is about staking and we discuss taking pieces of the DonkeyBomber in the 50K HORSE event. And Benjo joins us for Episode 12.5 where we discuss the daily donkament.

Episode 1: Game On! (3:16)
Episode 2: Dirty Sklanchez (3:30)
Episode 2.5: Poker Couture with Benjo (1:03)
Episode 3: Milwaukee’s Best Vinny (3:25)
Episode 4: Late-Night Piladies (3:43)
Episode 5: Long Road (3:23)
Episode 6: Lowballin' (3:02)
Episode 7: Brasilia Time (4:23)
Episode 8: Online Sharks::Salmon (3:07)
Episode 9: Do You See What I See? (3:58)
Episode 10: Eurotarded (2:26)
Episode 11: Floorplay (3:21)
Episode 12: Halfsies (4:41)
Episode 12.5: Le Donk with Benjo (1:35)

FYI... You can right-click and Save As to download the MP3s to your hard drive.


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 6/23/2008 01:25:00 AM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 24 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I arrived at the Rio totally faded and today should be a fun day for as long as that warm fuzzy feeling holds up.

Part of me wants to try to go the entire day without writing about poker. That's an impossible task. I mean it's a totally mellow day with just four tournaments and only one final table, so maybe I can get away with slacking off.

Event #38 $2,000 PL Hold'em - Final Table
Event #39 $1,500 NL - Day 2
Event #40 $2,500 Triple Draw - Day 1
Event #41 $1,500 Mixed Hold'em - Day 1

And here's the final table, led by German Jan von Halle who's trying to take down another bracelet for both the Germans and Europeans...

Event #38 $2,000 PL Hold'em - Final Table:
Seat 1: David Kitai (Belgium) - 274,000
Seat 2: Ben Roberts (London, UK) - 82,000
Seat 3: Ayaz Mahmood (Houston, TX) - 314,000
Seat 4: Michael Greco (London, UK) - 120,000
Seat 5: Chris Bell (Raleigh, NC) - 260,000
Seat 6: Jan Von Halle (Hamburg, Germany) - 485,000
Seat 7: Robert Cheung (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - 352,000
Seat 8: Keith Greer (Fort Worth, TX) - 238,000
Seat 9: Lee Watkinson (Cheney, WA) - 357,000

* * * * *
1:23pm...

I arrived in the pressbox and it's almost empty except for Aaron and few hungover French media reps who were out celebrating David Benyamine's bracelet victory. The Germans are all hovering around the final table but seriously, I have not seen the press box this empty at 1pm. Sure, it sometimes looks this deserted at 1am, but I'm a little surprised. Seems like everyone decided to take today off.

Event #40 Triple Draw: My buddy Dave was covering the Triple Draw event for Poker News. He told me that both Gobboboy and Lederer showed up late and were seated at the same table. Nothing tops the pic that Benjo snapped a couple of weeks ago that included an uncomfortable Lederer and a jovial Gobboboy.

Fashion Victim of the Day: Again, I'm picking up the slack for Change100 here. In today's pharmie-induced fashion post, I was told that Annie Duke went with plaid shorts and cowboy boots. If there's one thing I read about in fashion magazines (yes, I thumb through them on occasion when I'm dropping a deuce in Change100's bathroom and there's nothing to read except sleazy celebrity tabloid rags and fashion magazines) is that it's never a good choice to mix genres. Annie... you looked so adorable wearing all black, yet at times you looked like a bad ass. The Johnny Cash look works. Stick with it.

* * * * *
2:51pm...

I ran off to the sports book to watch the end of the Italy and Spain match. I caught the entire shootout at the Hooker Bar, which was jam packed with soccer fans and the curious passerby. Spain won the shootout and advanced to the semi-finals where they will meet the Russians. I won my bet but only went 2-2 in the quarterfinals. I broke even. I stood next to two drunk guys who spoke some sort of Slavic language. They had also bet on Spain.

Man, the final four of the European Championship will include a couple of solid matchups... Germany vs. Turkey and Spain vs. Russia. I have bets on both Spain and Germany to win it all which I put in when I first arrived in Vegas and heeded the advice of friends in the European and British press. I got another bet in on Spain yesterday to win it all at 7/2.

As of June 19th, the Russians and the Turks were the too longshots out of the final eight teams. Russia was 15/1 and Turkey a 20/1 favorite to win it all. I should have put down a couple of $20 hedge bets there. Too late. On June 19th, the Dutch were 2/1 favorites and Portugal was a 3/1 favorite. Ah, the two big dogs were picked off by the two underdogs.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is brought to you by Thrillist.com.


* * * * *
4:33pm...

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: Down to 4. Lee Watkinson just busted in 5th place. North Carolina's Chris Bell is the chipleader. There's a Texan, a German, and a Belgium left in the mix. 50-50 chance at this point that a European wins a bracelet. Jan von Halle and David Kitai are still in the hunt for their first bracelet. A slew of French pros are in the audience (along with Benjo) sweating Kitai. Katja Thater and a few Germans are sweating Jan.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: Change100 is covering that event over in the Brasilia Room. She said, "I have a feeling that Barry is going to make the final table." She rarely says things like but when she does share those bits of female intuition, she's almost always right. The last time she mentioned something like that? The other morning when she said, "I have a feeling Layne Flack is going to win." Sure enough, Flack took it down.

Event #40 Triple Draw: Stacked field including several former world champions, dozens of multiple bracelet winners, several of the most annoying poker pros in the world who love to berate dealers who have no little experience dealing triple draw. Chris Fargis is in the mix and he's sporting a Brooklyn hoodie (which he admitted belonged to fellow Brooklynite Matt Matros). The G is also in the field and said that he liked his table. During the break, Marcel Luske sat in the press box and chowed down on some fruit. Recent bustouts included Doyle Brunson, John "Schecky" Caldwell, and Sam Grizzle. Gobboboy is short-stacked....

* * * * *
5:48pm...

I know this would make Aunt Maudie happy... I'm eating the fruit salad from the Poker Kitchen!

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: Jan von Halle eliminated in 4th place. They are heads up for a bracelet. David Kitai (Belgium) vs. Chris Bell (North Carolina).

Event #39 $1.5K NL: I should have taken up Change100 on that Barry Greenstein bet. He busted shortly after I wrote the last update. With Greenstein's departure, the event is down to under 100 players that you have never heard of before.

Event #40 Triple Draw: 114 left out of 238. Man, half the field is already busto. Bill Chen and Archie Karas are among the chipleaders. Recent bustouts include, Scarf Boy, Gobboboy, Danny Boy, Jesus, Happy, and Pearljammer.

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em: Dude, Alex Kravchecko is one scary mofo. He's sitting at a table near the press box and he's wearing dark sunglasses and looks like a thug that would show up to your house after you stiffed your bookie for two weeks.

* * * * *
7:27pm...

Change100's event is on a dinner break and I escorted her to the Poker Kitchen. The doors leading out are super dangerous. I've gotten hit a couple of times and you really have to be careful going both ways. Anyway, Change100 pushed one door open and the door flew open and nailed a guy in the arm. He dropped an entire plate of fries. He shook his head and somberly walked away. I got the feeling that he was having "one of those bad days." Sucked out at the tables and then getting your dinner knocked over. When it rains, it pours. Right?

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: "Heads up is lasting forever," said Snoopy who is covering the event. I sat in the stands for a bit with Benjo and saw Nordberg, Mike Gracz, and Layne Flack playing online poker.

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em: Bond18, Gobboboy, Liz Lieu, Tassie Devil, and David Benaymine (two-tabling it) are in the field.

* * * * *
8:31pm...

Jen Mason sighting! Everyone's favorite British poker player is finally here. Over the previous three summers she was here as a reporter for Blonde Poker. This year, she's here as a player in a couple of events.

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: I have been lurking around the final table area hanging out with Flipchip and Benjo. Heads up is almost reaching three hours in length between David Kitai and Chris Bell. Kitai almost had a 3 to 1 lead before Bell took down a big pot. Both Gavin Smith and Erick Lindgren are in the crowd sweating Bell. Lindgren was on his dinner break in Triple Draw and checked up on his horse, while Gavin quickly joined a Chinese Poker game that has been going on in the second row of the stands.

Event #40 Triple Draw: 85 to go. Fossilman and Bill Chen are out in front.

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em: Tassie Devil is among the chipleaders. Plenty of bustouts already including Gobboboy, Daniel Negreanu, Erica Schoenberg, DonkeyBomber, and Alex KGB are all busto.

Today was the first time that I saw the Mad Genius Mike Caro playing (although he might have been here previously - I had not run into him at all). He played in both events on Day 24 and is out of both.

* * * * *
9:55pm...

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: Talk about one tough heads up battle between David Kitai and Chris Bell. It's been 4.5 hours since Keith Greer busted out in 3rd place. 158 hands later, the two are still going at it. Katai has had Bell on the ropes for the last hour or so, but Bell has been staying alive and doubled up a couple of times to avoid elimination. The French/Belgium contingent are getting anxious while Bell's posse of Gavin Smith, Layne Flack,Mike Gracz, and Nordberg are paying more attention to their Chinese Poker game in the second row.

* * * * *
11:15pm...

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: And it's finally over. Chris Bell busted out in second place after a marathon heads up battle. David Kitai from Belgium wins the bracelet. He becomes the first player from Belgium to ever win a bracelet. And yes, another European won a bracelet. 4 out of the last 6 bracelet winners have been from Europe. Benjo was pumped because Kitai is a sponsored player from Winamax (a popular French online poker site part of the OnGame Network, and that's who Benjo works for. One of his guys won a bracelet the night after the best player in France won a bracelet.

Event #40 Triple Draw: 47 players to go. Anthony Lellouche, a high stakes cash game player from Paris, is the chipleader.

* * * * *
1:29am...

Is anyone still following along? You must be realllllllllllllly bored or a super fan. or both.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: Down to 17. Change100 and Logan are covering the event and they're down to 17 players you have never heard of before.

Event #40 Triple Draw: Day 1 is complete. Only 30 players survived the cut out of 238 runners. Fossilman is the chipleader.

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em: Man, the field went quick. 117 left out of 731. Fabrice Soulier is the chipleader. Michael Craig is busto. he waved goodbye as he headed out the exit. Tony Dunst is also dunzo.

* * * * *
3:12am...

Well, both Day 1 events are complete for the day. I'm only here waiting for Change100 and I'm too cheap to pay for a $30 cab back to Summerlin. Otherwise, I would have left hours ago to go home and write.

Actually, I'm the only one left up in the press box. It's finally quiet up here for the first time all day. Zero distractions.

The cash game tables are in full swing. One guy just dragged a monster pot because he screamed, "Ship it!" and began clapping like a drunk monkey.

I fired up Full Tilt and played some low stakes PLO since I was very tipsy. I tilted the nimrods at my $25 table by donking around and hitting a couple of big draws. I love the anger that spews forth in the chat box. One guy was bitching and moaning about a sick beat I put on him. I mocked him in the chat and said if $25 meant so much to him then he shouldn't be gambling. I love it when people fly off the handle about bad beats. Sure, everyone is entitled to get upset. But when the malcontents bitch and moan about the hand thirty minutes later and don't give up, it really displays that they have zero concept of poker and they're just a narcissistic baboon.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: Down to 13. Unlucky 13. 4 more unknowns bust and I get to go home.

* * * * *
4:20am...

You know it's a long day, when I have time to pimp out two smoke breaks. The late night one is brought to you by... PokerStars.


Download PokerStars
If any of you clowns are still up reading this, well, fuck man, I salute you!

And I guess it's morning on the east coast. So good morning to everyone. I hope you don't have a bad case of the Mondays and didn't contract a venereal disease over the weekend.

* * * * *
4:50am...

Finally. Day 2 of the donkeyslaughterhouse is over. I can go home. Go to sleep. And dream about the day I get to leave Vegas.

Thanks for reading and following along. 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.
posted by Pauly at 6/22/2008 05:36:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 23: The Killing Fields, Benyamine Wins First Bracelet, and the Corridor of Hookers

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

The eerie calm before the storm. Saturdays at noon at the Rio are always overwhelmed by the weekend warriors, the pigeons, the dream chasers, and devil-worshiping sadists who willingly fork over $1,500 to play poker in a minefield.

I had been avoiding the chaos on those days and arrive several hours late in true Hellmuthian fashion and skip the bottleneck traffic in the hallways and sidestep the mass confusion and carnival-like atmosphere in the hallways.

Since I carpooled with Change100, I arrived at work early and entered through a side door and experienced the calm before the storm.

For the first time since the WSOP began I did not hear the clattering of chips. Nothing. The room was empty. Even the cash game tables were cleared out around dawn to prep for the killing fields. Of course, those tables would be the first to be broken down and converted into cash game tables. Churn 'em and burn 'em. Get the lemmings in, get their juice, and when they bust out, keep them in by enticing them with satellites, second chance events, and cash games. More juice. More rake. More donkey feces.

The room was unusually chilly for 11am. The emptier the Amazon room, the colder it is. When the doors opened at 11:40am, a flood of players would burst through and the room would heat up. It was already turning out to be one of the hottest day in Las Vegas, so I welcomed the cool air and wrapped myself in a hoodie as I waited for the carnage to begin.

The dealers lined up and reported to the floor manager who dished out their table assignments. Another floor person handed over racks of tournament chips. The dealers then stood in an assembly line and picked their necessary items out of small boxes; pens, a dealer button, wristbands for players, and two decks of cards. With their arms full, the dealers sauntered to their tables and set up their well as a rep from a two-bit energy drink company spammed the tables with free samples of their third-rate sugar water.

Charlie the floor guy jumped on the microphone and called out to the different sections to see if they needed anything. Within ten minutes dealers were seated by themselves at every single table in the Amazon Room as they awaited the running of the donkeys.

Charlie then told everyone that it was time to cue the music. A few dealers shouted out what they wanted to hear.

"Anything but that rap shit," one cranky old dealer screeched.

"Play Frank Sinatra!" shouted another

"Frank Sinatra? Very fitting for Vegas," Charlie said. "But this isn't a request line folks!" said Charlie.

Two seconds later I heard the intro to Journey's Any Way You Want It.

"Another great day at the World Series of Poker!" exclaimed Jack Effel over the PA system.

Journey? Are you fuckin' kidding me. That's when I popped another generic vicodin.

The other day Benjo said that you can spot the dead money at the table because they are the ones who arrive twenty minutes before start time of the tournament. I wondered how many of the early birds would actually make it to the first break?

Ah, the eager beavers. Thousands of bright eyed and bushy tailed poker enthusiasts flew into Vegas every weekend from destinations all over North America for a shot at the big time. They might crush their local homegame in a messy garage at the end of a cul de sac in a generic subdivision, but they are outmatched by the time they get to Vegas.

They arrived at McCarran full of hope and got mugged in the Amazon Room. Rolled by Harrahs suits at the cage and slapped around by inbred dullards at the table. $1,500 down the toilet. I hope they didn't lose their food comp and walk away empty handed.

I sat up in the press box, perched up high above the sheep who were lead to their merciless slaughter. The damage was fierce. The casualties made the walk of shame through the room and out into the hallway where they commiserated with their loved ones and spewed bad beat stories and tales about a WPT winner at their table who played like a total panda-clit.

Within a few hours a thousand of donators had their stacks decimated as the blood of the losers settled in random tranquil pools throughout the Amazon room.

* * * * *
Benjo sits in the first row of the press box and has to deal with random people stopping by to ask stupid questions. He's also in direct contact with French players who are fans of his blog. One merry fan rushed over to shake Benjo's hand. My French is bad, but here's what I think I overheard...

"Mon Dieu! I love your blog, Benjo. Please have boobie sex with my wife."

The kid is a rock star in France.

It's sort of funny that the first row in the press box (closest to the floor) is filled with members of the foreign press. They are constantly bombarded with a slew of ridiculous questions. Sometimes they trickle up to the top row and pester me with questions. If they don't recognize me, I bust out my best Borat imitation and pretend to be a poker journalist from Lesbotitistan.

"Yes, I like to have the sexy time with Phil Ivey and your wife. You let me film, yes?"

After they wipe that horrified look off their faces, they run back down the stairs never to be seen from again.

Anyway, the French press had a lot to be happy about around 1am when David Benyamine won his first WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 buy-in Omaha 8 World Championship. Benyamine is one of the most successful cash game PLO players in the world and now he can add an 08 bracelet to his resume.

Flipchip took a couple of 2008 WSOP winner's photos. Check them out.

With Benyamine's victory, you have to think that 2008 is also the Year of the Euro, right?

* * * * *
The hookers were out in force on Saturday night trying to pick up the sex-crazed punters who pissed away $1,500 in an existentialist meat grinder.

One particular enterprising working girl loitered in front of the Everest Poker suite right near the Rotunda. She wore a black WSOP t-shirt, tight ass jeans, high heels, and carried a leopard skin purse. She'd random stop guys and hug them as they walked past her. During the embrace she's whisper something in their ears. I left while she was in the middle of negotiating a deal with one guy who needed to work off his bad beats by hate fucking a hooker.

The other day, one working girl tried to pick Mean Gene. He blew her off because he was on a short break while covering a final table.

Location is the key to any successful business. That's why the Hooker Bar was such a popular hang out. But a few girls are hustling in the hallways leading up to the Amazon Room. That's what is great about that long corridor. Inside of thirty seconds you can crash a Mexican wedding reception, buy a cold overpriced personal pie from Pizza Hut, pick up a copy of Bluff Magazine, and negotiate a hummer from a hooker.


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 6/22/2008 05:15:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Sydney 8 Wins Saturdays with Dr. Pauly... Again

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Sydney 8 won another Saturdays with Dr. Pauly, joining Grouse14 and ResidentEvil aka the Last King of Scotland, as the only players who have multi-wins. Sydney 8 has been on a tear over the last three weeks including a first place win two weekends ago and a runner-up finish last week.

Week 21 had 28 runners and the top 3 paid. I was unable to play because I had a ticket to the only screening of Gonzo at CineVegas, the Las Vegas film festival held at the Palms. I posted and folded my way to 10th place. I should do that more often. I actually place higher that way.

LOK1 was Gigli and John1984 was Bubble Boy.

Week 21 Money Winners:
1. Sydney8 -$130
2. Razor1224 - $78
3. Er_gan - $52

Congrats again to Syndey8 for dominating the field the last three weeks. And thanks to everyone who played and pimped the event. See you next week... where Sydney 8 tries to go for win #3.


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 6/21/2008 09:15:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 23 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Welcome back to the zoo. I'm exaggerating, of course. There are no exotic animals behind bars but the Amazon Room definitely smells like a zoo. There's only one rule here and it's plastered all over the walls... Please don't feed the animals. Oh and then there's the disclaimer... Harrahs will not be responsible if any of your children catch hepatitis from the diseased-infested degenerates in today's field.

A few Tao of Poker fans are in the mix today including ChicagoJason, Kenneth "Drama Llama" Terrell, and Stuart from Poker academy, not to mention Martin & Ed and PokerNews' Haley. They were the brave souls who decided to rumble with thousands of other runners. The field was so packed that the poker room and Buzio's was used. At some point Harrah's will be putting poker tables in the buffet. You can feast on crab legs and runner-runner a gutshot at the same time.

Fat guys in bibs at the poker tables. Only at the World Series of Poker. It smells like Saturday.

There are four events running today including two final tables.

Event #36 $1,500 NL - Final Table
Event #37 $10,000 Omaha 8 - Day 3 and Final Table
Event #38 $2,000 PL Hold'em - Day 2
Event #39 $1,500 NL - Day 1

The O8 is down to 18 players and two tables. They will eventually play it out sometime tonight. And here's the one final table that is already set that features two guys who made the final table of the Main Event. Can you guess which ones?

Jesper Hougaard 1,582,000
Cody Slaubaugh 1,419,000
Danny Wong 1,105,000
Rick Solis 900,000
Justin Wald 873,000
Owen Crowe 674,000
Doug Middleton 356,000
John Shipley 269,000
Aaron Kanter 165,000

* * * * *

Tao of Pokerati is back with a new episode. Here's how Michalski described it...

This time Dr.P and I take a leisurely stroll through the Amazon room while discussing bad t-shirts, sunglass technology, and the relationship between Milwaukee’s Best Light, the WSOP, college kids, and Annette_15.

Download Episode #11: Floorplay (3:21)

To listen to previous podcasts head over to the Tao of Pokerati Archives.

* * * * *
3:19pm...

Went 0-2 the last two days betting on soccer. Croatia lost to Turkey in a shootout on Friday and the Ruskies whooped the Dutch. Oh well. I got Spain going tomorrow and Germany to win it all. I got two bets in at 3/1 and 6/1.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is brought to you by Fantasy Sports Live!


Event #36 $1.5K NL: Six players to go. Some guy you never heard of is the chipleader.

Event #37 $10K Omaha 8: Down to 13. Yeah, the final table is not set yet. It might not be for a few more hours. That tournament is gonna go late for sure. Anyway, Frenchman David Benyamine is the chipleader in the event. Mike Matusow has chips and is trying to make another final table... and possibly win his second bracelet. Daddy's favorite player, Chau Giang, is left but one of the short stacks.

* * * * *
5:37pm...

When I walked down the back service hallway, I caught a couple of random scenes. A guy who worked for Milwaukee's Beast (I could tell by the Beat polo that he wore) was carrying one of those six feet tall inflatable cans on his back. He said, "What's up?" as he lugged the can down the corridor.

I turned the corner and two cocktail servers were sitting down and having a heated discussion. It was a guy and a girl and they were obviously having a lover's spat in the hallway. She was crying and he looked exasperated. Another broken heart at the WSOP.

Yesterday in the same hallway there was a pigeon flying back and forth trying to find a way out and occasionally chilling out up in the air conditioning ducts.

Michalski pointed out that the cocktail servers are decked out in red All-In energy drink shirts instead of their usual attire. Apparently even the uniforms of the wait staff are up for sale. We wondered how much Harrah's whored that out for? How much did All-In and Johnny Chan fork over to get that done?

I walked over to the sports book to check up on the lines for tomorrow's Italy/Spain match. On my way back, I saw Eskimo wander around aimlessly in the area in between the electronic roulette wheel and the Hooker Bar.

* * * * *
6:28pm...

Been lurking around the final tables. Here's what I discovered...

Event #36 $1.5K NL final table: Down to four. Some guy you never heard of before is the chipleader. In the Year of the Pro, another no-name will sneak away with another bracelet.

Event #37 $10K Omaha 8 final table: With 10 to go we're technically on the final table bubble. Degenyamine is the chipleader. David Chiu, Toto Leonidas, Jason Gray, Tony Ma, Ram Vaswani are still alive. Berry Johnston and Mike Matusow are both short stacked.

* * * * *
7:28pm...

Event #37 $10K Omaha 8 final table: Berry Johnston bubbled out in 10th place. The final table is set...

Seat 1: Tony Ma (South El Monte, CA)
Seat 2: Jason Gray (Sydney, Australia)
Seat 3: Ram Vaswani (London, England)
Seat 4: Toto Leonidas (Glendale, CA)
Seat 5: David Chiu (Roland Heights, CA)
Seat 6: Mike Matusow (Las Vegas, NV)
Seat 7: David Benyamine (Paris, France)
Seat 8: Greg Jamison (Cedar Falls, IA)
Seat 9: Eugene Katchalov (Brooklyn, NY)

* * * * *
8:29pm...

Event #39 $1.5K NL: 2200 souls crushed. 2200 sheep fleeced. Less than 600 remaining.

* * * * *
9:43pm...

Event #36 $1.5K NL final table: Heads up for the bracelet. Cody Slaubaugh vs. Jesper Hougaard.

Event #37 $10K Omaha 8 final table: Down to 8. Tony Ma busted out in 9th place. The final table is being played out on Table Green #11. The table is surrounded by railbirds five and six deep sweating Matusow, who will occasionally stand up and talk to his girlfriend standing right behind him, or he's bantering with his fans. Erica Schoenberg is also on the rail sweating her beau David Benyamine. Ominous sign? There's a spectator standing right Benyamine and he's wearing a black t-shirt that reads "Degenerate Gambler." You can't make this stuff up.


Photo credit: Benjo
Event #38 $2,000 PLH: Meanwhile, over in the Brasilia Room... down to 10 and on the final table bubble. Germany's Jan Von Halle is the chipleader. Lee Watkinson is one of the shortstacks.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: 410 to go. Barry Greenstein among the chipleaders. Gobboboy just busted. He said, "I was playing with retards all day which is what I want because they pay the bills. What I can't stand are the douchebags who show no class."

* * * * *
11:33pm...

Event #36 $1.5K NL final table: And it's finally over. Another European won a bracelet... a Scandi finally.. Jesper Hougaard from Denmark took it down and collected the first 2008 WSOP bracelet for Scandinavia.

Event #37 $10K Omaha 8 final table: Ram Vaswani is out, as Benyamine took the lead with 5 to go. Matusow was shortstacked, but just busted out in 5th. Four to go. Of course the rail cleared out as soon as Matusow busted. They were there to see him.

Event #38 $2,000 PLH: Ten remaining. Final table bubble is still going down. Jan Von Halle and Lee Watkinson are up on top while Ben Roberts is the short stack.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: 288 to go. So close to the money bubble as the elusive carrot dangling in front of the jackass is about to be devoured. Barry Greenstein is the chipleader. Bind18 and Layne Flack are both still alive while both Boatman brothers from the Hendon Mob are busto.

Smoking with the Dealers: Overheard outside by the Poker Kitchen...

Dealer 1 (female): "I dealt to Devilfish the other day. He's sooooo creepy."
Dealer 2 (male): "One guy at my table today smelled like the weed. He must have had a bag in his pocket."

* * * * *
12:34am...

The after midnight edition... the casino is rocking, the hookers are flocking, the malcontents are bitching about bad beats in the hallways and the French guy is heads up for a bracelet and trying to become the second European to win a bracelet tonight.

Event #37 $10K Omaha 8 final table: Heads up between David Benyamine and Greg Jamison. Benyamine has a 3 to 1 chip advantage. Since it's 08 this could take a while.

Event #38 $2,000 PLH: Final table bubble broke. Finally. German Jan Von Halle is the chipleader.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: They are in the money. 243 players and counting.

* * * * *
12:57am...

Event #37 $10K Omaha 8 final table: Year of the Euro. David Benyamine wins the bracelet! It's his first and I actually saw him smile for the first time... ever.

So two Europeans won bracelets... congrats to both. I guess that's it. Thanks for tuning in. See ya tomorrow for my 24 th straight day of coverage.


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 6/21/2008 12:39:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 22: Layne Flack Six Pack and the Luckiest Man

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

After winning consecutive bracelets in 2002, Layne Flack picked up the moniker "Back-to-Back Flack" and was dubbed the next big thing in poker. In 2003, Flack won two more bracelets for a total of five. That was more than Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu. Flack had the poker world by the balls and then lost his grip.

When you fall in Las Vegas, you fall hard. Eventually the perilous demons had Flack by the balls and his world spun out of control.

Since the end of the 2005 WSOP, Layne Flack earned $111,737 in tournament winnings. The one time WPT champion and five-time bracelet winner was dropped as Full Tilt pro somewhere along the way during his spiraling descent into Hades. I don't have to cut a paste a blurb from Wikipedia to tell you that Flack liked to party. Hard. Like Keith Richards and Keith Moon.

You've heard the story before. The classic rise and fall of the hero. Regular every day poker dealer from Montana heads to Las Vegas to try to make it as a pro. He quickly succeeds and gets caught up in a whirlwind of threesome of drugs, sex, and rock and roll. He loses his friends, family, and the love of his life before he crashes hard and hits rock bottom before he finds salvation and then attempts a comeback.

Will Flack stay on course and fulfill the destiny that so many poker pundits laid out before him? Or will he revert back to his old self and plunge deep into the Dionysian lifestyle which Las Vegas caters to 24 hours a day?

Anyone can get up on a soapbox and judge get on someone for being a drunk or a druggie. Unless you've been there you really don't know how much easier it is to give in to temptation than to make a stand and wrestle with those intoxicating demons. Everyone has a weakness. Puggy Pearson told Flipchip that "Every man has a leak." And if you are a vulnerable person living in a city like Las Vegas, it's only a matter of time before you self-destruct. Implode. Lose your mud. Dive into the abyss.

I have walked in the valley of the shadow of death many times. It's hell on Earth. I see thousands of people rush in every day, yet only a handful actually walk out alive.

After winning his first tournament in five years, it looks like Layne Flack took his first step out of the darkness and into the light.

Flack had a decent run at the 2005 WSOP and made two final tables including a second and fourth place finish. Flack was at the histroic final table when Doyle Brunson won his 10th bracelet in a shorthanded NL event. I sat in the front row covering that final table which also included Scotty Nguyen and Jason Lester.

At one point during one of the TV breaks, everyone left the stage with the exception of Flack and Brunson. The two played heads up Chinese Poker for $100 a point for the duration of the break. Of course that was Doyle Brunson's night and he was the eventual winner. Brunson got the glory as Flack headed to the rail in fourth place. Little did Flack know that he'd get shut out of a WSOP final table for another three years.

Flack finally had his opportunity in Event #34 $1,500 PLO with Rebuys and made the best of it as he won his 6th bracelet. Flack didn't have an easy table either. Tim "TMay420" West is one of the premiere online players in the world. Dario Alioto won his first bracelet in PLO at the WSOP-Europe in London last September. Jacobo Fernandez has been on a tear at the WSOP this summer with five cashes and three final table appearances.

And don't forget about Ted Forrest. He has been on a mission this summer and made a $1 million bet with Phil Ivey that he'd win a bracelet this year before Ivey did. Forrest made one final table already this year in Omaha 8, but he bowed out in second place. He was not happy about his performance and barked at a friend the next day when he was asked about the outcome.

"Yeah, I came in fuckin' second," shot back Forrest.

The pressure was on for the Suicide King. Pride. Bracelets. Prop bets. Forrest failed in his quest for his sixth bracelet and finished in 5th place. And when Alioto busted out in 4th, it was a matter of time before Flack slapped his six bracelet across his wrist.

Flack is tied with Jay Heimowitz, Men the Cheater, and T.J. Cloutier with six bracelets apiece. Only Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Erik Seidel, and Billy Baxter have more bracelets than Flack.

Yeah, six legendary figures in poker have more bracelets than Flack. So what's that say about Flack's ability?

When Flack is sober and focused, he's one of the best players in the world. It's his decisions away from the felt which cost him a bracelet or two or three.

Is Flack back from the dead?

I don't know Flack and never partied with him, but I heard plenty of notorious stories. The guy has an unquenchable thirst for life and there were times over the last three or four years when I saw him at different spots on the circuit and he looked like he's been up for three-straight days on a blitzkrieg of a bender.

Hopefully, Flack made peace with his demons and can concentrate solely on poker. If he does, he's a definite lock for ten bracelets.

And if Flack fails? Then in five years he gets grouped together with the rest of the deadbeats, freaks, junkies, has-beens, and never will-bes. Flack will be the butt of everyone's jokes and roaming the hallways jacked up out of his mind looking for sympathetic friends to buy him into events.

Wasted talent. The Rio is filled with guys who could have been the next big thing but faltered along the way. The road to excess is cluttered with the Layne Flacks of the world. It's entirely up to him to choose the proper path back to absolution, otherwise he's just making a momentary pit stop before he speeds off down the highway to hell.

* * * * *
People say I'm the luckiest man.

That's a lyric from a Wood Brothers song called Luckiest Man. Never knew how much it applied to me until 3:02pm on Friday. When you walk away from a car wreck without a scratch, the desire to gamble away money evaporates into the harsh desert air.

Thanks to everyone for their kind words and good vibes. I'm the luckiest man because of you guys and gals. For that, I'm eternally grateful.


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 6/21/2008 05:58:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 22 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I am the luckiest guy in Las Vegas today.

At 3:02pm, I got into an accident on Rainbow and DI when a fire truck sped through intersection. My car was totaled. I'm OK. I walked away from the accident and refused medical attention.

I'm currently dealing with insurance crap and the rental car company.

I will be back to posting as soon as possible. For now, I'm fine and feeling super lucky that I walked away from the wreck without a scratch on me.

I'm definitely the luckiest guy in Vegas today, by far.

* * * * *
5 events today and two final tables.

Event #34 $1,500 PLO with Rebuys - Final Table
Event #35 $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Final Table
Event #36 $1,500 NL - Day 2
Event #37 $10,000 Omaha 8 - Day 2
Event #38 $2,000 PL Hold'em - Day 1

And there are two final tables including a big one for the PLO event which included Ted Forrest, Layne, Flack, and Dario Alioto.

Event #34 $1,500 PLO with Rebuys - Final Table:
Seat 1: Frank Vizza (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) - 378,000
Seat 2: Dario Alioto (Palermo, Italy) - 659,000
Seat 3: Tim West (Los Altos, CA) - 187,000
Seat 4: Daniel Makowsky (Zurich, Switzerland) - 493,000
Seat 5: Kyle Kloeckner (St. Louis, MO) - 845,000
Seat 6: Jacobo Fernandez (Hollywood, FL) - 348,000
Seat 7: Layne Flack (Las Vegas, NV) - 601,000
Seat 8: Michael Guzzardi (Melbourne, Australia) - 751,000
Seat 9: Ted Forrest (Las Vegas, NV) - 757,000

Event #35 $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Final Table:
Seat 1: Levon Torosyan (Los Angeles, CA) -- 114,500
Seat 2: Al Barbieri (Philadelphia, PA) -- 252,500
Seat 3: Max Troy (Los Angeles, CA) - 88,500
Seat 4: Michael Rocco (Las Vegas, NV) - 255,000
Seat 5: Giacomo D'Agostino (North Providence, RI) - 123,000
Seat 6: Andre Boyer (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) - 106,000
Seat 7: Jeffrey Siegal (Daly City, CA) - 150,000
Seat 8: Danny Kalpakis (Ajax, Ontario, Canada) - 55,000

* * * * *
6:52pm...

OK, a little under 4hours since the accident, I finally made it to the Rio. My 22nd day in the row and I wasn't about to let a car wreck deter me from covering the WSOP.

Event #34 $1.5K PLO Rebuys final table: Down to six. TMay420 already busted out. Ted Forrest is alive... but barely. He has a $1 million prop bet with Phil Ivey that he'll win a bracelet before Ivey. The Suicide King missed a couple of weeks ago when he took second. Forrest is gonna need some help if he wants to win this bracelet. Layne Flack is the current chipleader, while WSOP-E PLO bracelet winner Dario Alioto is second in chips.

Event #35 $1.5K Stud final table: Down to three. Al Barbieri has the chiplead.

* * * * *
8:41pm... Thanks to everyone for their kind words in the comments and in emails and in text messages and in voicemails and for the phone calls. I'm lucky to have amazing friends and followers. Thanks a bunch.

Event #34 $1.5K PLO Rebuys final table: I picked Dario Alioto to win it before the final table began. I'm just riding the Italians wave of good luck. Alas, Alioto will have to wait to win his second bracelet. He was just busted in 4th place. Down to 3. Flack has a monster lead.

* * * * *
9:23pm...

Event #34 $1.5K PLO Rebuys final table: Layne Flack won the bracelet. Congrats to Flack. You know he's gonna be partying it up tonight.

Event #35 $1.5K Stud final table: Mike Rocco and Al Barbieri are heads up for the bracelet. Rocco has a 2-1 chiplead.

Chris "Triple Draw" Fargis stopped by the pressbox. He's been absent so far from the WSOP but was in town to specifically play the Triple Draw event. He's my darkhorse to win it. He hasn't played in months but he physically looks great.

* * * * *
10:51pm...

Event #35 $1.5K Stud final table: Mike Rocco win the bracelet. Nice score, bro.

* * * * *
11:52pm...

I turned down a visit to strip club and opted to go home and write instead. Been a long day. I need pharmies.

Don't forget about Satudays with Dr. Pauly! I'm gonna be late this week. So I'll start the tournament by posting and folding. Hopefully I'll get back in time to play.

If you have problems finding the tournament, you can always do a player search for DrPauly. Otherwise look in the Tourney tab, and then the Private tab.


Previous winners include Grouse14, The Rooster, Buddy Dank, DrPauly, StB, Bikom, Family Ice, Bettercheck4, 23skidoo, USC55ND24, I_CrackQuads, Bayne, Grouse14, MrMojo, and Resdent Evil (back-to-back), CSauve, holdin-ragz!, Sydney 8, and OneEyeKeith.


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 6/20/2008 07:37:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 21: Donkeys, Pigeons, Possums, and Kangaroos

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I gazed out over the bustling Amazon Ballroom and was greeted by a sea of unknown faces. The $1,500 event was a bonanza of dead money. The room was filled with dream catchers, donkeys, and pigeons.

What we would consider a fish at the tables, the French called them... pigeons.

Pigeons are one of the stupidest fucking birds in the Columbidae family, aren't they? They lead a meaningless existence as parasites on our society grubbing around for food in parks and squares while they spend the rest of the time shitting on anyone who walks below.

Pigeon. I dunno what sort of psychological effect that might have on my opponents if I attempt to use that word to berate idiots in the chat box after an ugly beat. I usually unleash my wrath every once in a while when I respond with "nc cumstain." That is about as emotional as I'll get at the tables.

Fish and donkey are two hackneyed words in poker's vast vocabulary. They are both a thing of the past like Tae Bo and MySpace. Pigeon is just too fuckin' gay for me to use. Peasant has a sort of insidious and salty meaning, and I've used that a couple of times. But I always try to come up with a new word to describe horrible play at the tables.

Here's a fun formula that I use... combine a body part with an animal and there's your new epithet.

Ass-monkey. Squirrel-cunt. Zebra-dick. Clit-panda.

That could be the name of a punk band headlining at CBGB's in the early 1980s... never mind the bollocks, here come the Clit Pandas.

I'd love to hear Phil Hellmuth scream out, "This ass-monkey can't even spell the word poker."

* * * * *
Every morning before I leave Scheckytown, I glance at the WSOP schedule to remind myself of the insanity that lies before me. I knew there was a new $1,500 event scheduled but I kinda forgot about it during my twenty-minute commute to the Rio. Led Zeppelin blared as I pulled into the parking lot. The usual spaces were full and I had to park over the hills and far away. I forgot about the noon $1,500 event.

Kathy Liebert has stellar bankroll management skills. How do I know? Instead of blowing her money on unnecessary things, she employs a more practical approach. Most pros and wannabe ballers valet their trucks and SUVs. Since she arrived around 12:20pm, Kathy had to park in a spot in the back of the lot. She walked across the sizzling asphalt towards the convention center main entrance. She could have 'big timed' it and blew off security by entering through the back door like Jen Tilly, Howard Lederer, and Phil Ivey have done many times before. Not for Kathy. She wanted to be treated like any of two thousand other players in the event. She also brown bagged her lunch instead of paying for overpriced kangaroo meat that they pass off as food in the Poker Kitchen. When you lather it in hot sauce and dip it in Ranch dressing it tastes just like chicken.

The $1,500 events attract 2000+ runners and they purposely put those on ESPN360 because the powers to be think that will attract more punters and weekend warriors to play in them since there's an outside chance they will get on TV and snag their fifteen minutes of fame. It's a great concept to attract a handful of vain players who are desperately trying to get the spotlight shone on them if even for an hour or so before they bust out.

But with such huge events, it's almost mathematically impossible to have a stacked final table like you would find in the $50K HORSE event or a $10K buy-in championship event.

The Stud 8 final table was far more interesting and featured some of the most recognizable faces in poker including Jesus, Annie Duke, and Marcel Luske. That would have been a better event to send out over the intertubes.

When given the choice between watching Stud 8 with several shining stars on a regular table in the middle of the Amazon room while elbowing each other for space to see... or... watching a nonet of unknowns play NL under the bright lights of the final table stage.... the fans flocked to the Stud 8.

If it were up to me, since there are usually two final tables per day. I would have a TBD schedule and pick the best final table to record. And if both tables suck, then you skip both.

In the end, the fans want a big sloppy cheeseburger and that's what the final table with Jesus, Marcel, and Annie Duke resembled. The final table of no-names? Mystery meat. Could be kangaroo? Could be possum?

At times the stands at the final table stage were almost empty while spectators stood four and five deep on the rail to get a glimpse of their favorite players in the Stud 8 final table. One woman got Annie Duke's attention when she was not involved in a hand. She asked Duke for an autograph. Duke obliged and the woman handed her a Sharpie and pulled out the Ace of spades from a deck of souvenir WSOP cards. Duke quickly scribbled her name and rushed back to her table. A couple of guys on the rail snapped photos of Jesus with their camera phones. Another railbird asked Marcel to sing.

Even Tony G was on the rail sweating his buddy Marcel Luske. The Flying Dutchman has been seen wearing a Poker News logo during the WSOP. Marcel seemed jovial and in a much better headspace than when I saw him in London. He was mired in devastating losing streak and couldn't catch a break. Marcel turned things around at the WSOP and made two final tables.

Jesus was trying to turn water into wine and pick up another bracelet. Once Annie Duke an dMarcel Luske busted out, Jesus looked invincible when he took over the chiplead as the big dogs all faltered. Alas, Sebastian Ruthenberg from Hamburg, Germany came from behind and prevented Jesus from winning is fifth bracelet.

Although early indicators suggested that this is the Year of the Pro, I gotta say that the Europeans are making a run. The Germans won their second bracelet, tying them with Italy and Canada. Only the Americans have more. Year of the Pro? Maybe. I like the sound of... The Year of the Euro.

Maybe things will turn around for the Brits and just wait until the Scandis show up wearing capri pants and designer sunglasses that cost more than your weekly paycheck.


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 6/20/2008 06:04:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog - Day 21

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Today marks the end of the third week of the WSOP. Wow, after 21 straight days, am I really still here and alive? A couple of friends of mine already had a couple of freak outs and bad days where they contemplated suicide or fire bombing the Rio. The rest of them had a couple days off to keep them sane.

Over the last three summers by this point into the WSOP I had a major freakout. It has a lot to do with your mind and body adjusting to be in Las Vegas for more than a couple of days. Las Vegas is a fun place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here. Too many temptations and too much stimuli. By the third week of living in Las Vegas, the weather starts to bother you (have I mentioned it's so fuckin' hot in Las Vegas in the summer?) and being trapped inside a casino for 12+ hours a day makes me go crazy like Jack Torrance in The Shining.

Redrum. Redrum. Redrum.

I am actually happy to report that there were no major freakouts, just some minor tilt earlier in the week due to tech-issues. That's not to say that a storm isn't a brewin' but I'm feeling good and ready to finish up strong.

I'm a veteran here, like I'm on my second tour of duty in Vietnam. I see rookies making mistakes everyday. I laugh at the ones who blow off my advice and then make the exact errs that I warned them about.

Anyway, I'm back in the pressbox giving off my best "fuck off, I'm busy face" to anyone who dares to pester me today. I have on the headphones and cranked up some Grateful Dead to keep me mellow and inspired as I write. Even with noise reduction headphones, I can still hear the faint clattering of all of the chips in today's donkament.

Back to six events today...

Event #32 $1,500 NL - Final Table
Event #33 $5,000 Stud 8 - Final Table
Event #34 $1,500 PLO with Rebuys - Day 2
Event #35 $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Day 2
Event #36 $1,500 NL - Day 1
Event #37 $10,000 Omaha 8 - Day 1

Here are today's final tables...

Event #32 $1,500 NL - Final Table:
Seat 1: Dean Bui (Seattle, WA) - 211,000
Seat 2: Justin Hoffman (Alpharetta, GA) - 138,000
Seat 3: Jose Luis Velador (Lake Elsinore, CA) - 1,898,000
Seat 4: Dany Georges (Burbank, CA) - 1,082,000
Seat 5: Utsab Saha (Fremont, CA) - 961,000
Seat 6: Jae Chung (Atlanta, GA) - 716,000
Seat 7: Shane Stacey (Hyde Park, VT) - 640,000
Seat 8: Osmin Dardon (West Covina, CA) - 660,000
Seat 9: Anthony Signore (Boynton Beach, FL) - 636,000

Event #33 $5,000 Stud 8 - Final Table:
Seat 1: Bob Lauria (West Haven, CT) - 44,000
Seat 2: Marcel Luske (Amsterdam, Holland) - 308,000
Seat 3: Steve Sung (Torrance, CA) - 207,000
Seat 4: Annie Duke (Los Angeles, CA) - 277,000
Seat 5: Alessio Isaia (Cuneo, Italy) - 398,000
Seat 6: Sebastian Ruthenberg (Hamburg, Germany) - 663,000
Seat 7: Chris "Jesus" Ferguson (Pacific Palisades, CA) - 434,000
Seat 8: Bob Beveridge (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - 280,000

Some big names in the Stud 8 final table including... Jesus, Annie Duke, Steve Sung, and Marcel Luske. The Flying Dutchman made his second final table this week. After an awful year, he's back and playing some of his best poker in years.

* * * * *
2:14pm...

The inverse power of sports betting continues to baffle me. I claim to know a lot about college hoops, yet I'm a break even bettor when it comes to March Madness over the last two years. However, my biggest runs in the last year are betting on Swedish premiere league ice hockey and betting on the European soccer championships.

I took down another bet when I took Germany over Portugal. I watched the second half at the Palms sportsbook so I wouldn't run into anyone I knew. Sometimes I want to be anonymous and sweat a bet in silence. The Germans won 3-2 and it was close. They had a 3-1 lead but Portugal scored a late goal. They put on the pressure in extra time and came close a couple of times, but the Germans prevailed.

Just the other day, the odds on Germany jumped from 3/1 to 6/1. I already had them at 3/1 and I put in another bet at 6/1. Now they advanced to the semi-finals. Two more wins for the Germans and I collect a nice wad of cash. A colleague from the UK suggested I take Croatia as a nice hedge since there's great value there. I made a small bet on them. Sunday's match between Spain and Italy should be a great one. I bet on Spain before the championships began. Would love to have two of my teams go to the final four.

By the way, I noticed that the German media are noticeably absent today. I'm sure they watched the game and are celebrating their victory as we speak.

* * * * *
3:19pm...

Yes, back by popular demand...

Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To...
1. Kenna James
2. Fossilman
3. Pearljammer
4. Joe Beevers
5. Layne Flack

Event #32 $1.5K NL final table: Just as one donkament ends, another begins. Change100 is covering the final table of a 1.5K event while the entire Rio is being used for the new one which started today. The final table is a bunch of unknowns who Change100 said have been showboating for the camera.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: Since action on Day 2 lasted until 7am, the final table will start at 5pm local time. Another stacked final table. Can the Flying Dutchman take it down?

Event #36 $1.5K NL: Another monster field. I can tell the days when there's a donkament by the lack of parking spaces in the parking lot. Harrah's had to seat players in Buzio's even with the Brasilia Room fully operational.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

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


Download Ladbrokes

* * * * *
5:23pm...

Event #32 $1.5K NL final table: Down to 5. Jose Luis Velador has a monster lead.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: Final table just started. They announced the final table players. Gonna be lurking around that... in a few hours. Split pot games will go into the wee hours. I might not start following that until Midnight.

Event #34 $1.5K PLO Rebuys: Down to 37 and the money bubble. Jerrod Ankenman, the Suicide King, and the Eggman are among the chipleaders.

Event #35 $1.5K Stud: 48 to go. Chip Jett is at top of the leader board. Jerry Buss is out. Wicked Chops Poker has some good pics of Jerry Buss' young and exotic bitty...

Event #36 $1.5K NL: 900 players left. Michael Craig busted out in the first 30 minutes. He ran Kings into Aces. "At least I had a half hour of entertainment," joked Craig. He mentioned that the satellite are in the Tropical Room was "the lost City of Gold." Supposedly the satellites are super soft and filled with a rare donkey-fish hybrid. "The players are really weird and they play really weird," mentioned Michael Craig. Go fleece them while they are still fresh. Seriously, that's the room where all the newbies in town, bad players, or totally broke pros start their day. Plenty of dead money in there... if you can survive the suckouts and badbeats.

Right Now in the Pressbox: The chick doing the WSOP videos is struggling through a stand up shot in press row. She obviously doesn't know poker and is reading stuff off of cue cards. Man, makes me miss Shana Hiatt. Down below on the bottom tier of the pressbox, one of the guys doing the French translations for Poker News is more focused on playing on Full Tilt. He's multi-tabling and has eight screens up. Meanwhile, the Germans arrived and one guy is playing chess on his computer. And of course the hombres at Wicked Chops Poker are scanning the room looking for a hot railbird to take a paparazzi style photo of.

* * * * *
7:33pm...

Intertubes on the fritz. Damn ingrates.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: I wandered over to the final table of Event #32 on the feature stage. It's being taped by ESPN360. The crowd was almost empty aside from a few family members of the people playing. All of the railbirds were outside on the rail of Event #33. Jesus is sitting on the rail and the spectators are four and five deep. Marcel Luske and Annie Duke are also left in the field. Those three are among the most recognizable pros in poker. Jesus is wearing his trademarked getup while the always dapper Marcel Luske is wearing a suit.

Annie Duke took a subtle fashion approach this year. She had been the constant target of Change100's fashion reports over the last couple of years... and rightly so. Annie went for an "all dressed in black" look. It works especially since she's all logoed up and her patches look better on camera against a black background. Stylish and practical. While Annie was not in a hand, she signed an autograph for a fan on the rail. The women held out a Sharpie and the Ace of spades.

"I'm enjoying this final table with some great players," said Tony G.

I hung out with the G on the rail. He was sweating Marcel Luske and the two would joke around in between hands. Luske is looking and acting as jovial as ever. When I saw him at the end of last year, he looked and sounded miserable. When you are in the middle of a down cycle that happens.

I caught one hand where Luske doubled up and scooped a pot against Jesus. The dealer was a super cutie chick with brown hair. He down was over and Marcel begged her not to leave. By the way, Jesus is the chipleader and passed the 1M mark. Marcel jumped up to third in chips, while Annie slipped to the shortstack.

* * * * *
8:42pm...

Event #32 $1.5K NL final table: Luis Velador won his first bracelet. He's from LA and according to my buddy Ryan, he's a regular at Commerce and leading in their player of the year race. Looks like the best player at the final table won.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: Down to 3. Annie Duke busted out in 5th, while Marcel Luske went out in 4th place. Jesus is the chipleader.

* * * * *
10:24pm...

Event #34 $1.5K PLO Rebuys: Down to 12. Ted Forrest, Layne Flack, and TMay420 are all left in the hunt for the final table. The Eggman Thomas Wahlroos busted out in 14th.

Event #35 $1.5K Stud: Down to 21. Sabyl Landrum (nee Cohen) and DeVo are among the chipleaders.

Event #37 $10K Omaha 8: Shortly before he busted, I saw Gobboboy getting a massage from one of the hottest masseuses in the room. Sadly, Gobbo is busto. Annie Duke is among the chipleader. O8 is definitely one of her best events. And how about Gank? He's near the top of the leaderboard.

* * * * *
1:13am...

Event #34 $1.5K PLO Rebuys: Kevin O'Donnell bubbled off the final table. Ted Forrest, Layne Flack, and TMay420 will come back tomorrow and play out for a bracelet.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8 final table: Heads up for the bracelet. Jesus has been up and down and ahead and behind and then tied it up before he regained the lead. Right now he has Sebastian Ruthenberg on the ropes.

* * * * *
2:23pm...

Event #33 $5K Stud 8 final table: Sebastian Ruthenberg comes from behind to beat Jesus and win a bracelet. Yep, Jesus adds his name to the long list of guys who almost won bracelets this year.

And with that event complete, I am out of here. Three weeks down almost four more to go. 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.
posted by Pauly at 6/19/2008 06:10:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 20: Scandi Ghosts, Degenadario, and the Tao of Deutschland

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

The Europeans trickled into Las Vegas over the last three weeks. There are a few international conglomerates that moved to Las Vegas with intentions of playing as many tournaments as possible this summer. They took advantage of the Euro kicking the US Dollar's arse, where they get more bang for the buck and can play more events and stay in Sin City for extended periods of time.

Aside from the usual lot of Europeans (mostly German, French, Russian, and the Brits) that I'm used to seeing, there has not been a surge in Europeans that I expected would flood the WSOP this year. I have been talking up how the Scandis are the best poker players in the world, yet they have barely made any noise frankly because most of them are absent. (Before we continue, my definition of a Scandi is a player from Norway, Sweden, or Denmark... although places like Hendon Mob list Finland and Iceland as a part of Scandinavia, for these purposes, I don't.)

The $1,500 PLO with Rebuys event always attracted the best PLO players in Europe especially the Brits. Plenty of familiar faces were in the field including members of London's Hendon Mob. The Elegance aka Joe Beevers made his first appearance at the WSOP along with the Boatman brothers. A bevy of Brits were in the mix including Devilfish, Roland de Wolfe, Julian Gardner, Simon Trumper, Richard Ashby, Karl Mahrenholz, Marc Goodwin, and Surinder Sunar.

Other noteworthy Europeans playing in the event were Markus Golser (Austria), Jan von Halle (Germany), Alex Kravchenko (Russia), Nikolay Evdakov (Russia), Rob Hollink (Holland), Alexander Kostritsyn (Russia), Jesper Hougaard (Denmark), Rolf Slotboom (Holland), Don O'Dea (Ireland), Noah Boeken (Holland), Katja Thater (Germany), Max Pescatori (Italy), Andy Black (Ireland), Bruno Fitoussi (France), Dario Alioto (Italy), Johannes Strassman (Germany), Rene Mouritsen (Denmark) and the Eggman...Thomas Wahlroos (Finland).

Um, aside from Thor Hansen and Gus Hansen, where were the Scandis? The easy answer is... not at the WSOP.

Per capita, I firmly believe that Scandis are the best poker players in the world. Michalski referred to them as "apparently overrated" in a recent post. He's been doing a WSOP World Standings on Pokerati. As of the start of Day 20, players from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway had only 25 cashes and two final tables... both Swedes. Yes their numbers are lame compared to the Russians (1 bracelet, 4 final tables, and 23 cashes), the Dutch (1 bracelet, 5 final tables, 27 cashes), and the Italians (1 bracelet, 2 final tables, and 10 cashes). And don't forget Dario Minieri. He won a bracelet a day after Michalski posted his World Standings. So toss in another bracelet for the Italians.

It's obvious, the Scandis are not here in full force. Why? The answer is three-fold; age, taxes, and the sun.

Some of the premiere online players in the world hail from Scandinavia because they have plenty of time to practice due to the bitter winters. They often play in EPT events and on the British tournament circuit, but they are absent from participating in WSOP events since they are under 21. Annette_15 comes to mind. I saw her at the WSOP last year wandering around as a railbird. Rumor had it that she staked several of her friends. Even though the Queen of Poker was ineligible to play, she still got some action as a backer.

Most of the Scandi pros are not down with the tax withholdings and balked on coming over for that specific reason. Also, it's an awesome time in Sweden right now with 19-20 hours of daylight. The last thing they want to do is stay indoors and play poker, since thats what they do during all those dark and depressing grey Scandinavian winters of discontent.

I'm sure more Scandis will arrive closer to the main event, but for now, most of the young guns are absent. No Johnny Lodden or William Thorsson, which means a serious lacking of scrumptious Swedish ass on the rail sweating their boy toys. Seriously, if you want to find Lodden's table during any EPT event, simply look for the one with the hottest chicks standing around. Lodden has the Tao of Poker Assman of the Year locked up for a second straight year.

Plenty of other hot shot Scandis are absent including Theo Jorgensen, Kristian Kjondal, Bjorn-Erik Glenne, Soren Kongsgaard, Sander Lyloff, Andreas Hoivold, and Trond Eidsvig.

Because the Scandis are not here, the Russians and Italians have been staking a claim for the having the best performance by a European country at the WSOP. The combination of Alex Kravchenko and Alexander Kostritsyn is a tough one-two punch Ivan Drago-style. Nikolay Evdakov leads all players in number of cashes this year and he's on pace to break the record. And although Dario Minieri and Max Pescatori don't exactly look like the fiercest poker players in the world, I wouldn't want to fuck with Scarfboy and the Italian Pirate. And that other Dario guy, WSOP-Europe bracelet winner Dario Alioto, is no slouch either.

Dario Minieri is one interesting cat. He's the first player in the history of PokerStars FPP program to buy a Porsche with all of his frequent player points. He had to play a ton of high stakes SNGs to earn that distinction.

I first met Dario Minieri at the 2006 WSOP, when I covered the Main Event for PokerStars. I recall saying something to Otis that some kid (who looks like he's 15, doesn't even shave, and may or may not be a girl) had a shitload of chips. Cardplayer had the official media coverage that year and listed him as Dario Roma. Almost, but not quite. He was Dario Minieri and hailed from Rome, Italy. I asked him his name and he said in a very dramatic and flamboyant voice, "I am Dario! Me English not so good."

He only needed to know one word.... raise.

Flipchip watched Dario's final table all afternoon and early evening.

"That kid is something else," Flipchip said. "Every three minutes you heard the same thing, 'Dario raises. Dario raises. Dario raises.' He's so young that who knows how many bracelets he'll win when he's Max's age. The way he plays, he has the potential to make a lot of money."

"Unless he pisses it all away playing Baccarat at the Wynn. Degenadario is rumored to be stuck a quarter of a million from playing in the pits."

"Well, everyone has a leak," mentioned Flipchip very matter-of-factly. "I remember down at the Horseshoe one night, Puggy Pearson came over to me, blew cigar smoke in my face, and said, 'Every man has a leak. What's yours?'"

Sports betting is my leak, and it's the size of the Mississippi River. And how about Grubby? His leak is any and every slot machine

We all know that Ivey has a leak. And Archie Karas and TJ and Matusow and Lindgren and Negreanu... all of them are sick pokers players, but they are all doomed to lose their poker bankrolls in some form of gambling via craps, golf, baccarat, black jack, sports betting, cocaine, and/or lapdances.

If I'm Steve Wynn, well I'm super happy that Dario won first place. He now has $528,418 more to gamble with.

* * * * *

Since we're on an international kick you should check out the latest episode of Tao of Pokerati. We are already up to our tenth episode.

Eurotarded: Dan pursues diplomatic ties with the nation of Hungary, why Pauly is the David Hasselhoff of poker blogging, and how it's so nice to see the French and Germans working the poker beat in Euroharmony...

Download Episode #10: Eurotarded (2:26)

To listen to previous podcasts head over to the Tao of Pokerati Archives.


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 6/19/2008 04:20:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog - Day 20

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Back to the grind for the 20th day in a row at the World Series of Poker. I'm jaded jungle guide, Pauly, and I kindly remind everyone to keep all hands and legs inside the jeep at all times. The animals will nibble off your fingers if given the chance. Everyone is hungry these days, especially the broke ones. By the 20th day of the WSOP, you start to see a lot of desperate faces. And you also start to see people disappear after they shot their wads on buy-in during the first three weeks of the WSOP.

Today is a mellow hump day with five tournaments and only one final table.

Event #31 $2,500 NL Shorthanded - Final Table
Event #32 $1,500 NL - Day 2
Event #33 $5,000 Stud 8 - Day 2
Event #34 $1,500 PLO with Rebuys - Day 1
Event #35 $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Day 1

And could today be Dario Day at the WSOP? If Dario wins a bracelet, everyone at the WSOP wins a free ice cream cone. Just kidding, but if Dario does win a bracelet, he'll be the second Dario since September to win a WSOP event, and the second Italian to win a bracelet inside of a week.

Event #31 $2,500 NL Shorthanded - Final Table:
Seat 1: Kevin Song (Rowland Heights, CA) - 1,173,000
Seat 2: Justin Filtz (Stevens Point, WI) - 891,000
Seat 3: Dario Minieri (Rome, Italy) - 1,721,000
Seat 4: Stuart Marshak (Chicago, IL) - 183,000
Seat 5: John O'Shea (Dublin, Ireland) - 589,000
Seat 6: Seth Fischer (Palm Harbor, FL) - 508,000

* * * * *
2:53pm...

Smoking with the Dealers: It was super hot today and by the time I made my way through the burning asphalt called the Rio parking lot, I came upon two dealers braving the elements and getting a quick ciggie break. The topic? Spamalot.

"They cut out the shurbbery scene," she said.

"No fuckin' way," he muttered.

"Yeah, such a let down. Last month my boyfriend and I ate mushrooms and went to Zumanity. That was like the coolest thing ever."

Event #31 Shorthanded: Down to 5. Dario has the chipead.

Links of note...

Is Houston Curtis the Cheater Behind UltimateBet Account "h_curtis"? (Wicked Chops Poker)
The Real Skinny on the Future of High Stakes Poker (Pokerati)
Flipchip's 2008 WSOP winners photos (LasVegasVegas)

* * * * *
3:58pm...

Fashion Police: Since Change100 has been too busy holed up in the Brasilia Room, I'm here to do a quick report. I noticed that Devilfish had a makeover. He's wearing those gay Ed Harvey t-shirts that are two sizes too small and he's sporting a "perfectly messy" haircut that probably cost $250 from a flaming hairdresser in London's Soho district. That hair style works if you are the drummer for The Killers, but Devilfish is 54 years old and trying to look like a twenty-something internet player. In the immortal words of Gene Todd, "Dress your age, bro."

Seriously, Devilfish... bring back the pimpin' pinstripe suits and revert to the sophisticated British thug look. Andy Black can get away with wearing sweat pants and t-shirts because he literally plays in the clothes he woke up in. That works for Andy Black since he's a Buddhist and supposed to be shying away from unnecessary material items.

Event #31 Shorthanded: Dario is the chipleader with 4 to go. One of my European sources mentioned that Dario is in the middle of a horrendous losing streak playing pit games at the Wynn. The former Magic the Gathering champion apparently has a jones for action. Degenadario was rumored to be stuck six figures... all away from the poker tables (both live and online). First place pays $528K. I hope that's enough to get everyone's favorite Italian wunderkind unstuck. In the meantime, Dario has been desperately trying to collect debts all week from various online players and circuit regulars who owe him money for one reason or another.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is brought to you by Fantasy Sports Live.


Don't forget to use bonus code pauly for a sign up bonus. We're currently running daily MLB contests.

* * * * *
5:56pm...

Sometimes a run to In&Out Burger is just what the doctor ordered.

Event #31 $2.5K Shorthanded: Down to three. Degenadario has almost a 3-1 chip lead.

Event #32 $1.5K NL: 68 donkeys playing in the Brasilia Room. If one of them happens to fall, that's 67 donkeys playing... Fabrice Soulier is among the chipleaders. Phil Hellmuth went out in 71st place as he added another cash to his record setting career numbers.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: 88 to go. The Grinder is at the top of the leaderboard along with David Benyamine and Chau Giang. The Flying Dutchman is hoping to go deep again after finishing 3rd in the 3K HORSE event earlier in the week.

Event #34 $1.5K PLO with Rebuys: 160 to go. Only 320 runners in this event, where a bevy of Europeans turned out. Layne Flack is among the chipleaders. OMGCalyAiken and Gobboboy also have decent stacks. Jamie Gold, Erick Lindgren, Alex Kravchenko, Rob Hollink (looking a little hungover after his bracelet win last night), and Leif Force are all busto.

Event #35 $1,500 Stud: The Amazon room is filled with the Stud players. I can see Mustapha's favorite player, Paul Darden, sitting a few tables in front of the press box. Jerry Buss looks bored to death, Sam Grizzle has been sporting the same blue dress shirt that he wore in FTrain's Razz event. And the guy who looks like Hurley from Lost is in the event. I wonder if dumb ass chicks give that guy handjobs by mistake? Amnon Filippi is getting a massage in front of me. VietHottie is playing at a table with five guys who could her grandfather's age. Archie Karas is in the event. He busted out early in Stud8 the other night and is looking for his second cash at the WSOP since making his comeback.

Eskimo Watch: Eskimo Clark is in the Stud event. "Where did he get the buy in?" wondered Benjo.

* * * * *
7:19pm...

Event #31 $2.5K Shorthanded: Super Dario coughed up what used to be an invincible chiplead. Still three to go.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: 64 to go and David Benyamine is the chipleader.

Event #34 $1.5K PLO with Rebuys: The Eggman has chips. Beware. Gobboboy is int he middle of the pack. Rizen and OMGClayAiken is busto.

Event #35 $1,500 Stud: The moment of truth? Paul "The Truth" Darden is the chipleader at the first break. VietHottie and David Williams are both out.

* * * * *
8:28pm...

Geek Stat of the Day: If you were to buy into every single event held so far (not counting rebuys or add-ons), it would cost you $124,500.

Event #31 $2.5K Shorthanded: Seth Fischer has taken the lead from Dario. They are on their dinner break. I wonder if Degenadario will sneak back to the Wynn and donk off some more of his bankroll?

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: Jesus making a run with 56 left. Dario Alioto and Daniel Negreanu are among the latest who busted.

Event #34 $1.5K PLO with Rebuys: Jesus and Gobboboy both busted out before the dinner break. Gavin Griffin is the chipleader with 113 to go.

Event #35 $1,500 Stud: Archie Karas is busto. Comeback is over.

* * * * *
9:41pm...

I left the Rio early to go home and write. Too many distractions.

Just a reminder... that when I'm physically sitting in the press box... I am at work. When I have my headphones on, it means that I'm writing. Please be respectful and help me limit the distractions. Recently, it's been getting out of control. One hour of writing at home is more productive than four hours in the press box.

Also, I don't care if you are an amateur or a pro, if you tell me a bad beat story while I'm writing in the press box, you owe me $1,000. Tony G's thugs will help me collect.
* * * * *
10:46pm...

Event #31 $2.5K Shorthanded: Dario Minieri wins the bracelet, and gets unstuck from baccarat! Dario is the second Italian player to win a bracelet this year. He's the second Dario to win a bracelet all time.

Event #32 $1.5K NL: With the exception of Tao reader Court Harrington, I have no clue who any of the 20 remaining players are.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: Chau Giang among the chipeladers. How many roads must a man walk down? Alex "zimmerman" Jacob is out.


Event #34 $1.5K PLO with Rebuys: 72 left. The Suicide King making a run.

Event #35 $1,500 Stud: Johnny World out in front. Hellmuth has left the building.


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 6/18/2008 05:51:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 19: Looking Through a Glass Onion

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I told you about strawberry fields. Just like Las Vegas, it's the place where nothing is real.

Phil Ivey was rumored to have lost $2 million on the NBA playoffs. My source told me that several months ago, Ivey and a "very rich guy" made a wager where they both picked a team. If their team won the championship, they got $2 million. Ivey picked the Lakers and his opponent went with the Celtics. It just so happened that the two teams met in the NBA finals.

I have fuzzy memories of Ivey and Doyle Brunson frantically sweating Game 7 of the Boston/Detroit series. It makes perfect sense to me now. If Boston lost that game, he would be free rolling the $2 million bet as the Lakers advanced to the finals. Felipe, the Portuguese photographer from PokerNews, is stationed next to one the the plasma screens. On the night of Game 7, Doyle Brunson busted out of a tournament just before game time. He sat in a chair right next to Felipe. Texas Dolly quietly watched the entire game as Ivey occasionally came over to chat. You almost wonder if Brunson busted out early on purpose to watch the game?

Even though the NBA might be rigged, professional poker players were still willing to gamble heavily on playoffs games. That's the apex of degeneracy. Ivey needs action somehow and somewhere. The big cash games have dried up in Vegas so Ivey has to turn to -EV situations to get his fix. Same thing happened to Archie Karas. He couldn't find anyone to play him heads up in poker after he fleeced Johnny Chan and Texas Dolly and Chip Reese. Unable to quell his inner action junkie, Karas migrated towards baccarat and craps. Jack Binion allowed Karas to bet as much as $300,000 a roll.

Humanity is often held together by a tiny thread. Guys like Erick Lindgren and Phil Ivey are on top of their game today, whether it's tournaments, cash games, prop bets, golf bets, bracelet bets, craps and sports betting. What is really standing in the way from them from evolving into the next Archie Karas or Eskimo Clark? Sure it might not happen for another twenty or thirty years, but those guys can't keep pushing their charmed lives to the limit every single day.

Last week, I showed you a glimpse into A Day in the Life of Phil Ivey. This week, my depraved behavior should be examined and ridiculed. Just like that Beatles song goes, "To see how the other half lives looking through a glass onion."

My inner action junkie is the size of Gary Coleman and wrapped up deep and deep inside buried behind so many layers of complicated phobias, addictions, and other unresolved mental health issues. It takes years and decades to peel off all of the excess layers before we get to the source. But if our souls were glass onions and you could peek through all the layers, we'd see the true essence of existence... and that's to constantly challenge and prove to yourself that you're truly alive. And gambling is one of those opportunities when ordinary activities take on a role of vital significance by simply wagering on the outcome.

Take something that's nothing, something that is utterly meaningless and ignored, such as Holland's match against Romania in the European Championships. I know zilch about soccer and normally wouldn't even give the game an iota of my attention, yet as soon as I walked up to the window at the sports book and dropped a bill on Holland, that game became everything. I slowly revolved around a small sun which became the center of my universe.

Sure, I was supposed to be covering a poker tournament but it was one of those days where the WSOP was a hindrance and my own selfish desire to gamble took control. I guess it was that post I wrote from last night called Never Trust a Junkie. Or maybe it's the sheer fact that I have not gambled much since I moved back to Vegas and that my inner action junkie was ready to explode and cause serious damage.

I spent most of my day in the sportsbook or starring at TVs in various bars watching the Italy vs. France match and the Holland one as well. I bet heavily on the Italians and they prevailed. I went two for two on soccer bets and turned my short attention to watching baseball games online at MLB.tv.

I picked Yankees and they whooped the Padres. I picked the White Sox and they kicked the Pirates to the curb. The Astros were ahead late in their game against the Orioles, but the O's rallied in the 8th to put me at three-for-three for the late afternoon and early evening. The entire parlay hinged on one later night game... A's vs. Diamondbacks. I'll spare you the bad beat, but the D-backs got their asses handed to them.

By Day 19 of the WSOP, everyone is itching for action. Dealers, writers, floor people, sponsored pros, online pros. Desperation fills the Amazon Room. Dealers and media are sick of covering poker or dealing cards that they can't wait to get off work and rush to the closest craps table, or Pai Gow table, or poker table where they can donk off all that frustration that built up while spending 12+ hours a day at the Rio breathing recycled air.

Hundreds and thousands of players are stuck and miserable after almost three weeks of non-stop poker. Some crawled back to even and feel unsatisfied. And those who are ahead are intoxicated by greed. They need more. As John Lennon aptly put it, "I told you about the walrus and me, man. You know that we're as close as can be, man."

I have not played a single hand of live poker. No WSOP events. No cash games. No satellites. No events at other casinos. Nothing. Sure, I played couple of online tournaments but aside from that, I had no desire to play mainly because of all the other deviant action I had been engaging in; betting super small on baseball, betting small on soccer, and better large on basketball.

During the opening round, I made several small bets early on and gradually increased in size. I bet the Lakers heavily in the first two rounds. Then I got greedy the last two games. Historically, I lose in those spots when I decided to press the action. The Celtics covered or beat the spread in every single game against the Lakers. I started increasing my bets with each game. I could have cashed out and walked away after Game 4, but I didn't want to puss out so I pressed the action and got lucky. The Celtics were only the favorite in Game 1 and Game 6. They won both games and covered bot instances.

I have not wagered a substantial amount on a single game since last year. I had imposed a limit per wager which I did my best to stick by. But Las Vegas tests all of your promises and pacts and principles. It's a matter of time before you get taunted by the demons.

I bet the Celtics again. They won which is a bounty in the short term, but I'm ruined over the long term from vacillating away from my principle. I need structure to keep me safe from the temptations of the world, yet as an artist I thrive on anarchy and an unfettered lifestyle.

Las Vegas enables anyone to go off the deep end at any given time. Thousands and thousands of degenerates line up everyday and take the leap of faith. Most of them never survive. Just ask Javon Walker. The NFLer got rolled the other night and got knocked the fuck out. Walker reportedly had over $100K in cash and jewelery stolen. By a hooker and pimp? By thugs who targeted the bling-heavy Walker?

Sin City ate him up and spit him out buck naked on Las Vegas Blvd. at sunrise. Will you be next?


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 6/18/2008 12:26:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog - Day 19

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Well we're back in black for the 19th straight day at the Rio for the World Series of Degenerates. I have several outstanding sports bets today ranging from a four-team baseball parlay, a couple of bets on European soccer, and a slew of action on the NBA finals. Sweat is the word for today.

I have been slacking off at the secret bar or watching the games in the sportsbook. I just got back from the Palms sportsbook. I can't bet on Celtics games at the Rio and had to go across the street to get my fix on Game 6. My bet is insignificant compared to what Phil Ivey is sweating.

Anyway, five events today including two final tables.

Event #29 $3K NL - Final Table
Event #30 $10K Limit - Final Table
Event #31 $2,500 NL Shorthanded - Day 2
Event #32 $1,500 NL - Day 1
Event #33 $5,000 Stud 8 - Day 1

And one of the final tabls includes a devoted Tao of Poker reader... Bond18. David Singer is also at his table and trying to win his second bracelet this year.

Event #29 $3K NL - Final Table:
Seat 1: Sebastian Segovia (Guatemala) - 128,500
Seat 2: Alex Bolotin (Brooklyn, NY) - 534,000
Seat 3: David Singer (Las Vegas, NV) - 334,000
Seat 4: Thuy Doan (Williamsburg, VA) - 369,500
Seat 5: John Phan (Stockton, CA) - 396,500
Seat 6: Matt Vengrin (Red Hook, NY) - 1,007,500
Seat 7: Stewart Newman (Coral Gables, FL) - 398,000
Seat 8: Johnny Neckar (Madison, WI) - 796,000
Seat 9: Tony "Bond18" Dunst (Melbourne, Australia) - 333,000

Event #30 $10K Limit - Final Table:
Seat 1: Andy Bloch (Las Vegas, NV) - 370,000
Seat 2: Rob Hollink (Groningen, Netherlands) - 893,000
Seat 3: Tommy Hang (Seattle, WA) - 578,000
Seat 4: Cy Jassinowsky (Johannesburg, South Africa) - 231,000
Seat 5: Jerrod Ankenman (Avon, CT) - 441,000
Seat 6: Chris Vitch (San Diego, CA) - 201,000
Seat 7: Brock Parker (Silver Spring, MD) - 166,000
Seat 8: JC Tran (Sacramento, CA) - 247,000
Seat 9: Aaron Katz (Seattle, WA) - 1,232,000

* * * * *
3:07pm...


Michalksi posted two new episodes of Tao of Pokerati podcast. Both are short clips. In episode 8 we talk about some of the online players at the WSOP. I was pretty faded when we did that one and it's not my best work. Episode 9 was a lot of fun. We did it outside around 4am and you could hear the crickets in the background.

Episode 8: Online Sharks::Salmon (3:08)
Episode 9: Do You See What I See? (3:58)
Tao of Pokerati Archives

* * * * *
4:20pm...

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


Download Ladbrokes
* * * * *
5:23pm...

Event #29 $3K NL: Down to 3. John Phan is the chipleader. Bond18 busted out in 8th place. No second bracelet for David Singer as he headed to the rail in 5th.

Event #30 $10K Limit: Down to 7 at the final table. Andy Bloch still alive.

Event #32 $1.5K NL: Gobboboy is Gobbobusto. He's among the latest causalities.

Eskimo Sighting: Eskimo is barely alive in the donkament with a super short stack.

Sweat Factor: I went 2-0 betting on the European Championships thanks to Italy's 2-nil victory over France and Holland shuting out the Romanians. Three out of four of my MLB teams are currently playing. The Yankees, White Sox, and Orioles are all winning.

* * * * *
6:24pm...

Event #29 $3K NL: Heads up for the bracelet. John "Razor" Phan has almost a 3 to 1 chiplead.

Event #30 $10K Limit: Andy Bloch busto in 7th place. Down to seven players. Holland's Rob Hollink = chipleader.

Event #31 $2.5K Shorthanded: Bruno Fitoussi is among the chipleaders along with Dario Scarf Boy.

Sweat Factor: I'm losing two of my three MLB games. D'oh! Laker-Celtic game tipped off. Celtics up by 2 in the first quarter.
* * * * *
7:15pm...

Been sweating the Lakers/Celtics game like a whore in church. I got the Celtics. I have also keeping a keen eye on my baseball bets. The Yankees won and the White Sox were up, but the Orioles were down by 1 before they scored two in the bottom of the 8th inning to take the lead.

When I'm not checking score, I have been jumping back and forth from the various final tables... John Phan is heads up and Rob Hollink is the chipleader with 5 to go in the Limit event. That might take a while.

* * * * *
9:05pm...

Sweat Factor: OK, I won the first three games on my MLB parlay. The Yankees and White Sox crushed their opponents while the O's came from behind to win. All I needed was Arizona to come up big against the A's. Alas, I got bit on the ass on the last game of my four-game parlay. It always happens that way.

By the way... thank you, Boston Celtics. I hit a big bet, nothing like Ivey, but it will definitely make your head spin if you found out how much I had riding on Game 6.

OK, enough about my degenerate sports betting. There are five events being played out including two final tables that have yet to determine a winner. Let's go around the horn...

Event #29 $3K NL: Heads up for the bracelet. John Phan is behind 2 to 1 in chips to Johnny Neckar. Sounds like a name from a Woodie Guthrie protest song.

Event #30 $10K Limit: Down to three. Jerrod Ankenman has more chips than both of his opponents combinded. Might go late this one since it's a limit hold'em snooozfest.

Event #31 $2.5K Shorthanded: Down to 17. Scotty Nguyen making a late run. He's among the top 10 in chips with Bruno Fitoussi and Dario Minieri.

Event #32 $1.5K NL: 482 left out of 2304. Man, fishes out of water die quickly, eh? The life gets sucked right out of them as the flop around on the ground gasping their last breaths before they croak and get flushed down the toilet with the rest of the raw sewage. Phil Hellmuth is being Hellmuth. He has chips and putting on a ego-stroking seminar.

Event #33 $5K Stud 8: David Benyamine is out in front again. He finished in third last night int he PLO final table, took some time off, played online (that's a given), and then amassed the chip lead in the 5pm event. Kristy Gazes has a nice stack and Phil Ivey is super short stacked. Sadly, the DonkeyBomber was one of the first notables to bust out.
* * * * *
10:45pm...

Event #30 $10K Limit: Jerrod Ankenman and Rob Hollink heads up for the bracelet.

Event #29 $3K NL: John Phan outchipped 5 to 1 in heads up play for the bracelet. He needs help.... fast.

* * * * *
11:46pm...

Event #30 $10K Limit: Dutch pro Rob Hollink won the bracelet. He's most famous for winning the 2005 EPT Grand Finale in Monte Carlo. The runner up in that event? Brandon Schaefer.

Event #29 $3K NL: What a difference an hour makes. John Phan was on the verge of extinction, but he's stormed back. He holds a slight chiplead.

* * * * *
1:38pm...

Event #29 $3K NL: John Phan won his heads up battle and collected his first bracelet.

Event #31 $2.5K shorthanded: Scotty Nguyen bubbled off the final table in 7th place.


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 6/17/2008 06:58:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 18: Never Trust a Junkie

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

"What keeps mankind alive?" asked William Burroughs.

Action. The rush. The buzz. The sustained high. Doesn't matter the medium. Craps. Poker. Slots. Blackjack. Baccarat. Dog races. NBA games. Video poker. It's the anticipation of the outcome that gets everyone fired up. The moment of truth when life sizzles through your bloodstream and you're jacked up on so much adrenaline it takes you days and weeks and months to come down from the cosmos. The anticipation... the crest of the gambler's high... where nothing else matters as the entire world pauses during that millisecond before your fate is determined.

The precise moment before the dealer flips over the river card is why we play poker. Similar to Christmas mornings and the innocent exhilaration that fuels a child's anticipation as they jump out of bed and dart to the tree and tear open the first box that they see. You never knew if it was going to be a new video game or a pair of socks. One got you high and the other kept your feet warm.

I flirt with the edge all the time. Life is too dull playing it safe and sitting on your ass wondering about what life would have been like if you took chances. Alas, too much of riding the edge is disastrous because you will never be satisfied and setting yourself up for an early funeral. But risk too little and you're drowning in a life of ordinary madness.

So when you're standing up at the poker table on the verge of elimination or doubling up and you're sending out vibes to the dealer to hook you up while silently praying to the poker gods for another deus ex machina. Your mind races before the dealer drops the river card on the felt. Did you dodge another bullet or did the cracker in Seat 7 spike another gutshot to send you spiraling into a fourth dimension of uber-tilt. Does it really matter what happens? You got off either way. And that is the exact reason why degenerates piss away every last dollar they have.

You can't get the rush if you don't put your money in play. Of course, that's not entirely true. I know plenty of folks who swap out for lesser expensive addictions like finding Jesus Christ or fly fishing or Guitar Hero. But with gambling, it's high risk and high reward. You accomplish an opiated feeling that can also pay off dividends, which you can parlay to seek out grandiose highs.

I have seasonal addictions. In the autumn, the blood boils inside me while I bet on football. I pace back and forth on Sunday afternoons knowing that I am unable to control my own destiny and my entire financial fate rides on a foreign-born kicker who couldn't hack it as a soccer player. Last second field goals are one of the longest sustained highs in sports betting.... especially if the opposing team ices the kicker. Oh man, I can't tell you how sick that rush is waiting for that last second field goal... as the ball gets snapped and the kicker boots the pigskin thirty-forty, fifty-yards through the uprights. Sometimes he chokes and the kick sails wide right. Other times it shanks off the goalpost and your dreams clank away with the rest of your bankroll.

Every year like clockwork during March Madness some 19-year old kid who can barely read and write is on the free throw line shooting a one and one. Every bucket counts down the stretch especially when you're team is on the verge of not covering. If he sinks them both, he's a hero. If he misses, I explode into a tirade and violently rip up my losing ticket into a million little pieces.

I used to watch the glimmer in Grubby's eye as he waited for the outcome of his last spin at a Mr. Cashman machine. A ritualistic and habitual gambler never knows when to say when... until your bank card gets rejected for going over the limit.

After spending too much time in Las Vegas, I tend to turn off all my senses when I walk through a casino. Too much plight. Too much pain and suffering and misery. The thin and bitter bodies glued to the slot machines are stiffs hypnotized by the allure of the big score.

Scandis. Japanese. Canucks. Texans. New Yorkers. Aussies. Despite the differences in nationalities, they all look a like when they are nodded out at the slots. Junkies. The lot of them. They stood out and lacked as much depth as a recurring character on Sesame Street. Just another ugly fuckin' muppet.

What keeps mankind alive is the relentless quest to purge every desire inside the hallways of every junkie's mind. Once you get a taste of the action and a taste of the heavenly emotions of jubilant ecstasy, you're never the same again. You roam the world for the remainder of eternity contaminated and a unsentimental slave to that frenetic craving.

Pot Limit Omaha destroys lives. I mean, you don't lose a house playing limit seven-card stud. Poker junkies don't lose the entire roll on a weekend binge at the Razz tables. PLO is like cocaine in that it's a quick blastoff and then an even quicker fade. There's an old joke among cokeheads that goes something like this...

Q. When is the best time to snort a line of cocaine?
A. Right after you snort a line of cocaine.

Cocaine is an invincible high that you are constantly chasing. No pain. No suffering. No misery. All of that is numbed for a few minutes before all hell breaks lose and you start sweating like Patrick Ewing and freak out because you frantically need to be higher than your last high. Sadly, you can never top the first high of the day, yet every few minutes another junkie gives it a shot.

And man, poker players getting ripped to the tits on blow? Talk about a recipe for disaster. That topic can be covered in a whole post at another time, but all you have to do is see pictures of Stuey Ungar's collapsed nostrils to understand that poker and coke don't mix. Although I definitely see more Charlie juicing up the pots in the L.A. based casinos, it's still being abused in Las Vegas. Every hour there's enough cocaine being snorted in bathrooms all over Vegas that can get all of Baltimore jacked up for three years.

If you master PLO, you're the biggest swinging dick in town and sit on piles of cash and can pay hookers thousands of dollars to do the most humiliating stuff possible.

If you lose your dignity playing PLO, you end up sucking dick for a min. buy at 50 cent PLO tables. I've seen it happen. Hotshot wins huge at NL. Gets hooked on PLO. Wins a bit and then dives off the deep end into the void.

Here's an indication of the degeneracy surrounding Event #28 $5K PLO with rebuys. Durrr was in for 90K. He didn't even cash. Daniel Negreanu also dug deep into his pockets. Danny Boy was in for 80K. He finished in 8th place and only netted 40K for three days of work. He needed to make the final table just to get unstuck for the event.

Of course, one of the biggest PLO junkies in the world is France's David Benyamine. For years he had been fleecing the French and other Euros at various games in Paris. He'd roll up a stake and headed out to Vegas full of hope. Without a semblance of fear, the brazen Benyamine took on the biggest games he could find. He usually kept playing until the sharks gobbled up the last of his money. He'd return home to France and get back to work beating those games and building up a roll to take another shot.

These days, Benyamine can almost always be found online at Full Tilt waiting to play almost any game against any player. His preferred poison is PLO. A half-hour before his final table in the Deuce-to-Seven event Benyamine was spotted playing on Full Tilt. He was getting his online fix up to the last possible second. If they let him bring a laptop to the final table, I'm sure Benyamine would be multi-tabling.

"How many chips does Degenyamine have?" said one media rep who whispered David Benyamine's nickname to me while I sat in the front row of the PLO final table.

"He's the chipleader," I said.

Moments before the final table began, Benjo said, "David Benyamine is the best PLO player in the world. You can quote me on that."

He's right. According to Benyamine's high stakes stats, he has won a whopping $7.7 million at the PLO tables on Full Tilt since January of 2007 playing under three different screen names. Some of his victims included Durrr, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Brandon Adams, Ziigmund, and OMGClayAiken.

Benyamine is one of those high stakes players who can have million dollar swings inside of one day. Benyamine and OMGClayAIken had numerous battles playing heads up PLO. After the big boys busted... Negreanu, Hellmuth, Chan, and Juanda... everyone was awaiting a live version of a classic Benyamine/OMGClayAiken heads up PLO brawl.

That match up never happened. OMGClayAiken won the bracelet, but Benyamine was eliminated in third place. He won $316,307 for three days of work. If given the opportunity, the deviant side of the action junkie would definitely blaze through all of that at the online PLO tables before sunrise.

During a trip to Australia in January, I bumped into Erica Schoenberg at the Crown Casino. She was in great spirits and ready to play in a couple of the preliminary events, but her beau David Benyamine was holed up in their suite splashing the pots in high stakes cash games online. He'd make more money at the online tables than grinding away for hours on end inside the poker room.

That's the most frightening aspect of PLO. Availability. Easy access. It's at your fingertips. 24/7. 365 days a year. 366 during leap years. Just writing this post got me all fired up to play PLO. I can feel the itching underneath my skin. I keep scratching, but the itch retreats deeper and deeper and I scratch harder and harder until droplets of blood appear and stain my fingernails.

"Sometimes contact with the lucky can change a man's run of bad luck," said William Burroughs. "But generally it works the other way. Junkies are an envious lot."


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 6/17/2008 05:41:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog - Day 18

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Having serious technical difficulties... please stand by.

OK, there are only five events today. No 5pm tournament. So there is only one new event, two days twos, and two final tables.

Here's what is going down on Day 18...

Event #27 $1,500 NL - Final Table
Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys - Final Table
Event #29 $3K NL - Day 2
Event #30 $10K Limit - Day 2
Event #31 $2,5000 NL SHorthanded - Day 1

Sick final table today.

Event #28 $5K PLO w/ Rebuys:
Seat 1: John Juanda (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 694,800
Seat 2: Phil Hellmuth (Palo Alto, California) - 119,000
Seat 3: David Benyamine (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 1,041,000
Seat 4: Kirill Gerasimov (Moscow, Russia) - 558,000
Seat 5: Phil Galfond (Madison, Wisconsin) - 1,393,000
Seat 6: Daniel Negreanu (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 460,000
Seat 7: Brian Rast (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 1,176,000
Seat 8: Adam Hourani (East Lansing, Michigan) - 300,000
Seat 9: Johnny Chan (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 624,000

* * * * *
6:01pm...

Mega-tech-tilt. I'm trying to fight through it.

Event #28 $5K PLO w/ Rebuys: The big boys are busto. No second bracelet for Negreanu. He went out in 7th place. Phil Hellmuth will have to wait for another chance to win bracelet #12. Juanda went out in 6th. Down to 5. Johnny "Fuckin" Chan has over 2.2 million in chips and is the overall leader. Wow, can this be the night Chan wins his 11th to tie Hellmuth?

Event #29 3K NL: Kristy Gazes out in 55th. She cashed. Gobboboy just busted in 33rd place. David Singer = chipleader. Bond18 is still in the top 10 in chips.

Event #30 10K Limit: Liz Lieu is out. Hoyt Corkins is the chipleader.

FYI... I'm on vapors as far as battery juice goes. Lost my power source. Drove back home. It wasn't there. Went to Fry's. Saw two guys getting arrested for shoplifting. I bought a replacement. Found out tit didn't work. On tilt. Have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday to get a new adapter mailed to me. Trying to figure out MacGuyver-esque ways around this issue.

There is a very distinct possibility that I will be unable to provide live updates. If I lose laptop capabilities, follow me on Twitter. I'll be posting there.

* * * * *
7:03pm...

Thanks to Todd and Marissa for offering up their laptops and cords! For now, I have a temporary solution... switching out with Change100 who is covering the final table. We have similar laptops. Back at Scheckytown, Schecky has an extra laptop. My tech-tilt is slowly subsiding and I have a brand new adapter coming later this week.

Event #27 $1,500 NL: Tao of Poker reader Kenneth Terrell (from Lawrenceville, Georgia) made the final table. He shook my hand a few seconds ago hoping it will bring him good luck. Gee, I hope so! I hate to be the cooler.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: Sweated the final table. Kirill Gerasimov has these braces around his wrists. Seems like the Ruskie has been playing too much online poker and picked up carpal tunnel syndrome. "He had a terrible pot limit omaha incident," mentioned Schecky.

* * * * *
8:04pm...

Eskimo Watch: No sighting of the one we call Eskimo today. I saw him yesterday sitting in front of the poker kitchen bumming smokes from players on their breaks.

Ambush Autographs: There's one guy that has been seen waiting outside one of the bathrooms trying to get autographs of pros. He found out that was the best place to catch them.

Smoking with the Dealers: Overheard near the dealers smoker's area...

"I'm so glad he didn't win a bracelet. He's such a little shithead," one dealer said.

"Yeah, just wait. This year you're dealing to him at a final table. He'll be broke in a year and you'll be dealing him into a 1/2 NL game at the Mirage."

Event #27 $1,500 NL: Six players left. Kenneth Terrell is in the middle of the pack.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: Four to go. Kirill busto. OMGClayAiken has more chips than everyone else at the final table. Johnny Chan is shortstacked but brought in a batch of lucky oranges to help out.

Event #29 $3K NL: Down to 26. Bond18 is 4th in chips.

Event #30 $10K Limit: EFro and The Grinder are at the top of the pack.

Event #31 $2,5000 NL SHorthanded: 190 to go. Devilfish and the Italian Pirate are among the chipleaders

* * * * *
8:17pm...

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: No bracelet for Johnny Chan. He's back to pitching energy drinks in the hallway.

The Amazon Room seems empty with all the other events on a break and no 5pm tournament.

Michalksi was seen eating a Ben&Jerry's ice cream in the press box. The flavor? Half-baked.

* * * * *
9:53pm...

Event #27 $1,500 NL: Kenneth Terrell is shortstacked with 4 to go.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: OMGClayAiken is the chipleader with 3 to go. He has as many chips as Frenchie and the other guy.

Event #29 $3K NL: 14 left. Bond18 is second in chips.

Event #30 $10K Limit: Andy Bloch is the chipleader.

Event #31 $2,500 NL Shorthanded: 132 to go. Fear the Italians. Scarf boy Dario Minieri and the Italian Pirate Max Pescatori are among the chipleaders.
* * * * *
10:52pm...

LJ came to visit me in the pressbox. She's fresh off winning a seat in the Main Event on Full Tilt. Last night, Iggy also won his seat. Pretty sweet, I must say. Welcome to the big show.

Event #27 $1,500 NL: Kenneth Terrell busted out in 4th. Down to 3.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: Au revoir David Benyamine. He busted out in 3rd place.

Event #29 $3K NL: Bond18 slipped to sixth in chips. Lee Childs (remember that guy) is among the last 12 along with David Singer.

Event #30 $10K Limit: Andy Bloch and The Grinder are among the chipleaders.

Michalksi is telling us a story about getting offered a $4 blowjob for a chubby crack whore in Dallas.

* * * * *
12:24am...

The after midnight edition... is not as exciting as you think.

Event #27 $1,500 NL: Heads up for the bracelet. Brett Kimes vs. Vitaly Lunkin. We'll talk about one tomorrow and the other will fade into obscurity.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: OMGClayAiken is heads up and has a 3-1 lead. It's a matter of time before he wins his first bracelet.

Event #29 $3K NL: Final table bubble. 10 to go... Bond18 soooooooooo close to making a final table. David Singer and John Phan are also left.

Event #30 $10K Limit: 21 to go. Andy Bloch and Jerrod Ankenman are chipleaders.

Event #31 $2,500 NL Shorthanded: 79 to go. Dario Minieri and Bill Chen among the chipleaders.

* * * * *
1:52am...

Almost full moon. Sitting by the pool. Gentle breezes. Pharmies kicking in. No complaints.

Event #27 $1,500 NL: Vitaly Lunkin won the bracelet in a donkament. Go figure.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: OMG! Yes, Phil Galfond won his first bracelet.

Event #29 $3K NL: FInal table set... Matt Vengrin, Johnny Neckar, Alex Bolotin, Stewart Newman, John Phan, Tony "Bond18" Dunst, Thuyen Doan, David Singer, and Sebastian Segovia.

Event #30 $10K Limit: Down to 16. Andy Bloch out in front. Can this be the event where Bloch breaks through?

Event #31 $2,500 NL Shorthanded: Dunzo for Day 1. Adorable Dario among the chipleaders.

That's it for tonight. Thanks for coming. See ya tomorrow for more hijinks.


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 6/16/2008 05:14:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 17: Pros Continue Dominance as Barry Greenstein and Kenny Tran Win Bracelets

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

What do you do moments after you win a bracelet?

If you're Barry Greenstein, you take down the Razz event then nearly run over to the other side of the Amazon Ballroom to attend to your stack in another event that had been getting blinded down since it began at 5pm.

Greenstein is never a man for many words and you'll never see him mug for cameras. On one hand, the folks at PokerStars would love to have a nice publicity photo of Greenstein and the bracelet, especially since it happened a couple of days after fellow Team PokerStars member Daniel Negreanu's bracelet victory. And yeah, there were plenty of media around waiting to get an interview and a winner's photo. But with 10K of his money in play at the Championship Limit Hold'em event and undefended stack getting poached by his tablemates, Greenstein didn't have time to waste feeding the media machine. He had another tournament to win.

With Greenstein's victory, you can chalk one up for the pros and another one up for one of the good guys in poker. I always rag on poker players for being complete souless degenerates who would slit throats for buy-ins if it ever came to that. But there are a few altruistic individuals who see compassion beyond the tables. For many years Greenstein dedicated all of his tournament winnings to charity. His policy has changed as of late since some of the biggest cash games in Las Vegas have dried up which had been his major source of poker income. Although he doesn't give away 100%, Greenstein continues to donate a large portion of his tournament winnings. He fleeces the donkeys and the sharks and feeds the poor.

There are dozens of Vietnamese pros like Kenny Tran who grind away at the tables and send a percentage of his winnings to their family in Vietnam. Pros such as Liz Lieu, John Phan, Scotty Nguyen, and Tran literally feed entire villages back in their native country. Those are the rare glimpses of positive energy stick out in a city of excess.

Perhaps karma was in play tonight. The poker gods knew that the money won on Sunday would go to good use since Greenstein and Tran would be sharing the money with those less fortunate. If a young kid won it, he'd blow it all on strippers and blow and other material items. If a guy like TJ Cloutier or Archie Karas won, they money would get lost at the nearest craps table.

Yeah, Archie Karas made the final table of the Razz event. He once had $40 million and blew it all. Only casino owners and other poker players got to feast on that insane $40 million bounty that Karas coughed up due to his morbid addiction to action games like craps and baccarat. If Karas won, it would have made for a compelling story... a comeback of sorts from the guy who had everything and lost it at the tables. America loves a great rags to riches to rags to riches story. Karas was in the process mounting his comeback. Yes, a final table in Razz is definitely a good start, but half of Karas' winnings would end up in his backers hands and the rest of his winning might get pissed away in the pit.

I'm glad that Greenstein won. Almost four years ago to the day, June 20, 2005 was the last time Greenstein won a bracelet. I was sitting in the front row for that final table as a clean shaven and beardless Greenstein won a bracelet and dedicated it to a terminally ill Charlie Tuttle. Here's what I wrote on Tao of Poker four years ago...

9:35pm... PLO Final Table update: During one of the mini breaks, I walked up to Barry Greenstein and thanked him for calling Charlie Tuttle, who's been battling cancer. He told me that he was going to dedicate the win to Charlie. At the time he was in the middle of the pack in chips and right away I began to root for Barry. He came back and won two big pots off Toto Leonidas and then beat out Paul Vinci to win this year's event. It was special because he was doing it for Charlie. He told the audience that he did it all for Charlie. He couldn't really speak much more because he was playing in the other Pot-Limit Hold'em event and he was overwhelmed with emotions. I think a lot of us were.

Tragically, Charlie would pass away a day later, but four years later Greenstein's gesture is still spoken about.

"It's very easy to do a good deed," was something that Greenstein told me four years ago that has alway stuck with me.

Here's an excerpt from my column in an upcoming issue of Bluff Magazine, when I wrote a flashback piece about the 2005 WSOP and Barry and Charlie...

Sometimes life can be as fragile as a house of cards and the littlest movement or vibration can make it all tumble over. But sometimes, a good deed can zip through the cosmos and illuminate our desolate universe. Anyone who has spent an inordinate amount of time on the circuit knows that tournament poker is a cutthroat business. The word "friend" is often tossed around half-heartedly because after all, there are no friends at the poker tables.

Las Vegas is a city built on greed and poker is a game that often attracts some of the lowest forms of life. Amidst all the darkness and debauchery, I caught a few glimpses of the bright side of humanity during the first part of the 2005 WSOP when a small group of professional poker players, led by Barry Greenstein and Marcel Luske, earned my respect and admiration as they rallied around a terminally ill poker fan by the name of Charlie Tuttle. For a brief moment in time, the hearts of some of the biggest sharks in Las Vegas were filled with compassion. Although all the goodwill in the world could not prevent Charlie from dying, they reminded everyone involved that there is more to life than poker. Despite the fact that none of the people involved had never met Charlie Tuttle before, his story still affected many of their lives, the pinnacle of which occurred during a very special night in Las Vegas when Barry Greenstein won a bracelet and dedicated it to Charlie Tuttle.

* * * * *
Through 26 events (according to WSOP stats), twenty players who claim they are "professionals" have won bracelets. After the first three or four events when Erick Lindgren and David Singer won bracelets, buzz began circulating around the Amazon Room and the press box that 2008 was the year of the pro at the WSOP. I was skeptical and wanted to see a couple more weeks of play before I made a decision. However, after the outcomes over the last couple of days, it would be foolish for me not to mention that 2008 is well on its way to being known as the "year of the pro."

Even if a pro doesn't win another bracelet until 2009, this year will still be known as year of the pro. Barry Greenstein and Kenny Tran both won bracelets on Sunday night as their victories solidified the claim that pros have been dominating the WSOP.

Some of the pros who won bracelets already this year include Nenad Medic, David Singer, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Max Pescatori, Kenny Tran, and Barry Greenstein.

And does Vanessa Selbst count as a pro? Or semi-pro? She won one and came close to winning a second. And how about the Hinkle brothers? They won one each. Although brother combos (Puggy Pearon and his brother) and siblings (Annie Duke and Howard Lederer) have won bracelets before, they have never done it in the same year.

With a five events with a 5K or more buy-in (minus the main event) and with the 50K HORSE upcoming, there's an outstanding chance that a well-known pros wins a couple more bracelets. Perhaps one of the winners this year will walk away with their second?

Some of the final tables this year represent some of the deepest I had seen since I started covering the WSOP. And as I write this post, the 5K PLO rebuy event is on the verge of setting their final table and there are plenty of big names lurking like Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, David Benyamine, Eli Elezra, Jesus, John Juanda, and Johnny Chan.

And how about some of the pros who finished in second place this year? Andy Bloch, Ted Forrest, and Jeff Lisandro.

And by the way, how about some of those online kids who came in second place this year? ZeeJustin, mig.com, YellowSub, and Shannon Shorr. If all of them won their events, the buzz would be about which group will win more bracelets? Online players or seasoned pros? As is, no one remembers who came in second place. All people remember is who won the bracelets.

The year of the pro is upon us. But can the online pros make a run over the next few weeks? Or will the established gunslingers continue their domination of the field?


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 6/16/2008 06:14:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog - Day 17

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Late start for me today. I had to catch up on some writing at home and played in a WSOP main event satellite where I didn't do so hot. Looks like no main event for your hero.

Anyway, plenty of action going down at the Rio. The usual... six events, two final tables, two new tournaments. Lots of suckouts. Plenty of bad beats. The air smells like desperation and body odor. Man, I wonder what the Amazon Room would look like if they still allowed smoking in poker tournaments? It would be a thick cloud of smoke inside the room with visibility less than three feet in front of you. I'm sure with the heavy thickness of cigar and cigarette smoke, a few poker playing potheads would sneak a puff of the wacky tabacky in between hands.

Flipchip once told me a story about how Ted Binion would toke up in the bathroom at the Horseshoe or even in his office. The entire floor would reek of pot and pit bosses would joke, "Ted's here."

Ah, these days all the focused ones are jacked up on performance enhancing drugs such as adderall. Man, give me a bag of kush and a fistful of adderrall, I could play poker for a week straight.

Moving on...

Here's what is going on at Day 17.

Event #25 $10,000 Heads Up - Day 2
Event #26 $1,500 Razz - Day 2
Event #27 $1,500 NL - Day 1
Event #28 $5,000 PLO with Rebuys - Day 1
Event #29 $3,000 NL - Limit Day 1
Event #30 $10,000 Limit - Day 1

There are two bracelets being awarded on Day 17. Barry Greenstein and Archie Karas are looking for glory in the Razz event. Greenstein made his second final table of the 2008 WSOP and Karas at one time was considered the greatest Razz player in the world. And over in the Heads Up championship, it's the final four. Vanessa Selbst is looking for her second bracelet this week.

Here's the final table...

Event #26 $1,500 Razz - Day 2:
Seat 1: Chris Viox (Glen Carbon, IL) - 359,500
Seat 2: Joseph Michael (Austin, TX) - 155,000
Seat 3: Archie Karas (Las Vegas, NV) - 113,000
Seat 4: Brandon Leeds (Phoenix, AZ) - 206,500
Seat 5: Chris Klodnicki (Voorhees, NJ) - 105,000
Seat 6: Mike Wattel (Phoenix, AZ) - 74,000
Seat 7: Mark Tenner (Henderson, NV) - 108,500
Seat 8: Barry Greenstein (Rancho Palo Verde, CA) - 243,000

And here's the final four of the Heads Up...

Vanessa Selbst vs. Alec Torelli
Kenny Tran vs. Jonathan Jaffe

According to one of my readers, Jaffe is a 21 year-old internet pro who is a heads-up specialist. Change100 watched him play on Day 1 and said that he destroyed his opponents.

* * * * *
5:50pm...

Event #25 $10K Heads Up: The finals are set... Kenny Tran vs. Alec Torelli which will go off at 7pm. Selbst and Jaffe couldn't advance

Event #26 Razz: Down to 4. Mike Wattel went out in 8th. Archie Karas busted in 7th place. He won almost $20K. Barry Greenstien is second in chips.

Event #27 $1,500 NL: 89 to go. Humberto Brenes has chips and is among the few named pros left.

Event #28 $5,000 PLO with Rebuys: 36 to go. Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth are at the top of the leaderboard along with the young Ruskie... Alexander Kostritsyn and the other one Kiril Germasimov.

Event #29 3K NL: 270 left in that event. Frenchman Nicolas Levi is among the chipleaders.

* * * * *
7:01pm...

Amir Vahedi was chomping down on a stogie in a smoke free area.

Event #26 Razz final table: Down to three. Barry Greenstein second in chips.

Event #27 $1,500 NL: 79 players remaining out of 2706. German Jan Von Halle is among the chipleaders.

Event #28 $5KPLO with Rebuys: Mike Sexton just eliminated. Down to 31. Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth are among the chipleaders.

Event #29 $3K NL: 206 players left out of 716. They are on their dinner break. Razor is out in front with the lead. Kristy Gazes has 10K and still alive.

Event #28 $10K Limit: Andy Bloch among the chipleaders. The Italian Pirate is among the leaders too... fresh off his bracelet win yesterday.
* * * * *
8:01pm...

I nearly bumped into David Benyamine. He was going on dinner break and holding three Pizza Hut pan pizza boxes. Two seconds later, I rounded the corner and watched Phil Hellmuth sign an autograph for a fan. He was scribbling his signature on a playing card. Hellmuth sharpied his John Hancock on the four of spades.

* * * * *
9:01pm...

Food tilt. FYI, boycott the Sao Paolo Cafe at the Rio. If you catch me eating there, I'll give you $100. Seriously. I will never eat there again after our horrid experience during dinner break. Awful service, which has always been poor, but this time it was just the worst I've seen in four years. Took ten minutes before we had someone take our order and it was only after I complained to the manager. Then the waitress forgot 33% of our order. They never brought Cange100's entree. She had to get back because her dinner break was over. Turned out the waitress never put it in. I was wicked pissed and they didn't even comp the meal. Obviously there's nothing I can do aside from recommend that you guys avoid eating there at all costs. It will be the best decision of your WSOP experience.

Anyway, the Lakers won game 5 of the NBA finals. They won but didn't cover. Phil Ivey is still alive with his bet. Can the Lakers win two more games before the Celtics win one?

Event #25 $10K Heads Up final: The first match took 93 hands before Kenny Tran ended up beating Alec Torelli. Tran is up 1-0 in the best of three series. Action has been paused and Match 2 will resume shortly.

Event #26 Razz final table: They are on a short break. Three left. Barry Greenstein is the leader and has more chips than both of his opponents combined.

Event #27 $1,500 NL: 66 to go. Jan Von Halle is among the top 10 in chips. is wife Katja Tater mentioned that he has been playing tighter than usual.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: Chris Ferguson among the chipeladers with Danny Boy and Hellmuth aka God. 26 to go. The G left the building sometime ago after he got busted by Benyamine.

Event #29 $3K NL: Saw Gobboboy in the hallway during is break. He said that he had a lot of chips. A quick glance at the chipcount and he's the chipleader with 171 to go. Erica Schoenberg and Jen Tilly are busto.

Event #28 $10K Limit: Liz Lieu among the chipleaders!! Phil Ivey and Max Pescatori are both out.
* * * * *
10:01pm...

Event #26 Razz final table: down to 2. Greenstein heads up with Chris Klodnicki for the bracelet.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: David Williams and Hellmuth were jarring back and forth. Williams won a pot against Hellmuth, which set him off. Hellmuth likes to bully everyone around him, but Williams pushed back. Down to 22. Kirill Gerasimov out in front. OMGClayAiken top 5 in chips.

Event #29 $3K NL: 126 to go. Gobboboy third in chips. Kathy Liebert in the Top 10. Kristy Gazes is still alive with 35K.

Event #28 $10K Limit: Liz Lieu said hello coming back from her break. She reminded me that today was father's day and that was the reason for her good run to start. She feels as though her deceased father is watching over her. "This is my event," she said with an air of confidence. She's currently third in chips and I would love to see her go deep.

* * * * *
11:01pm...

Event #25 $10K Heads Up final: Another pro wins a bracelet. Kenny Tran takes down Event #25. Well it looks like this is the year of the pro... even if no other pro wins another bracelet between now and the 2009 WSOP.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: 20 to go. Danny Boy making a run at the chipleader. Plenty of big names left like Hellmuth, David Benyamine, David Williams, Eli Elezra, Jesus, John Juanda, Ted Lawson, and Johnny Chan. Aussie strip club owner Jamie Pickering (who took second in the 1.5K PLO) is the short stack.

Event #26 Razz final table: And yeah, Barry Greenstein is still heads up for a bracelet. He has a 3-1 chip advantage. The bracelet is his to lose.

Event #30 $10K Limit: Both Greenstein and Negreanu are two-tabling the Limit event with two other events.

* * * * *
Midnight...

Event #26 Razz final table: Barry Greenstein wins bracelet! Yeah it's definitely the year of the pro. Barry didn't stick around for too long. He didn't pose for winner's pics or do any post-victory interviews. Instead, he rushed off to the 10K limit event where he had been getting blinded off.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: 20 to go. Almost at the money bubble. Top 18 get paid. Kirill Gerasimov still on top with the lead. Ted Lawson is shortstacked.

Event #29 $3K NL: Gobboboy lost his lead and slipped to the middle of the pack. Kristy Gazes and Bond18 are both alive. 93 to go. The money bubble breaks at 72.

* * * * *
2:19am...

Event #27 $1,500 NL: Down to 20. Kenneth "Drama Llama" Terrell is the chipleader.

Event #28 $5K PLO with Rebuys: 15 to go. They have been in the money for a bit. David Williams and Ted Lawson recently busted, but both cashed. Daniel Negreanu has taken over the chiplead.

Event #29 $3K NL: Action for Day 1 is over. 81 to go. Top 72 get paid. Kristy Gazes, Gobboboy, and Bond18 are all still in.

Event #30 $10K Limit: 98 left out of 218. The Grinder and JC Tran are among the chipleaders. Liz Lieu slipped but advanced. Barry Greenstein made it to Day 2 along with a super short stacked Daniel Negreanu, who happened to be the chipleader in the PLO event.


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 6/15/2008 08:53:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 16: Archie Karas Makes Final Table, Italian Pirate Wins Bracelet, and 125 Pounds of Razz Fury

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Congrats to Max Pescatori. The Italian Pirate took down Event #24 $2,500 PLH/PLO. He survived a difficult final table which included the veteran cash game player Minh Ly and multi-bracelet winner Allen Cunningham.

Pescatori won his first bracelet at the 2006 WSOP on the same day that his home country of Italy won the World Cup (of soccer). He had been shutout since then and won a bracelet just at the right time.


Photo courtesy of Flipchip
Pescatori had a tough 2007. He admitted to me that he was super busy focusing on the business side of poker and his Italian magazine. He began 2008 with a bang and 10th place finish at the Aussie Millions.

Pescatori showed up at the 2008 WSOP with a bum wing. For the first two weeks he wore his arm in a sling. He had 50+ stitches and has been vague about the origins of his injuries. Pescatori told Change100 that he got in a bar fight. He told Arthur that it was a cliff diving accident. The mysterious Italian Pirate strikes again.

Whether it was related to his physical injuries or not, over the last two weeks Pescatori had a not-so-impressive showing. He quickly became the target of Foiled Coup's wrath as he posted the Max Pescatori Watch on his website. At one point the adorable Amanda Leatherman (from PokerNews and PokerRoad) had just as much in 2008 WSOP winnings as Pescatori. Ah, he's the whipping boy no longer.

Pesactori is well on his way to becoming the greatest poker player from Italy. Ever. Valter Farina and John Spadavecchia are legends and a part of the old guard. Farina was the first Italian to ever win a bracelet and Spadavecchia is number one on the all-time money list. Both had been crushing games since Max was a little one playing football with his school mates in Milan. But with his second bracelet, Pescatori has the most bracelets out of the Italians. And by the end of the 2008 WSOP, Pescatori should take over #1 on the All Time money list for Italy.

(OK, I know about Jeff Lisandro. He lists Salerno, Italy as his hometown, but he's got an Aussie accent. There's much debate on whether or not Lisandro is Italian or Australia. Hendon Mob lists him as an Aussie. I'll abide by whatever Oliver Tse says. But for the purpose of this post, let's eliminate Lisandro from the discussion. After all, this is a Max Pescatori fluff piece. Let the Italian Pirate have his day!)

Pescatori is among the new wave of Italian pros including Luca Pagano and the Darios; WSOP-Europe bracelet winner Dario Alioto and everyone's scarf-wearing wunderkind Dario Minieri. Yeah, you don't want to mess with Luca, the Italian Pirate and the Amazing Darios.

* * * * *
The other big story was in the Brasilia Room where Day 2 of the Razz event played out. FTrain advanced to Day 2. In early action, he was seated with the likes of David Levi, Dario Alioto, and Sam Grizzle. His first table sucked due to a couple of annoying players. It drove both F Train and David Levi to put on their iPods.

I skipped out and headed to a concert before the money bubble broke. But I got wind that F Train had cashed, which was an amazing feat these days.

I first met FTrain in 2004 at the Blue Parrot in New York City. He was the replacement player in a home game that I frequented hosted by Ferrari. It was a lawyers game that centered around a bunch of folks that went to law school together or worked together including Ugarte and Coach.

One of the regulars, Rick Blaine, moved out to California just at the same time a good buddy of his from law school was moving from LA to Brooklyn. That guy was FTrain and he happened to play a little bit of poker. He took Rick's spot which was to my left and FTrain was a fixture in the game for as long as it ran. We almost always had a blast and had some wild late nights. We played dealer's choice with different rotation games including Anaconda which always juiced up the action.

Of course, the worst time I ever had at the Blue Parrot was Razz night. It would be the first and only time we played. I had a dreadful time and reminded FTrain about that night. He definitely remembered how angry and on tilt I was all night. Here's a Tao of Poker flashback... Monday Night Razz.

Wow... a lot has happened in almost four years. I went from writing up recaps of Blue Parrot games on my blog to covering the WSOP for various news outlets. And FTrain is covering the WSOP and going deep in the only event he played. Awesome job, bro.

Two regulars from my "NYC home game" have cashed in a WSOP event. Now, it's Coach's turn in Stud 8.

* * * * *
The Razz event also had a few interesting scenarios playing out. Barry Greenstein was the chipeader and trying to make another final table. At one point Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schneider had chips and was in the front of the pack.

Lacey Jones began the day as the shortstack and sitting across from a leering David Sklanasky. You gotta know that Davey Boy was super pumped when he saw his table draw. Both busted before the money.

While I could, I hovered around Archie Karas' table. He wore an old polo shirt and a very plain-looking watch. Humble attire from the man who once sat on a bankroll of $40 million. He was fighting and clawing to make his way into the money and cash in his first event in four years.

By the end of the night, the final table was set. Karas was short on chips but still had enough to be among the final eight which included Barry Greenstein and Mike Wattel. The Greek had cashed as he took a big step towards making his comeback. Now if he could only win the bracelet...?


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 6/15/2008 05:16:00 PM | Permalink |

 
PokerStars WSOP Satellite

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

FYI... stay tuned for a Day 16 recap and the Day 17 WSOP Live Blog.

I'm currently sitting poolside and playing in that 200 seat guaranteed Main Event satellite on PokerStars.

If you don't hear from me in a while... it's a good thing. Otherwise, I'll be back to writing after some nimrod cracks my Kings with Jack-off.


Download PokerStars

* * * * *

Updates....

1:30pm... $350 + 20. I bought in directly. 8076 runners with 226 seats at stake. I was playing from my aircard since Schecky was also in. Serious connection issues to start. Started to slide into tech-tilt.

1:54pm... Tilt averted. Didn't get that connectivity isse cleared up until 24 minutes in! I only lost 165 in chips. Stacks started at 5K. At least I wasn't the first player out.

2:07pm... Basking in the sun, clutching the glass lightning rod, I won my first pot with 10h-10d. I flopped a set and rivered a boat. I picked up 2.5K and increased mys tack to 7K. I was 960th out of 7377. I had a feeling that might as high as I'll get... in the tournament.

2:31pm... At first break, I had 6.4k. 2003 out of 7162. Over 10% of field was gone. Schecky on tilt... he's down to 2K.

2:36pm... On first hand after the break, I slipped to 4.7k when I played a hand poorly.

2:43pm... Ac-Ad snapped off by 3s-3h. Blind 50/100. UTG limped. The small blind called. I raised to 500. UTG called and the SB folded. The flop was As-4s-2s. I bet 2/3 the pot. UTG called. The turn was the Qs. I checked. UTG checked. The river was the 8h. We both checked. He won with his baby flush. I played that hand badly on the turn and river. More aggression. Any substantial bet and I get get him to fold. If he makes a hero call with the smallest flush on the board, well so be it. Alas, I put him on a bigger flush card and got scared. At least I didn't go broke with Aces. I didn't have too much time to dwell on the hand. I had 3.3K and need to focus on accumulating chips. I slipped to 5783 out of 6867.

3:10pm... I had 2.7K when I found As-Ad. Aces twice inside of 100 minutes. I was due to win this batch. I raised from the cutoff. Small blind re-raised. I moved all in for 2.7K total. He called with Qs-Qc. He turned a gutshot but missed and my Aces held up. I increased my stack to 5.6K. 3200 out of 5972. Out of hot water, still lots of work ahead of me.

3:16pm... Jacks held up in small pot. 5.6K with avg stack at 7.1K. Laptop running out of juice. Back inside with golf on in background.

3:22pm... Flopped top set from the button with 9-9. Won pot even with scary flush on board. Up to 8.5K and above average. 1755/5400 and moving up.

3:31pm... Schecky was short and doubled up with Kings to get up to 3.3K. I got moved to new table. I was 5th in chips at new table with three big stacks to my left. 8.2K. 1948/5001.

3:36pm... At second break. Under 7.9K. Just a bit under the average of 8.3K. 2108/4800.

3:52pm... More technical issues. My laptop froze twice now during the tournament. Tech-tilt!

4:05pm... Schecky out. I won our last longer. Still not online.

4:06pm... Finally back online. Down to 7K. Avg 10K.

4:14pm... Was down to 5.5K. Won small pot and up to 7.9K. Avg is 12K. 2430/3363 left. I need to double up soon to stay average.

4:20pm... Today's smoke break is brought to you by Fantasy Sports Live!


Bonus Code: Pauly
4:25pm... Woke up to Queens in the big blind. One guy shoved. I called. He had J-J. My Queens held up and I increased my stack to 10K. 1480/3200. My brother and BadBlood were on the rail sweating me.

4:42pm... Flopped a straight flush with 5s-3s. Didn't get paid off.

4:44pm... 11.3K. Avg 15.4K. At the third break, I was 1547/2570.

5:03pm... Moved tables. Shortest stack at 8.2K. 1844 out of 2257.

5:05pm... Out in 2190. 9h-8s lost to 8c-7c. Top pair flushed out.

No WSOP main event for me. Dreams crushed. Reality sinks in. Back to the grind.


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 6/15/2008 04:57:00 PM | Permalink |

 
OneEyedKeith Wins Saturdays with Dr. Pauly

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

We had a stellar turnout for Saturdays with Dr. Pauly. This was week 20. Hard to think that I've been running this for so long! We had 41 runners, a number that we have not had since the first couple of weeks.

The Top 5 got paid and I played poolside at Scheckytown.

My starting table included: jeciimd, Family Ice, kc42978, chenzilla, S.t.B, Katitude, and OneEyedKeith

Dbur2 was Gigli. I missed the hand.

OneEyeKeith took most of my stack on one hand (I had a gutshot and a flush draw) when his bigger flush bested mine. I was supershort and then took the rest of my chips when I went out in 37th place. OneEyeKeith end up putting those chips to good use.

The final table included: krazykowgirl, drunkenlush, JokerWilgres, Katitude, Sydney 8, OneEyedKeith, Grotto, Tracoy, and Rhys1985.

Kat was the Bubble Girl.

Week 20 Money Winners:
1. OneEyedKeith - $164
2. Syndey 8 - $98.40
3. JokerWilgres - $65.60
4. Krazykowgirl - $49.20
5. Drunken Lush - $32.80

After I busted out, I drove to the Rio for work. I was unable to sweat most of the final table since I was covering the Razz event in a different area. Congrats to everyone who cashed (even Pojo cashed in his first SwDP!) and thanks to everyone who played and pimped the event.

And congrats to OneEyedKeith for a job well done!


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 6/15/2008 01:19:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Live Blog - Day 16

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Will this be Allen Cunningham's day?

Over the last three years a couple of week before the WSOP begins, I always predict that Allen Cunningham will win a bracelet. That's such a safe bet that even my most degenerate gambling friends will not take action on me. Allen Cunningham is one of the most consistent players over the last four years and he always steps up his game during the WSOP. Even Ivey bet on Cunningham to win a bracelet, which might be one of the few bets Ivey actually wins this summer.

Cunningham has a tough table with Minh Ly and the Italian Pirate standing in his way. Max Pescatori has become Foiled Coup's whipping boy this summer because of his lackluster performance during the first two weeks. Alas, the Italian Pirate must feel good to make a final table since the last time (and only time) that he won a bracelet was in the 2006 WSOP ont he same day that Italy won the world cup. Plus, I'm digging all the scars on his arm which was attributed to a fight. Gotta love that the Italian Pirate is kicking it old school. He'll rumble with anyone. Argggghhhhhhhh!

Here are today's events:

Event #23 $2,000 NL - Final Table
Event #24 $2,500 PLO/PLH - Final Table
Event #25 $10,000 Heads Up - Day 2
Event #26 $1,500 Razz - Day 2
Event #27 $1,500 NL - Day 1
Event #28 $5,000 PLO with Rebuys - Day 1

Here are today's final tables...

Event #23 $2,000 NL Final Table:
Seat 1: Andrew Jeffreys (Melbourne, Australia) - 1,051,000
Seat 2: Blair Hinkle (Kansas City, Missouri) - 1,030,000
Seat 3: Dominik Kulicki (Amsterdam, Netherlands) - 241,000
Seat 4: Daniel O'Brien (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 456,000
Seat 5: Mark Brockington (Edmonton, Alberta) - 552,000
Seat 6: Chris Bjorin (London, United Kingdom) - 247,000
Seat 7: Dustin Dirksen (Iowa City, Iowa) - 867,000
Seat 8: David Steicke (Hong Kong) - 611,000
Seat 9: Stephane Tayar (Saint Mande, France) - 323,000

Event #24 $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha:
Seat 1: Max Pescatori (Milan, Italy) - 212000
Seat 2: Jonathan Depa (Chicago, Illinois) - 185000
Seat 3: Kyle Hegeman (Jacksonville, Florida) - 198000
Seat 4: Kyle Kloeckner (St. Louis, Missouri) - 494000
Seat 5: John-Paul Kelly (Brighton, United Kingdom) - 79000
Seat 6: Greg Hurst (Tazewell, Tennessee) - 197000
Seat 7: Lennart Holtkamp (Utrecht, Netherlands) - 253000
Seat 8: Minh Ly (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 174000
Seat 9: Allen Cunningham (Las Vegas, Nevada) - 484000

Looks the Europeans are making a strong showing over the last couple of final tables.

Here are today's matchups in Day 2 of the Heads Up bracelet race:

Event #25 $10,000 Heads Up Championship:
Jason Rosenkrantz vs. Brandon Adams
Emil Patel vs. Michael Banducci
Roman Paradiso vs. Sam Farha
Kenny Tran vs. Erick Lindgren
Thomas Lutz vs. John Patgorski
Gavin Griffin vs. Alexander Kostritsyn
Andy Black vs. Michael McNeil
Alex Jacob vs. Jonathan Jaffe
Brian Roberts vs. Alec Torelli
Scott Montgomery vs. Isaac Haxton
Daniel "Ansky" Stern vs. David Williams
Lyle Berman vs. David Podgurski
Jean-Claude Moussa vs. Robert Mizrachi
Jonas Entin vs. Evan Sofer
Cliff Cantor vs. Vanessa Selbst
Matt Giannetti vs. The Grinder

* * * * *
3:00pm...

I played a little online poker this morning before work. I played in a WSOP main event freeroll. Three seats were up for grabs. I was eliminated in 1704th place out of 2462. My Queens were ousted by a bloody gutshot...

After that, it was Saturdays with Dr. Pauly. A great turn out this week. Right now, it's on the money bubble.

Event #23 2K NL: The final table started a little while ago. Within the first orbit, there was already one eliminated. Down to 8. Blair Hinkle is the chipleader. That sounds like such a fake name. Blair Hinkle. Sounds like a WASPY villain in a Philip Roth novel.

Event #24 PLO/PLH: Final table starting soon. I saw Melissa Hayden and Allen Cunningham in the hallway. Allen looks as cool as usual.

Event #25 $10K Heads Up: David Williams defeated Ansky. Vanessa Selbst and Gavin Griffin both advanced.

Event #26 Razz: That re-start is why I'm here. F Train made it to day 2 but there's still a little more to go before the money bubble. 104 remaining out of 453 runers. Top 28 get paid. I spotted Lacey Jones in the hallway. She couldn't find her restart area. She said she was super short...

Event #27 $1,500 NL: I hope you brought your donkey repellent to the Amazon ballroom today. Shaniac and Tm Vance are already out. ZeeJustin out to an early lead.

* * * * *
3:51pm...

Congrats to OneEyedKeith for winning Saturdays with Dr. Pauly! I missed the action since I was covering an event in a different area.

Event #26 Razz: I wandered over to the Brasilia Room where the heads up and Razz restarts were underway. I sweated F Train's table and he didn't look pleased with his start. He lost over half his stack and slipped to 7.5K after catching a ton of bricks. His table draw sucked... a bunch of nits and David Levi.

"These guys are driving me and David Levi so crazy that we had to put on our headphones," explained F Train.

F Train is alive but needs help with 95 to go.

Lacey Jones started at the same table as chipleader Barry Greenstein and David Sklansky. Of course, Lacey was sitting in the seat across from Sklansky who keep leering her way. I felt bad for poor Lacey, Not only was she shortstacked, she ha d a dirty old man undressing her at the table with his four eyes.

Sadly, Lacey busted along with Gank and Cyndy Violette. Archie "The Greek" Karas is still alive with 20K.

Overheard in the Hallway: A former WPT final table finalist say to his friend, "Can you loan me another five?"

His buddy looked miffed, "I already loaned you fifteen since Wednesday."

"In that case, can you make it ten?"

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is brought to you by PokerStars! Don't forget that Stars is giving away 200 Main Event packages worth $12,500 tomorrow!!

Here's the skinny:

What: 200 Seats to the WSOP Main Event
Where: PokerStars
When: Sunday June 15, 2008
What Time: 16:30 ET (22:30 CET)
How Much: $350 + 20

Please note that satellites to the $350+20 qualifier start as low as 250 Frequent Player Points (FPPs) or for the cheapo price of $2.20.


Download PokerStars

* * * * *
4:55pm...

Event #23 2K NL: 5 to go. David Steicke = chipleader.

Event #24 PLO/PLH: 7 to go. Allen Cunningham third in chips. Italian Pirate 4th.

Event #25 $10K Heads Up: Sweet 16 is set. Alec Torelli, Brandon Adams, David Williams, Emil Patel, Gavin Griffin, John Patgorski, Jonas Mentin, Jonathan Jaffe, Kenny Tran, Lyle Berman, Michael McNeil, Robert Mizrachi, Roman Paradiso, Scott Montgomery, and Vanessa Selbst all advanced.

Event #26 Razz: DonkeyBomber and Archie Karas are both alive. Dario Alioto and Sam Grizzle were moved to F Trains table. He got up to 17K but still needs help. Alioto just busted. DonkeyBomber among the chipleaders.

Event #27 $1,500 NL: Andrew Webking is still alive. BelowAbove = chipleader. Raymer and Hellmuth both busted.

* * * * *
Event #26 Razz: Sklanasky = out. FTrain was down to 6500 at the break but doubled up. Down to 69.

OK... thanks to Schecky, I have the rest of the night off. Heading to see Stone Temple Pilots at Pearl with a nice posse including Change100, Kristy Gazes, Amanda Leatherman, and Joe Sebok.

I'll be updating STP's setlist via twitter if you are into that.

Check in with Poker News for FTrain updates.

Be back 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.
posted by Pauly at 6/14/2008 06:01:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 15: Tao of Five with Wicked Chops Poker

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

After two tough weeks, I finally had my "Office Space" day when I came in and just spaced out and pretend to work. I really tried to work, but there were too many distractions, so I went with the flow. It was a relaxing day for me as I ended up getting sloshed at a party at Bare Pool at the Mirage.

I managed to finish up an interview with the hombres at Wicked Chops Poker for the latest installment of Tao of Five.


I first met WCP at the 2005 WSOP. They came out for the main event and we hit it off right away. We've been tight ever since and it's been a sheer joy to see them flourish and become what they are. As one media member joked, "Pics of hot chicks? Nah, I only read Wicked Chops Poker for the articles."

What I love the best about WCP is that they just don't give a shit what anyone thinks about them and that attitude is why they managed to succeed over the years. Dozens of ripoff sites and hack wanna-bes tried to "borrow" from the WCP model, but they have come and left, since none of them have the snarky wit and an amazing eye for talent.

For the last four years, Wicked Chops Poker is among the first couple of sites I read everyday. Doesn't matter if I'm in Las Vegas, Sweden, New Zealand, or Hollyweird... I love Wicked Chops Poker.

Anyway, without further ado, here's an interview with Snake from Wicked Chops Poker Fame...

1. Pauly: So when did you guys make the decision to go with full blown tits and ass on Wicked Chops Poker?

Snake: When we started Wicked Chops Poker, we all played poker a lot and had been playing for years out of Atlanta and then we'd go to Tunica or L.A. to play poker and we wanted to start writing about poker and that journey. It was going to be more personal when we started off but then it organically evolved it what it is. We knew there were other blogs out there doing personal stories, and blogs like Tao of Poker that had more of a journalistic approach and story telling. We wanted to find our own niche.

It was right before or during the 2005 WSOP when things changed. There was a photo of April Soctt that we like and we tried to connect it somewhat to poker. We needed an excuse and since she was a model for one of the poker sites we went with it. From that point on when we posted post a pic of a hot girl we tried to find an excuse to connect each girl with poker. After a while, it was just poker and an unrelated photo of a hot chick. We're a big fan of sites out there like Hollywood Tuna for example that post lots of photos of famous models and celebrities. We wanted to combine that element with poker.

Pauly: That's smart. I think poker is fuckin' boring sometimes.

Snake: I know. I think we say on the site, "Hot girls because you can only talk about poker so much."


(Courtesy of WCP)

2. Pauly: But you guys aren't just tits and ass. You guys actually break stories and are an integral part of the best alternative media coverage of the WSOP. So you actually provide an invaluable service, right?

Snake: Absolutely. I think what we do, Wicked Chops and Tao of Poker and Pokerati, is help people who are not here keep of track of what's happening. If you just go to worldseriesofpoker.com or Poker News, you can follow along what's going on at the table. But there's so much more going on away from the tables. There's a huge room here with 300 poker tables. And there's the railbirds and cash games and the pros in the hallway. What we try to do is paint that complete picture and if you put it all together it's a pretty cool event that you see here that the mainstream poker media rarely captures. You don't see all the different elements.

Somebody commented on Tao of Poker that they were even here playing and it was so big that didn't know what was going on. But they had to read about it on your blog to figure out what was happening. This is so big. So if you put together the mainstream media and key blogs covering the WSOP, then you get a clearer picture of what's going on. It's what happens away from the tables that makes it interesting.


3. Pauly: How's your girl Anna Benson?

Snake: (Laughing) The Anna Benson thing, man, we flat out called her a bitch. It was based on our personal experience and seeing her at her table and her being a total bitch to the floor and the dealer and to the players. She was doing an interview with Gambling911 with Jennie Woo and (Jennie) brought up Wicked Chops and Anna Benson said, "Wicked Chops Poker are nobodies, the site is garbage." I actually took it as a compliment. We tried to set up a game since she was living in Atlanta at the time. But we never arranged it.


4. Pauly: Who is the most random person who reads you?

Snake: We got pros that read us. JC Tran is trying to figuring what we mean when we say "JC Tran has spectacular breasts." We don't even know what we mean by that. Since he was asking, we did a clarification post about it. I know that Gavin Smith is enjoying the photos that we are taking this year so he wants to help spot a hot girl on the rail. Daniel Negreanu enjoys the photos a lot, which could end some speculation there.


5. Pauly: Is Dan Michalski gay?

Snake: I have never seen him with a girl before, so that's like prima faca evidence that he's, you know, maybe not into girls, so the opposite of not being into girls means... you're gay or asexual. I was gonna say that I saw him at a strip club one time. He was walking in as we were walking out. He gave us a ride home. He didn't even go in. So he'd rather take a bunch of dudes back to their hotel than go into a strip club. That's even more evidence.

That's it for now.

You can check out the last installment called Tao of Five: Benjo.


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 6/14/2008 04:20:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 15 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Well, I survived the first two weeks of the WSOP and escaped bodily harm and avoided a mental breakdown. I also managed to stay clear of the Otis Rash although I had the Vegas cough for a few days. The lux digs at Scheckytown has a lot to do with my positive mental state. That and the ability to make my own schedule and take random trips out to Red Rock Canyon.

It's Day 15 at the WSOP and I've been here everyday. Day 14 was one of my favorite days so far at this year's WSOP and it will be tough to top.

Day 15 consists of six tournaments including two final tables.

Event #21 $5,000 NL - Final Table
Event #22 $3,000 HORSE: - Final Table
Event #23 $2,000 NL - Day 2
Event #24 $2,500 PLO/PLH - Day 2
Event #25 $10,000 Heads Up - Day 1
Event #26 $1,500 Razz - Day 1

Here are today's final table:

Event #21 $5,000 NL - Final Table:
Seat 1: Anders Henriksson (Stockholm, Sweden) - 311,000
Seat 2: Jacobo Fernandez (Hollywood, FL) - 848,000
Seat 3: Rajesh Vohra (Lake Worth, FL) - 1,040,000
Seat 4: Ben Sprengers (Plantation, FL) - 441,000
Seat 5: Adam Geyer (Austin, TX ) - 645,000
Seat 6: Scott Freeman (Los Angeles, CA) - 423,000
Seat 7: Scott Seiver (Las Vegas, NV) - 2,512,000
Seat 8: Chuck Sklar (Los Angeles, CA) - 439,000
Seat 9: Dave Seidman (Chicago, IL) - 653,000

Event #22 $3,000 HORSE: - Final Table:
Seat 1: Rostislav Tsodikov - 140,000
Seat 2: Doug Ganger - 405,000
Seat 3: Jennifer Harman - 271,000
Seat 4: Steve Zolotow - 180,000
Seat 5: Jens Voertmann - 485,000
Seat 6: Jared Davis - 185,000
Seat 7: Hoyt Corkins - 595,000
Seat 8: Marcel Luske - 572,000

* * * * *
2:18pm...

We have a brand spankin' new episode of Tao of Pokerati.


Introducing...

Episode 7: Brasilia Time

For more episodes check out Tao of Pokerati Archicves.

* * * * *
3:19pm...

Event #25 $10K Heads Up: 256 players. The event was sold out. I sweated Jamie Gold and Mark Muchnik's tables. Guess what? I'm the cooler because they both busted out of round 1. Muchnik is a Tao of Poker reader and was the runner up in last year's event.

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is brought to you by PokerStars! Don't forget that Stars is giving away 200 Main Event packages worth $12,500 this Sunday!!

Here's the skinny:

What: 200 Seats to the WSOP Main Event
Where: PokerStars
When: Sunday June 15, 2008
What Time: 16:30 ET (22:30 CET)
How Much: $350 + 20

Please note that satellites to the $350+20 qualifier start as low as 250 Frequent Player Points (FPPs) or for the cheapo price of $2.20.


Download PokerStars

* * * * *
5:21pm...

Slacker day today. After 14 straight days, I'm totally slacking off today. It's Friday, right? BamBam and Pebbles from Canada stopped by and offered to buy me a drink. I could not say no, so we headed over to the Hooker Bar. One turned into two and then I forgot that I promised Benjo that we'd go to In & Out Burger. So I blew off writing and devoured a triple-cheese burger and Benjo fawned over one of thw cute girls who worked behind the counter calling out numbers.

"She looks like a porn star," joked Benjo.

Event #25 $10K Heads Up: Round 2 just began. On the way back into the convention area from the parking lot, Jen Tilly stepped out of PT Cruiser. The Unabomber was the wheel man. She rushed up the steps and he sped away. Wait, the Unabomber drives a PT Cruiser? I hope it's just a rental.

Event #26 Razz: The 5pm event just kicked off. I think FTrain is playing. I saw Jen Creason lurking around. She went deep in the Razz event in 2005. Yeah this is one of those existentialist days when I look out onto the Amazon floor and I think... what a bunch of fuckin' sadists. Only those twisted souls who thrive on pain are into this event. How do you prep for a Razz event at the WSOP? Wear a cup and invite all the neighborhood kids to come over and take turns kicking you in the junk. If you survive, you have balls of steel and can withstand the brutal insanity of Razz tournaments.

Phil Ivey busted out in Round 1 of the Heads Up event and bought into the Razz event. He's trying to chase down that bracelet and has played almost every event so far at the WSOP. I can see Ivey's table from the press box. He's getting a massage and one guy at the other end of his table looks like he's ready to die. I think they let him out of the hospice to play.

* * * * *
6:21pm...

Poker playing Tim Russert died of a heart attack. Michalksi was all over the story. News of stuff like that might be splashed all over the TV all over America, but current events are an afterthought in Vegas. Most of the time, it's life in a vacuum.

Event #21 5K NL: Down to four. Some dude named Scott Seiver is the chipleader.

Event #22 3K HORSE: Still eight to go. Marcel Luske is the chipleader. Jen Harman is short stacked. Harman was the runner-up at the HORSE event at the 2007 WSOP-Europe.

Event #23 2K NL: 59 to go. mlagoo is the chipleader.

Event #24 PLO/PLH: 55 to go. Italian Pirate is among the chipleaders. Erik Seidel recently busted.

Event #25 $10K Heads Up: Vanessa Selbst, Theo Tran, Isaac Haxton, ZeeJustin< Gavin Griffin, NeverWin, David Williams, Carlos Mortensen, Brandon Adams, Alexander Kostritsyn, and Alex Jacob all advanced to Round 3.

* * * * *

Event #21 5K NL: Down to three. Scott Seiver is the chipleader.

Event #22 3K HORSE: Down to 6. Jen Harman out in 8th place.

Event #23 2K NL: 48 to go. Maridu going deep!

Event #24 PLO/PLH: Down to 46. Joe Hachem is out. Minh Ly lurking near the top.

Event #25 $10K Heads Up: Sammy Farha, Antonio Esfandiari, OMGClayAiken, Phil Gordon all advanced to the next round. The G is on his bike pedaling home after he got busted.

Event #26 Razz: FTrain near the top of the leaderboard with some dude named Phil Ivey. He has 4,100.

Well, this might be the last entry for a while. I'm heading out to a Thrillist.com launch party at Bare (the topless pool) at the Mirage. I might be updating the party via Twitter.

You can always follow me on Twitter.

* * * * *
11:27pm...

Mihalski got me into the swanky Thrillist party at Bare at the Mirage. No boobies at the party. Lots of hot chicks, though. Smoking model-types handed me a Dos Equis as soon as I walked into Bare. Party was sponsored by an airline company, a vodka company, a cable TV company and a Mexican beer company. Since they ain't paying me to shill, fuck 'em. Free beer was clutch. The aps were lame and messy.

OK, since the party was sponsored by a cable TV company, they gave everyone a sneak preview of the first episode of the brand new season of Weeds. It's one of my favorite shows, so I was pumped. They handed out little brownies with the Weeds logo. They tried to make it look like it was a pot brownie, but after eating two, I knew right away, there was no drugs in there... aside from cocoa of course. I hung out with Jen and Aaron and bumped into Jen's friend Mary and Dan Druff.

At one point, the most wasted guy at the party chatted me up. He was ripped to the tits on something and he kept asking me if I had any cocaine. He must have asked me fourteen times inside of two minutes. I never met anyone who had such a short attention span.

Anyway, while I was gone...

Event #21 5K NL: Scott Seiver won a bracelet.

Event #22 3K HORSE: Down to 3. Marcel Luske is shortstacked but just doubled up.

Event #23 2K NL: Down to 21. mlagoo is still the chipleader.

Event #24 PLO/PLH: 24 to go and the Italian Pirate Max Pescatori is out in front. Arghhhhhh!

Event #25 $10K Heads Up: Vanessa Selbst, The Grinder, Alexander Kostritsyn, Brandon Adams, Isaac Haxton, and Kenny Tran all advanced to the next round. Neverwin and OMGClayAIken are both out.

Event #26 Razz: 240 left out of 453. FTrain is still alive with 3,800. He was just moved to Pearljammer's table. Johnny Mushrooms is out.

* * * * *
2:54am...

Event #22 3K HORSE: Marcel Luske out in 3rd. Jens Voertmann wins the bracelet.

Event #26 Razz: FTrain advances to Day 2! Barry Greenstein = chipleader.


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 6/13/2008 05:12:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 14: Daniel Negreanu Wins 4th Bracelet, Phil Ivey Loses 200K Prop Bet, and Vanessa Selbst Beats Aussie Strip Club Owner for PLO Bracelet

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

The moment after Daniel Negreanu clinched the Limit Hold'em tournament and won his fourth bracelet, he thrust his arms in the air in celebration. He lofted them as high as he could for a few seconds before he dropped them and quickly reached for his mobile device in his pocket. He texted Phil Ivey to tell him to pay up.

Negreanu and Ivey had a $200,000 bet on who would win a bracelet next. Negreanu won $204,000 for first place. If you count the numerous bracelet prop bets he had this year various pros, his prop bet winnings are substantially more than his first place score.

Ivey had a stomach-churning week. He lost $1.1 million shooting dice with Barry Greenstien. He's on the verge of losing $2 million on the Lakers. He just coughed up 200K to Negreanu. He also recently made a bet with Ted Forrest for $1 million who will win a bracelet first. I heard rumors that Ivey had up to $2 million in various bracelet prop bets including one that either himself or Allen Cunningham will win a bracelet.

By the end of the summer Ivey could be $5 million in the hole. Then again, he's Phil Ivey. He very well could be up $10 million before your grandma shows up for 8am mass at St. Cecelia's next Sunday.

Who knows, maybe Ivey will chase his losses betting in the European Championships?

While Negreanu played Ugur Marangoz heads up for the bracelet, the final minutes of the Lakers/Celtics game simultaneously played out. The Lakers coughed up a huge first half lead and the Celtics stormed back, because as we know, in the NBA every team makes a run. I briskly walked back and forth from the final table to the closest big screen in the Amazon room near where the Poker News photographers Felipe and Flipchip were set up. I watched a few plays and during time outs, I briskly headed back to the final table and repeated the process... until both outcomes were complete.

At one point, I spotted Ivey out of the corner of my eye. He was playing in Day 2 of the 3K HORSE and sneaked over to watch the same Big Screen. He grimaced when the score was flashed. In four years of covering the WSOP, the only times I have ever seen Ivey exhibit any emotion was during the last two Lakers/Celtics games. I betcha he hates not being in control of his own destiny in the Laker prop bet. Ivey is the type of guy that would throw on a Lakers jersey and try to win the game himself if they let him. Alas, Ivey is in the middle of a demoralizing crunch. His potential losing prop bets might have dimmed the greatness of the last infallible superhero in poker.

Negreanu on the other hand has been riding a welcome winning streak. It had been several years since he last won a major tournament.... January of 2006... when he took down the Jack Binion WSOP Circuit event in Tunica. Negreanu's last WSOP bracelet was won four years ago in Limit Hold'em.

And the other day Negreanu and Antonius had a series of golf prop bets during a round at TPC Summerlin. Negreanu ended up winning $160,000. Check out the RawVegas video via Wicked Chops Poker.

Here's Antonius' take...

We decided to play $20,000 for low team total on every hole and $20,000 for individual low score on each hole. There were going to be a lot of ties, but it would still be possible for one team to win or lose $300,000. It was a very dramatic match, we started out hot, and were up around $140,000, but Daniel went on a tear and played his best round ever and was phenomenal on the back nine. He was a wizard with his chipping and putting, and they beat us for $20,000 when it was all said and done. We are definitely getting a rematch next week...

In just a couple of days, Negreanu won almost 600K in tournament winnings, golf props, and an Ivey prop bet. Nice job, Danny Boy. When you're hot, you're sizzling... or something like that.

The folks over PokerStars is definitely pumped to secure their first bracelet winner of the 2008 WSOP. Greenstein came close the night before. Three of the first four bracelet winners were Full Tilt pros (Nenad Medic, Erick Lindgren, and David Singer) and Matusow won another one last night for Full Tilt.

During the winner's photo, Flipchip asked Negreanu if he incentive to win the bracelet was so he didn't have to hear Matusow brag that they had the same number of bracelets. The night before Matusow won his third and for less than a day he was tied with Negreanu.

Click here to view Flipchip's WSOP winner photos.

A few hours after Negreanu's win, the money bubble broke in the 3K HORSE event. Jen Harman was the chipleader with 32 players to go. Phil Ivey was second in chips. If he's on the verge of donking off $2 million on the Lakers, he desperately needs to win a bracelet to get unstuck. Shortly after Midnight, Ivey took a hit and got crippled. He eventually busted out in 23rd place for paltry $7,998.

By the way, here's what Doyle Brunson wrote on his blog...

Negreanu won the limit Holdem tournament and put me in the lead for my big bet of Daniel, Lee Watkinson, and Lee Markholt to win more bracelets than Phil Ivey and Allen Cunningham. I won't be making any more bets like this because I don't like to root against friends. When I went to bed last night, Ivey was leading in the $3000 HORSE event. I also bet Phil 3-1 odds for $100,000 he wouldn’t win a bracelet so I have no choice but to pull against him

Even Doyle is getting in on the bracelet prop bet action.

* * * * *
Despite losing $160,000 to Negreanu on the links, Finnish boy toy Patrik Antonius is ready to get that money back at the tables. He'll play anyone. He called out several of the premiere online cash game players in the world and invited them to battle in the ThunderDome. Or is it the IveyDome? He wants to play guys like Tom "Durrrrrrrr" Dwan or Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond heads up. Here's a bit...

I would like to issue a little challenge to a few online players who have been very successful at the biggest games online the past few months. All they do is hide behind their computer screens, scared to play anyone that they think is any good. I have not played Heads Up No Limit on Full Tilt for a long time and have hardly any experience playing it compared to these guys, yet, they refuse to play me and are dodging me in all games.

Durrr, OMGClayAiken, trex313, Urindanger, I am looking for action and I want a chance to play against the best. I will play any of you in any game on Full Tilt, I will be waiting, hopefully your up for the challenge.

I'd pay to watch those matches. Keep an eye out for them...

* * * * *
The Negreanu final table got plenty of attention but it was rather quiet and subdued compare to the PLO final table on the outer perimeter in front of the Beast Lounge. The rail was like happy hour at the zoo with an eclectic mix of online players stoned on cough medicine, soused Australians, bewildered tourists with camera phones, and other snot-nosed minstrels. My kind of scene.

I wandered by when heads-up began between Jamie Pickering and Vanessa Selbst. I met Pickering in Australia during the Aussie Millions. He made three final tables and won a Limit Hold'em event. He's a strip club owner from the luxurious Gold Coast of Australia and might have brought one of his favorite entertainers with him on this trip. He had his mates on the rail with him and his girlfriend who wore a tight and skimpy outfit.

The Aussies as a whole are a festive bunch and Pickering's crew knocked back drinks. Pickering downed a shot and then shoved all in blind. He doubled up and almost pulled even in chips with Selbst. At that point, the two discussed a deal. Vanessa wanted to crunch the numbers and think about it, but Pickering was anxious to shake hands and finish off the tournament. He pressed her to make a decision.

"Come on, have some balls!" he shouted.

That got a large laugh out of the crowd, who stood five and six deep on the rail. Some of them heard the ruckus and camped out in front. A bevy of them behind Selbst were drunk. I couldn't tell if they were her friends or just random drunk guys who decided to cheer for her and goad the Aussie. Regardless, it was one of the rowdiest final tables that I have seen thus far at the WSOP.

Pickering played the next hand blind. Selbst did not believe it, but he insisted that he did not look at his cards. He bet the pot and she called. He checked the turn and she bet the pot. He decided to look at his cards despite the chorus of screams, shouts, and chants from the rail.

"Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!" one shouted as he tried not to spill his drink on me.

Selbst was smiling and sipped her beer as the railbirds let Pickering have it when he decided to look at his cards.

"I'm dead. Oh shit," he said. "I got a gutshot to the Wheel."

"Gamboool!" slurred one inebriated spectator.

"Run it four times!" screamed another as they clinked cups.

"Get him another shot so he calls!" shouted someone else from the rail.

By that point a gaggle of media surrounded the table including Shamus and Marc. Flipchip was strategically centered in the middle of the menagerie of photographers. There was also an ESPN second unit capturing the hilarity. A few curious railbirds stood up on chairs to watch the theatrics.

"Come on, call!" echoed from the rail.

"Let's finish this and go to the Rhino!" exclaimed another drunk.


Pickering peek
(courtesy of Flipchip)
Pickering peeked at his cards one last time before he shook his head and tossed them into the muck. Selbst showed her winning hand then slowly stacked up all of Pickering's chips as he caught heat from the rail. She won the pot and increased her lead. After a short break, they played a couple of hands before it was all over. Selbst won her first bracelet. The last female to win a bracelet in an open event was Katja Thater last summer when she took down the Razz bracelet.

* * * * *
At the end of the second week of the 2008 WSOP, I was fortunate to experience one of the most enjoyable final tables I had seen in a while and just a couple of hours later I was in the front row watching Negreanu win his fourth.

At the same time as the last second ticked off the clock at the Staples Center, I was reminded just how crazy Phil Ivey is... to bet on the NBA finals in the wake of the Herculean scandal that has been escalating every day over Tim Donaghy and possibly other ex-refs fixing games for TV, the NBA, for bookies, and for their own financial gain.

Then again, only complete degenerates will continue to bet on, participate in, or play something even though they know it's rigged such as any or all of the following... politics, NBA, online poker, and American Idol.


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 6/13/2008 05:04:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 14 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I know this is the moment you have been waiting for... another new episode of Tao of Pokerati... the best three-minute half-baked podcast on the web. Our topic is yesterday's Deuce-to-Seven final table.


Introducing...

Episode 6: Lowballin'

For more episodes check out Tao of Pokerati Archicves.

* * * * *
Two more final tables today including one with Daniel Negreanu. Can Danny Boy win his fourth bracelet?

The Lakers square off the Celtics in Game 4. All eyes will be on Ivey's eyes watching the game. Can the Lakers win and keep Ivey's head above water? Or will he be staring down the hole of a 3-1 deficit.

Here are today's six events:

Event #19 $1,500 PLO - Final Table
Event #20 $2,000 Limit - Final Table
Event #21 $5,000 NL - Day 2
Event #22 $3,000 HORSE - Day 2
Event #23 $2,000 NL - Day 1
Event #24 $2,500 PLO/PLH - Day 1

Here are today's final tables:

Event #19 $1,500 PLO - Final Table:
Seat 1: Jamie Pickering (Gold Coast, Australia) - 329,000
Seat 2: Eugene Todd (Brooklyn, NY) - 127,000
Seat 3: Mel Randolph (Waikiki, HI) - 117,000
Seat 4: Jamie Robbins (San Diego, CA) - 70,000
Seat 5: Vanessa Selbst (Brooklyn, NY) - 1,047,000
Seat 6: Stanley Statkiewicz Jr (Itasca, IL) - 318,000
Seat 7: Ken Lairson (Oklahoma City, OK) - 16,900
Seat 8: Craig Natte (Hudsonville, MI) - 108,000
Seat 9: Thom Schultz (Littleton, CO) - 144,000

Event #20 $2,000 Limit - Final Table:
Seat 1: David Baker (Katy, TX) - 409,000
Seat 2: Jeremy Kottler (Cleveland, OH) - 47,000
Seat 3: Hien Tran (Sacramento, CA) - 58,000
Seat 4: Ugur Marangoz (Las Vegas, NV) - 402,000
Seat 5: Fu Wong (Chandler, AZ) - 67,000
Seat 6: Greg Wohletz (Henderson, NV) - 301,000
Seat 7: Daniel Negreanu (Las Vegas, NV) - 308,000
Seat 8: Derek Lerner (Montreal, Quebec) - 133,000
Seat 9: Richard Li (Toronto, Canada) - 195,000

Sweet. Danny Boy made a final table with Fu, Ugur, and Hein. Sounds like a German and Chinese law firm/laundromat.

* * * * *
3:19pm...

Event #21 5K NL: 121 players advanced to Day 2. Top 72 get paid. The Grinder is among the chipleaders. FBT, Rizen, CK Hua, Ben Grundy, NeverWin, Dmitri Nobles, Layne Flack are all busto.

Event #22 3K HORSE: 133 players remaining. Mark Vos just busted. Shannon Elizabeth is among the chipleaders. Is it getting chilly in hell?

Event #23 2K NL: 800 left. Shaniac was one of the first players to bust. Joe Sebok and Phil Hellmuth aka GOD are among the chipleaders in early action.

Both final tables are starting soon. I'm gonna linger around Negreanu's final table for most of today.
* * * * *
4:20pm...

Event #19 PLO Final Table: Down to four. Vanessa Selbst still on top. Aussie Jamie Pickering = short stacked.

Event #20 Limit Final Table: Down to 8. Danny Boy has taken over the chiplead.

Event #21 5K NL: Johnny Mushrooms, Bond18, and Aussie Sarah are still in.

Event #22 3K HORSE: 112 to go. BelowAbove = chipleader.

Event #23 2K NL: Shronk, Nordberg and Benyamine are busto.

Today's smoke break is brought to you by PokerStars! Don't forget that Stars is giving away 200 Main Event packages worth $12,500 this Sunday!!

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What: 200 Seats to the WSOP Main Event
Where: PokerStars
When: Sunday June 15, 2008
What Time: 16:30 ET (22:30 CET)
How Much: $350 + 20

Please note that satellites to the $350+20 qualifier start as low as 250 Frequent Player Points (FPPs) or for the cheapo price of $2.20.


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* * * * *
5:21pm...

Event #19 PLO Final Table: Three-handed. Vanessa Selbst coughed up her monster lead. They are all even in chips.

Event #20 Limit Final Table: Down to 7. Danny Boy is still out in front. Fu Wong is one of the short stacks. Ugur Marangoz is second in chips. Fear Ugar.

Event #21 5K NL: 73 left. Money bubble. The Grinder is among the chipleaders. Aussie Sarah, Johnny Mushrooms, and VeitHottie are all alive.

Event #22 3K HORSE: Kevin 'BeL0WaB0Ve' Saul no longer chipleader but he's in the Top 5. Billy the Croc is in the Top 10 with Shannon Elizabeth. Gary Benson recently busted.

Event #23 2K NL: 570 to go. Men the Master and TheWacoKidd are out in front. Clonie Gowen and JC Tran are both out.

Event #24 PLO/PLH: The tournament was moved to the Brasilia Room. Harrah's opened up a third ballroom which has 65 tables. I wonder why they waited until today to use that area? I kina like it. Much a smaller version of the Amazon Room. Sam Simon (The Simpsons producer) busted from the 2K and then walked across the hall to play in the 5pm event. Michalski and I taped the next episode of Tao of Pokerati. Early bustouts include Victor Ramdin, Devilfish, and Josh Arieh.

* * * * *
6:20pm...

Michalski has been walking around with his fly down for the last hour. He spoke with Jim McManus, Sam Simon, and heather formerly of Poker Wire... with a broken zipper.

Event #19 PLO Final Table: Still three-handed. Vanessa Selbst is trying to come back. She's second in chips.

Event #20 Limit Final Table: Down to five. Negreanu only holds a slight lead.

Event #21 5K NL: A large applause filled the Amazon when the money bubble broke. Less than 70 remaining.

Event #22 3K HORSE: Down to 80. Jen Harman stepped into the chiplead as Mike Sexton headed to the rail. Vanessa Rousso and Michael Craig are also busto.

Event #23 2K NL: 440 to go. Men the Master still the chipleader. Here's a hilarious entry from Snoopy...

Going Bananas

It's all gone bananas here. Noticing that her opponent has a small banana ornament as a card protector, Winamax's Almira Skripchenko pulls out a real banana from her bag and places it on her own cards.

I don't know why, but along with Johnny Chan's moldy orange, the World Series of Poker seems to act as a magnet for a host of fruit based card protectors.

Event #24 PLO/PLH: Joe Hachem in the house. He just took his seat. I believe that's the first Hachem sighting at the WSOP. It's Hachem's second appearance at the WSOP according to Kevin Mathers.

Random thought... several folks at the WSOP are total angle shooters. Before one event went on a break, the floor person got on the PA system and told players to use the walkways to exit and to specifically "not walk through areas where other tournaments are playing." The majority of players followed the rules, but a decent size group pretty much gave the finger to the floor and cut through the prohibited areas. I have seen this happen everyday.

* * * * *
7:20pm...

Event #19 PLO Final Table: It's a zoo over there, sort of like a frat party meets the WSOP. Vanessa Selbst is heads up with Jamie Pickering. I met Pickering in Australia. He's a strip club owner from the luxurious Gold Coast of Australia. He won an event during the Poker News Cup. He has his mates on the rail with him and his girlfriend who is a hot Aussie chick in a skimpy outfit. The Aussies are a fun bunch and have been knocking back drinks all afternoon. Pickering recently did a shot and then moved all in blind. He doubled up and almost pulled even in chips with Selbst.

(As I type this, I can still hear the hootin' and hollerin' from all the way from the other side of the Amazon Room.)

When I walked over, I think I saw them in the middle of discussing a deal. Vanessa was crunching some numbers and Pickering kept getting her to committ.

"Come on, have some balls!"

That got a large laugh out of the crowd, who now stood five and six deep on the rail. A bevy of them behind Selbst were drunk. I couldn't tell if they were her friends or just random drunk guys who decided to cheer for her and goad the Aussie. Regardless, it was oneof the more festive final tables that I have seen thus far at the WSOP.

Pickering played the next hand blind. Selbst could not believe it, but he insisted that he did not look at his cards. He bet the pot and she called. He checked the turn and she bet the pot. He decided to look at his cards despite the chorus of screams, shouts, and chants from the rail.

"Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!" one shouted as he tried not to spill his drink on me.

Selbst was smiling and sipped her beer as the railbirds let Pickering have it when he decided to look at his cards.

"I'm dead. Oh shit," he said. "I got a gutshot to the Wheel."

"Gamboool!" screamed one drunk.

"Run it four times!" screamed another as they clinked cups.

"Get him another shot so he calls," shouted someone else from the rail.

"Let's finish this and go to the Rhino!" exclaimed another.

By then a gaggle of media surrounded the table. Flipchip was in the middle of the menagerie of photographers. There was also an ESPN second unit filming the hilarity. Railbirds stood up on chairs to catch a glimpse of the action.

Pickering peeked at his cards one last time before he shook his head and tossed them into the muck. Selbst showed her hand then stacked up all of Pickering's chips. She was ahead and won the pot to regain her chiplead.

* * * * *
8:05pm...

Event #19 PLO Final Table: Vanessa Selbst wins a bracelet. It's her first. She and Pickering had a huge embrace after she won. She took winner's photos with her two black duck perched up on her chip stack.

Gadzooks was on the rail with Carol watching the last couple of hands.

By the way, big thanks to Carol and Dave from San Diego for stopping by the press box. Carol baked me cookies and Dave brought beer. Awesome combo. I shared with folks in media row. Thanks again for your generosity.

Event #20 Limit Final Table: Down to three. Negreanu second in chips. Ugur Marangoz shortstacked.

* * * * *
9:03pm...

Event #20 Limit Final Table: Negreanu won the bracelet. It is his 4th. He also won a prop bet with Phil Ivey. I heard one rumor it was 600K. Others close to Negreanu said it was around 200K. If you count all the bracelet props that Negreanu had with other people, he definitely won more money with his props than winning first place prize money of $247K.

Event #21 5K NL: Down to 32. VietHottie is out in 33rd place. Bond18 eliminated in 46th place. Both cashed.

Event #22 3K HORSE: The bubble is approaching. Ivey just lost some chips. He totally looks ill after Negreanu winning a bracelet and the Lakers losing within minutes of each other. Never seen him so dour.

Event #23 2K NL: Down to 270.

Event #24 PLO/PLH: David Benyamine is the chipleader with Allen Cunningham not too far behind. Ted Forrest is also near the top.

* * * * *
10:55pm...

Event #22 3K HORSE: They are in the money. Jen Harman is the chipleader. Phil Ivey is second in chips. DonkeyBomber cashed in another event. He's trying to make his second final table this week.


* * * * *
12:55am...

Event #22 3K HORSE: Down to 27. Ivey slipped and is in the lower half of the field. Jen Harman and Blair Rodman are at the top. Billy the Croc and Marco Traniello were recent casualties.

* * * * *
2:01am...

Event #22 3K HORSE: Ivey out in 23rd place. Jen Harman second in chips.


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 6/12/2008 05:54:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 13: Unlucky 13 and Mike Matusow Wins Bracelet

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Possibly the best final table of the 2008 WSOP was assembled. And by best I mean outstanding. Sensational. Exciting. Exhilarating. Thrilling. Delicious. Intriguing.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven Final Table:
Seat 1: Jeffrey Lisandro (Salerno, Italy) 461,000
Seat 2: Mike Matusow (Las Vegas, NV) 520,000
Seat 3: Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schneider (Scottsdale, AZ) 162,000
Seat 4: Erick Lindgren (Las Vegas, NV) 1,104,000
Seat 5: Barry Greenstein (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) 541,000
Seat 6: Tony G (Melbourne, Australia) 394,000
Seat 7: David Benyamine (Las Vegas, NV) 410,000

Sure, $537,857 was up for grabs. But for some of those guys that money is chump change. It wasn't about the money. It was about pride and bracelets. You see, pre-boom bracelets didn't really mean too much until the media starting hyping it up. We all know about how short-term luck affects poker tournaments, but bracelets are an indication of success over the long haul. The five or six guys who currently have the most bracelets have been regarded as some of the greatest poker players of all time.

There were eight bracelets at the final table. Greenstein, Matusow, Donkey Bomber had two while Lisandro and Lindgren had one each. DonkeyBomber won both of his in 2007 en route to winning player of the year, and Lisandro also won his first bracelet in 2007. Lindgren had won his first bracelet at the start of the 2008 WSOP. He already bubbled off of one final table and was looking to take down numero dos.

And then there were two foreign players (Tony G and David Benyamine) who were seeking their first bracelet. Both were outstanding cash game players. The G has been crushing the biggest cash games in Mother Russia fleecing nouveau-oil-rich billionaires at 1K/2K PLO (no cap). And we all know about Benyamine's monster swings online at Full Tilt and in the Big Game that would make your head spin. Heck, Benyamine was spotted playing online at Full Tilt thirty minutes before the final table began.

Yes, The G and Benyamine were cash game wizards, but a bracelet was something that was absent on their poker resumes.

Everyone was buzzing about the final table. The Deuce-to-Seven events have historically been pro-heavy but since they were always scheduled the day before the Main Event, the final tables were often overlooked. This year, the event was moved up which meant more exposure all around. Well, sort of...

The gang at Pokerati dubbed the final table... The Best Final Table We Won't See. California Jen said it best...

Here’s the kicker. Hardly anyone can see it.

The table is being held on a table NEXT to the ESPN stage. The rail is insane, four- or five-people deep, and those people are frustrated because they can’t see anything. Throw in the official WSOP media, ESPN cameras and crew, and floor staff, there’s nothing to see. Some members of the media tried to go up to the Milwaukee’s Best Lounge so we could watch from above, though that is rather uncomfortable as well, and snap a photo or two, but security instructed us to leave. Immediately.

Why, I asked of some fellow media folk, is the ESPN stage empty with no other final tables running today? Why can’t move this stellar final table over there with more room for the media and lots of room for fans to take seats and watch? WHY? The Poker Shrink informed me that ESPN does not take out insurance on the stage and lounge areas if there is no final table scheduled there. There is no insurance on the area today, and evidently, no one can make a phone call to get it.

Therefore, the players are stuck in a very small space, their friends and family are having a tough time seeing the table, and those against the rail have fans breathing down their necks. The fans are annoyed that they can’t see the best final table of the WSOP so far. The non-official media is pissed at being treated rudely by the floor staff and security team - being shooed from the area and given NO explanation, leeway, or assistance.

After a few weeks of virtually no missteps on the part of Harrah’s and the WSOP, this may be one that they hear about from the players and the media.

Yeah, Harrah's dropped the ball and screwed the pooch on that one. And it eventually gets worst and actually better.

I had an all-access badge and was kicked out of one area, told to go to another, kicked out again there, and went to a third spot and got screamed at by the original asstard who told me to go to the wrong place.

I gave up and stood on the rail since that was much closer to the action than the area where PokerNews reporters (FTrain an Logan) were set up. I stood in between an old lady snapping cellphone pics and a redneck with a beer gut the size of a Wyoming. He had a huge Big Gulp cup that he kept spilling on me. I had to ask grandma to give me the action on a couple of hands. She was polite and accommodating and bubbling over with excitement that she could help out. I don't think her eye sight was very good because she gave me a hand but told me that Daniel Negreanu won it.

"Which guy?" I asked to clarify.

"Him," she said as she pointed her frail index finger at Erick Lindgren.

I didn't have the heart to tell her she was wrong.

"It's been ten years since a French player last won a bracelet," said Benjo. Unfortunately, the French will have to wait for another opportunity since Benaymine was the first player to bust from the final table.

Tony G was the next to head to the rail. The G busted out in 6th place. He made a final table in PLO at the WSOP-Europe in September, blew the chiplead, and didn't win. He was hoping that his luck would change with Deuce-to-Seven. It didn't and The G had to get on his bike and pedal out of there.

DonkeyBomber was shortstacked to start the final table but managed to get himself out of hot water early with a couple of timely and necessary pots. DonkeyBomber is a member of the Pokerati crew. He started writing on Michalski's site in March of 2007. Michalski lucksacked his way through the 2007 WSOP after DonkeyBomber won two bracelets en route to his player of the year victory.

Of course, in true Michalski fashion, he showed up late for the final table with special Pokerati patches designed just in case any of his guys go deep. As soon as Michalski showed up at the Rio, DonkeyBomber busted out in 5th place.

Shortly after that, action was paused and the final four were moved to the ESPN stage. What the fuck? The Poker Shrink told me that the insurance excuse was a crock of shit. The real reason the stage couldn't be used was as simple as this... they didn't know how to turn the lights on because the guy who in charge of that had the day off. They tried to cover it up with a really bad excuse. Well someone got in contact with the guy who knew how to work the lights and turned them on. With a functioning set, the final table was moved to where it should have been the entire time.

Talk about an embarrassing situation for Harrah's. I dunno what was worse? The disinformation they sent out to the media and players? Or the fact that only one guy knows how to work the lights?

Ironically, the first major mishap of the 208 WSOP occurred on the 13th day of the series. Coincidence?

Editor's Note: It was brought to my attention that the issue indeed involved insurance. The set is insured by ESPN during days they are shooting. All other days it's off limits aside from the days that the final tables are shot by Bluff and aired on ESPN360. Except that the area was not insured yesterday and all that paperwork had to be taken care of before they could be on the set. I'm still a little confused.

Moving on...

Lindgren held the chiplead with four to go. He seemed like a lock to win it all. I won't out the media rep, but before the final table began they titled their recap Erick Lindgren Wins Second Bracelet. Yikes. That's sort of poker's version of Dewey Defeats Truman.

Alas, Lindgren busted out in 4th place. Matusow was in the lead but the always quiet Barry Greenstein was ready to make a move. Barry always looks like he just woke up from a nap or he's at the end of a 43 hour session. However, once it got three-handed, he perked up and was sort of isolated on his end of the table, while the ever-volatile Lisandro and mouthy Matusow were seated next to each other on the other end. They continuously jawed back and forth with one another and trying to tilt each other by showing their bluffs.

Before Midnight, Greenstien took over the chiplead but Lisandro went on a rush. Greenstein went out in third and it was Matusow and Lisandro heads up for the bracelet. Matusow's antics started to get under Lisandro's skin. When it was all over Matusow emerged victorious.

Without a doubt, Matusow is having a great WSOP. He's looking healthy after winning that 100K prop bet with Ted Forrest and he finally won his third bracelet.

In degenerate prop betting news, I lost my second last longer prop bet to Parvis. He picked both Matusow and Lisandro. Nice catch.

By the way, check out some of Flipchip's photos of the final table.

* * * * *
Update...

WSOP sent out this press release...

There was some controversy at the start of this final table as players and fans asked why it was not televised nor selected for broadcast by Bluff Media on ESPN360. The cast of characters in the finale would have made it seem to be potentially great poker theatre. However, after ten hours of drudgery from a spectatorʼs point of view, it became obvious that Bluff and its staff had made the right decision. As invigorating the high-stakes game might be to play, watching the finale and trying to follow the action was next to impossible. After this experience it must be noted that draw poker of any kind is a difficult sell for both viewers and spectators.

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 6/12/2008 02:01:00 PM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 13 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Can Erick Lindgren win his second bracelet this year? He starts the final table as the chipleader against the most difficult table assembled at the 2008 WSOP. First place pays out $537,857.

Here's another sick final table...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven:
Seat 1: Jeffrey Lisandro (Salerno, Italy) 461,000
Seat 2: Mike Matusow (Las Vegas, NV) 520,000
Seat 3: Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schneider (Scottsdale, AZ) 162,000
Seat 4: Erick Lindgren (Las Vegas, NV) 1,104,000
Seat 5: Barry Greenstein (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) 541,000
Seat 6: Tony G (Melbourne, Australia) 394,000
Seat 7: David Benyamine (Las Vegas, NV) 410,000

The Deuce-to-Seven event final table is usually the most stacked table at the WSOP since only a handful of people play the event and the field is dominated always the top tiered pros.

The rest of the gang has eight combined bracelets. The 2007 WSOP Player of the Year, DonkeyBomber, is shortstacked but you never know. Anything can happen at a final table, especially in NL duece-to-seven.

The G is going after his first bracelet... can we feel his powah? Or will the wheels fall off his bike?

David Benyamine has never won a bracelet... and he was seen playing online at Full Tilt thirty minutes before the final table began.

"It's been ten years since a French player last won a bracelet," said Benjo. That player was Patrick Bruel.

Here's the five events that are being played on Day 13:

Event #18 $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Rebuys - Final Table
Event #19 $1,500 PLO - Day 2
Event #20 $2,000 Limit - Day 2
Event #21 $5,000 NL - Day 1
Event #22 $3,000 HORSE - Day 1

The 5K event should attract a lot of big names, but every railbird in the room will be sweating the 2-7 final table.

* * * * *
1:17pm...


Michalski posted the latest episode of Tao of Pokerati podcast. This one is called... Episode 5: Long Road. It was recorded at the Hooker bar.

* * * * *
2:18pm...

It's been a good week for Tao of Poker. We got linked up on Fark (sort of) and then today, Tao got some love from two of my favorite Wall Street blogs... Deal Breaker and Wall Street Fighter. Thanks guys.

* * * * *
3:19pm...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Total clusterfuck at the final table. The event is not played on the stage and it's on one of the out tables around the bend from the Milwaukee's Beast Lounge, which is one of the worst spots in the room since it has very little space. PokerShrink told that the stage could not be used since the set was not insured today. Saving money on insurance and cutting corners. The result? One of the best final tables at the 2008 WSOP that only a few lucky railbirds can see. Even the guys at PokerNews (FTrain & Logan) have a crappy set up and they gotta live blog the damn thing. I feel bad for the other reps who have to cover the event for their assignment and can't get a decent view of the action. I didn't bust my ass the last three WSOPs to have to jockey for space on the rail with tourists. I go on a rant about the couple of assholes who were total dicks to me and a few other friends in the media, but what's the point? Fuck those dimestore douchebags in the mouth. Life is to short to get into pissing matches with clueless authorities types. I'm just calling it like I see it.

Let's focus on the positives... DonkeyBomber was shortstacked to start. He avoided elimination on one hand and has jumped into second in chips behind Lindgren. The first bustout was David Benyamine. Down to 6.

With Benyamine's departure, Parvis and I are tied 2-2 in our last longer. I have Lindgren and DonkeyBomber. Parvis has Lisandro and Matusow.
* * * * *
4:20pm...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: The G is out. Down to 5. Lindgren is way ahead.

Today's smoke break is brought to you by PokerStars! Don't forget that Stars is giving away 200 Main Event packages worth $12,500 this Sunday!!

Here's the skinny:

What: 200 Seats to the WSOP Main Event
Where: PokerStars
When: Sunday June 15, 2008
What Time: 16:30 ET (22:30 CET)
How Much: $350 + 20

Please note that satellites to the $350+20 qualifier start as low as 250 Frequent Player Points (FPPs) or for the cheapo price of $2.20.


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* * * * *
5:20pm...

Quote of the Day: Benjo was outside smoking a cigarette. One guy saw Ted Forrest and screamed, "Yo, Ted did you finish in second?"

"Yeah," barked Forrest. "I finished in fuckin' second."

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: 5 to go. Lindgren out in front. DonkyeBomber is short stacked. Jeff Lisandro spilled Starbucks all over his pants. No word if the coffee was found strangled in the sister property of the Redneck Riviera.

"Have you ever seen a final table where the last five guys all have bracelets?" asked The Poker Shrink. My answer was... no.

Event #19 PLO: Down to 29. Vanessa Selbst is the chipleader. Chau Giang just busted.

Event #20 Limit: 80 remaining. Top 45 win prize money. Danny Boy among the chipleaders.

Event #21 5K NL: Jon Little and Bond18 are among the early chipleaders. Kristy Gazes has 9K. Recent bustouts include Liz Lieu, Scotty Nguyen, and Elky.

* * * * *
6:20pm...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: DonkeyBomber busto in 5th. Down to four. Matusow is creeping closer to Lindgren, who holds a slight lead. Parvis is up 2-1 in our last longer.

* * * * *
8:45pm...

Wow... has it been that long since I posted? I went to McFadden's for dinner with Michalksi, MeanGene, and California Jen. The dueling painos were annoying, however, when I left the guy busted out a cover of Gin and Juice from my man Snoop.

MeanGene and I have a Top Chef season finale prop bet. MeanGene took Stephanie Izard. I went with Richard Blais. No one wanted the dyke.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Down to three. Erick Lindgren busted by Mike Matusow. No second bracelet for Lindgren. Could Skinny Mike take it down? They moved the final table to the stage. Turns out that story about "no insurance" was a crock of shit. The real story? The guy who handles the lights had a day off and no one could figure out how to turn them on, so someone floated the false statement about lack of insurance to cover up the real story. Oh well.

Event #19 PLO: Down to 10. Vanessa = still chipleader.

Event #20 Limit: Down to 46. Daniel Negreanu is the chipleader. Hellmuth recently eliminated.

* * * * *
10:20pm...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Three left. Lisandro opened up a massive lead. He picked off a Matusow bluff shortly before the dinner break.

Event #19 PLO: Final table set: Vanessa Selbst, Stanley Statkiewicz, Jamie Pickering, Eugene Todd, Craig Natte, Mel Randolph, Thom Schultz, Jamie Robbins, and Ken Lairson. Vanessa is the chipleader.

Event #20 Limit: Danny Boy still ahead of the pack. He's two-tabling and playing in the HORSE event.

By the way, I hacked into Pokerati and posted something called Meet the New Boss.

* * * * *
11:43pm...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Still three to go. Barry Greenstien has taken over the chip as Matusow and Lisandro continue to jaw at each other.

Event #20 Limit: Down to 29. Negreanu coughed up the chiplead. He's still in the top 10. He got blinded off in the 3K HORSE.

Event #21 5K NL: Dmitri Nobles among the chipleaders. The Eggman is busto.

Event #22 3K HORSE: Marcel Luske, Shannon Elizabeth, and JohnnyBax are among the chipleaders. Cyndy Violete is out.

* * * * *
12:53am...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Jeff Lisandro has taken over the chiplead. Greenstien slipped to shortstack.

Event #20 Limit: 22 to go. Hien Tran and Ugur Marangoz are the chipleaders. I wish I was making that up.

Event #21 5K NL: Day 1 complete. 122 or so to.

Event #22 3K HORSE: Gordo Busto. Yeah, Phil Gordon busted. Jesus has left the building.

* * * * *
1:53am...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Barry Greenstein out. Lisandro and Matusow heads up for bracelet.

* * * * *
3:53am...

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Jeff Lisandro eliminated in second place. Mike Matusow wins bracelet.


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 6/11/2008 02:41:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 12: A Day in the Life of Phil Ivey

Written by Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I read the news today, oh boy. About a lucky man who made the grade. And though the news was rather sad, well, I just had to laugh. I saw the photograph...

Some days I get to lead the good life. Take Tuesday evening for example. For a couple of hours, the big story involved Phil Ivey's off the felt activities. Everyone was intrigued, so much so that a dozen or so media vultures who sweated Phil Ivey, who was sweating the Lakers game.

By now you know about the rumor that Phil Ivey has a $2 million bet on the Lakers winning the NBA playoffs. With the Lakers down 2-0, Ivey was intensely sweating Game 3. He supposedly greased the guy with the remote to turn off the tournament clock and out the Lakers/Celtics game on instead.

The afternoon began for Phil Ivey with Day 2 of the Event #18 for the Deuce-to-Seven Rebuy event. He was in for 60K worth of rebuys and add-ons. Unreal. Ivey made it to Day 2 but made a disappointing and early exit. Ivey bought into the Limit event at 5pm and got a constant massage for the first hour.

The game started right around 6pm. For the next three hours, Ivey could not sit still. He stood up a lot, paced back and forth, and constantly checked his crackberry. I had never seen so much emotion out of Ivey before. His usual expressionless face that was cool as a tenor sax solo from John Coltrane had disappeared and replaced by intervals of anxiety.

Benjo took several photos of Ivey's infatuation with Game 3.


The view from the press box.


What Phil Ivey sees.


Danny: "I can't believe you actually bet the Lakers, you donkey!"
Ivey: "Sit your ass down, cracker."


"Dammit, that Dr. Pauly sure twitters alot."


"Lakers down by 2 at the end of the 3rd. Maybe I should've bet the Celtics?"


"Where's the foul? Fuckin' NBA is rigged."


Lakers 87, Celtics 81
Thanks to Benjo for the photos.


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 6/11/2008 03:16:00 AM | Permalink |

 
WSOP Day 12 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Three bracelets will be awarded at the WSOP today. Six events are running including the pro-heavy field in the Deuce to Seven event. Durrrr begins the day as the chipleader.

Here's today's lineup:

Event #15 - $1,000 Ladies NL Hold'em World Championship - Final Table
Event #16 - $2,000 Omaha8 - Final Table
Event #17 - $1,500 NL Hold'em Shootout - Final Table
Event #18 - $5,000 NL 2-7 Draw Lowball w/Rebuys - Day 2
Event #19 - $1,500 PLO - Day 1
Event #20 - $2,000 Limit - Day 1

Here are two of the final tables for today...

Event #17 $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout:
Seat 1: Casey Coleman (Kingston, Canada)
Seat 2: Matthew Giannetti (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Seat 3: Thomas West (Los Altos, California)
Seat 4: Rory Monahan (Carbondale, Illinois)
Seat 5: Kyle Bowker (Walton, New York)
Seat 6: John Strzemp III (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Seat 7: Mike Schwartz (Encino, California)
Seat 8: Sergey Rybachenko (Moscow, Russian)
Seat 9: Jason Young (Suffern, New York)
Seat 10: Alexander Triner (Rockville, Maryland)

Event #15 $1,000 Ladies NL Championship:
Seat 1: Patty Till (Avon, Indiana) 312,000
Seat 2: Roslyn Quarto (Edison, New Jersey) 73,000
Seat 3: Marla Crumpler (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 163,000
Seat 4: Svetlana Gromenkova (New York , New York) 553,000
Seat 5: Sue Porter (Houston, Texas) 211,000
Seat 6: Debbie Mitchell (Miramar, Florida) 224,000
Seat 7: Christine Priday (Denver, Colorado) 448,000
Seat 8: Yesenia Garcia (Modesto, California) 210,000
Seat 9: Anh Le (San Jose, California) 191,000

The final table for Event #16 $2,000 0maha8 has not been set yet. Still two tables left there.

* * * * *
3:50pm...

According the the hombres at Wicked Chops Poker, there's a high stakes golf match going on at TPC Summerlin. Daniel Negreanu vs. Patrick Antonius for $500K. Stay tuned for more info.

Event #15 Ladies Final Table: Down to 7. Sweet Svetlana lost some chips, but she's still the chipleader. The final table is on the stage and being taped by ESPN360. I sat in the stands for a bit and spotted Cyndy Violette in the crowd.

Event #16 08: The re-srated Day 3 with 18 players and the final two tables. Two busted and they are down to 16. Gobboboy is alive but one of the short stacks with 14th in chips.

Event #17 Shootout: Snoopy and Dana were here to 8am covering this event. And they are back. Snoopy looked like Death and refused to eat until the event is over. I had to buy him a sandwich.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: I have been lurking on the rail in this event. 33 players left. Phil Ivey is among the first players to bust out today. I wonder if he hopped a flight to LA so he can go see the Lakers game. The Lakers are a 9.5 favorite by the way. Oh, back to the event, Mike Matusow and David Benyamine are among the chipleaders. DonkeyBomber is a part of the lead pack.

Event #19 PLO: This event always brings out the Europeans and action junkies. I spotted the Eggman in the field. Eskimo was among the first players to bust in this event. He was last seen lurking the halls trying to score buy-ins. Bikom, who won a Saturdays with Dr. Pauly event, is in today's event. He stopped by the press box to say hello. BWOP busted Raymer. He flopped a flush. She flopped top set and rivered the boat to send Fossilman packing. He was last seen talking politics to the guys running the PPA booth. Homer has about 4K. "Two-thirds of the field is out. It's pretty crazy," said Homer. "All the Brits I know are doing good."

* * * * *
4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is brought to you by PokerStars! Don't forget that Stars is giving away 200 Main Event packages worth $12,500 this Sunday!!

Here's the skinny:

What: 200 Seats to the WSOP Main Event
Where: PokerStars
When: Sunday June 15, 2008
What Time: 16:30 ET (22:30 CET)
How Much: $350 + 20

Please note that satellites to the $350+20 qualifier start as low as 250 Frequent Player Points (FPPs) or for the cheapo price of $2.20.


Download PokerStars

* * * * *
4:55pm...

Back by popular demand...

Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To...
1. Bob Feduniak
2. Durrrr
3. Tom McEvoy
4. Ted Lawson
5. Barny Boatman

Event #15 Ladies Final Table: Down to 7. Sweet Svetlana still on top.

Event #16 08: Down to 11. Gobboboy is so close to making a final table.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: 29 to go. Matusow = chiplader. Durrrr is second. OMGClayAiken is busto.

* * * * *
5:55pm...

Net issues for some. None for me. I had to use my aircard since the wifi at the Rio crapped out It's been shitty the last 24 hours.

Event #15 Ladies Final Table: Down to 6. Sweet Svetlana is the chipleader.

Event #16 08: 11 to go. Action is hand-for-hand. Gobboboy alive and trying to make his first WSOP final table. According to Foiled Coup, Allen Kessler and some other pros are on the rail sweating one of the players who is supposedly owes them a bunch of money which he had borrowed over the years and failed to repay.

Event #17 Shootout: Still 8 left.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: 28 remaining. 14 get paid. Durrr back on top. This event has the most railbirds in the room.

Event #19 PLO: 201 remaining. BWOP still has about 10K.

* * * * *
6:45pm...

Event #15 Ladies Final Table: Down to 6. Sweet Svetlana lost the lead to Anh Le.

Event #16 08: Down to 9. Gobboboy made the final table. Scott Clements out in front.

Event #17 Shootout: Down to 8.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Durrrr on top. He took out Lederer. 24 to go. One media bigwig called the remaining three tables the "jerk-off tables" since several players remaining have well-known reputations of being world class jerkoffs. He was joking but I got the point. There are definitely a handful of asstards remaining in that event.

Event #19 PLO: Rafi Amit from Israel in the house and among the chipleaders. He's one of the best young PLO guns in the world.

Event #20 Limit: Phil Ivey is in the limit event. He has big bucks on the Lakers/Celtics game. He greased somebody $200 to turn the game on one of the big plasmas that was being used for a tournament clock.

Smoking with the Dealers: The scene... three degenerate dealers. The subject... cash games.

Dealer 1: "I flopped a straight flush last night at the MGM. I only won fuckin' $10."

Dealer 2: "At least you didn't have your top set lose to a runner-runner straight flush. Happened to me at the Orleans. Lost a $1,200 pot."

Dealer 3: "I had to call the floor on one guy the other night at Sunset Station. I cracked some guy's Aces and he kept threatening to kill me. I was on such tilt that I donked off all of the psycho's profits. I left the game stuck $100 and he still wanted to kill me."

* * * * *
7:45pm...

Event #15 Ladies Final Table: Heads up between Sweet Svetlana and Anh Le.

Event #16 08: Gobboboy = Gobbobusto. He's out in 9th place. Down to 8.

Event #17 Shootout: Down to 3.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: 21 left. Durrrr out in front with Lindgren second in chips.

Event #19 PLO: Bikom holding on with a short stack. BWOP made it to the dinner break.

Event #20 Limit: Ivey has been getting a massage since the event began. He's been keeping both crazy eyes on the Laker game.

New prop bet with Parvis. We did another last longer, this time in 2-7. Here's our players...

Parvis: Durrr, Mike Matusow, Layne Flack, Sheiky, and Jeff Lisandro

Pauly: Erick Lindgren, Jesus, Donkey Bomber, David Benyamine, and Dario Alioto

* * * * *
8:45pm...

Event #15 Ladies Final Table: Sweet Svetlana takes down Ladies Event and wins her first WSOP bracelet!


Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Down to 17. Jesus, Sheiky, and Layne Flack are busto. I'm up 4-3 against Parvis.

Event #20 Limit: LA Lakers win by 6, but don't cover. Spread was 9.5. Lakers trail Boston Celtics 2-1 in NBA Championships. Phil Ivey actually smiled when the Lakers won.

* * * * *
11:23pm...

So much happened in the last three hours. I had a deadline in the morning so I went home to write by the pool. Schecky got the pump fixed and our waterfall is back.

Went to Red Rock Casino with Change100. Avoided the temptation to bet on more European Championships games and play Pai Gow. I ate chocolate fudge pie then got a wicked acid flashback. Intense colors in such a short span of time.

Talked with Michalski. Our next podcast of Tao of Pokerati should be up soon.

So let's bring you up to speed...

Event #16 08: Four remaining. The Suicide King is the chipleader. Ted Forrest needs to get some of his money back after he paid Matusow $100K to lose a shitload of weight. With Scott Clements out of the mix, the bracelet is Forrest's to lose.

Event #17 Shootout: Poor poor Snoopy and Dana. They were at the Rio until 8am and came back to cover the final table which is still heads up as the Midnight hour approaches. Jason Young has the lead over Mike Schwartz. One of them will win a bracelet tonight.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: 11 players remaining. Matsuow has a slight chiplead over Durrrrr. DonkeyBomber, Lindgren, David Benyamine, and Dario Alioto are all alive. I got them on my last longer with Parvis. I'm up 4-3. Recent bustouts included Doyle Brunson, Nick Schulman, and Michael Binger.

Event #19 PLO: 64 to go. They're in the money. Vanessa Selbst and Chau Giang among the chipleaders. Now there's a cute couple. BWOP busted just before the bubble.

Event #20 Limit: 50% busto. 240 left out of 480 runners. Danny Boy is the chipleader with PearlJammer not too far behind.

* * * * *
12:51am...

Event #16 08: Three-handed. Suicide King still in the lead.

Event #18 Deuce-to-Seven: Durrrr bubbed off the final table. Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Jef Lisandro, Barry Greenstein, Tony G, David Benyamine, and DonkeyBomber all made the final table and will come back tomorrow. Congrats to DonkeyBomber for making another WSOP final table... in another non-NL event. He's proving that he's one of the best all-around players on the circuit.

* * * * *
1:51am...

Event #16 08: Ted Forrest heads up for the bracelet. He's looking for #6.

Event #17 Shootout: Jason Young wins the bracelet. My sincere compliments to Snoopy and Dana who covered a three-day event in two-days. Well done.

Event #19 PLO: Day 1 is complete. 46 players remaining. Man, that PLO field went quick. Vanessa Selbst and Gene Todd are among the chipleaders.

Event #20 Limit: 130 left out of 480. The Donator out in front. Bill Chen. ZeeJustin, and Cyndy Violette are all busto.

* * * * *
3:02am...

Event #16 08: Andy Brown (not Black) wins bracelet in Event #16 Omaha8. Ted Forrest eliminated in second place.

Good night everyone. You have been a great crowd. See you tomorrow for the exciting Deuce-to-Seven final table featuring DonkeyBomber.

* * * * *
4:40am...

I just played like a maniac in a Round 1 freeroll on PokerStars. I won a seat to the next round.

Here's proof that the sun shines on a dog's ass every once in a while.

I advanced to Round 2 on Saturday to a satellite where PokerStars are giving away 3 seats to the WSOP main event.

1148 entrants were in my freeroll and the top 50 won seats to Round 2. I gobbled up chips early on and stayed near the front of the pack for the entire tournament. I got lucky when my Aces held up in a four-way pot. That put me in the Top 5 with 100 to go. At one point I was chipelader with 56 to go. I was third in chips on the bubble when it broke. The entire turbo pushfest took 90 minutes. Totally worth 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 6/10/2008 06:20:00 PM | Permalink |

 
2008 WSOP Day 11: GLOW

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

When I was a kid growing up int he 1980s, I was infatuated with wrestling. I guess you can say that I was a wrestling freak and lived and breathed for the couple of hours a week that wrestling was on TV.

I eventually grew out of wrestling when I discovered that it was fake. Rigged. Set up.

I could never view wrestling the same again.

Of course professional wrestling was fixed. Wrestling was entertainment disguised as a sport. Guys like the Vince McMahon and his son made a ton of money and amassed an empire.

Tons of rival wrestling federations popped up. A couple became popular while others faded into the void. There was one popular off-shoot called GLOW... Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. I watched that religiously.

GLOW was risque and subversive for Sunday morning viewing. It's as close to soft-core porn as you are going to get when you are 11 years old... women in skimpy outfits pulling hair and rolling around on the mats in semi-erotic positions.

I can't tell you how many times I had to rush to the bathroom during commercial breaks of GLOW to rub one out.

* * * * *
Day 11 of the WSOP focused on the Ladies. Day 2 of the NL Ladies event was in full swing. The 2008 field was smaller than the record setting 2007. I'm surprised that Harrah's did not allow men to play in order to juice up their numbers so they can boast about another record-setting field.

WSOP Ladies Event Entries:
2008: 1190
2007: 1286
2006: 1128
2005: 601
2004: 201

In 2004, the Ladies Only event was Limit Hold'em. In 2003, the Ladies event was 1/2 Stud and 1/2 Limit Hold'em. They had 112 players that year.

By the way, it's totally asinine for men to try to buy into an event that is specifically designed for women. I cringe when I hear people bitching and moaning about that. It's like hearing about a flat chested chick trying to sue Hooters because she didn't get hired. The place is called "Hooters" for a reason. The Ladies Only event has the word "only" added for a reason.

As Michalski said, "Men buying into Ladies events? That's so 2002."

The Ladies Event made the money late on the first day. On Day 2, a few noteworthy names hit the rail including Van Nguyen (Men's wife in 14th place), Shavonne Mitchell (22nd) Linda Johnson (23rd), Maridu (35th), Olga Varkonyi (Robert's wife in 37th), Amanda Leatherman (45th), Kathy Liebert (47th), and Evelyn Ng (48th).

Shavonne Mitchell is the most interesting story since she's been killing the cash games at the Rio. According to one source, she's up $100K playing 200/400 mixed games and 25/50 NL. I couldn't dig up too much about her aside from that she plays in Atlantic City.

The best story so far is that Sweet Svetlana is the chipleader at the final table. She's a Brooklyn girl via Russia and trying to win her first bracelet. Here is Svetlana's bio that Change100 wrote and gave me permission to cut and paste...

Born in Russia, Svetlana Gromenkova now calls New York City home. Undoubtedly the most experienced player at the table, Gromenkova has nearly $140,000 in career tournament earnings. Most recently, she finished 7th in the U.S. Poker Championships main event at the Taj in Atlantic City and cashed in the $10K buy-in main event of the 2008 L.A. Poker Classic. Gromenkova has also made four final tables in limit hold’em events at the Bicycle Casino’s Legends of Poker and at the Borgata Winter Open. She also cashed in this event last year, finishing 27th. This is her fourth WSOP cash and her first final table.

I first met Svetlana at the Borgata in Atlantic City in January of 2006. I was covering the Winter Poker Open for the Borgata and Svetlana made the final table of a Limit event. She eventually came in third place. Stephen Benton (who is good buddies with Action Bob) won the event and the bracelet. Svetlana won $13,977 for third place. However, she was so pissed off about the play at the final table that she stormed off without completing any paperwork. I dunno the exact amount of time that she left her money at the cage, but it was while before she picked it up. Talk about steaming...

Anyway, I started calling her "Sweet Svetlana" around the same time. She has a thick Russian accent and she's as tough as nails.

The Wicked Chops hombres call her "Glum Girl" because she always looks so sad at the tables.

Can Sweet Glum Girl Svetlana win a bracelet? Or will it be Anh Le's turn? She was runner-up at the 2005 Ladies Only event. Who beat her? Jen Tilly.

* * * * *
Congrats to both Kristy Gazes (28th) and Shirley Rosario (19th) for cashing in Event #16 $2K Omaha8. That is Shirley's second WSOP cash since she beat breast cancer last summer. The Poker Babe is back on track, looking great, and playing even better.


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 6/10/2008 04:18:00 PM | Permalink |