2011 WSOP Day 40 - Main Event Day 1C: One More Saturday Night

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Saturday at the Rio. Nothing quite like it, especially at the World Series of Poker. During the preliminaries it's easy to forget what day of the week it is as all the days blend into one long chimera -- that is, until the weekends roll around because the Rio takes on a vastly different vibe with more tourists, more drunkards, more working girls, and scores of weekend warriors.

Today was Saturday, which coincided with Day 1C of the Main Event. It's no coincidence that it also marked the first time that the vibe at the Rio resembled the circus-like atmosphere of the Main Event. Alas, it only took three days for that magic to appear. Of course, a lot of that had to do with the number of entrants -- almost 2.5 times as many as Day 1A -- a result of amateurs and semi--pros with real jobs opting to play on the weekend instead of a weekday.

Day 1C's field featured 2,181 runners bringing the total to 4,056 (through three flights). With even more players scheduled to play on the final day, the Main Event will easily pass 6,000. A few suits suggested that they had a legit shot to crack the 7,000 barrier. So much for Black Friday killing the WSOP, eh?

The first two flights had less than 1,000 on each day, whereas the weekend flights were boosted by weekend warriors. My colleague Homer from England likes to refer to them as "Romantics" because they have a unique zest and passion for poker that cannot be matched by a dozen jaded vets. It's difficult to be immersed in the poker scene for several years without losing some enthusiasm for the game we all used to love. Maybe it's the grind of living in Vegas, or the mental fatigue of being on the international circuit and living out of your suitcase and waking up in strange hotel rooms with maids barging in an hour after you finally fall asleep.

But for the dreamers, er the "Romantics," the Main Event is Christmas, New Years, and the Fourth of July all rolled into one event. The best part? If they catch a gnarly wave of luck and play the best poker of their lives for two weeks straight, they have a shot at poker immortality.

It really started to feel like the Main Event with random flashes going off inside the Amazon Ballroom from railbirds snapping photos of their favorite players or their friends/family whom they came to rail. The congested hallways made it difficult to navigate because of cupcakes and slippers. Everyone who played in the Main Event got a voucher for a free pair of Dearfoams -- which they picked up in the hallway, adding to the traffic. Then there was the cupcake frenzy, in which people were hoarding cupcakes and rushing down the hallways to binge-eat the tasty treats and obtain a sugar rush that can only be topped by blowing biker rails off of the backside of a Thai hooker.

So what's the deal with the cupcakes? What is this, the World Series of Potheads? Well, depending on which table you walk by, you can get a whiff of some of the dankest kind nugs in Sin City. You'd be surprised that mary jane is not just for 20-something online pros. The most random people are hardcore tokers and many of them are holding at any given time. I always wondered how many players were holding at any given moment? 200? 300? 420? Add it all up and you could scrounge up a QP or more.

Sorry for the tangent. I was supposed to tell you about the cupcakes. Annie Duke was tapped to do the honors for "shuffle up and deal" but she invited Cupcake Wars winner Tina Swanson up to the stage to actually do the duties with her. For some reason, both Ray Romano and Brad Garrett were also invited by Annie to share the spotlight in front of the Mothership. Comedy shtick involving cupcakes instantly ensued.

"Cupcake is my favorite stripper at Crazy Horse," deadpanned Ray Romano.

Mmmmmm, cupcakes. I've never gotten a handjob from a cupcake before.

* * *
Bouncin' Round the Room on Day 1C...

According to my notes, here's what I saw:

Hoodies. Lots of hoodies. When I first got into poker, only one person wore a hoodie and it was the Unabomber. I mean, players might have worn hooded sweatshirts, but no one actually pulled it up over their heads to conceal themselves. Unless it's Arctic Circle-like freezing temperatures or if you have a bald spot like me, I never understood the appeal of pulling up the hoodie unless you were trying to intimidate your opponent into thinking you were a deranged Luddite who wrote anti-technology manifestos and concocted incendiary devices in a shack in the middle of nowhere.

The hats far outweighed the hoodies. Tex Barch wore an ordinary golf visor and at the table next to him, Humberto Brenes sported his trademark visor with the Costa Rican flag on it. Even though Bobby Baldwin was playing on Day 1C, I missed the days when he wore his old- school visor (think Hunter Thompson from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). Baseball hats with actual MLB teams were in the minority (but the Yanks, Red Sox, Cubs, and Dodgers were well represented) and I even noticed a couple of Full Tilt and UB hats, but my favorite was the guy in the bright canary yellow Sponge Bob Squarepants lid. Lots of backwards hats, a couple of sideways hats, plenty of flat-billed hats, crooked-brimmed hats, and the typical trucker hats -- more popular among denizens of Williamsburg and Silver Lake than actual truckers these days.

Back in the days of yesteryear, you'd see a lot more cowboy hats inside Las Vegas poker rooms, but those are endangered species. Straw hats were present, but only a few. Texas Dolly played on Day 1A, so I didn't see any Stetsons, but I saw a plethora of fedoras right out of Ray Davis' closet. There's a fine line between snazzy and hipster, and those players flirted with that line. One guy had a fake leather fedora and someone else had a latex one -- definitely a fetish or S&M freak if you ask me. I found an LA hipster wearing a wool ski hat, another one wearing a plaid cap, and someone with a Paddington the Bear hat. My favorite were a couple of rednecks wearing camouflage hunting caps -- if you're going donkey hunting, then you might as well dress the part.

Either you're a sunglasses-wearer or you think it's absurd. Chris Moneymaker wore his shades, while a few wealthy Scandis had designer sunglasses and a couple of broke dicks who cared about "looks" could only afford fugazi shades. I saw one guy with orange hipster glasses and plenty of aviators. People wore sunglasses on top of heads, sunglasses dangling behind heads, but I really miss Rolf Slotbloom's futuristic alien visor shades that he wore on Day 1A.


Paul Pierce
Courtesy of Winamax
Sports jerseys were abundant, but the few athletes in the field obviously went for the civilian look like cricket legend Shane Warne and Paul Pierce from the Celtics. I assumed players hoped their favorite athletes would give them some run-good. Among the jerseys I saw were Steve Yzerman, Jason Varitek, Tim Lincecum, Rajon Rondo, Doc Gooden, Darrelle Revis, Dwyane Wade, and Derek Jeter (on the same day he hit #3,000). I also saw one guy rocking a Hartford Whalers hat, and he was sitting at Ted Forrest's table.

Poker players and music are an interesting combination. It's hard to spot certain pros without seeing them with big-ass noise-canceling headphones or tiny ear buds connected to their iPods, which sat in the edge of the tables behind walls of chips.

The iPad has popped up more and more during this year's WSOP. Last year it seemed like a few early adopters brought out their new toy. Now, the iPad is prevalent inside the ropes and on the rail. Degen action junkies play Chinese Poker against each other. One bored guy watched an episode of Weeds, while other players followed WSOP.com's updates to see how everyone else in the field was doing.

I didn't see any Kindles at the table, but a few railbirds definitely had them to help kill time. I saw a hottie in the corner with one, which seemed like an oxymoron because most hot chicks didn't usually read books. During one of the breaks, I realized she was Brad Garrett's girlfriend who was trying to be supportive and hang out at the Amazon Room, but needed something to entertain herself.

Oh, and don't get me started about the railbirds. Many of them started drinking because of the "Bet on Taste" beer stand set up in front of the Mothership. The rest of them carried cocktails from different parts of the casino. I saw a couple of unenthusiastic folks standing on the rail looking utterly bored reading iPhones, or dicking around on Facebook, and even one Russian gal was playing some sort of Ruskie hangman.

On the flip side, fanboys gushed whenever they saw Scotty Nguyen or other recognizable pros from TV. A couple of scooters were parked in the walkways, and a few tired fans sat down on them. A couple of backers roamed the sidelines eagerly awaiting updates on their horses. They usually had some sort of electronic device to pull up the live updates and constantly refreshed the chip count page.

Supposedly, Hungarian model Krisztina Polgar played right in front of the press box. At one point, one of her friends (female) walked up and greeted her with a kiss -- mouth-to-mouth. Wish I had a video camera at that moment.

Although the amount of costumes were almost nonexistent, a couple of the Brits from the Poker Farm wore cow costumes. One guy wore a skeleton outfit, and then there was the railbird dressed as the sexy pumpkin.

A guy with pink hair ate sushi with chopsticks. A hick in overalls and flip flops wandered around in a daze.

The "water redbull" waiter was working and every few minutes you heard him shout out what he was hawking. He sounded like a cross between a ballpark barker and Tom Waits. Every now and then, Brad Garrett would mimic the waiter and we'd hear his version of "water redbull" echo from his section.

I saw more man purses than I'd like to count. I should be revoking man cards left and right. One Scandi wandered back and forth with a Louis Vuitton. Then there were the old-school fanny packs. A few players had them. It's hard to judge the because sometimes you have a lot of random shit at the tables and might need something to carry around your roll, but unless you have a shitload of Benjamins or you're holding a couple zips of bud, you're on my suspect list if you openly sport a fanny pack.

Brandon Adams reads books, which is why he's one of the smartest dudes in poker. He had a copy of ElkY's book underneath his seat.

KevMath told me he saw a hippie get 86d from the Amazon Ballroom shortly before cards went in the air. The guard and the hippie got into a verbal spat and he was quickly bounced. "Hippies don'tlike authority figures," I told KevMath. "Yeah," he agreed. "They got issues with THE MAN."

* * *
Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day.

Also, help support indie writers and buy my books: Lost Vegas: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers and the World Series of Poker, and my recently released novel, Jack Tripper Stole My Dog. Both are also available for Kindles and iPads.

2010 WSOP November Nine Heads-Up: Semi-Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Down to two. Jonathan Duhamel vs. John Racener.


Photo by Flipchip
One of them will become the next superstar of poker and biggest swinging dick in Las Vegas. The other? Will become a footnote in history as the runner-ups and the few people who vaguely recall their names will nudge the guy next to them and whisper, "Don't I know that guy? He looks familiar?" But then again, a couple of runner ups in the modern era like David Williams and Paul Wasicka have parlayed their second place finishes into notable poker careers (and I didn't forget Sammy Farha because he was already well-known in poker circles).

Action begins at 8pm local time. Hall of Fame ceremony kicks off at 7:30pm. Stay tuned for semi-live blogging updates, tweets (follow @taopauly), and Tao of Pokerati podcasts.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Drunken Candiens vs. Sasquatch

N9 - Episode 12: Drunken Candiens vs. Sasquatch - With the heads-up battle between John Racener and Jonathan Duhamel set to kick off, Dan and Pauly discuss the possibility of a drunken brawl between Sasqautch and Duhanel's supporters, who are die-hard hockey fans sporting Montreal Canadiens jerseys.

* * * * *
Frank Kasella Wins Player of the Year

Shortly before the Hall of Fame ceremony kicked off, there was a short ceremony for 2010 WSOP Player of the Year. WSOP Veep Ty Stewart delivered an eloquent speech before awarding the POY to Frank Kasella. Coming into the November Nine, Kasella was tied for POY with the Grinder, but the Grinder needed to win the Main Event in order to lock up the POY race. Kasella flew out to Vegas to sweat the action, but when the Grinder busted in 5th place, Kasella believed a sigh of relief. Congrats to the newest POY winner. He joins an elite fraternity that includes Allen Cunningham, Jeff Madsen, Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schneider, Erick Lindgren, and Jeff Lisandro.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati Podcast - POYs R Us

N9 - Episode 13: POYs R Us - The episode kicks off with WSOP VP Ty Stewart introducing the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kasella. Dan and Pauly chat about the significance of the honor along with the potential tweaking of the points system for future POYs.

* * * * *
Hall of Fame Notes

- Dan Harrington credited Go Fish as a gateway drug to poker. He started grinding Go Fish when he was seven and the rest is history.

- Harrington shared a gem of a story about many moons again, Harrington declined a chance to play Stuey Ungar for high stakes.

Jack Binion: "Dan if I had your ability, I'd higher and higher."

Harrington: "Jack, if I had your money, I wouldn't play at all."

- Harrington was a bit teary eyed by the end of his speech.

- Doyle Brunson is giving the intro speech for Erik Seidel. Doyle said that Seidel reminded him more of Chip Reese than any other player he's come across. Doyle also said that he was bummed out that Seidel opted to play tournaments instead of grinding high-stakes cash game. Doyle though Seidel could have been one of the greatest cash game players of all time and that he was wasting his time and energies on MTTs.

- Seidel took the mic and said: "Thanks for the members of the media for voting me in before Tom Dwan."

- Seidel was not done and said that he was in favor of an age rule that prevents pros from getting a HOF nod if they are not old enough to see an R-rated movie by themselves.

- Seidel thanked Howard Lederer (as expected) and Steve Z (who backed him early on), but I was a little surprised that he thanks X-22 aka Paul Magriel. Seidel also said his wife was awesome because she had more gamble in her (marrying him) than most poker players.

- Seidel has hot daughters. Hubba hubba. Both flew in to see him at this ceremony.

- OK, quick photo op for the HOF inductees and the heads-up match will kick off shortly. Stay tuned.

* * * * *
And We're Off.... Heads-Up Begins

Credit the WSOP staff... they got the heads-up match kicked off rather quickly considering both the POY and HOF ceremonies ran a little long. While facing the stage from my seat in the pressbox, a big pile of cash and the bracelet is in the middle of the table (opposite of the dealer who has his back to us). Duhamel is sitting on the left wearing shorts and his trademarked dark hoodie, looking like the Lord of Death, meanwhile, Racener is sitting on the right side in his standard fare: jeans, collared dress shirt with a tons of logos. He was wearing a Card Runners hat yesterday (he missed the cut in being one of three November Niners who got to wear FT gear at the final table), but tonight Racener is wearing a FT logo on his shirt and a backwards FT cap.

Duhamel's red Candiens sweater-wearing fans are sprinkled throughout the theatre. The Rio should have put up a wall of glass and boards (similar to a hockey rink) in front of Duhamel's fans so they can bang on the glass every time he's in a hand.

Racener's fans are back with little white signs spelling out "GO RACENER!" They are not in a distinguishable color (especially for TV purposes) like Cada's yellow-clad crew from last November.

* * * * *
Tennis Anyone?

Compared to the amount of chanting and crowd participation from both November Nines of past and from Saturday's action, Monday's heads-up match sounds extremely subdued. We only got one mediocre-sounding chant of "Ole! Ole! Ole!' And when cards went into the air and the heads-up play began, it got even quieter inside the theatre. Sounds more like a tennis match than a rowd crowd in Vegas. Maybe everyone needs to be drinking more?

The energy here is more worrisome than electric. even though there are two players remaining, there are moments when the only thing you can here are the clattering chips from Duhamel and Racener -- with Racener really the only one shuffling chips with his right hand.

And much to the delight of Change100, Racener is not chewing gum and buttoned up his top button on his shirt. Er, wait a sec...Racener is chewing gum. He just stops the chew while in the middle of a hand. Maybe he thinks Duhamel picks up a gum-chewing tell on him?

* * * * *
Racener's Double Up Wakes Up Crowd

Many fans, poker media, pros, the Vatican, Pravda, Tela the hooker, and a few aliens were speculating whether or not this was going to be a quick heads-up match. Duhamel entered today with a 6-1 advantage and a heads-up specialist, which made him the heavy favorite to win. A few veteran poker reporters knew that it could be a quick death for Racener, or we could be in for a prolonged affair, especially if Racener doubles up early and could silence Duhamel's hooligans in Habs jerseys.

It only less than a dozen hands before everyone jumped to their feet. On the 11th hand of heads-up play, we had our first all-in and a call preflop. Racener woke up to pocket Queens and was fighting for his tournament life against Duhamel's K-4. Duhamel was way behind and failed to hit the flop, turn, or river. It was barely a sweat for Racener, who doubled up to over 36M. Dahamel had passed the 200M mark a few hands before, but that was shortlived.

Racener's fans erupted with applause and a few chants of "USA! USA! USA!" echoed around the theatre. Duhamel's fans attempted to drown them out -- but they couldn't match the boisterous shouting from Racener's crew (and the few Americans in the crowd who were causal observers and decided to pull for the underdog).

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati Podcast - Making the Break

N9 - Episode 14: Making the Break - Dan and Pauly chat during the first break, something that many of their colelagues didn't think would happen. They also wonder if the production team at 441 Productions wants more heads-up hands to choose from for their broadcast.

* * * * *
Breaking Hopes of a Short Night

It wasn't a scheduled break as much as it was a piss break. TD Jack Effel said that there would be a brief 10-minute break so that the players could go to the bathroom. A lot of spectators filed out of the theatre. A few headed to the toilets, while others went in search of beverages (the lines at the bar in the lobby had been vacant and finally filled up, and the Starbucks outside got an influx of customers), and the few smokers in the crowd raced outside for a quick smoke.

At the time, Racener had lost most of the ground that he gained during his double up with Queens. Duhamel charged towards the 200M mark, a barrier that he passed once before.

A few hopefuls figured that Racener was just prolonging the inevitable, while a handful of us prepped for the long haul. Who knows how long this could last?

* * * * *
Jonathan Duhamel wins WSOP Main Event for $8,944,138; John Racener Eliminated in 2nd place ($5,545,855)

Guess we spoke too soon. On the 43rd hand of heads-up play a champion was finally decided. Blinds were 800K/1.6M with a 200K ante. Duhamel didn't mess around and shoved all-in. Racener had under 15M and called.

Duhamel: As-Jh
Racener: Kd-8d.

The flop was 4c-2s-2d. The turn was the 6c and the river was 5c. Duhamel's Ace-Jack held up and he dragged the pot. Racener failed to come from behind and he was eliminated in second place. Racener won over $5.5 million for his runner-up performance. Meanwhile, French-Canadian Jonathan Duhamel won his first bracelet, the 2010 WSOP Main Event, and almost $9 million in cash.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati Podcast - Duhamel Wins

N9 - Episode 15: Duhamel Wins WSOP Main Event - Dan and Pauly capture the atmosphere inside the Penn & Teller Theatre moments after Jonathan Duhamel beat John Racener heads-up for the 2010 WSOP Main Event championship. The November Nine is officially over and they describe the frantic scene onstage and in the crowd and wonder what his official "winner's photo" portrait that will be enshrined for the ages will look like.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP and all of the November Nine episodes visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * * *
Final Words


Photo by Flipchip
"This a dream come true," an overwhelmed Duhamel said. "Come join the party. It's gonna be a good time tonight."

Duhamel picked up a brick of cash in each hand and thrust them in the air as camera flashes went off illuminating the stage in a blinding white light. His faithful crew in red habs jerseys launched into a "Du-ha-mel! Du-ha-mel!" chant that sounded like a muffled "USA! USA!" chant. After a few seconds, they switched and unleashed a bong-rattling chorus of "Ole! Ole! Ole!"

Congrats to John Racener for hanging on long enough to get a shot at the big time. And congrats to Jonathan Duhamel for winning the WSOP Main Event. I hope he has a good accountant and changes his phone number ASAP. Get ready to get hit up for cash by thousands of distant relatives, friends, ex-girlfriends, and brokers cold calling from Goldman Sachs.

I guess that's it for semi-live blogging coverage of the 2010 WSOP. If you like what you've read, then please buy my book -- Lost Vegas: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker.

I honestly don't know if this will be my last WSOP. I usually don't plan more than a few months into the future. But if this is my last run, well, I wanna say thanks for following along this year and in previous years. I never would have gotten this far or had this much fun without y'all.

Stay tuned for an end of November Nine recap, an authentic Flipchip winner's photo, and maybe even a drunken episode of Tao of Pokerati from the Hooker Bar.

November Nine Heads-Up Set: Jonathan Duhamel vs. John Racener

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

In case you're just waking up, the November Nine kicked off on Saturday at noon and lasted until 2am or so (actually 3am if you consider the fact that we turned the clocks back for DST). When it was over, seven players were eliminated and only two remained... Jonathan Duhamel and John Racener.

Heads-Up Chip Counts:
Jonathan Duhamel - 188.95M
John Racener - 30.75M

The Grinder took the chiplead at one point and it looked as though his momentum (along with having an overwhelming and boisterous support group) was going to propel him to the final two. Alas, the Grinder met his fate when he busted in 5th place. His exit secured the WSOP Player of the Year title for Frank Kasella.

2010 November Nine Final Table Payouts:
1st: ??? - $8,944,138
2nd: ??? - $5,545,855
3rd: Joe "subiime" Cheong - $4,129,979
4th: Filippo Candio - $3,092,497
5th: Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi - $2,332,960
6th: John Dolan - $1,772,939
7th: Jason Senti - $1,356,708
8th: Matt Jarvis - $1,045,738
9th Soi Nguyen - $811,823

Heads-up play resumes at 8pm PT on Monday. Doors to the Penn & Teller Theatre open at 7pm. The Hall of Fame ceremony (featuring class of 2010 inductees Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel) will begin at 7:30pm sharp. See ya then for semi-live updates.

2010 WSOP November Nine - The Semi-Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Welcome back to the circus, well I should say, the biggest gambling-themed circus in this solar system. Yes, I have returned to Las Vegas for my third November Nine and my 6th overall final table of the the most prestigious individual poker tournament in the world -- the World Series of Poker Main Event Championship.

Before we begin today's November Nine coverage of the 2010 WSOP Main Event final table, feel free to read Timtern's November Nine Profiles in order to catch up on who's who (if by chance you happened to have woken up from a coma or were a trapped Chilean miner).

And now, here's some quick info to catch you up to speed...

The November Nine Seating Chart:
Seat 1: Jason Senti - 7,625,000
Seat 2: Joseph 'subiime' Cheong - 23,525,000
Seat 3: John Dolan - 46,250,000
Seat 4: Jonathan Duhamel - 65,975,000
Seat 5: Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi - 14,450,000
Seat 6: Matthew Jarvis - 16,700,000
Seat 7: John Racener - 23,525,000
Seat 8: Filippo Candio - 16,400,000
Seat 9: Soi Nguyen - 9,650,000

Final Table Chip Counts:
Jonathan Duhamel - 65,975,000
John Dolan - 46,250,000
Joe Cheong - 23,525,000
John Racener - 19,050,000
Matthew Jarvis - 16,700,000
Filippo Candio - 16,400,000
'The Grinder' - 14,450,000
Soi Nguyen - 9,650,000
Jason Senti - 7,625,000

Quick Numbers
2010 Main Event Entrants: 7,319
Payouts: 747
First Place: $8,944,138
Prizepool: $68,798,600

2010 November Nine Odds:
Jonathan Duhamel +180
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi +250
John Dolan +250
Joseph "subiime" Cheong +350
Matthew Jarvis +700
John Racener +700
Soi Nguyen +1200
Filippo Candio +1200
Jason Senti +2000

2010 WSOP Main Event Final Table Payouts:
1st - $8,944,138
2nd - $5,545,855
3rd - $4,129,979
4th - $3,092,497
5th - $2,332,960
6th - $1,772,939
7th - $1,356,708
8th - $1,045,738
9th - $811,823

Here's a complete list of 2010 WSOP Main Event money winners.

* * * * *
Quick disclaimer... all non-official media are bound by a Draconian rule and only allowed to update once an hour. Rest assured, Tao of Poker will squeeze as much info into those updates as humanly possible. So don't forget you can always follow me on Twitter (@taopauly) for random updates and twitpics throughout the day, evening, and perhaps even early Sunday morning.

I don't do chip counts (and physically can't where I'm seated), so visit WSOP.com for official chip counts.

And of course, stay tuned for new episodes of Tao of Pokerati podcast, which Michalski and I will recorded from inside the Penn and Teller Theatre and other random spots in the Rio. We actually recorded two episodes yesterday...

Tao of Pokerati - 2010 November Nine Episodes:
Episode 1: Power Breakfast - Italian Cock and Eggs
Episode 2: Meeting KevMath

YOu can always subscribe to our podcast in iTunes by using this link.

Unlimited tweets and podcasts, but limited to hourly blogs? Such is life these days. So stay tuned for semi-live blog updates. The November Nine officially kicks off at noon Vegas time.


2010 Main Event Championship Bracelet
Photo by: Flipchip
Who is going to win the coveted bracelet? Tune in to find out...

* * * *
Cue the Music

The November Nine will be walking onto the stage of the Penn and Teller Theatre with intro music pumping through the sound system. Lots of DJ Kahled fans. Here's the tunes...

Seat 1: Jason Senti - This Is the End by his own band Suburban Hero
Seat 2: Joe Cheong - In One Ear by Cage the Elephant
Seat 3: John Solan - I Made It by Kevin Rudolph
Seat 4: Jonathan Duhamel - I'm Shipping Up to Boston by Drop Kick Murphys
Seat 5: The Grinder - Out Here Grindin' by DJ Kahled featuring Akon
Seat 6: Matt Jarvis - Feel It by Three 6 Mafia featuring Eminem, Kanye, and Lil Wayne
Seat 7: John Racener - Forever by Drake
Seat 8: Filippo Candio - We No Speak Americano by Yolanda Be Cool and D-Cup
Seat 9: Soi Nguyen - All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled.

* * * * *
Before the Storm

I wandered into the Rio past all of the Saturday morning gamblers on the floor and in the pits, and made my way down the hallway -- a walk that I have done thousands of times before but not once in the last four months. I shook out the cobwebs and any jitters as I saw many familiar faces. The hallway was a sea of red -- mostly fans of Soi Nguyen along with a dozen or so Montreal Canadiens sweaters (for you non-hockey fans that is a jersey). Red. Red. Red. A few flashed went off as tourists and fans snapped photos with the Jack Link's beef jerky mascot, Sasquatch. Soi Nguyen's fans yelled "Soi might win! Soi might win!"


I chatted with some friends in the media that I haven't seen in months. A min-reunion of sorts, except we all look much fresher and less suicidal from the last time we saw each other at the tail end of the seven-week fracas. I picked up my badge and ran into renown author Michael Kaplan. We're both seated in the orchestra section. I also have few copies of Lost Vegas with me, so if you're already here or stopping by the Rio and want a copy of Lost Vegas, then definitely come find me!

The doors officially opened at 11am and the Penn and Teller slowly filled up. Family and close friends of the November Niners took their assigned seats on the main stage. Everyone else scattered throughout the two-tiered theatre.

The chants have begun from the antsy crowd. A few smattering of boisterous, yet gaudy "USA! USA! USA!" attempted to drown out the "Ole! Ole! Ole!" soccer-goon chants. Will they be able to keep up their accelerated emotional level over 10+ hours? Most sports matches are times and last three or so hours. Poker tournaments are a different beast. You need both stamina and the ability to fight off boredom during the down time, and if you were hanging on ever hand on the final table bubble, then you know about those long dead periods of inaction that mostly make you want to waterboard the closest moron within walking distance.

More red in the crowd with the Grinder's crew sporting red "Royal Pain" graphic t-shirts. I snuck up onto the stage as the players were unbagging their chips. Barry Greenstein is sitting in the front row. Haven't seen any Micon or Max Pescatori sightings... yet. I ran into Bruce Buffer, who will be uttering his famous (and trademarked) catch phrase. I dunno if I can write it out because I might get sued.

* * * * *
Introducing the November Nine

TD Jack Effel, clad in a slick black tuxedo and bright red vest, took the mic and kicked off the player introductions. Players entered the stage from the tunnel leading into the theatre and they have to make their way down a long aisle passing the bottom section of seats and eventually step onto stage. They follow a hot scantily clad woman with a large circular red button with the seat number and name of the players. Very similar to those models/ring girls at Las Vegas boxing matches who carry around round cards designating the round number in between rounds.

The Grinder got the loudest ovation -- he has one of the largest groups of rabid fans (out of the unaffiliated spectators).

Lots of hiphop pumping through the sound system. Poker players are outlaw by nature, and these days, hip hop is as about outlaw as you'll get in the music world. Well, that and alt-country... (Ha, just kidding. I don't want to get flamed on a Sun Volt forum).

Me? I would walk onto stage with the Grateful Dead's Shakedown Street. For right now, my intro music (or the last song I listened to in my girlfriend's car before she dropped me off at the Rio) is Pusherman by Curtis Mayfield. Let's be honest... I'm here to shill for the WSOP, PokerStars and the entire online poker industry. I am the Pusherman, and you are my loyal addicts, except you don't pay a cent for your monster habit.

I should add that Soi Nguyen's friends/family were chanting Soi! Soi! Soi! when he was introduced as the last player.

TD Jack Effel is running down the last bits of rules and regulations (no biting, no hitting below the belt, no videos) for the fervent crowd. Cards should be in the air shortly after Bruce Buffer kicks things.

Quick programming note... In about 14-15 hours, we'll find out who are the final two players. If you don't know, heads-up will be played out at 8pm Monday night (Vegas time). That's great for me because I can watch football tomorrow and get some sleep. Also, the Hall of Fame ceremony was held during the dinner break last year -- it won't be held today and instead it the ceremony will take place before the final heads-up match at 7:30pm inside the Penn & Teller Theatre.

And yes, the final table will be aired on ESPN at 10pm ET on Tuesday night. There is a live stream right now online at ESPN3 (it's on a five minute delay). If you can't access ESPN3, here's how to do it.

* * * * *
Green Felt Battlefield of Champions

I think Bruce Buffer has been reading General Patton's autobiography again. He tossed the crowd a curveball with an unusual and slightly poetic intro calling the November Nine final table the "green felt battlefield of champions" before he utterered his catch phrase, which was followed up by a hearty "Shuffle up and deal!"

The crowd exploded with applause and five or size small cannons in front of the stage unleashed plumes of smoke, something that you'd see go off on stage during an 80s metal hair band (minus the pyrotechnics of course). If I had know it was gonna smell like smoke inside the Penn and Teller Theatre, I would have blazed up a blunt before the intros began to put myself in a heady head space!

And yes, cards are in the air.

* * * * *
Sublime Subiime Draws First Blood

The first major pot of the final table happened a lot sooner than anticipated. Joe Cheong and Matt Jarvis tussled and it wasn't pretty if you're rooting for the Canadian. Jarvis opened, Cheong three-bet, and Jarvis called. The flop was 10-5-2 with two clubs. both players checked. The turn was the 7d. Jarvis fired out 3M and Cheong called. The 8c fell on the river. Jarvis bet 4.5M or so and Cheong shoved all-in. Jarvis folded and Cheong dragged the pot as he took a hearty chunk of Jarvis' stack.

That has been the most notable hand in the first thirty minutes of play. Shorty Jason Senti shoved on the second hand of day -- but like a geeky virgin in high school, he did not get any play. Same thing happened on the fourth hand. No action.

Sasquatch is roaming through the crowd. Whoever is wearing that costume must be sweating his hairy balls off. If I had to do that job, I'd be super schwasted. I guess my new goal in poker is to get Sasquatch stoned to the bejesus.

Frank Kasella is in the house. He stepped up to the stage. He's locked up at least a tie for POY. If the Grinder busts, he gets to rage solo as the newest WSOP Player of the Year.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati Podcast -- November Nine Begins and Missing Michalski


The November Nine final table kicked off and Dan is AWOL. Luckily Timtern was at the Rio to step up and record an episode. We have currently sent out a search party for missing Dan.

N9 - Episode 3: November Nine Begins and Michalski Missing with Timtern -- In Dan Michalski's (unexplained) absence, Timtern stepped up and recorded and episode with Pauly. The final table is off an running and less than an hour into the November Nine, Timtern gives us his initial impressions of the spectacle. Pauly also wonders if the loud drunken fans can maintain their enthusiasm over the long haul.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * *
The Grinder's 4-bet

The Grinder 4-bet John Dolan and Dolan went heading for the hills. The Grinder won the pot and his extended family went ape shit with a "Grinder! Grinder! Grinder!"

Matt Jarvis's friends trying to stir up his supporters with an "MJ" chant: "When I say M, you say J!" A for effort. C- for execution.

Filliop Candio (wearing his baby blue and navy blue striped sweater around his neck as a scarf) dragged a pot. His first of the day. His fans gave him a werm applause and TD Jack Effel prodded the Italian fans for a louder ovation. They obliged.

* * * *
Soi Nguyen Eliminated in 9th Place ($811,823)

Classic race. Queens versus Big Slick. Soi Nguyen had slipped to the shortest stack at the final table. He was all-in preflop with A-K against the other shorty Jason Senti's pocket Queens. A roar let out when the dealer fanned out the flop because Senti flopped a Queen for a set, but Soi picked up a Broadway gutter on the Q-10-x flop. soi falled to improve and Senti's set of bitches held up. Soi Nguyen headed to the rail as the first player to hit the road. His loyal supporters clad in red gave him a boisterous send off. Meanwhile, Senti's fans unleashed a "Ja-son Sent-i" clapping chant followed up by the ESPN da-da-da intro.

Players went on a break after Soi's bustout. Down to 8. We lost a player before the first scheduled break.

In case you were wondering, Duhamel is still the overwhelming chipleader. Dolan and Cheong are moving up the ladder, and Senti jumped into 6th in chips after his timely double up. Jarvis is the current short stack with a shade over 10 million. The Grinder is sitting 5th in chips with 18M or so.

* * * * *
The First Break

So what goes down on the break? A mad rush out of the theatre with almost a thousand people in search of bathrooms, places to smoke cigarettes, and the Starbucks gets swarmed with thirsty caffeine junkies. It's tough to get out of the theatre without running into people you know, so a quick trip to the store can take 3x as long. I chatted with Addict from Wicked Chops Poker and everyone's favorite Brooklyn scribe Jay Greenspan when both Andy Bloch and Trishelle from the Real World wandered by. The ticketless spectator line was wrapped down the hallway. It had went as far back as the rotunda, but had stopped as far as the flower shop. A couple of old guys in line struggled on how to pronounce the Grinder's last name as they pointed up a one of many TV screens that aired the current chip count.

Upon returning to the theatre, the security guards are shaking down people trying to bring food or drinks into the theatre. One pissed off fan got 86'd for eating a muffin inside! He took out his ire on Twitter. Luckily the press gets free beef jerky and bottled water, otherwise, we'd have a mutiny here.

Jess made an interesting observation -- three members of the November Nine are wearing patches for "Flip this house." And if you're not following the live-feed on ESPN3, then you don't know that a few of the players (that were not allowed to wear FT logos since the final table quota is three) wore Card Runners or Poker After Dark patches on their hats.

* * * * *
Double Espresso for Candio

Lots of excitement shortly after play resumed in a hand that involved the always excitable Italian, Filippo Candio. He got it all-in preflop with A-A. Luckily, he got Duhamel to call with A-K. Candio survived and avoided an elimination. He was so jittery while the dealer dealt out the flop that I thought he was gonna piss himself. A woman, presumably his mother (otherwise Candio is a cougar hunter) gave him a wet sloppy kiss. Meanwhile, out in the audience, a contingency of Italians went berserk as their hero rocketed to 3rd in chips. A bunch of Americans in the crowd attempted to drown out the Italians with a menacing "USA! USA!" Candio moved up to 31M or so while Duhamel slipped to 50M.

* * * * *
Dolan and Cheong

While a prolonged hand developed between Joe Cheong and John Dolan, Timtern and I noticed that Dolan looks like a cross between Allen Cunningham and Gus Hansen. And Cheong looks so young that I wondered how many times he gets carded in Vegas?

"Maybe we'll find out Cheong is actually 18 and there will be a huge scandal like those pre-teen Chinese gymnasts," mused one anonymous member of the press.

By the way, after tanking on the river for several minutes, Dolan called a river bet from Cheong. Bad call? Or bad turn and river? Cheong caught a runner-runner Ace-high flush to win the hand and pass Dolan in chips.

* * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati - Up to Speed


Michalski finally arrived! And we quickly recorded a quickie podcast.

N9 - Episode 4: Up to Speed -- After a late night, Dan arrived a little later than he wanted. Pauly catches him up to speed with what he missed including Soi Nguyen's bustout, Filippo Candio's double up with Aces, and Joe Cheong taking a pot off of John Dolan. They also discuss the situation for ticketless fans who want to watch the November Nine.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * * *
Matt Jarvis Eliminated in 8th Place ($1,045,738)

Wow. Talk about one of the craziest hands I've ever seen at a Main Event final table. Here's how it went down... the Grinder opened, short-stacked Matt Jarvis shoved, and Grinder tank-called. Grinder was flipping with A-Q against pocket nines. All of the Grinder's fans jumped to their feet. Some shouted out his moniker. Others begged the dealer for an Ace or a Queen. The dealer fanned out the flop. When everyone saw two Queens on the board, the theatre shook like a 4.0 quake. My eardrums rattled with the deafening sounds of jubilation from the Grinder's faithful. It seemed like a good two minutes of frantic screaming before the dealer peeled off the turn card. A nine spiked, giving Jarvis a boat. His fans from Canada went absolutely insane as their hero all of a sudden sprang back to life. Jarvis had to fade seven outs and he'd double up. Alas, an Ace of spades spiked on the river. Jarvis lost to a bigger boat. The ground shook as the Grinder's fans lost their shit.

One member of the Canadian press turned to me and said, "So fucking rigged."

Michael Craig wandered over and muttered, "Ha, more proof that live poker is rigged."

Talk about a sick sick sick sick sick cooler. Felt bad for Matt Jarvis' devastated dad who was in tears. Meanwhile, the Grinder's fans rushed up to get in line to access the stage. With Jarvis' elimination, there's a few rows of empty bleachers available.

Down to 7. The Grinder is now third in chips and not far behind Joe Cheong.

* * * * *
Say Hello to Our New Chipleader.... Joe Cheong

6-4 sooted is gold. Just ask Joe Cheong, who snagged the lead with that very hand. He won a decisive pot against Jonathan Duhamel, which propelled him into the lead. Cheong opened, Duhamel almost min-raised, and Cheong called. Cheong flopped bottom pair on an A-10-4 rainbow flop. He check-called a half-pot bet from Duhamel. The turn was a 6 and gave Cheong two pair. He checked and Duhamel checked behind. The river a Jd. Cheong bet out 8M into a pot worth around 11M. Duhamel called and was dumbfounded when Cheong tabled 6d-4d for two pair. Duhamel mucked his hand. Cheong improved his stack to over 60M as Duhamel slipped to third with 36M. The Grinder is currently second in chips with 42M.

* * * * *
4:20 Smoke Break

Today's 4:20 smoke break is brought to you by Lost Vegas. Yes, if you like what you are reading here, please help support independent writers and buy my book! E-book copies are also available.


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* * * * *
Diamonds for Senti

It look grim for short-stacked Jason Senti. He made a stand with K-7 against Joe Cheong's A-9. The flop didn't help Senti. The Ad fell on the turn. It gave Cheong a pair of aces, but Senti picked up a four-flush diamond re-draw. The river was a diamond and Senti's stash crew exploded with glee as their boy was on death watch and sprang back to life.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati - Cheong! Cheong! Cheong!

N9 - Episode 5: Cheong! Cheong! Cheong! -- Dan and Pauly returned to their favorite smoker's porch for an episode. Pauly asked Dan what it was like hanging out in the festive mezzanine during the previous level when Joe Cheong lost a rough hand against Jason Senti. Pauly proceeded to give Dan guff for breaking protocol and cheering for a player -- behavior that Dan usually loathes.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * * *
Ten Minutes with Sasquatch

Sasquatch has been roaming around the Penn & Teller Theatre all day long. I decided to follow Sasquatch for ten minutes and record his every move. This happened just before the 5 o'clock hour. I haven't had the chance to write this up yet -- until now.

Following Sasquatch...

4:50pm... Sasquatch stood in front of the John Racener banner hanging over the mezzanine section where his crew is sitting. Sasquatch posed for two photos with what looked like Grinder fans, then took off into the tunnel toward the lobby.

4:52pm... Sasquatch posed for photos with a couple of old guys in front of the bathroom. When he turned to walk away, someone with a camera phone ran after him screeching, "Sasquatch! Sasquatch!"

4:54pm... Sasquatch stopped in front of the merchandise stand and was hugged by a short guy in a pink bunny suit. Seriously, and no, I'm not on acid... today.

4:55pm... Sasquatch posed for a photo with Shauna from Full Tilt. The photographer? AlCantHang. No bullshit.


4:57pm... The guy from Jack Link's was following around Sasquatch with a bag of free samples. He asked me if I wanted any. I declined. I already ate two bags of Buffalo chicken jerky nuggets throughout the day.

4:58pm... Sasquatch left the lobby and posed for photos with spectators waiting in line to get in.

4:59pm... I last saw Sasquatch leaving the theatre and heading toward the Hooker Bar to drink with AlCantHang. Dare I say... wookie down. No way Sasquatch can hang with AlCantHang.

And that concludes my ten minutes tailing Sasquatch.

* * * * *
Dinner Break

The seven remaining players are on a dinner break until 8:15pm local time. For updated and official chip counts, visit WSOP.com. The Grinder is the chipleader and John Dolan is the short stack.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati - The Dinner Break: Sustenance and Smoke


Dan and Pauly took advantage of the dinner break to record a new episode.

N9 - Episode 6: The Dinner Break: Sustenance and Smoke -- Dan and Pauly hang out at the tail end of break and pontificate on what November Niners are tokers. Their stoney discussion veers off into a query about which ones were cooking on Adderall and whether or not the poker world would ever drug test their players.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * * *
Open-Fold

Otis and I were chatting on the break. He mentioned that Senti had been picking on John Racener most of the day -- specifically in instances when Racener opened and then folded to a Senti raise -- something that he thought would never happen. Despite Racener's rough start he fought back in the level before the dinner break and chipped up to 4th overall. However, since the break resumed, he back to his old bad habits. It was Cheong's turn to be the bully and he pushed Racener around, who quickly wilted.

* * * * *
The Drunks Come Out in Waves on Saturday Nights in Vegas

The dinner break gives railbirds ample opportunity to load up on booze. Heck, most of them have been knocking back cold ones for a few hours before the November Nine began. This is not like a timed sporting event or a concert that lasts only 3-4 hours. This final table is on pace to last 16+ hours, which means that only the most seasoned alkies can survive the elongated bender. Being able to stomach the emotional swings and stay awake during the long lulls is a whole other story, which is why many folks turn to booze (not just in poker, but in life in general -- getting shitfaced makes the most mundane things seem interesting). With that said, a few more spectators are heading into the belligerent zone -- loud talking during play, shouting out random and inappropriate things, and acting like an overall soused moron. But that's expected behavior in Las Vegas where excess is the norm. Take the drunken guy in the pink bunny suit for example. He's exactly what the November Nine needs -- a fearless soul who has no qualms about playing the role of the village drunk from an James Joyce novel. Someday an actual brawl is gonna break out, just like at European soccer match. Would love to see that happen -- would make for interesting color commentary.

Anyway, during a three-way hand, Candio shoved all in. One opponent folded and Racener headed into the tank for a rather long time. All of the drunks shouted out even when TD Jack Effel hushed them. They responded with either louder chatter or a rude "shhhhing" sound. One of Candio's friends from Italy called for a clock, as he request echoed from the mezzanine. At least that's what I think he said. My conversational Italian is bad, especially slang, so the guy could have easily called for a clock or ordered a screwdriver.

* * * * *
Jason Senti eliminated in 7th place ($1,356,708)

Jason Senti was pegged to be the first guy to bust out. His opponents had several opportunities in the first level to send the musician home packing. Senti shoved a few times but failed to get any callers. He eventually doubled up and distanced himself from the cellar. Alas, Senti's magical run came to an end in another bizarre hand where the river caused extreme catastrophe. Senti got it all in with Big Slick against Joe Cheong's 10-10. Simple flip, right? Win it and you stay. Lose it and you go home. Senti caught a delicious flop with two Kings and it appeared that the poker gods were shining down upon him. He was ahead with trips, but the turn gave Cheong more outs with a straight draw, and all of a sudden the room filled with a nauseating feeling -- like everyone in the room knew what was coming -- a runnner-runner straight. Yes, a nine spiked on the river and the crowd screamed with glee or moaned in disgust depending on who they were rooting for. Senti's loyal following, the ones who had been screaming "Fear the stash!", were stunned and shocked. Cheong's crew celebrated as Senti headed to the rail in 7th place. Not bad consider he was pegged to be the first one gone. And we're down to six. Grinder is still the leader, but Cheong is picking up steam.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati - Mezzanine Menagerie

N9 - Episode 7: Mezzanine Menagerie -- Pauly tracks down Dan up in the mezzanine, where he has set up his mobile office. They chatted about the reaction to the Senti bustout and the overall atmosphere in the mezz, including the soused guy in the pink bunny costume.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * * *
John Dolan eliminated in 6th place ($1,772,959)

Another wild elimination hand. One thing is for certain -- the gang at 441 Productions will have several stellar and "no fucking way" type hands for the upcoming final table episode on ESPN. Short-stacked John Dolan got it all in with Qd-5d against Duhamel's 4d-4c. Another flip for life or death. The flop was J-7-6... all hearts. The turn was the 9h and Dolan picked up a potential chop if a fifth heart spiked on the river. He also picked up an OESD re-draw and still could win the hand if he hit one of his non-heart overs. The river was a small club and Duhamel's fans jumped up and down at his amazing ability to dodge a plethora of outs. Dolan could not catch a fortunate river and he went out in 6th place.

With five to go, the Grinder is still the chipleader with almost 62M -- but Cheong is not far behind with 60+M. Duhamel improved to 52M, while Candio is hovering around 27M. Racener is now the new short stack with 16M or so.

* * * * *
The Grinder Loses One and the Lead; Racener Avoids Death with Double Up

Not the best moment of the final table for the Grinder. He had been riding an amazing wave of emotion the last few levels after he snagged the overall lead. The in-game odds had dramatically shifted and he became the overwhelming favorite to win. But now, he slipped after he doubled up short-stacked John Racener. Grinder's Ad-8d was no match for Racener's A-K. Racener avoided an elimination with a timely double up. The Grinder slipped to second in chips to Cheong (new leader). Racener is still the short stack, but has a bit more breathing room.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati Podcast - WSOPharmie Report

N9 - Episode 8: WSOPharmie Report -- Pauly and Dan recorded another episode in their favorite section of the Penn & Teller Theatre -- the mezzanine -- which has become a haven for pharmie-phriendly spectators. Dan has a theory that the rabid energy level at the November Nine, which had passed its tenth hour, has been maintained throughout the early evening because a majority of the crowd is juicing on a pharmaceutical cocktail, whether it's Adderall or Percosett... or both.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * * *
Booing Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth did the ESPN3 commentary earlier with James Hartigan, a British colleague of mine who is the voice of the live streaming broadcasts of the EPT. Hellmuth left to attend Brandon Cantu's wedding. When he returned, TD Jack Effel noted Hellmuth's late-night cameo. Most of the crowd responded negatively and showered Hellmuth with a piss-warm chorus of boooooooooos.

"You're just jealous -- he's got more money than you," defended Effel.

"You have more money than I do," remarked an honest and inebriated Matusow about his current broke-dick status.

"I doubt that," said Effel.

It's true. Only a few folks make the real money in poker, while the rest of us are min-wage slaves, expect there's no min-wage in poker (nor health insurance in case you were considering a job in poker media) and we all blow what our paltry welfare checks in the pits (Pai Gow is the devil's game), at the poker tables (we all have a Phil Ivey fetish), sportsbook, and/or piss it back away at the overpriced Starbucks during breaks.

* * * * *
Le Whiffe! Another Double Dip for Racener

Tough break for the red-hockey-sweatered Canucks in the crowd cheering on Duhamel. Racener got it all in with A-Q and trailing Duhamel's A-K. Racener flopped a Queen to take the lead. We almost expected a King to hit the turn. It wasn't, but Duhamel picked up a gutshot. At that point, the way the night had been going, we expected another runner-runner shocker. Not this time. Duhamel whiffed on the river. Le whiffe! Racener faded a gutshot and any King to hold up. He doubled up to almost 40M. Meanwhile, Duhamel slipped to the short stack. The chipleader going into the November Nine is in trouble. Time for Duhamel's posse to say a few prayers to Guy LaFleur, otherwise that Canuck-Frenchie will be le busto.

* * * * *
Duhamel Gets Prayers Answered

Just when it looked like the life got sucked out of Duhamel, he sprang back to life with a double up through the Grinder. Duhamel won a race with A-9 against Grinder's pocket Treys. Duhamel flopped a nine and turned another nine. His trip nines held up and avoided elimination. That hand sent Grinder spiraling to the back of the pack. Duhamel's fans woke up from their somber funk (after his A-K got snapped off by Racener's A-Q a few hands earlier). The Canadiens chanted their catchy "Ole! Ole! Ole!" chant, better suited for a Brazilian soccer match, but hey it's a poker tournament in Vegas and we got French Canadians getting jiggy after Duhamel's double up. A few patriotic fans waved the Canadian flag. Doesn't the Maple Leaf look like a pot leaf? I'm just saying.

Cheong is the overall leader with over 68M. Duhamel chipped up to 53M for second. Racener in the middle of the pack with 39M. Grinder slipped to under 30M, just a tad more than the Italian.

* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati Podcast - Shhhhh!

N9 - Episode 9: Shhhhh! -- Dan and Pauly hang out in the mezzanine and discuss the wave of shhhhh-ing that swirls around the theatre at random intervals, especially when a player is in the tank pondering an important decision. The two get interrupted by a text message notification beep and more shhhhh-ing ensues.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * * *
The Grinder Eliminated in 5th place ($2,332,960)

Tough break for the Grinder. He was short and down to under 20M. He and got it all-in on a flop of Q-6-4 with Qh-8h. Unfortunate for him, Duhamel held A-A. The turn and river did not help the Grinder and he was dunzo. The Grinder bowed out in 5th place and will not win the WSOP POY. That distinction officially goes to Frank Kasella.

With the Grinder's exit, his legion of red graphic t-shirt wearing fans. They will be replaced by the last batch of red-clad fans -- Duhamel's friends and family decked out in Montreal Candiens hockey jerseys. They are already lined up and ready to swarm the stage.

Cheong had taken the lead before the hand began and surged over 80M. Cheong and Duhamel were racing to be the first player to pass 100M, and it looks like Duhamel is very close. With four to go, Cheong and Duhamel are the biggest stacks at the table, while Racener and Candio are both hanging on (but both are under 30M).

Action has been paused while Tony, the head of security, conducted the money presentation and placed bricks of cash on a table a few steps away from the players.
* * * * *
New Episode of Tao of Pokerati - DrinkeyBomber

N9 - Episode 10: DrinkeyBomber with DonkeyBomber -- Dan and Pauly welcome Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schneider (the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year), who stopped by the Rio after a night on the town. He gave us his take on the November Nine including the noticeable amount of booze consumed inside the Penn & Teller theatre. He then proceeded to give Dan guff about spending almost $10 on a bottle of soda. DonkeyBomber also offered up a contest to our listeners -- first person to send him a twit pic of a drinking water fountain will get a copy of DonkeyBomber's book.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

* * * * *
Filippo Candio Eliminated in 4th place ($3,092,497)

Battle of the blinds. Shorty Filippo Candio shoved with K-Q sooooted and Joe Cheong insta-called with his A-3 sooted. An Ace on the flop improved Cheong's hand to a pair of Ace. A blank on the turn sealed Candio's fate. The jittery Italian that Jess Welman nicknamed the "Roberto Benigni of poker" hit the road in 4th place. Amazing run for the kid who was a total fish out of water when he first set foot inside the Rio. Now, he's go down in Italian poker history as the first player from Italy to advance to a final table. All over Italy right now, newborn babies are being named after Filippo -- the newest national hero. If he ever wins a bracelet, a truly miraculous feat, the Pope will make him a saint.

No one has passed the 100M mark, but they are close. Cheong is the leader with 97M and Duhamel is closing in on 94M. Racener is the shorty with 28M.

* * * * *
$100 Million Man

Joe Cheong is the first player to amass a 100M stack. He's sitting on 108M at the moment, after he dragged a pot against Duhamel, who slipped to 84M.

* * * * *
Cheong Loses Lead; Duhamel Likes Big Slick

We had some serious movement among the two big stacks and when the dust settled, Joe Cheong lost a pot to Duhamel that cost him the lead. With over 6.5M in the pot, the flop was 10c-6c-6h. Cheong checked, Duhamel bet 2.75M, Cheong check-raised to 6.75, and Duhamel called. The turn was the 9s, Cheong fired out 5.5, and Duhamel called. The riber was the Kc, filling in a potential flush. Cheong didn't slow down and pushed out a 13.5M river bet. Duhamel eventually tank-called with A-K. His pair of rivered Kings won the pot and Cheong tossed his hand in the muck. Duhamel pushed his stack to almost 111M, while Cheong slipped to around 80M.

* * * * *
Cheong Crippled in History-Making Mönsterpötten

Even with five to go, it looked as though we were just biding our time before the eventual heads-up match between Duhamel and Cheong. Well now, that probably won't happen now...

After regaining the lead, Cheong lost the largest pot in the history of the WSOP worth over 177M. It was sorta crazy pre-flop action. Raise. Re-raise. Re-raise. Re-raise. Cheong 6-bet shoved, and Duhamel called all-in. Cheong held A-7 aka "the tourist" and was way behind Duhamel's Q-Q. The board blanked out for Cheong and he could not catch the elusive Ace. Duhamel won the pot and his fans unleashed the loudest "Ole! Ole! Ole!" of the night. A stunned and shocked Cheong was down to 4.5M. Duhamel has increased his lead to over 177M, or enough to have 80% of chips in play. Racener has around 36M.

* * * * *
Not Dead... Yet

Joe Cheong looked like he wanted to end his misery when he shoved with any two cards on the next hand after his devastating miscalculation in the previous hand. With less than 5M in chips, Cheong pushed with 7-3 off. Doubt he even looked at his hand until he tabled it. Duhamel called with K-9. The flop had both a King and a trey, but Cheong caught a lucky trey on the turn to take the lead with trips. It held up and Cheong doubled up. Duhamel gave Cheong an old-fashioned sympathy fuck.

* * * * *
Joe Cheong Eliminated in 3rd place ($4,129,979)

Cheong made a stand with Qs-10c against Duhamel's As-2c. The board ran out Ks-9c-6c-6h-7c. Duhamel won the pot and Cheong was busto in third.

Wow, I had picked Cheong to go all the way, so this is a bit of a disappointment for me. I can only imagine what Cheong feels like -- think about getting dumped on the same day that your dog dies, someone keys your car, and then a pigeon shits on you as you step in dogshit, and let loose a fart that was a sleeper cell for explosive diarrhea -- and then it comes close to what Cheong is feeling right now.

* * * * *
Duhamel vs. Racener

Heads-up is set...

Heads-Up Chip Counts:
Jonathan Duhamel - 188.95M
John Racener - 30.75M

Man, talk about Racener being one lucky duck! Instead of getting picked on by the big stacks, the big stacks went after each other. Racener was a pig in shit when Cheong and Duhamel got it all in on that epic hand -- he knew one of them would either bust or be crippled. Duhamel has almost a 6-1 advantage, but weirder things have happened.

Play resumes at 8pm PT on Monday. Door open at 7pm. The Hall of Fame ceremony (featuring inductees Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel) will begin at 7:30pm. See ya then.

* * * * *
Final Episode of Tao of Pokerati - Cheong Light Savings

N9 - Episode 11: Cheong Light Savings -- The final two heads-up match is set after Joe Cheong's shocking 6-bet shove that began his eventual demise. Dan is rather bummed out that his Facebook friend busted in 3rd place, and Pauly is sorta still in shock how that insane hand against Jonathan Duhamel transpired. They two also discuss the peculiar feeling of experiencing time travel and or jumping through a worm hole during Daylight Savings Time, which occurred during three-handed play.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives. You can also subscribe to our podcast over at iTunes.

* * * * *
That's It... See Ya Monday

It's 2:29am and it's time for me to go. I'll be at the Hooker Bar with the rest of the degens in the press corp, and I'm sure we'll discuss the mönsterpötten that led to Cheong's demise.

See ya Monday.

New Episode of Tao of Pokerati - Meeting KevMath

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV


Dan and Pauly return to the Rio on the eve of the November Nine. They made a beeline to the Hooker Bar to see/greet/hangout/talk shop with Kevin Mathers for the first time ever.

N9 - Episode 2: Meeting KevMath -- Dan and Pauly finally met the elusive Kevin Mathers at the Rio (at the Hooker Bar of all places). They confirm that he is not a robot and share their initial thoughts on meeting the legend. Pauly remarked that he hasn't been this excited to meet someone in poker since Annette_15. They're also a bit worried that KevMath won't survive the "AlCantHang Experience" at the Hooker Bar, and might show up wicked hungover to his first day of the November Nine.

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

Tao of Pokerati Returns! New Episode: Italian Cock and Eggs

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

After almost a four-month hiatus, the Tao of Pokerati returns with the first of our November Nine episodes. On the morning before the November Nine kicks off, we gathered off the Strip for a breakfast meeting.

N9 - Episode 1: Power Breakfast - Italian Cock and Eggs -- Dan and Pauly recorded an episode at their favorite breakfast place after a power meeting to prep for the November Nine. They discussed a bit of pre-game strategy and what's to come for upcoming coverage of their third November Nine and sixth WSOP Main Event final table. Somewhere along the way, Dan may or may not have offended Italians. As per usual, Dan veered off topic and delved into a tangent about cocks again (not that there's anything wrong with that).

For more episodes of the 2010 WSOP visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2010 November Nine Profiles

(Editor's Note: Let me welcome Timtern to the mix as a guest poster and the newest member of the Tao All Stars. He happily helped me out with these profiles, while I was away working on my newest book project. And special thanks to Flipchip from LasVegasVegas.com for his stellar accompanying photos. So without further ado, let's give a hearty reception to Timtern...)

* * *
2010 November Nine Profiles

By Timtern

The 2010 WSOP Main Event and the ESPN broadcast timeline have finally synced up up, and with the final table just days away, it seems like the perfect opportunity to get to know (or reacquaint yourself with) the November Nine.


Jonathan Duhamel (@JonathanDuhamel) - 65,975,000
Hometown: Boucherville, Quebec, Canada
Occupation: Professional Poker Player
Lifetime Cashes (Including Ninth Place Money): $913,383
Age: 22


Seat 4 - Jonathan Duhamel
The youngest player of the youngest Main Event final table in WSOP history enters with the chip lead. If anyone amongst the group has been cast as the villain, it's Duhamel. The hand he played against Matt Affleck that propelled him to this sizable chip lead will certainly go down as the most infamous hand of this World Series.

Duhamel is attempting to become the first Canadian-born player to win the Main Event. Duhamel's biggest live score outside of the Main Event was a tenth place finish at the EPT Prague in 2008 for just over $50,000, so this will be by far his largest score. As one of only two PokerStars sponsored players, Duhamel looks to be the third consecutive player affiliated with the site to be crowned champion.

* * *
John Dolan (@JRD312) - 46,250,000
Hometown: Bonita Springs, Florida
Occupation: Professional Poker Player
Lifetime Cashes (Including Ninth Place Money): $1,085,116
Age: 24


Seat 3 - John Dolan

Dolan was one of the late risers of the tournament, entering Day 8 of the Main Event as one of the shortest stacks. A pair of double-ups through 21-year-old Dutch pro Michiel Sijpkens helped put him in position for the rest of the day, and he was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the extremely tight 6-hour ordeal that was the 10-handed final table.

He's one of seven players under the Full Tilt banner, and with the most chips amongst the group he's likely to be one of the three who can don the patch per WSOP guidelines. This was his second final table of the 2010 WSOP, having waded through another massive field in one of the $1K Donkulus specials. Since the November Nine was set, he's been playing sporadically around the world, including a three-way chop in the last couple of weeks in a $1K prelim event at Foxwoods.

* * *
Joseph Cheong (@subiime) - 23,525,000
Hometown: La Mirada, California
Occupation: Professional Poker Player
Lifetime Cashes (Including Ninth Place Money): $1,283,838
Age: 24


Seat 2 - Joseph Cheong
Likely the most prolific online player amongst the nine, the man known simply as "subiime" perfected the patch on pulled-down hoodie look, along with his signature shades. Cheong spent much of the last two days amongst the chip leaders, and survived a wicked beat from fellow November Niner Candio at the featured table. He grinded his way back into prime striking position by the time the chips were bagged.

Cheong has over $1 million in lifetime online tournament winnings, but has stepped up his live game in a big way in the month leading up to this final table. He finished second in the High Roller event at EPT London for more than $250,000, and followed it up by winning a $5K event at Festa Al Lago for $142,000.

* * *
John Racener (@racener) - 19,050,000
Hometown: Port Richey, Florida
Occupation: Professional Poker Player
Lifetime Cashes (Including Ninth Place Money): $2,075,387
Age: 24


Seat 7 - John Racener
After Michael Mizrachi, Racener is the most accomplished live tournament player of the group. He didn't seem to get involved in as many pots as the rest of the players, but was consistently in the top five throughout the final day. Among his bounties in this event was former runaway chip leader Theo Jorgensen, who appeared to be a lock on the final table early on Day 8 play.

The majority of Racener's success in live tournaments has come on the WSOP Circuit, where he final tabled the Main Event in Atlantic City twice, including a win in 2007 for almost $350,000. In the build up to this final table he made another WSOP final table across the pond, taking fifth in the Pot Limit Omaha event at the WSOPE for $60,000.

* * *
Matthew Jarvis - 16,700,000
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation: Professional Poker Player/Student
Lifetime Cashes (Including Ninth Place Money): $1,030,335
Age: 25


Seat 6 - Matt Jarvis
Jarvis' path to the November Nine made him one of the most popular players amongst the media, very specifically because he's the one who finally brought the marathon ten-handed session to an end, winning a coin-flip with pocket queens against Brandon Steven's ace-king. He's also the other Great White (North) hope.

He's also had a very active lead-up to the November Nine, with a victory in the Canadian Open Poker Championship heads-up event for $100,000 as well as a $1K prelim win at Festa al Lago for $72,000.

* * *
Filippo Candio (@filippocandio) - 16,400,000
Hometown: Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
Occupation: Professional Poker Player
Lifetime Cashes (Including Ninth Place Money): $1,065,354
Age: 26


Seat 8 - Filippo Candio
The flamboyant Italian has become this year's Hevad Khan, as in he made a name for himself by making lots of noise and a general ass of himself on several occasions. Following a nine-hand penalty after his loudest of outbursts, he actually became quite withdrawn for most of the remainder of the tournament. The one exception followed a monster suck-out with his middle pair turning into a straight on the river against Joseph Cheong's pocket aces, which is the hand that allowed Candio to coast the rest of the way into the November Nine.

He is the first Italian-born player to reach the final table of the Main Event, which would obviously make him the first Italian-born champion should he be fortunate enough to do so. Candio's only result since the November Nine was set was two weeks ago, as he finished third in a $230 event at Caeser’s Palace.

* * *
Michael Mizrachi (@TheGrinder44) - 14,450,000
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Occupation: Professional Poker Player
Lifetime Cashes (Including Ninth Place Money): $9,613,917
Age: 29


Seat 5 - The Grinder
The center of attention entering this final table has to be Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, far and away the most prolific player to make the 2010 November Nine. After finally breaking through for his first WSOP bracelet in the $50,000 Player's Championship, he would go on to make three more final tables, all in $10K events. The Grinder was able to sit on a short stack for much of Day 8 and slowly improve his position, taking advantage of the extended bubble to give himself a chance once play restarts.

A win for Mizrachi would put a cap on what would likely be the greatest single WSOP that any player has ever had, despite the fact that he would somehow still share the Player of the Year title with Frank Kasella. A win or other deep finish in this event would likely move him into the top ten in Lifetime tournament earnings, but the prestige and perks of being a Main Event champion would be the crowning achievement of a prolific career that's already seen him earn nearly $10 million on the tournament circuit.

* * *
Soi Nguyen - 9,650,000
Hometown: Santa Ana, California
Occupation: Medical Supply Sales
Lifetime Cashes (Including Ninth Place Money): $825,303
Age: 37


Seat 9 - Soi Nguyen
The only player over the age of thirty and the only one not to describe themselves as a professional poker player, Soi Nguyen is truly the wild card amongst the bunch. Including the Main Event final table, he has only three career tournament cashes to his name, and had played less than ten live tournaments prior to the start of the 2010 Main Event.

Should Nguyen meet a lot of good fortune on November 6th, he might reignite the belief that anyone truly has a chance to win this tournament, and that, coupled with the continued fight to legalize online poker in this country could be just the spark that the poker world needs, a secondary Moneymaker Effect.

* * *
Jason Senti (@PBJaxx) - 7,625,000
Hometown: St Louis Park, Minnesota
Occupation: Professional Poker Player
Lifetime Cashes (Including 9th place money): $829,820
Age: 24


Seat 1 - Jason Senti
If the extended period of 10-handed play hurt anyone more than Brandon Steven the unfortunate bubble boy, it was Senti, who went from the middle of the pack to the very bottom during those six hours.

He may enter the November Nine as the shortest stack, but could be a dark horse if he puts together some chips early. The only player aside from Duhamel to sport a PokerStars patch, he has to be doing something right as he was also recruited by Phil Galfond to represent his new training site, Bluefirepoker.

* * *
November Nine By the Numbers:

Sponsorship: 7 Full Tilt, 2 PokerStars (Duhamel & Senti)
By First Name: 5 J’s (aka the New Kids on the Block theory)*, 2 M’s, 1 F, 1 S
By Country: United States: 6; Canada: 2; Italy: 1
By State: Florida: 3; California: 2; Minnesota: 1

* This NKOTB theory is in it's early stages, and is obviously flawed as Donnie Mizrachi would have been the proper brother to help confirm it.


Timtern is a writer originally from New York who got his start in the poker industry as an intern with Poker Road Radio. Follow Timtern on twitter (@Ttim00).