WSOP Day 36: Main Event Day 1a

By Pauly

1,287.

That's the number everyone wanted to hear about. 1,287 players were registered to play on Day 1a. Rumors began to circulate around the Rio about the final numbers. I heard anywhere from 4,500 to 6,500 quoted among dealers, players, staff, and media reps. Regardless of the actual number, the 2007 WSOP has taken a hit courtesy of the UIGEA.

Even though more players qualified for the WSOP main event through PokerStars than in 2006, they numbers will be lower. They won't get anywhere close to dominating the field like they have in the previous two years where you couldn't look around the room on Day 1 without seeing an average of two players at every table wearing PokerStars gear. However, PokerStars still had the most internet qualifiers in the room on Day 1a.

The good news about the low numbers was that players did not have to sit in the Poker Sauna to play in the main event. That might change on Day 1b or Day 1c, when more then 2,000 players are expected on both days. Editor's Note: As of 3am PDT, Day 1b and Day 1c has 1,500 or so players registered.

During the last two years, Day 1a was a madhouse. This year was hectic at times, yet it seemed more subdued than in previous years. I expected Day 1 to be a raging inferno filled with frenetic energy, but the mood resembled more like any event that ran two weeks ago than the biggest and most prestigious tournament in the world. It was the Main Event on Valium, whored out to the highest bidder.

From the moment Jeffrey Pollack invited a Miller suit to come up and shill Beast Lite moments before cards went in the air, I knew that the main event was doomed. "Drink beer!" she squealed. That was followed up by George Wallace uttering the famous words, "Shuffle up and deal!"

George Fuckin' Wallace? The comedian? Are you shitting me? I have nothing against George Wallace. He's funny but why the fuck was he given the honor of starting up Day 1a of the WSOP. Why? Because he works the Flamingo which is a Harrah's property. That trumps two-time WSOP bracelet winner Tom "Donkey Bomber" Schneider. Or how about Johnny Fuckin' Chan. Or even Spiderman? Why didn't they get Matt Damon to drag his ass down to the Rio. Mike McD from Rounders should be saying "Shuffle up and deal!" not a Strip comedian who tells the same lame jokes night after night to sun burnt tourists from Kenosha.

So who is going to be announcing tomorrow's start up? Will it be the chick who plays Cleopatra at Caesar's Palace or will the portly lady with a lisp that works the seafood buffet at the Rio?

That was the first travesty of the day. The biggest was the stories about checks bouncing from Harrah's that were paid out to players in earlier events. That's a shame. Those two stories would loom all day long as new stories developed.

Day 1a started fifteen minutes late. Players began with 20K in chips and levels were two hours. I was teamed up with Change100 and we had four junior reporters. We had to cover the tournament tables in the cash game section, which would be the first to break. The first thing on the agenda was to identify the biggest names in our section and find the famous celebrities and random C-listers in the room.

Janet Jones, aka Mrs. Gretzky, was in the mix. I'm shocked that she was playing since she was mentioned of being part of a gambling ring last year. At any rate, she looked a little older from when I used to wank-off to her when she pranced around in tights during the 1986 flick American Anthem. She had a bit of botox work done since then ad squeezed out a couple of offspring for The Great One. Here's what Change100 wrote for PokerNews...

"Dressed in a tight white tee, light-wash jeans and carrying an enormous quilted silver lame purse, Jones looks relaxed and focused in her seat at Table 157, her opponents likely oblivious to her fame and notoriety."

That's all she could talk about was her purse. She chugged the cock of the greatest hockey player of all time and all she could talk about was her purse? Chicks, man.

Janet Jones didn't play too well. She donked off her chips and hit the rail early. There was a funny moment when she her original table broke and she had to move. As she passed Devilfish's table, he stopped in the middle of a big hand to watch her walk by as his jaw dropped. The Littlefish in Devilfish's pants liked what he saw.

By the way, according to Lance at The Poker Biz, Wayne Gretzky himself is rumored to play in the Main Event. There were rumors that Jah Rule played on Day 1a. I never saw him, but it was a certified rumor. We did confirm seeing Irv and Chris Gotti from Murders Inc. Amy got a pic of Chris Gotti's baller watch. Penguins hockey player Max Talbot was in the field along with Everybody Loves Raymond stars Ray Romano and Brad Garrett. Romano and Garrett had a last longer where the loser would donate $2,000 to the Maximum Hope Foundation.

I rarely get geeked out by meeting celebrities, but I was giddy to see Kirk Acevedo (actor from Band of Brothers who played Joe Toye) playing in the event.

Several former champions were in Day 1a including Doyle Brunson (who arrived an hour late), Bobby Baldwin, Johnny Chan, and Amarillo Slim. Brunson sat at the final table and busted early along with Chan. Baldwin went late into the night. Tom Sexton gave me a few interesting bits about Baldwin and I posted it on the live updates. He showed Baldwin what I wrote at Poker News:

Bobby "The Owl" Baldwin, the 1978 WSOP Champion, is among the players in the field on Day 1a. Soon after he won the main event, Steve Wynn offered him a job as an executive at the Golden Nugget. Within a year, he was promoted to President of the entire property.

Wynn saw the special qualities that Baldwin possessed. He got a degree in business at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and as a young player, he routinely beat the biggest sharks in Las Vegas. When Wynn began a new project, he anointed Baldwin to be the person to spearhead the Mirage from the ground up. The Mirage became the standard for the modern Las Vegas as the entire world saw Steve Wynn's vision carried out by Baldwin.

When it was time to start up the Bellagio, Wynn quickly tapped Baldwin to head up that operation. He was promoted to President and CEO. These days, Bobby's Room is a popular attraction in the Bellagio poker room. That's where the biggest cash games in the world take place and feature legends such as Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, and Jen Harman.

Baldwin has since joined the ranks of the MGM Mirage where he is in charge of the Project City Center. It happens to be a $7.4 Billion construction project that will once again change the face of the Las Vegas Strip.

Baldwin has plenty of gambling stories. Books could be written about his famous golf matches at Shadow Creek. In fact, Baldwin is sporting a Shadow Creek hat while he plays in Day 1a. His stack is around 23,000. Too bad that not many of the younger players out there know about one of the true legends of Las Vegas. Bobby Baldwin is in a class by himself. He's a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, but he's a sure bet to make the Las Vegas Hall of Fame for movers and shakers.

Baldwin dug it so much that he agreed to do an interview with PokerNews' own Tiffany Michelle. It was one of the best interviews that PokerNews did during the entire WSOP. You can check it out here:


Click here to view the Bobby Baldwin interview via RSS or Bloglines
Baldwin said several gems such as, "It's important for the game to have heritage and a foundation."

I wish that Pollack heard him say that before he got George Wallace to start Day 1a. Anyway, Baldwin talked about several topics such as the best player in poker, "Chip Reese is the finest in the world. Out of all around players, he's the best."

When he asked to give advice to you players, Baldwin mentioned, "It's great to have hopes, dreams, and aspirations. But you have to get better everyday. Everyone else is getting better. There's always more to learn about poker. Also, make certain that you can take a punch. You will lose big pots. You will lose everyday for a month sometimes. You have to have the confidence that your game will prevail in the end."

That was such amazing advice that he gave up on the spot during his break. That's why he's a true gentleman and we were lucky to have him on.

And my favorite quote from Bobby Baldwin?

"Even if you are the best player in the world, you still have to contend with Lady Luck. She can be a bitch sometimes."

Classic.

At 3:01pm, I heard something I never thought I'd hear.

"Seat open! 4-8 Hold'em."

Yes, lass than three hours into the biggest poker tournament in the world, the cash games had started up and most people who walked into the Amazon Ballroom were tricked into thinking the main event was raging. When in fact that quadrant had filled up with satellite and cash game players.

Around that time, the staff announced that the first player with a Royal Flush would get a free massage. The players started booing. They wanted cash.

Speaking of free massages, Brad Garrett gave everyone at his table free massages. That was fodder for ESPN's camera along with Eric Molina's early bust out.

I wrote this for PokerNews after dinner break...

The unfortunate souls are praying for that miracle hand which will get them back into contention. Every time a dealer screams, "Seat open!" Another player cringes because they know that their fate can be sealed on the very next hand.

As much as the room was not as crowded, the tension was still there. The remaining players didn't care about the numbers. All they want to do is advance to Day 2 and regroup.

By 3:00am, there were 500 players left on 50 tables. Over 787 were eliminated. By 3:30am, only 470 players were remaining. By the time Day 1a ended at 3:52am, there were around 445 players remaining.

Head over to PokerNews.com for official end of Day 1a chipcounts.

Day 1a Top 10 Chipcounts:
Tinten Olivier 270,500
John Dutchak 209,600
Stephen Austin 205,000
Michael Tureniec 203,900
Aurelio Arcano 166,000
Kitai Davidi 164,700
Scott Yeates 163,200
Dane Lomas 161,800
Andrius Tapinas 159,100
Alex Michaels 155,500
Adam Weiss 151,400

* * * * *
Bouncin Round the Room on Day 1a...

One herb friendly member of the media told me a funny story about how he went outside on a break and there was a WSOP player smoking a joint. He took a few hits and they started talking about The Grateful Dead. The next thing he knew, the guy handed him a second joint. Yeah, I was jealous. Hitting doobies behind the Poker Sauna. Only in Las Vegas.

I heard from one of our guys that Spiderman snuck into the ladies room to piss on one of the breaks since the line to the men's room was too long.

Spectators were all over the Rio specifically camped out in the hallways. One guy asked me for a chip count on his cousin. When I asked him what he looked like, the guy honestly said, "He's wearing sunglasses and a Boston Red Sox hat." Thanks for narrowing it down a bit, Sully.

I got a few Clonie Gowan rumors... from Full Tilt forcing her to dye her hair back to blonde to that FT dropped her. We really don't know and I think this is a case for Michalski to crack.

Dewey Tomko was seated next to Alex Jacob to start the day. Alex Jacob wasn't even born when Tomko lost heads up to Jack Straus in 1982 during the WSOP main event. I thought that was an interesting comparison from both the new school of poker and the old school.

One of the weirdest moments of the day was watching two-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Madsen play in a jester's costume. He lost a three-way pro bet with Gavin Smith and Joe Sebok and had to dress up.


I bumped into Michalski outside by the Poker Sauna. He told me that Hemingway said, "You can never write enough about the weather." My next post on Poker News was about the weather. By the way, it was so hot outside that when I went to Change100's car for a smoke break, I took a leak and by the time my piss hit the pavement, it evaporated. Talk about one hot fucking day.

The other big story of the day was about Vinnie Vinh's stack. He was bought into the main event and never showed up. His friends tried to get him a refund because they said he was in the hospital as his stack was blinded off. I dunno if that was a code word for "rehab" but they eventually got TD Jack Effel to make a decision. Vinh would get a refund or chose to play a different day if he was well enough. His empty chair refused to comment to reporters.

I tried to spend break time in the media room, but it was jam packed with reps from all over the world. The newbies took up space from the folks who had been there from Event #1 and there was an air of tension in the room.

"This is awfully crowded," mentioned Benjo. "The scene had changed from three days ago. As you would say, 'we're gonna need a bigger boat.' By the way, the new media rules is huge bullshit."

Benjo gave me the run down on some French players in Day 1a such as 1997 WSOP bracelet winner Claude Cohen. Jan Boubli and ElkY were both playing. They represent the old and new guard. Boubli is the Godfather of French poker while ElkY is part of the new generation of online wizards.

I managed to bump into Feldman from ESPN and Scurvy Dog who is writing for Poker Room. I chatted with Steve Rosenbloom who was the only real writer in the entire building. I was honored when he sought my advice on something. Former beat writer from the Chicago Tribune following the Bulls during their halcyon days was asking me for advice. I was floored.

I ran into the Geek and he helped me out later in the night with some hands. Grubby magically appeared and told me about the slot machine he was going to be on. The Poker Grub is officially big time. I never saw my brother but he hung out with Michalski at the Hooker Bar for a bit. I wish I wasn't so busy. I'd have more time to hang out with friends.

Around 2:20am, Steve Horton told me this gem, "Newhouse posted that several players owe him money and he's going to try and collect this week. Over the last half hour, Newhizzle has been picking on Dustin "Neverwin" Woolf, still in this event, grumbling that Neverwin owes him money. He's even kicked a plastic chip rack in Neverwin's general direction. Newhizzle has not yet been escorted out - right now he's pacing back and forth along the rail like a mountain lion."

Everyone owes everyone at the WSOP. And how many people owe Newhizzle? He's got both Brandi Hawbaker and now Neverwin on his shit list. How about Frankie O'Dell or Eskimo? Poker Geek said that the floor staff warned Newhizzle not to stalk Neverwin for the rest of the tournament. Newhizzle is supposedly owed over 200K from Neverwin. I hope he got at least a hand job out of that one.

By 3:30am, the hookers started trickling into the Amazon Room. I forgot it was a Friday in Las Vegas.

* * * * *
Don't forget to check out LasVegasVegas for Flipchip's WSOP photos and there's the Poker Prof's cool 2007 WSOP Info page.

And come back at the Tao of Poker for daily recaps and head over at PokerNews for live coverage and updates including chipcounts.

For all you fantasy sports junkies, check out our new site... Fantasy Sports Live.

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.

WSOP Day 35: Sediel Captures #8 and the Disease of Conceit

By Pauly

Las Vegas was hotter than hell with tempatures soaring up to 119 degrees. There's the Chinese acrobat scandal where over twenty people were beung enslaved in a house here in Las Vegas. And don't forget about the trigger happy gunman who lit up the New York, New Yrok casino around 1am after he opened fire on people in the casino. The federalies say that he was a local. That doesn't surprise me. Aside from the human slaves, gun-toting locals, and the sizzling weather, there's the World Series of Poker going on down at the Rio.

I ignored the side circus of Day 35. I did not spend one minute at the Rio. It was the last place I wanted to be. The only thing that I wish I got to see was not Matt Damon, or strippers at Sapphire, but to witness Erik Seidel win bracelet #8. He's a true professional poker player and young players should replicate how they approach the game more like Erik Seidel. You won't see him throwing chairs or berating opponents after he takes a bad beat. He's not going to be donking off his winning in the pits and is considered one of the best examples of bankroll management in poker. Most TV execs don't like him because he's quiet and non-confrontational. That's bad for TV so he doesn't get too much face time on programs, which is sad because he deserves it.


Erik Seidel wins #8
(Photo courtesy of Flipchip)
You can make a solid argument that Erik Seidel is one of the greatest tournament players of all time. Only Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Johnny Moss have won more bracelets than Eirk Seidel. He's been able to hold his own against the old guard of Las Vegas sharks and the most recent breed of internet-whiz kids. Everyone (including me) talks about how Phil Ivey or Allen Cunningham would surpass Doyle ad Chan and Hellmuth one day. But no one ever mentions Erik Seidel. After his 8th bracelet (and second in three years), maybe we should start mentioning his name more often?

Seidel took down Event #54 $5,000 NL 2-7 Lowball with Rebuys. Among professionals, it's considered the most prestigious event outside of HORSE and the Main Event. For some secondary pros or wealthy gamblers with deep pockets, it's an opportunity to buy a bracelet. For the top tiered pros, it's an opportunity to beat the biggest sharks in Las Vegas in a game that will feature very few sheep, fish, and donkeys.

Seidel also won his 8th bracelet on the eve of the Main Event. That day before the Main Event is usually a welcomed day off among media reps and players. They finally get some free time during the day, play in the media tournament, then get shitfaced at the multiple parties at night.

This is my third WSOP and by now, I know what to expect on the day before the madness begins. The media room swells up with hundreds of unknown faces from organizations you never knew existed before. The small group of 30 or so media who have been here since Day 1 are all of a sudden outnumbered by fresh faces and people with an abundance of energy and wearing brand new shiny media badges. The rest of media who have been camped out int he media room since Day 1 have a few battle scars and sunken zombie like circles under their eyes from covering way too many multiple events over the last five weeks. I always hated the day before the media event because of the influx of national press most of whom have no idea about poker. What was congested become even more crowded and annoying.

The Hall of Fame ceremony is a farce and should not be done to a handful of national media during the WSOP press conference and should be done at Noon on Day 1 of the WSOP or given it's own night at a major televised dinner like the Oscars with all the big wigs in poker in the audience. I'm not a fan of Babs Enright after she bad beated me and talked shit during a media tournament at Commerce 1.5 years ago, but she deserved the nod. And Phil Hellmuth was inducted but we already know Phil Hellmuth is the greatest poker player in the entire universe. He's told us many times before.

I also wanted to skip out on the Jeffrey Pollack wank fest of a press conference. I had to sit through that atrocity last year and all I wanted to do as puke after hearing all the Harrah's PR bullshit. No one addressed the robberies in the parking lot or the dealer's mutiny. And I expected this year's press conference would be more of the same corporate shilling. According to Lance at The Poker Biz Pollack announced that, "Poker is alive and well and the 2007 World Series of Poker has been a tremendous success."

Tremendous? Meaning how much in juice and shilling fees did you guys collect? He failed to mention that but harped that the WSOP was still a "work in progress."

Housing a kitchen inside a ballroom and having players play the biggest tournament in the history of poker inside a tent is not a tremendous success. It's a shame and an embarrassment that Harrah's would rather sell a ballroom for a wedding reception than eat the cost and have players more comfortable. They fucked the monkey on that one. Sure, Pollack is beloved among the suits at Harrah's because he helped generate over 100 million in endorsement revenue. But has any of that been given back to the players? All you get is a $10 food comp and a crappy cheeseburger wrapped in tin foil.

With the Ante Up for Africa charity tournament, there were more paparazzi stalking out the Amazon Ballroom than usual. Our favorite Hollyweird blonde Change100 suggested that would be the one thing to skip the most on Day 35. I'm not awestruck by famous people and after working almost a decade in the entertainment industry and growing up in Hollyweird, neither is Change100. We made the conscious decision to avoid the carnival-like atmosphere of the charity tournament. Railbirds were packed in which would have been a nightmare to navigate. Enough mainstream press would be there that the event will get picked up and noticed. But I didn't want to have to elbow forty other press people that I have never seen before just to get a chip count on Matt Damon or figure out how George Clooney donked off his chips.

I applaud Annie Duke and Don Cheadle for trying to raise more awareness for the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. But I also think that the absurdity of the WSOP and its freak-fest of degenerates detracted from the entire mission. Michele Lewis at Pokerati summed it up best...

"The amount of people visiting the Amazon room and the 2007 WSOP Gaming Expo (which is Girls, Gaming and Gear...gee thanks) is causing a traffic jam and an epidemic of claustrophobia. While there is a "dunk the stripper" water tank with a wet girl in a bikini, Ben Affleck seems to be attracting a larger field, which is blocking my view of Matt Damon.

Not only do Annie and Don hope to make a large contribution after today's event (even after Hellmuth asked "do you really expect to win?") they are very excited to increase awareness in the United States.

Yes, you read correctly. In one room there are half naked girls strutting around in very little fabric while in the room down the hall there is a charity event taking place to help people that have been driven from their homes and have lost 200,000 neighbors to war." ... more here

Lewis pointed out about the WSOP Gaming Expo which visitors are being forced to walk through on the way to the Amazon Ballroom. Thank God that I know about the secret entrances, but I'm still forced to walk through there on the way to the Tilted Kilt which adds several minutes to my already sparse drinking at dinner time.

The madness returns to the WSOP and I didn't want to have to spend an extra day dealing with the side drama and bullshit. I also skipped the media event. I don't think I was officially invited. PokerNews.com only got four invites and we couldn't figure out who would go. I final tabled the event in 2005 and raised money for Charlie Tuttle's charity but as you can tell, there's no real money involved. I skipped the event and was happy to hear that Spaceman and Otis went deep. Otis has made two final tables in the last two years.

We had a much cooler idea over at PokerNews.com. Tony G decided to hand out bonuses to all of the reporters in the form of a free roll at Hooters Casino. There were $500 bounties on himself, Caldwell, and Jonno. The final table paid out prize money and first place took home $2,500. That was a nice year-end bonus and all you had to do was beat out 41 other players to get it.

Alas, I busted out early. Ironically, I still won a last longer with Flipchip who busted out a couple of hands before me. Tony G sent two kids to the rail on the first hand of the tournament. The G flopped a full house with J-J on a board of K-K-J and fireworks ensued.

Change100 had her Aces brutally cracked by one of the PokerNews Dutch reporters and I ran my 10s into Amy Calistri's Aces. Since we busted out early and had no desire to head to the Rio we opted for a quiet afternoon and went to see the latest Die Hard flick.

I've had my brother, mother, and other family members in town and have been spending some time with them. Although I skipped going to the Rio on Day 35, my mother checked it out. Her initial impressions was, "It's not a dump like I thought."

She expected the Amazon Ballroom to be covered in stale urine and cigarette butts. "It used to be," I told her. "When it was at the Horseshoe."

I skipped the madness and opted for a few hours of non-poker stuff as I prepared for the 2007 WSOP Main Event. I do not expect to sleep for the next twelve days and will be doing what I can to paint the world picture for everyone who is not here in Las Vegas to witness the spectacle. This is what everyone has been waiting for.
* * * * *
Don't forget to check out LasVegasVegas for Flipchip's WSOP photos and there's the Poker Prof's cool 2007 WSOP Info page.

And come back at the Tao of Poker for daily recaps and head over at PokerNews for live coverage and updates including chipcounts.

For all you fantasy sports junkies, check out our new site... Fantasy Sports Live.

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.

WSOP Day 34: Hello Cleveland

By Pauly

"Cleveland," said Nolan Dalla to me as I walked into the media room.

Way before Nolan Dalla was involved with the WSOP, he was a sports handicapper and considered one of the best in all of Las Vegas. He knows guys that "know things" and when he gave me a tip on the WNBA a few weeks ago, I initially laughed, then ran over to the sports book to check the lines. I made a promise to myself that I would not bet sports until NFL season started and even though Nolan gave me a sure thing (on the most degenerate of sports betting... the WNBA that's even more sadistic than betting on baseball) I held my willpower and avoided laying any bets. Sure enough, his WNBA picks hit.

"Cleveland is good for a unit," said Nolan as I felt my right pocket. Based on the lump in there, I estimated that I had almost 2K maybe more. Within ten minutes I could scrape together four or five grand. I took a deep breath and decided that a promise to myself meant more than a sure thing. Cleveland was playing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and it was supposed to be a blow out. Even at -160, there was plenty of value in that bet. I avoided the sports book, yet kept an eye on the game and wished that I lacked self-discipline and bet my poker bankroll on the game.

As I covered my event that day, I kept one eye on ESPN gamecast and the other on one of the many TV screens in the Amazon Ballroom. The game got interesting in the 7th inning. The Indians were ahead 3-0 but the Devil Rays rallied against Fausto Carmon. He walked a batter with the bases load as the Devil Rays trailed 3-2. R. Perez came in relief and saved the day. He struck out a pinch hitter. The next batter he made an amazing catch on a Baltimore chop and threw home to get the force out. He got the next player to ground out to end the inning.

Cleveland blew the game open scoring seven runs in the bottom of the 8th as they won 10-2. The game was a lock just as Nolan predicted. Of course, had I bet five dimes of the game, Cleveland would have lost and I'd be writing about that bad beat in this space.

Sometimes the best bets you make, or the ones you don't make. Just like in poker. Sometimes the best hands you play are the ones you don't play.

Anyway...

The Main Event is starting on Friday and Dan Michalski mentioned that one of his friends signed up and was 2,552. Harrah's canceled a day off (between Day 1 and Day 2) because they expect a big crowd at the Main Event. Did they know something or did they want to avoid seating players in the Rio's actual poker room and the Poker Sauna during the Main Event? There will be Day 1a, 1b, 1c, and now 1d. I doubt they will get close to last year's record. I have big bets out there that the numbers will go over 4,200; over 4,500; over 5,000; and over 5,500.

I still think that they will get at least 6,000 players this year. The main event of the WSOP is the premiere tournament in poker. Nothing else compares or comes closer. Every year, more people buy-in directly than the previous year. You cannot forget about those folks who are willing to chase down a dream.

As much as the WPT and EPT is insanely popular among their players, the winners of those season-ending championship events don't get the coverage and endorsement deals that the winner of the WSOP will secure.

One affiliate guy (name withheld by request) from an online poker site suggested that 20-25% of the players who win a seat online will actually buy-in to the main event. There are many reasons that 75-80% of them won't make it.

1. Wife says no... once the wife or girlfriend finds out that you have $10K in cash sitting in your account, they'll cock block your dreams of winning the big dance. It's one thing if you win a non-refundable seat and she has no choice but to let you go, but with cash in hand, it will be hard to convince her to blow it at the Rio and pad the prize pool.

2. Players donk it off... I hear this happen all the time. Player XYZ gets a nice score and blows it by playing more tourneys or jumping up in levels and getting creamed.

3. Playing a different event... instead of blowing their wad on the main event, some players made the decision to play a smaller buy-in event instead, while pocketing the rest to cover expenses.

4. Moment of clarity... a player who won a seat realizes that they are a super long shot to win it, so they pocket the money instead and use it to pay debts, a nice vacation for the family, or to buy something for themselves like a plasma TV or a new iPhone.

I'm sure there are hundreds of reasons why satellite winners will elect not to come to Vegas, but I still think that the allure of winning the big one will attract more players than estimated. Everyone who plays tournament poker wants to win the WSOP main event. Almost everyone I know desperately seeks fame and fortune if not both. Even if you don't win it and get close, you'll be immortalized on ESPN Classic if you get face time. For normal folks, that's their only shot at the big time. Some will be willing to take that shot because after all, the WSOP is the epitome of the American Dream. That's why it's called the Moneymaker Effect. It's not just for Americans anymore as poker has become an international phenomena. There will be Canadians, Scandinavians, Australians, and players represents dozens and dozens of nations competing for the most prestigious prize in poker.

Last year, I wrote some on PokerStars Blog called The Post-Modern American Dream: The WSOP. Here's a bit:

Several decades ago, author Hunter S. Thompson set out on a "A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream," which ended up being the tagline to his most famous body of work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. By the end of his psychedelic fueled journey, Thompson was crushed to learn that the dream is only a myth. After the rebellious waves of the 1960s crashed somewhere in the Nevada Desert, the bright and glitzy lights of Las Vegas represented the highwater mark as the revolutionary tide rolled back into the Pacific Ocean.

For the last few decades, the eternal flame of the American Dream dulled to a tiny flicker. For millions of lost souls, they found themselves sleepwalking through life, unexcited about the things, places, and people around them. That was until a mild-mannered accountant from Tennessee by the name of Chris Moneymaker became the focal point of the gambling world. By now you know the story. Moneymaker won a seat into the 2003 WSOP via a satellite on PokerStars and parlayed a $33 investment into $2.5 million.

Maybe it's the name "Moneymaker" or simply timing, but Chris Moneymaker is often listed as one of the primary causes of the recent poker boom. It's not so much a boom as a viral infection or an epidemic and if you've walked down the hallways of the Rio Casino here in Las Vegas, you'll see the Moneymaker Effect in full force. Thousands of poker players from the farthest corners of the world have flown into Las Vegas for their shot at fame and glory. Corporations are lining up as official sponsors. Television companies and channels are churning out poker-themed shows.... More

In less than two weeks, that winner of the main event will become poker's next superstar. It could be a well-known pro, but chances are it will be someone who came out of nowhere. It could be the guy who plays in your cul-de-sac homegame, or the donkey who plays in the same underground club that you play, or some hotshot pro from Sweden as the prove what they've all been saying since day 1... that the Swedes are the best poker players in the world.

Once the champ, always the champ.

If you had one shot at immortality, wouldn't you take it? As Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, "Buy the ticket. Take the ride."

* * * * *
Don't forget to check out LasVegasVegas for Flipchip's WSOP photos and there's the Poker Prof's cool 2007 WSOP Info page.

And come back at the Tao of Poker for daily recaps and head over at PokerNews for live coverage and updates including chipcounts.

For all you fantasy sports junkies, check out our new site... Fantasy Sports Live.

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.

WSOP Day 33: Smells Like Happiness

By Pauly

Here's what happened on Day 33... umm.... I have no idea because I had a rare day off. I missed out at the $10K PLO Final Table that was won by Robert Mizrachi aka Brother of the Grinder. Texas Dolly failed to win Bracelet #11 and will have to wait to fight another day. Mizrachi also held off Tommy Ly and Patrik Antonius.

Lance over at the Poker Biz had an interesting post called The Sincerest Form of Flattery. Check it out.

Since I don't have anything else to report, how about some stats and a list of bracelet winners? There have been 51 bracelets awarded at to fifty players this year's WSOP. Donkey Bomber collected two. He's also at the top of the Player of the Year leaderboard.

2007 WSOP Bracelet Winners:
Event #1 $5,000 Mixed Limit/NL Hold'em: Steve Billirakis
Event #2 $500 Casino Employee NL: Frederick Narciso
Event #3 $1,500 NL: Cairan O'Leary
Event #4 $1,500 Pot-limit Hold 'em: Michael Spiegel
Event #5 $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud 8: Tom Schneider
Event #6 $1,500 Limit Hold 'em: Gary Styczynski
Event #7 $5,000 PLO w/rebuys: Burt Boutin
Event #8 $1,000 NL w/rebuys: Michael Chu
Event #9 $1,500 Omaha 8: Alexander Kravchenko
Event #10 $2,000 NL: William Durkee
Event #11 $5,000 Seven Card Stud: Chris Reslock
Event #12 $1,500 NL Six Handed: Jason Warner
Event #13 $5,000 Pot-limit Hold 'em: Allen Cunningham
Event #14 $1,500 Seven Card Stud: Michael Keiner
Event #15 $1,500 NL: Phil Hellmuth
Event #16 $2,500 HORSE: James Richberg
Event #17 $1,000 Ladies Event NL: Sally Boyer
Event #18 $5,000 Limit Hold'em: Jard Getzoyan
Event #19 $2,500 NL: Francois Safieddine
Event #20 $2,000 Seven Card Stud 8: Ryan Hughes
Event #21 $1,500 NL Shootout: Don Baruch
Event #22 $5,000 NL: James Mackey
Event #23 $1,500 PLO: Scott Clements
Event #24 $3,000 Seven Card Stud 8: Eli Elezra
Event #25 $2,000 NL: Ben Ponzio
Event #26 $5,000 HORSE: Ralph Schwartz
Event #30 $2,500 NL - 6 handed: Hoyt Corkins
Event #31 $5,000 World Championship Heads Up NL: Dan "Rekrul" Schreiber
Event #32 $2,000 Seven Card Stud: Jeff Lisandro
Event #33 $1,500 PLO w/rebuys: Alan Smurfit
Event #34 $3,000 Limit Hold 'em: Alex Borteh
Event #35 $1,500 NL: Ryan Young
Event #36 $5,000 World Championship Omaha8: John Guth
Event #37 $2,000 Pot-limit Hold 'em: Greg Hopkins
Event #38 $1,500 NL: Robert Cheung
Event #39 $50,000 World Championship HORSE: Freddy Deeb
Event #40 $1,500 Mixed Hold 'em: Fred Goldberg
Event #41 $1,000 World Championship Seniors NL: Ernest Bennett
Event #42 $1,500 PLO 8 or Better: Lukasz Dumanski
Event #43 $2,000 Limit Hold 'em: Saif Ahmad
Event #44 $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split: Frankie O'Dell
Event #45 $5,000 NL Six handed: Bill Edler
Event #46 $1,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8: Tom "Donkey Bomber" Schneider
Event #47 $2,000 NL: Blair Rodman
Event #48 $1,000 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit) w/rebuys: Rafi Amit
Event #49 $1,500 NL: Chandrasekhar Billavara
Event #50 $10,000 World Championship PLO: Robert Mizrachi
Event #51 $1,000 S.H.O.E.: Dao Bac

WSOP Player of the Year Top 10:
Tom Schneider 255
Jeffrey Lisandro 220
Robert Mizrachi 210
Scotty Nguyen 180
Scott Clements 167
Phil Hellmuth 165
Chris Bjorin 165
Rene Mouritsen 160
Alexander Kravchenko 155
William Durkee 155

By the way, I went to see a Widespread Panic concert on my day off. They played over at Planet Ho and I went with Change100, Spaceman, and Friedman. Anyway, on the way out to the parking garage after the concert ended, we waited for an elevator. The last people who were in the elevator were blazing up because not only did it reek of pot, but there was a heavy cloud of smoke inside the elevator. Anyway, a young very drunk woman was latched onto her boyfriend as they followed us in the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, she said, "It smells like happiness."

* * * * *
Don't forget to check out LasVegasVegas for Flipchip's WSOP photos and there's the Poker Prof's cool 2007 WSOP Info page.

And come back at the Tao of Poker for daily recaps and head over at PokerNews for live coverage and updates including chipcounts.

For all you fantasy sports junkies, check out our new site... Fantasy Sports Live.

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.

WSOP Day 32: Doyle's Eleven and Liz Lieu Tuesdays

By Pauly

Let's start off with a pic of Liz in honor of LLT!


By the way, when Liz sent me the photo, the file name was , "Lucky Orange."

Moving on...

I covered Day 2 of $10K Pot-Limit Omaha. There were plenty of big names left including Andy Bloch, Scotty Nguyen and Doyle Brunson. Scotty Nguyen had been having an amazing series with two final tables and a handful of cashes. He was trying to go deep once again. It looked like he was going to make a third final table when he busted two players on the same hand to take over the chiplead. However, PLO is a game where you can go from the chiplead to busto in a matter of seconds. Nguyen failed to make the final table, but a guy name Doyle Brunson did.

Brunson is seeking his 11th bracelet, which would tie him with Phil Hellmuth. At this point in his life, Brunson cares more about the bracelet than the money. He's in the twilight of his life and just in case something drastic happens to his health, I'm sure he'd like to win as many bracelets as possible so when he eventually dies, he'll be the all-time bracelet winner. There's no doubt that Hellmuth will win 15 by the end of his career and there might be one or two players who will overtake Brunson (Ivey and Cunningham), but Texas Dolly has his eyes set on #11. He has to get through eight more players to make that happen. He'll start the final table 5th in chips way behind the leader Tommy Ly. Robert Mizrachi held the chiplead for the majority of Day 2 until Tommy Ly went on a rush after the dinner break.

Event #50 $10K PLO Final Table:
Seat 1: Doyle Brunson - 510,000
Seat 2: Patrik Antonius - 650,000
Seat 3: Marco Traniello - 420,000
Seat 4: Rene Mouritsen - 775,000
Seat 5: Tommy Ly - 1,895,000
Seat 6: Jonas Flug-Entin - 445,000
Seat 7: Steve Sung - 175,000
Seat 8: Stephen Ladowski - 360,000
Seat 9: Robert Mizrachi - 1,090,000

Out of 314 entrants, only nine remain. Head over to Poker News to follow the final table action and find out if Doyle Brunson makes history once again.

* * * * *
Bouncin Round the Room on Day 32

"The hooker last night at the Hooker Bar was playing Keno," said Mrs. Otis who recanted her first experience at the place Otis and I dubbed The Hooker Bar. I met Otis, Mrs. Otis, and Change100 for a drink after my shift ended. The Tilted Kilt was closing up so we couldn't drink there. We decided to head to the secret bar instead. That's where I got my first quads at video poker for the 2007 WSOP. I drew two of them too.


A guy walked into the secret bar with a hooker and a flower in a vase that he obviously stole from a table in the buffet. I have no idea what he was thinking.

I walked past a cash game table in the Amazon Ballroom, and I spotted a guy sobbing. I couldn't figure out what was up. He had decent stack in front of him, but why was he crying? I wrote what I saw in my notes and chalked it up to random weirdness that happens in Las Vegas

Wish I could write more, but I'm out of time.

* * * * *
Don't forget to check out LasVegasVegas for Flipchip's WSOP photos and there's the Poker Prof's cool 2007 WSOP Info page.

And come back at the Tao of Poker for daily recaps and head over at PokerNews for live coverage and updates including chipcounts.

For all you fantasy sports junkies, check out our new site... Fantasy Sports Live.

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.

WSOP Day 31: European Invasion

By Pauly

Last year around this time, the background chatter in the media room took on an international flavor as he Europeans arrived and began speaking in their native tongues. There was some speculation on whether or not there would be a massive European contingency of players and media since Harrah's implemented new international tax laws. Why fly to Las Vegas, win a shitload of money (worth less in Euros), and leave with less after having to pay US taxes? I know that several Scandis decided to skip the WSOP this year in favor of the WSOP-Europe in September and the player-friendly European Poker Tour which kicks off in Barcelona at the end of August.

Regardless of player's tax burdens, there are more international press covering the WSOP than I have seen in recent years. The Germans (led by Klaus) have been here since Day 1. There's the Dutch guys writing for Poker News and Maridu writing about Brazilian players for Poker Stars. Jen, Snoopy, and Homer arrived from London last week to cover British players. And there's a shitload of Scandi's here just like last year. And my favorite international press members... The Irish guys from Antes Up should be arriving shortly.

Since I play a lot of Pot-Limit Omaha and I am familiar with obscure European players, I often get to cover those events. I've covered two PLO final tables and most of the Day 2s. It's one of the good perks about my gig at Poker News instead of getting those brutal assignments like Stud 8 or PLO8, which Change100 and Steve Horton almost always get stuck with.

On Sunday, I was assigned Day 1 of the $10K PLO event with faux rebuys. It was essentially a freezeout but with only 10K in starting chips instead of 20K. Whenever you went below 10K, you had the option of adding on an additional 10K. I dunno why they structured the tournament that way. By Day 31 of the WSOP, I simply accepted that asking why was pointless. Rules and regulations are changed on the fly. Some rules are strictly enforced while others are left up to the individual floor people to interpret. I stopped asking why and simply accept the weirdness that surrounds the WSOP.

Anyway, 314 of the biggest gamblers in the world bought into Event #50 $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha. You had the biggest names in poker such as Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, and Doyle Brunson rubbing shoulders with European young guns like the Finnish Triad of Patrik Antonius, Jani Sointula, Thomas Wahlroos.

I spotted the former Swedish Monoploy Champion Patrick Martensen among the Scandis in the field along with Swedish players Johan Storakers, Magnus Persson, and Kristian Kjondal (who final tabled the EPT Grand Finale in Monte Carlo a few months ago). I also saw Jan Boubli who is considered one of the Godfathers of poker in France. He won the EPT Barcelona final table that I helped announce almost two years ago. Also in the hunt were several British players... EPT creator John Duthie, El Blondie Dave Colclough, and several Hendon Mobsters such as the Boatman brothers. Irish players Don O'Dea and David Callaghan are short on chips but still alive. The outlasted Andy Black who almost got into a fight during Day 1.

Former WSOP Champions Scotty Nguyen and Greg Raymer are among the 55 remaining players, while Doyle Brunson is trying to make another final table and attempt to win bracelet #11.

$10K PLO End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts:
Jonas Flug-Entin - 366,500
Tommy Ly - 354,500
Kenneth Strandli - 287,000
Antonio Salorio - 264,500
Roy Brindley - 231,000
Patrik Antonius - 205,500
Robert Mizrachi - 204,000
Liekke Kimmo - 197,500
Rene Mouritsen - 189,500
John Duthie - 188,000

Also advancing to Day 2 included... Scotty Nguyen, Steve Sung, Marco Traniello, Tore Lagerborg, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Eric Froehlich, Greg Raymer, Doyle Brunson, Magnus Persson, Leif Force, Dave Colclough, Alex Brenes, Kido Pham, Michael Binger, Chau Giang, Jan Boubli, JC Tran, Dario Alioto, Paul Jackson, Tim Phan, Mickey Appleman, David Chiu, Jani Sointula, Joe Beevers, Minh Ly, Donn O'Dea, David Callaghan, and Kristian Kjondal.

Plenty of big names left including a slew of European players that I've come across while covering the European Poker Tour. Day 2 should be one of the most exciting days at this year's WSOP. The top 36 players win prize money. If they can get down to nine players by 10pm, they will start a final table then. If not, players will come back on Tuesday to play it out for a bracelet.

You can follow the action since I'll be live blogging Event #50 starting at 2pm local time for PokerNews.com. Click here to check out the live coverage.

* * * * *
Bouncin Round the Room on Day 31

I was interviewed by rawvegas.tv about the Erick Lindgren golf prop bet. Here's the clip which features a recapof the entire bet. I'm in it at the end for like five seconds.


Click here to view the video via RSS and Bloglines.
The Brazilians have taken over the WSOP. I never saw that many railbirds for a Day 2. They were standing a dozen deep on the rail cheering on their countryman Leandro "Brasa" Pimentel. He went from 140K to over 1M in the last hour as he made the final table. Felipe told me that the Brazilians were going to make an impact at the WSOP as soon as they arrived. He was not kidding. For more info head over to the Brazilian PokerStars Blog and read Maridu's updates.

I have been hearing stories about some of the dealers quitting due to the crappy pay. During the record setting $1,500 event (over 3,100+ donkeys bought in), floor staff had to be put in the box to deal. I spotted a friend of mine who's dealing this year and he said he can't wait for the WSOP to end.

One older dealer challenged me to a fight. He was having an awful day and we got stuck trying to walk through the same door together. Honest mistake and I stepped aside and let him pass. That's when he wanted to go at it and started screaming at me. Personally, I had been having a shitty day and was looking to beat the shit out of somebody. I sternly warned the old guy that I'd wipe his face with the pavement if we really stepped outside since I had been in a pissy mood. I suggested he keep his mouth shut otherwise I'd call his bluff and shove his pillow up his ass. Just because he had a bad down doesn't mean he could treat me like shit. I guess he's the Tao of Poker's Asshat of the Day. Nice work, pal.

Mrs. Otis is in town and she came over to chat for a little bit. We'll try to take her to the Hooker Bar or the Tilted Kilt.

Tilted Kilt Stella Count: 52

Andy Black almost got into a fist fight with Davood Merhmand. I've heard plenty of stories that Davood is one of the most annoying players to be seated at the same table with. As much as Andy Black is prone to slipping into a fit of rage from time to time due to his Irish temper, but you really have to piss off a Buddhist in order for him to want to kick your ass. Black had his arm cocked back and fist clenched ready to drop Davood after he was talking shit to Black moments after his elimination from the PLO event. Black had to be pulled away by a floor person. He was livid. I'm sure a lot of the other players would love to have seen Black drop Davood.

By the way, Davood told me a bad beat story which lasted five minutes. I tired to escape by telling him I had to piss, so he followed me into the bathroom and continued to recant his beat while I took a piss.

Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To...
1. Davood Merhmand
2. ZeeJustin
3. Daniel Negreanu
4. Dutch Boyd
5. Marcel Luske

* * * * *
Don't forget to check out LasVegasVegas for Flipchip's WSOP photos and there's the Poker Prof's cool 2007 WSOP Info page.

And come back at the Tao of Poker for daily recaps and head over at PokerNews for live coverage and updates including chipcounts.

For all you fantasy sports junkies, check out our new site... Fantasy Sports Live.

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.

WSOP Day 30: Donkey Bomber Wins Second Bracelet and Bill Edler the Stunning One Wins First Bracelet

By Pauly

I knew something was up when I saw Michalski in media row. Michalski is what I call a media drifter. He's all over the place, drifting from the media room, to the tournament floor, to the Poker Sauna, to the No Limit Lounge, to outside on the smoker's stairs. We rarely get to spend he quantity of time we'd like to... but when we do end up crossing paths, our conversations are intense and meaningful.

Late on Friday night, just as my event finished up ariund 2am, Stud Hi/Lo was down to three tables. I spotted Donkey Bomber out of the corner of my eye and Michalski magically appeared a few moments later.

"I'm sweating my boy," said a proud Michalski who wore a nice shirt with a big ink stain on it.


Photo courtesy of Pokerati
Hailing from Arizona, Tom "Donkey Bomber" Schneider was a part-time writer on Pokerati. He's the author of a poker book and has been on the tournament circuit for many years. Michalski knew him from the underground games in Dallas. He won the Pokerati Invitational and that's how Michalski knows him. He already won one bracelet and was trying to win a second. Donkey Bomber survived the long night and advanced to another final table at this year's WSOP.

Stud Hi/Lo was played on the ESPN set without any cameras. It was sort of strange to see action without the crowds packed with spectators, all the sizzling and bright production lights burning down, and surly ESPN camera men swatting you like a pesky gnat buzzing around in the shot. I didn't get to see Donkey Bomber win number two since I was sequestered in the Bluff Production room as another broadcast of an event in the Black Hole went down. I was asigned to the Short-handed NL final table.

I finally got to step behind the curtain and see things from the inside. I still think the Black Hole is the worst idea of the WSOP, but the folks involved like Nick Geiber and Spaceman bust their asses to make sure it gets done right. I applaud them for pulling it off. Not only was it cool to be behind the scenes, but I finally got to work a little bit with Spaceman although I only saw him twice. He was inside the black hole and feeding me chipcounts on a radio. I'd feed those to the Bluff staff and they'd punch it up on the graphics for the broadcast.

I got to see hole cams, which was interesting. Some of the players refused to show their cards, while the lighting was kind of poor so you'd miss a card or two. It's one thing to have an edit broadcast and study the hole cards, but to do that on the fly in real time is difficult. Ian and company drew a tough task of getting simultaneous hold cards... all at once. Heck it was short-handed and it wasn't easy. It must be a bitch to do a nine-handed table.

Anyway, Dutch Boyd did not win another bracelet and he busted out courtesy of a a three outer from Bill Edler. Dutch woke up with Jacks and lost to Edler's A-x. Edler hit his Ace and Dutch Boyd headed to the rail. Dutch has been looking more and more like Fat Elvis these days.

Anyway, Bill Edler survived the crazy Swede Erik Friberg and beat Alex Bolotin heads up to win. He came from behind with A-10 against Bolotin's A-Q and flopped an ace to seal his first bracelet. Gavin Smith and Erick Lindgren (looking like hell from almost dying on the golf course), were among the players sweating on Edler. Amy Calistri was all smiles after the event.

"Score one for the good guys," she said.

It's always great when one of the nicest guys in poker picks up a bracelet and gets the recognition he deserves. Most of the time, the attention gets focused on the biggest douchebags in the room. It was refreshing to get to cover Edler's run and witness him pick up his first bracelet. Congrats to The Stunning One for a stunning victory.

Less than an hour after Edler won, I walked onto the ESPN stage and saw that Donkey Bomber won his second bracelet. Michalski was there taking photos with another guy who was a friend of the D-Bomber. He had two stripper-types with him attached to his hip. I can only assume that he was a high roller from Texas. Old oil money and watrermelon boobs always mix. Everything's big in Texas.

The last time Donkey Bomber won a bracelet, Michalski disappeared for three days during a post-victory binge. I don't expect Michalski to resurface for a few days. He's a drifter.

Congrats to Donkey Bomber for number two. Oh yeah, since this is the congrats post... congrats to Shronk for going deep in the $2K event. He had a nice score. Nice job, bro.

Wish I had more time to write more about lobsters, Donkey Bombers, and douchebags. Alas, my free time has evaporated.

* * * * *
Don't forget to check out LasVegasVegas for Flipchip's WSOP photos and there's the Poker Prof's cool 2007 WSOP Info page.

And come back at the Tao of Poker for daily recaps and head over at PokerNews for live coverage and updates including chipcounts.

For all you fantasy sports junkies, check out our new site... Fantasy Sports Live.

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.