Monkeys Throwing Shit

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

The poker world is a warm and wonderful and happy place with love overflowing everywhere because everyone in poker gets along with each other and nobody says anything bad behind their backs. There is zero cheating in poker. Online poker is 1000000% safe. And every decision made by the corporations and powers to be is done so for the integrity of the game. It's a magical land of butterflies and bumblebees and unicorns and rainbows and everything else that makes life worth living. And everyone that makes tons of money in poker? They rush to the closest gentleman's club and attempt to rescue as many exotic dancers as possible. And the remainder of altruistic poker millionaires and billionaires hand out $100 Bellagio chips to starving children all over the world.

There is no dark side to poker. Everything is fluffy and fun. To quote Jack Effel, "Guys, isn't this wonderful? This is the World Series of Poker, the greatest tournament in the history of the world!!"

Yeah, Jack. Totally fuckin' awesome.

Man, I was so wrong all these years. The poker world in Las Vegas is nothing like the seedy underbelly that I painted it out to be. That was just me making stuff up in order to mask my own morbid depression. I apologize to "poker" in general for my slanderous remarks over the years. Seriously, quit your jobs right now and move your entire family to North Las Vegas. Immediately. Leave your doors unlocked and flash around wads of cash. Nothing bad will ever happen to you in the land of poker because you'll find the most sincere, coolest, and trustworthy people in the history of the world!

* * * * *
OK, you can stop laughing now and I'll wait a second while you wipe the drool from your mouth.

...

If you were in denial about the shady side of poker, well, all you have to do is to look at the Tiffany Michelle saga to understand that there's more to poker than peeking at your cards and flinging chips around.

Poker is a billion dollar industry and war that is being waged across the planet for the hearts and minds of poker players everywhere. The used car salesmen in Washington have been shaking down the online poker rooms since the inception of the UIEGA. The entertainment industry is trying to squeeze everyone fuckin' nickel out of poker before it moves onto another fad. The entrepreneurs swoop in, rape, pillage, and then get the hell out of dodge with a ton of booty. And the lost souls are standing around with empty pockets and confused looks on their faces.

What the fuck just happened?

Everything that is inherently wrong about poker occurred during the 2008 World Series of Poker. I won't cite examples. I mean there are simply too many for me to rant about. Do your own research.

Poker is a huge net that caught everyone else who fell through the cracks in society. Most people get into poker because they are running away from something else or have no other place to go. Seriously, I'm the biggest example of that. Before poker, I was a failed writer. Totally broke loser and I had to sponge off of my family or girlfriends just to get through each day. And look what happened to me five years later. Poker made me a semi-famous and wealthy man. In normal society I was one step away from being homeless drug addict. But in poker? I'm a success story.

As that saying goes... in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is the king.

Poker is a bunch of misfits, criminals, junkies, and egocentric dweebs. And those are my close friends. You should hear the shit I spew about the inbred dipshits that I begrudgingly have to share a media room or press box with, let alone the professional players that are pedophiles, convicted criminals, and known cheaters that we fluff up on a daily basis only because that's what we are paid to do. Poker media is just like the rest of the media, which is one of the most corrupt institutions on the planet.

I have paid my debts (including a school loan) and vacationed all over the world courtesy of blood money. And it's not donkey blood money, it's the blood money that I have been bribed to whitewash the grimy surface of poker. I have written nice fluffy things about poker for a paycheck, but I have been taking notes on the side as I complied enough material for a couple of books. Believe me, the reason I haven't finished my first poker book is that when I do, I'll seriously fear for my life. I'll become the Salman Rushdie of poker. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

Because of that, everyone is nice to me because they are afraid that I'll write bad things about them. Nothing is worse in life than fake sincerity. And it reeks like a whore who hasn't showered in four days.

I cannot tell you how many lies and half-truths people told me when I dug deeper into the Tiffany Michelle saga. The only way to survive the poker industry is to trust no one and assume that everyone is lying to your face. Perhaps I should post a list of lies and half-truths that people told me over the last week or so? Or maybe I'll just save it for a book.

Here's where I'm gonna piss people off...

I'm still very confused how anyone could turn down a three-year sponsorship deal with PokerStars worth potentially millions of dollars in cash and buy-ins and stick with a sinking ship like UB.

Everyone involved in the Tiffany Michelle saga acted unprofessionally. Everyone. Not one single person is innocent. I'm calling everyone out. Everyone was looking out for themselves at the expensive of Tiffany.

As one person involved in the drama said to me in confidence, "I'm both sad and embarrassed."

What could have been a defining moment in poker was ruined in a maelstrom of ugliness that happened due to a lack of communication and the greed that accompanied bags full of cash.

As a few of us joked the other night, "None of this ever would have happened if Oliver Tse was Tiffany's agent." Oliver could have saved poker.


Oliver hard at work...
(pic courtesy of Benjo)
Nothing good came out of this incident. When I left the Hooker Bar at sunrise after my traditional last drink of the WSOP, my mood was sad, disgusted, and embarrassed over everything I had seen over the last seven weeks.

I'm bitter. I really wanted to go out with a bang. And instead, I left the Rio under a cloud of misery and gloom. The last thing I wrote in my notebook before I left was...

Monkeys throwing shit at each other.

It's gonna take a long time before I get that image of the 2008 WSOP out of my head.


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.

More Tao of Pokerati Episodes!

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV


One of my favorite parts about covering the 2008 WSOP was a half-baked idea called the Tao of Pokerati podcast. Stephen Noh suggested that Michalski and I start our own podcast so we went out and did the first one in the hallway. Then another... and another. Along the way we had some special guests such as Benjo, Otis, the Poker Shrink, and Change100.

The best part about the Tao of Pokerati podcast is that they are quick bites and super short clips around 3 minutes in length. It was perfect for our short attentions span (Michalksi is had adult ADD) and the little nuggets were quick sound bites for you to listen to while destroying workplace productivity or background fodder while you play online poker.

Three recent episodes that stood out were...

Episode #19... which we recorded at Sapphire strip club for the Bluff party featuring Otis

Episode #23... we captured the excitement of the Main Event Bubble!

Episode #25... with special guest the Poker Shrink where he discussed his patient Mike Matusow and Aderrall.

The big star of the podcast this summer was Benjo. When he joined the mix, those were some of my favorite (and most hilarious) episodes. I might have to splice together a "Best of Benjo!"

Here's the first 32 episodes...

Episode 1: Game On! (3:16)
Episode 2: Dirty Sklanchez (3:30)
Episode 2.5: Poker Couture with special guest Benjo (1:03)
Episode 3: Milwaukee’s Best Vinny (3:25)
Episode 4: Late-Night Piladies (3:43)
Episode 5: Long Road (3:23)
Episode 6: Lowballin' (3:02)
Episode 7: Brasilia Time (4:23)
Episode 8: Online Sharks::Salmon (3:07)
Episode 9: Do You See What I See? (3:58)
Episode 10: Eurotarded(2:26)
Episode 11: Floorplay (3:21)
Episode 12: Going Halfsies (4:41)
Episode 12.5: Le Donk (1:35)
Episode 13: Energy Bucks (3:37)
Episode 14: Stakehouse (4:41)
Episode 15: Horse Rubbing (2:57)
Episode 16: Generation Bracelet (3:51)
Bonus Episode: Doyle Out featuring Benjo (2:00)
Episode 17: Gold Coasting (2:41)
Episode 17.1: Benjo - Barley Legal (0:55)
Episode 17.2: Benjo - Hooker Tournament Chips (1:05)
Episode 17.3: Benjo - Le Masturbe (1:20)
Episode 18: Triple Crown and Coke (4:54)
Episode 19: Topless Beer Pong (2:44)
Episode 20: Surviving Day 1a (3:58)
Episode 21: Poker for Africa (4:25)
Episode 22: Agent Oranges (7:07)
Episode 23: Bubbilicious (3:46)
Episode 24: Kids in the Hall (4:31)
Episode 25: Maderrall featuring the Poker Shrink (5:32)
Episode 26: Agents, Frenchies, and Polacks featuring Benjo (3:48)
Episode 27: Payouts and Payoffs (5:11)

FYI... You can right-click and Save As to download the MP3s to your hard drive. Or just click the link directly to stream it on your computer.

Michalski is a tad slow uploading the last couple of episodes including a fashion report featuring Change100 and our final WSOP broadcast. Stay tuned for those episodes.

Thanks to everyone for listening.


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.

2008 WSOP Day 46: Main Event Day 7 - Nonagon

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Down to nine in the WSOP. Commence the final table delay and start up the hype machine. One of the nine guys I watched play poker the last couple of days will become the next WSOP champion.

Dennis Phillips, Craig Marquis, Ylon Schwartz, Scott Montgomery, Darus Suharto, David 'Chino' Rheem, Ivan Demidov, Kelly Kim, and Peter Eastgate.

It's gonna take a while before we find out which one of them will become poker's next celebrity.

As the poker world holds its breath for three months, the life cycle must continue. I wish that I can put everything on hold over the next three months and follow the Nonagons around and see how they live their lives and find out how celebrity and fame and money alters their already complicated lives.

Over the last four years I have seen what money does to people. It destroys lives. It tears friends apart. Too much money and it poisons your soul. Too little money and it makes you do desperate an unthinkable things. And during the pursuit of huge sums of money in the seven and eight figure ranges... your once astute judgment becomes clouded in the fog of war.

Poker is a simple game. Played among friends, it can be one of the most entertaining experiences in life. But when poker is played in a tournament for millions of dollars in a forum where dozens and dozens of corporations can profit from it... things can get ugly. There is no longer white and black, just shades of grey. Working for four plus years in the poker industry taught me that the more money that is involved... the more complicated things can get.

Tiffany Michelle is the perfect example. Even though she busted out in 17th place, she's still in the middle of a massive tug-o-war. Her story had every element that displays both the light and dark side to poker. TV ratings. Agents. Staking. Online cheating scandals. Corporate sponsorship. Media conglomerates.

I had a front row seat to the circus over the previous seven weeks. I gathered up enough material for a book, maybe be more. After 46 brutal, grueling, ballbusting days, the summer session of the 2008 WSOP came to an end. No bells. No whistles. Not even the UNLV marching band performing a cover of an Elvis Presley tune. Just Jack Effel cheesing it out as usual. The hype has already begun.

The room emptied out the moment the final nine were set. Sure, the bottom feeders were out in full force. The broke dicks. The hangers-on. The poker sluts. The unlucky degenerates always looking for a hand out. The undesirables. They were the only ones left.

The anti-climatic ending was sort of sad in a navel gazing sort of way. Have you ever been the first person to arrive at the party? And you see every single stage that a party runs through as it grows and grows and slowly becomes a rager and you can't breathe because there's zero room to move and you want the party to keep burning until dawn and everyone is pressed up against each other in a sausage fest before the party eventually thins out and the last of the drunks stumble out. When the lights get turned on, you discover that unknown guy passed out in the corner who pissed himself hours ago, and you catch the most random couple making out in the closet. And there's your shitfaced buddy holding court in the kitchen smoking banana peels and clutching a bottle of vanilla extract and taking turns with underaged girls doing shots since that was the last thing in the pantry that he could find that would get him off.

The lights in the Amazon Room were turned on the highest settings for the first time in 46 days. The roaches scattered into the farthest corners of the room. Some of the donkey blood has been steam cleaned while random places will be stained forever with the broken dreams of poker players who had lofty expectations but lacked the ability to survive the struggle in the killing fields.

There are no more cries of "All in and a call!" and "Seat open!" Which means I have heard the last shrieks of animals being led to the slaughter. The area that was once used as the killing floor... is now empty.

I kinda wish they played the final table on Wednesday like originally scheduled. I've gotten so worked up the last 46 days that there's really no climax. If anything, Day 46 was the complete opposite. Instead of walking away with a jubilant feeling like I had moments after when Hachem, Gold, and Yang won their championships, I had an ambivalent feeling. I guess my work is done here. I have no idea if I'll even be allowed to sit ringside at the final table in November. I left dazed and confused and unsatisfied.

The end. The bitter end.


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 46: Main Event Day 7 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Down to the final three tables. 27 players will fight to the death. Only nine will survive and go on to become the next wave of poker celebrities. Which nine will it be? Cantu? Chino? Hot Chips? One or more Scandis?

Featured TV Table:
Seat 1: Joe Bishop (Cincinnati, OH) – 4,855,000
Seat 2: Peter Eastgate (Odense, Denmark) – 9,325,000
Seat 3: Gert Andersen (Herning, Denmark) – 6,740,000
Seat 4: Kelly Kim (Whittier, CA) – 8,840,000
Seat 5: Brandon Cantu (Las Vegas, NV) – 4,740,000
Seat 6: Dean Hamrick (East Lansing, MI) – 2,375,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov (Moscow, Russia) – 4,965,000
Seat 8: Niklas Flisberg (Stockholm, Sweden) – 1,330,000
Seat 9: Michael Carroll (Carson, CA) – 1,015,000

Secondary Table:
Seat 1: Scott Montgomery (Perth, Ontario, Canada) – 4,320,000
Seat 2: Tim Loecke (Highland Park, IL) – 2,280,000
Seat 3: Anthony Scherer (Truckee, CA) – 2,385,000
Seat 4: Owen 'ocrowe' Crowe (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) – 3,800,000
Seat 5: Craig Marquis (Arlington, TX) – 11,460,000
Seat 6: Ylon Schwartz (Brooklyn, NY) – 3,655,000
Seat 7: Paul Snead (Kings Park, NY) – 6,600,000
Seat 8: Tiffany Michelle (Los Angeles, CA) – 9,755,000
Seat 9: Phi Nguyen (Hawaiian Gardens, CA) – 1,020,000

Table #3 Outside
Seat 1: Jason Riesenberg (Halbur, IA) – 3,405,000
Seat 2: Darus Suharto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) – 4,510,000
Seat 3: Chris Klodnicki (Voorhees, NJ) – 6,245,000
Seat 4: Toni Judet (Bucharest, Romania) – 5,000,000
Seat 5: Nicholas Sliwinski (Las Vegas, NV) – 4,925,000
Seat 6: David 'Chino' Rheem (Los Angeles, CA) – 8,280,000
Seat 7: Dennis Phillips (St. Louis, MO) – 11,910,000
Seat 8: Albert Kim (Staten Island, NY) – 3,675,000
Seat 9: Aaron Gordon (Brighton, UK) – 1,790,000

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

In position. The room is almost empty. An eerie calm before the human sacrifice unfolds before our eyes.

My sources at PokerStars say that have not heard anything about sponsoring Tiffany. I'm assuming it will be a last minute decision.

* * * * *
12:01pm....

"Absolutely drama ladened," was how one poker insider described the behind the scenes battle for Tiffany's chest.

She walked in a few seconds ago... with a UB patch. That cost me a lot of money in side bets. Yikes.

* * * * *
12:26pm....

The doors opened o the public and the first person to walk through? An agent slithered through. A mad dash of people trickled through the only entrance. They all wanted to get a good spot on the rail.

Joe Awada is here sweating somebody. I wonder if he has a piece of someone.

Cards in the air. Action was delayed for about ten minutes while Jeffrey Pollack addressed the final 27. He told them that the final nine has to come back tomorrow for a three hour orientation meeting. They will get paid their $900,000 and then they will find out about what will happen over the next three months.

The big buzz is about the shift in strategy once it gets down to 12-11-10-handed. Will people stall and not play a hand in order to become the final nine? Or will they throw all the celebrity hoopla out the window and play it down like a regular tournament? I guess we'll find out. Because of that extra-incentive to play tighter near the final table bubble, I'm setting the O/U at 5:01am.

* * * * *
1:01pm...

Big Stacks: Dennis Phillips with 12.5M, Peter Eastgate, Craig Marquis, Paul Snead, Chino Rheem

Players Remaining: 26

Hot Chips Watch: 7.5M

The first player to bust out was Michael Carroll in 27th place. he had been sporting Lakers jerseys for the entire Main Event. I talked to him once or twice and he was engaging and funny and I wanted to get to know him a little bit better. He was one of the guys I wanted to cover heavily today, but he's busto in the first ten minutes of play.

I'm starting to piece together the battle for Tiffany's breasts... supposedly, PokerStars had a deal in place and she was good to go with them. However, she shocked everyone when she walked in through the back door with her ever growing entourage and sporting a UB logo and wearing a camouflage trucker's hat with a UB patch on the front. Maria Ho is sweating Tiffany today.

MeanGene is covering Tiffany's table for PokerNews. I hung out with him for a bit and Tiffany has been bullied early on and lost two pots. She's a huge target and with all the side drama, I hope her head is in a good spot because it's gonna be a bloody-knuckle brawl.

The sketch-guy is back. An artist has been here the last couple of days lurking in the background and doing pen and pencil drawings. I haven't talked to him yet. I've been leaving him alone to do his thing.

Someone asked me who I'm rooting for. I gotta go with Ylon Schwartz... everyone's favorite future juniper addict of America. He qualified online at is a sponsored by PokerStars. I've been keeping an eye on Tim Loecke over the last couple of days. My buddy Dave King watched him play in the early stages of the main event and on Day 3, he picked him to make the final table. Dave said that he liked the guy's style of play. Tim Loecke is shortstacked and needs to double up other wise he's gonna be one of the next players to bust out.

The goodbyes have begun. Over the last couple of days, I have been in the process of bidding my friends farewell. Some I'll see on the tour later this year. And the ones who I only see at the WSOP, I might not see for a long time. Sort of sad, at the same time, I don't have time to dwell upon it with 26 players to go.

* * * * *
1:48pm...

Big Stacks: Dennis Phillips with 14.4M. Peter Eastgate, Craig Marquis, Kelly Kim, and Joe Bishop

Players Remaining: 23

Hot Chips Watch: 5M

Recent eliminations: Aaron Gordon 24th place; Niklas Flisberg 25th Place; Phi Nguyen = 26th place

A couple of quick bustouts... and there's 23 to go.

Ylon Schwartz doubled up with A-K versus Paul Snead's A-J, despite the fact that Snead flopped trips on a K-J-J board. The turn was a King and Ylon took the lead and won the hand to double up.

I have already lost $50 today in throwing things prop bets and almost another 1K in gambling on the online poker logos on Tiffany's breasts. Bad start to today. Need to make it back. Can you say online tennis betting?

* * * * *
2:22pm...

Big Stacks: Dennis Phillips with 14.4M. Peter Eastgate, Craig Marquis, Kelly Kim, and Joe Bishop

Players Remaining: 23

Hot Chips Watch: 5M

Players returned from a break. Level 20. Blinds 50K/100K with 10K ante.

Ylon took a pot from Tiffany before the break. He's moving up while she's moving down.

Lots of stunned and confused faces today from poker insiders over Tiffany's decision to wear UB. That's fodder for the forum flamers to feast on for the rest of the decade.

On the other hand, PokerStars appears to have won the final 27 branding battle with more than 50% of the remaining field considering only four of them were qualifiers (Tim Loecke, Owen Crowe, Chris Klodnicki, and Darus Suharto). The other eight (including Cantu and Chino) were plucked up over the last couple of days.

* * * * *

3:27pm...

Big Stacks: Dennis Phillips with 14M, Darus Suharto, Joe Bishop, Ylon Schwartz, and Craig Marquis

Players Remaining: 18

Hot Chips Watch: 5M. She's slipped to the middle of the pack.

Recent Bustouts: Oliver Kim 19th, Brandon Cantu 20th, Paul Snead 21st, Judet Toni Cristian 22nd, Tim Loecke 23rd

Holy shit. Several bustouts in the last five minutes. It was hard to keep up. Someone was all in on every table at one point. OK, action has been paused. Down to the final 18 or the final two tables. Wow. That was quick. Stay tuned for the final 18 seating assignments.

With Cantu's elimination, the big names left are Chino and Tiffany.

Ylon up to 10M and jumped into the Top 5.

I heard that all but two of the final 27 players were signed up by online poker sites. The two holdouts? The distrusting Russian who did not want to deal with any agents. And the Romanian guy who wouldn't talk to anyone for less than 500K.

* * * * *
3:50pm...

Action resumed after a short delay while the final two tables completed a re-draw.

Featured TV Table:
Seat 1: Nicholas Sliwinski
Seat 2: Jason Riesenberg
Seat 3: Tiffany Michelle
Seat 4: Dennis Phillips
Seat 5: Scott Montgomery
Seat 6: Dean Hamrick
Seat 7: Gert Andersen
Seat 8: Anthony Scherer
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate

Secondary Table:
Seat 1: Joe Bishop
Seat 2: Chris Klodnicki
Seat 3: Owen Crowe
Seat 4: Ylon Schwartz
Seat 5: Kelly Kim
Seat 6: Darus Suharto
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov
Seat 8: Craig Marquis
Seat 9: David "Chino" Rheem

JC Tran and Shaniac are on the rail sweating Chino and Owen Crowe. Crowe is Shaniac's roomie this summer.

"I'm totally proud of Chino. He's had an amazing summer. He's in the zone right now. By the way, this is the year of the marginal pro. One of them will win it this year," explained Shaniac.

Tiffany is over at the featured TV table. She has Ted Lawson's wife sweating her along with Maria Ho and her agent Katie, not to mention porn star Samantha Ryan. Her ex-boyfriend Hollywood Dan is in the stands as well. He was kicked out of the media area for several reasons including wearing a media badge that was not his.

Greg 'FBT' Mueller has three horses left. Chino, Crowe, and Tiffany. He'd love for them to go 1-2-3. "But you know how poker is," lamented FBT. "They could all be the next three to bust, especially how fast the action has gone today."

With the consolidation of the final two tables, the entire crowd has split up into two distinct areas. They are gathered at the featured table where it's standing room only there and in the Beast Lounge. The secondary table has railbirds standing ten deep. That table has been the worst table at the WSOP to cover an event because it is sort of secluded. Horrendous set up and a total clusterfuck. There's zero room to move and very little space to house the media.

The Poker Kitchen is nevermore. It has been totally stripped down. The only thing left out back is a portable shitter that smells like it hasn't been drained in weeks. When shit and urine bake out in the Nevada sun, the result is a toxic and obnoxious aroma.

* * * * *

4:20pm...

Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!



* * * * *
5:01pm...

Eight minutes into Level 30, Tiffany Michelle was eliminated in 17th place. Poker's last hope is out.

Tiffany Michelle. The last chance star in the darkened sky of poker has faded into oblivion.

It seemed like everyone had something riding on Tiffany Michelle. Harrahs. ESPN. Poker News. Ultimate bet. The G. Lisandro. FBT. Online poker. The entire poker industry. With the weight of world on her back, it hard not to think she buckled under the pressure.

"She had a phenomenal run," said Flipchip.

Congrats to Tiffany for a valiant effort. She posted a stunning run under the most dire of external circumstances.

* * * * *
6:01pm...

Big Stacks: Peter Eastgate with 18.6M, Joe Bishop, Craig Marquis, Darus Suharto, Dennis Phillips

Players Remaining: 15

Recent Elimination: Anthony Scherer in 16th place

Ylon is a shade under 12M. Chino is one of the shortstacks with 3M.

Been watching the home run derby. I'm sitting next to the plasma screen. For the last two days, I abandoned the press box and sat much closer to the action. My area is mostly secluded and I get more work done. Sometimes the press box was too distracting and at this point in the tournament, it's less about social hour and everything to do with hunting down the stories. At the tables. On the rail. In the hallways.

Right now? It's super quiet. You would never know it's the final two tables of the WSOP.

The entire air has been let out of the room. Seems like everyone is depressed and sad about the Tiffany elimination. When you are bone dead tired after seven long weeks... something like Tiffany energizes you. The story is so fascinating and has so many aspects and it really fired up everyone involved. It was sort of magical in a way. With her departure, life returns to its ordinary blandness. Especially since some reporters have commented that the play on the final two tables resembles "an online tournament" or a "$1,500 donkament." I was quick to point out that they might have some semblance of truth to their statements. But there's also $9 million on the line.

* * * * *
6:45pm...

Big Stacks: Peter Eastgate, Scott Montgomery, Darus Suharto, Chino Rheem, Joe Bishop

Players Remaining: 15

We're at a new pay jump...

10-12th place = $591,869
13-15th place = $463,201

Wow, Chino making a tremendous run. he was on the verge of getting busted and ran his stack all the way up into the Top 5. As Shaniac said earlier, Chino is in the zone.

Peter Eastgate is the current chipleader.

Nick told me about the Nicholas Sliwinski story about how he was living on his buddy's couch and down to his last $1,000 and somehow parlayed that into a seat into the Main Event. He's still in the middle of the pack.

Watching Josh Hamilton put on a clinic in the HR derby. That's more interesting than the final two tables. Chris Berman has jizzed in his pants at least four times.

* * * * *
6:51pm...

Owen 'ocrowe' Crowe eliminated in 15th place. Down to 14. Peter Eastgate is the chipleader.

Players are heading on dinner break.

* * * * *
8:14pm...

14 to go. Players will be back from their dinner break soon. The average stack is 9.77M. Here's the updated chipcounts:

Peter Eastgate 18.8M
Darus Suharto 14.8M
Dean Hamrick 12.6M
Joe Bishop 11.8M
David 'Chino' Rheem 11.2M
Scott Montgomery 10.59M
Ylon Schwartz 9.77M
Craig Marquis 9.6M
Dennis Phillips 9.2M
Kelly Kim 6.8M
Chris Klodnicki 6.7M
Ivan Demidov 5.4M
Nicholas Sliwinski 4.565M
Gert Andersen 3.7M

Five more bustouts until the final table is set.

When they come back, action will be on level 31. Blinds 80K/160K with 20K blinds.

* * * * *

9:16pm...

Big Stacks: Dennis Phillips with 18.6M, Ylon Schwartz, Peter Eastgate, Joe Bishop, Dean Hamrick

Players Remaining: 12

Recent Bustouts: Nicholas Sliwinski in 13th, Gert Andersen in 14th

Average stack is 11.4M.

Ylon Schwartz took over the chiplead, before Dennis Phillips got it back when he busted Nicholas Sliwinski. Phillips had a bunch of inebriated and boisterous fans. Sliwinski's crew wore t-shirts that said, "Whose the bully now."

A couple of railbirds stole a couple of stools that a Dutch TV show had been using to conduct interviews with Dutch pros such as Marcel Luske. A secuity guard busted them and dragged the stools across the Amazon ballroom back to where they belongs.

Johnny Chan was spotted sitting in the audience. He was branded up and I betcha he was there to pimp his third-rate energy drink.

Sometimes the behavior of my fellow media reps embarrasses all of us... at the featured TV table there is one girl who is so bored that she's doing Sudoku puzzles. Most of the time, the bored folks are usually playing online poker or updating their facebook profile.

I offered to play Otis a $1K heads up freezeout... lime tossing. He declined. I think he's ducking me.

* * * * *
10:09pm...

Chris Klodnicki out in 12th place. Down to 11. Dennis Phillips is the chipleader and the first player past 24M. Ylon is second in chips. Chino in third.

Joe Bishop's railbird bought a bottle of Dom Perignon for Joe and the secondary table. Ivan the Russian declined. There was extra glasses available and Bishops told the waiter to offer the extras to the final table. A couple of them declined and Ylon told the waiter to give the booze out to fans in the stands.

Mel Judah sighting in the crowd. Andy Bloch was on the rail as well. One old guy asked him for a picture. "Hey' you're the blackjack guy!"

* * * * *
11:30pm...

Big Stacks: Dennis Phillips 28.6M, Ivan Demidov, Dean Hamrick, Craig Marquis, Joe Bishop

Shortstack: Kelly Kim

Players Remaining: 11

Sorry for the lack of updates. I had a last session of lime tossing with Otis. Here are the scores...

Round 1: Pauly 150, Otis 80
Round 2: Pauly 80, Otis 0
Final: +150
Overall: Pauly +220

Otis and I also did a quick podcast about his involvement with the Devil. Benjo stopped by and looked very sad. He said that the WSOP is like summer camp and today is the last day. He was kinda sad when we did our final podcast.

* * * * *
12:01am...

Down to 10. Dennis Phillips is the chipleader with over 30M. Ivan in second.

Wow. Chino busted Joe Bishop in 11th place. Chino was

Chino was so far behind and got there on the river. His friends and buddies on the rail (among them Shaniac, FBT, Joe Bartholdi, JC Tran, Durrrr) went ballistic. It was one of the most explosive moments at the main event when Chino hit his card on the river. Even FBT gave the security guard a hi-five. Since the final ten players would be consolidated on the feature table was set, all of his buddies raced to the final table to secure a seat.

* * * * *
12:25am...

Here's the final 10 including seating assignments and chip counts.

Seat 1: Dean Hamrick 12,460,000
Seat 2: Dennis Phillips 21,500,000
Seat 3: Craig Marquis 12,000,000
Seat 4: Ylon Schwartz 10,500,000
Seat 5: Scott Montgomery 20,635,000
Seat 6: Darus Suharto 16,425,000
Seat 7: David 'Chino' Rheem 10,100,000
Seat 8: Ivan Demidov 18,700,000
Seat 9: Kelly Kim 4,430,000
Seat 10: Peter Eastgate 10,430,000

The fan favorite is Chino with a dozen or so pros and internet legends in the crowd cheering him on.

Cards just went in the air. One more bust out... and everyone gets to go home.

* * * * *
1:15am...

Action has slowed down as expected. Ivan Demidov has taken over the chiplead... albeit by a slim margin. Kelly Kim is the shortstack.

* * * * *
2:15am...

More inaction. Despite a crowded final table, Ivan Demidov and Scott Montgomery have about 20M each and are out in front. Kelly Kim is the shortstack. Most of the younger pros in the crowd are sweating Chino.

SInce action has slowed down, I took it upon myself to engage in as many outrageous prop bets. Ali Nejad and one of his camera guys had a bet to see who could push an inflated six-foot high Milwaukee's Beast can across the empty Amazon Ballroom. Steve Frezer picked the cameraguy. I had Ali. I lost. So fuckin' rigged.

I lost $30 in throwing things bets with Otis and Michalski out back in the area that used to be the Poker Kitchen. I won a few bucks in "golfing" props... specifically hitting empty Gatorade bottles over a wall with a piece of PVC piping. When it came to throwing the PVC pipe as a javelin... I got smoked. Michalski can definitely bring it although he tossed the faux javelin like Lamar Latrell (aka the gay black guy in Revenge of the Nerds).

* * * * *
2:55am...

Drunk guy left the final table area and stumbled across the killing fields. He fired up a cigarette and smoked 1/3 of it as he slowly trudged across the Amazon Ballroom. Of course, he didn't get yelled at.

I have seen plenty of pros and unknowns stand around in the service hallways and smoke during break. Some of them just don't care and light up in front of no smoking signs. The worse is Amir Vahedi who smokes his stinky cigars everywhere.

All quiet on the western front.

"This is so strange. Of course everyone is tired. Or drunk. Or both. They are bringing beers over by the trayfull," said Flipchip.

Yes, still ten players left. Dennis Phillips is the chipleader while Ylon is fourth in chips.

* * * * *
3:27am...

Dean Hamrick bubbled off the final table in 10th place.

The November nine includes... Dennis Phillips, Craig Marquis, Ylon Schwartz, Scott Montgomery, Darus Suharto, David 'Chino' Rheem, Ivan Demidov, Kelly Kim, and Peter Eastgate.

One of those lucky fuckers will be the next WSOP champion.


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.

2008 WSOP Day 45: Main Event Day 6 - The Battle for Tiffany Michelle's Breasts

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I would not want to be Tiffany Michelle right now. The entire fate of poker and all of Western Civilization has been thrust upon her supple shoulders. Should a 24-year old have that much pressure on her?

Tiffany Michelle is poker's most marketable asset right now. Michalksi said that out of the last 27 players, she has the potential for the biggest "Moneymaker Effect." In three years, will I be writing about another poker renaissance in America and citing the "Tiffany Michelle Effect?" Come to think of it, that wouldn't be a bad thing. The poker world could use an influx of young women.

Tiffany Michelle, an actress/musician from Los Angeles and a Poker News employee, is among the final 27 players in the WSOP main event. With the Final Table Delay on the horizon, the WSOP Hype Machine ready to whore out Tiffany to boost ratings. She's the last female standing. She's a heavy fan favorite. She's also a controversial figure and the quality of her play is getting questioned by pros and pundits alike, while her ethics and morals are being examined for her decision to wear Ultimate Bet logos over the last two days.

The 2+2 forums and other knitting circles have been blowing up over the last 48 hours with various 'Tiffany Michelle... Hot or Not?' threads while other threads are havens for Tiffany Michelle and UB haters who have been referring to her as a sellout for wearing UB stuff, not to mention the latest bombs being dropped on the UB scandal since former WSOP champion Russ Hamilton was fingered by Nat Arem as one of the superusers who cheated players out of millions.

There's a circus within the circus. An enigma wrapped up inside a riddle. I'll do my best to connect the dots that I have discovered. Because what's really going on right now is a battle for prime real estate. Whoever holds the center of the chess board will gain an edge. And the center of the board? It's Tiffany's breasts. OK, not just her chest area, but also the spot on her trucker's hat.

YOUR AD HERE and show me the money.

Let's start from the beginning. Tony G and Jeff Lisandro backed Tiffany Michelle into the Main Event. I believe it was a even 1/3 chop. I cannot verify the exact amount, but out of her 33%, she may have sold or swapped percentages with other players and friends such as Greg Mueller. I'm gonna estimate that she has about 30% of herself.

The Main Event is a super long shot. I'm sure when all three parties (The G, Lisandro, and Tiffany) agreed on a staking arrangement, none of them expected that Tiffany would get this far. Otherwise, their contract would have been worded differently and some ambiguous situations that arose during the last 48 hours would have been clarified. For the first few days of the Main Event, Tiffany wore a PokerNews patch. But on Day 5, things changed and The G got angry.

Tiffany is a hot chick who can get some face time on ESPN cameras and she was a perfect target for product placement, specifically around her boobular area. Since she only had a small percentage of herself, she welcomed the opportunity to get some extra endorsement dollars. I can't blame her there, especially since her staking contract did not say she was exclusive to Poker News. Tiffany's agent Katie arranged a deal with Ultimate Bet. Tiffany has previous connections to UB since her boyfriend/ex-boyfriend Hollywood Dave was a member of the UB Black Jack team and Tiffany is also tight with Annie Duke. I dunno how much her personal relationships came into play or it was a simple matter that they offered more than Full Tilt. I also cannot verify how much she was paid to wear UB. It could have been just a contingency deal (if she finishes in X place, she gets Y dollars) or it could have been some sort of deal that included a bonus as well.

On Saturday before cards were in the air, Tiffany added two logos in addition to her PokerNews logo. One UB patch on a hat and another on a hoodie type jacket that she wore. The problem was that her jacket covered up her PokerNews patch. All you could see was UB and no PokerNews. That's where the G had an issue; it was his money (and his buddy Lisandro's) so he was entitled to have Poker News on her breasts. They eventually cleared up that issue and Tiffany proudly displayed a triumvirate of patches... Poker News on one boob, UB on the other, and a "Suited Connections" patch in the middle which happened to be the name of her agent's management agency.

I don't know what exactly went down, but between Day 5 and Day 6, the G and UB got into some sort of spat. Tiffany was still their horse and all parties involved knew it was essential for them to work something out themselves and not be a distraction to Tiffany. After all, the deeper she went, the more money everyone stood to make. Tiffany. Her backers. Her agent. Poker News. UB. Harrahs. ESPN.

While all of that went down, Tiffany took a few punches to the gut on 2+2 for shilling for UB. To make things worse, more fuel was added to the UB cheating scandal inferno. And Tiffany was a byproduct of that fiasco. Do you really want to be be wearing a logo of a company that is in deep shit?

The G is pissed. The masses are pissed. It would definitely be in Tiffany's best interest to pull a Rizen and walk away from UB. Yet, on Sunday once cards were in the air, her boobs had a UB patch and a PokerNews patch. Nothing had changed. She eventually sat at the featured TV table and ended the day among the Top 5 in chips as she closed in on 10 million. Hot Chips with chips. With Hellmuth's and Matusow's eliminations, she was the most popular player left in the mix.


Photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
While everyone flocked to Tiffany's table, I watched the spectacle unfold outside the ropes on what was previously the killing fields. Early on Day 6, I spotted several Poker Royalty (PR) agents talking to Jeff Lisandro. If you have no idea who they are, but they are like the NY Yankees or JP Morgan of poker agents. They were the top dogs in the industry and represented the biggest stars in poker such as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Greg Raymer. There were many small time agents (like Katie and Oliver Tse and others) with a handful of clients, trolling the hallways at the Rio, but combined they couldn't even compare to the dominating influence that PR had on the poker scene.

After his happy chat with PR, Lisandro found Tiffany's agent Katie and he put his arm around her just like Tony Soprano as they both walked to the other side of the room to engage in a private conversation. I have no idea what exactly went down but I knew something was up. Throughout most of the day, different PR agents and Katie were talking shop. One of my sources confirmed that a deal was being discussed between Tiffany's people and PokerStars.

As soon as I found that out, I started booking action on what site will be on Tiffany's boobs at the start of Day 7 (provided she made the last 27). I'm betting it's PokerStars. Tiffany would be a perfect match for PokerStars instead of UB, especially if she become the next Moneymaker. As of 3am Vegas time, nothing has been finalized. This is all speculation. I might be completely full of shit and Tiffany might waltz into the Amazon Room with a UB patch. Or how about a Full Tilt hat?

Tiffany Michelle is the hottest commodity in poker right now. Word is out on the streets of Las Vegas that she might drop UB due to massive backlash that both Tiffany and UB had been getting. If that's the case, then it boils down to the two biggest online dogs on the block... PokerStars and Full Tilt. Never underestimate FT, they have often swooped and snatched players up at the last possible second.

The breasts of Tiffany Michelle have become a battle ground on the eve of Day 7. If it's this bad right now, what will it be like in the weeks leading up to the final table in November?

I haven't talked to Tiffany about any of this drama. She's getting pulled and tugged in hundreds of different directions from her friends, from her fake friends, from the Man, from everyone in the media, and everyone else who wants a piece of Tiffany. I'm letting her play poker. Unlike the hordes of other media, I have been leaving her alone and focusing on the behind the scenes drama that unfolded when she was playing on Day 6.

Tiffany occasionally winked at me or smiled when I stood on the rail sweating her table on Sunday, which is enough interaction for me. I'm the last person she wants to have to deal with right now as the vultures are circling and ready to peck apart her eyeballs. The pimps are brawling outside the ropes trying to figure out who they're gonna sell her off to and for how much? A hot actress from Hollyweird like Tiffany who is extremely media savvy can go a long way in poker.

I've known Tiffany for almost two years and we've shared assignments for Poker News in several different countries. She gives the best massages in the business and saved my ass in Monte Carlo in 2007 when I had a bum arm and kept me loose enough so I could keep writing. I'm really excited for her in the same way that I was rooting for Jeremiah Smith during his run earlier in the Main Event. However, with all the bullshit that has been going down, I hope she's able to settle down and focus on the next goal... make the final nine.

With Matusow and Hellmuth gone, the onus is on Tiffany Michelle. As much as she never asked for that responsibility, it has fallen into her lap. You would think that this was all about poker. Um, it's not. Behold! The powers of big business. It's probably more important what patch that Tiffany wears on Day 7 than what specific cards that she plays.

The endless war of global domination between online poker sites are being fought out on Tiffany Michelle's breasts. Who will emerge as the victor in this battle? Full Tilt? UB? PokerStars?

We'll find out in a few hours.


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.

Tao of Poker & Borgata Birthday Celebration


The Tao of Poker turns five in August. To help commemorate that special milestone, the Borgata will be doing something extra special.

Stay tuned for a special announcement.

If you don't know, the Borgata Poker Open (September 3rd to 18th) will have a $5 million guaranteed $10K event where at least $1.4 million will go to the winner. I'll be down there covering the event for Borgata's poker blog.


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 45: Main Event Day 6 - Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Sunday is funday at the WSOP. 79 players remaining. They will slug it out until 27 players are remaining. Will the "shorted days" come back to bite WSOP officials in the ass when play drags on until sunrise? Or will the casualties happen at a rapid pace?

I spoke to someone at ESPN and they told me that ESPN had nothing to do with the Hellmuth TV table conspiracy theories that have been popping up on the web. As I speculated, ESPN would prefer to have those two stay as far as way as possible. When Jeffrey Pollack heard about the rumors, he did a thorough and quick investigation of the floor staff which he found that there was nothing wrong. Total confidence. More tin foil hats crushed.

Stat time...

Runners: 6,844
Players Remaining: 79
Prize Pool: $64,333,600
Chipleader: Mark Ketteringham with 5.8M
Big Dogs: Mike Matusow at 1.169M and Phil Hellmuth at 721K

* * * * *
12:03pm...

Cards in the air at 12:15pm.

Tiffany Michelle and Mike Matusow are at the same table... but not on one of the features. Brandon Cantu is on the secondary table.

Hellmuth was supposed to begin day at the featured table and sit out for the first orbit. But he was dealt in. According to Brooks he said the the penalty was overruled.

... more on the Hellmuth saga. According to one dealer, they told me that Hellmuth's excuse for his douchebaggery was all an act for ESPN cameras. He used the old "acting for ESPN" excuse. And the powers to be may have bought it and took back the penalty.

Change100 reported that... "The penalty has been overturned, and we will be issuing a formal statement shortly."

Still waiting to hear it from the horse's mouth.

* * * * *
1:04pm....

Big Stacks: David 'Chino' Rheem with 5M, Dennis Phillips, Nikolay Losev, Mark Ketteringham, and Andrew Brokos

Players Remaining: 73

Recent Bustouts: Matt Matros 78th, The Camel in 75th

New chipleader. Hello Chino. He and Dennis Phillips both have about 5M a piece.

Six bustouts in the first 55 minutes of play.

The major online poker sites were represented at the featured TV table to start the day. McManus qualified on Party Poker so he was sporting Party colors. Hellmuth is UB. PokerStars had a couple of guys and the rest were branded in Full Tilt hats.

"Is it so sad?" said Gloria as I pointed out the empty spaces in the Amazon Room? One corner is the poker table graveyard where the dead carcasses of broken down poker tables are tossed and stashed sway until next year.

The Hellmuth saga continues...

I got confirmation that Hellmuth's appeal was based on two things...

1. It was an act for ESPN cameras.
2. He said that although he was given a warning many times before, it was always an idle threat and nothing every happened beyond that warning. He felt as though the timing of the penalty and that the lack of enforcement of previous warning was also justification for it to be overruled.

Jeffrey Pollack will be issuing a statement shortly.

I think it's bullshit about the reversal on the original ruling made by Steve Frezer. One orbit? It was peanuts. Hellmuth should have taken it like a man. And Harrah's should not have gotten involved. Why stir the pot on such a minor thing in an almost flawless WSOP main event? Talk about stepping in dogshit one block before you walk into church.

Harrah's dropped the ball there. Double standard? Hell yes. If that incident did not have a named pro or a celebrity like Hellmuth involved, the obnoxious out of line player would have been tossed much earlier. Guys like Scotty Nguyen and Hellmuth get away with being jackoffs for the cameras. By not enforcing the "excessive celebration" rule which they added this year, Harrah's is abiding by a double standard. They are pretty much saying that it's perfectly OK to do what you want. Act like an ass. As long as it is for the entertainment purposes.

Ah I forgot to write about the faux apology that Hellmuth made. He left the featured TV table and went to the outer tables to talk to Cristian Dragomir. They shook hands as ESPN cameras captured the moment. PR stunt? Or sincerity? If we could only peek into Hellmuth's mind to find out...

Lisa Parsons went out. Tiffany Michelle is the last woman standing.

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

Big Stacks: Gert Andersen, Albert Kim, Brandon Cantu, Aaron Gordon, Nikolay Losev

Players Remaining: 59

Recent Bustouts: Voictor Ramdin 64th, Jim McManud 71st, and David Benefield 73rd

Rapid fire bustouts. 20 in the first 1:55 of play. 32 more to go and I get to go home.

Money jump. The next payout is $115K.

Gert Andersen was one of the first players to pass the 7M mark.

I guess the no smoking rule is no longer in effect in the hallways, even inside the Amazon Room. One guy fired up a cigarette. Someone is smoking a cigar in the hallway, probably one of the random conventioneers occupying the old spaces that used to house the poker expo or the online poker lounges. The hallways are nearly bare with the exception of a few booths. Even the parking lots are empty.

Pokerati was on the ball with the massive UB logo on Hellmuth's hockey jersey for the entire WSOP. It was clearly in violation of the logo policy. Today? It has been covered up in black tape.

The Poker Shrink is sweating Mike Matusow. 'He's fine today. He loves his table. Finally happy with his starting table. He' looking to try to get to 2M by the end of the day. That will really make him happy. He currently has about 1.5M.

Tiffany Michelle was moved to a new table... which will be the next one to break. She still has over 3M. Ali Nejad called her a "fan favorite."

The Beast Girls are on the rail... looking bloated and beastly. Too much time at the buffet, gals...

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

Big Stacks: Gert Andersen at 9.5M, Brandon Cantu, Nikolay Losev, Albert Kim, Chris Klodnicki

Players Remaining: 52

Recent Bustouts: Alex Othred 54th, Jeremy Joseph 57th, Thunder Keller 61st

Money jump. Up to 135K.

Players returned from a break and as soon as the security guards opened the doors, a group of about thirty or forty spectators sprinted through the empty room and headed right to the featured TV table. They wanted to get a great spot in the crowd.

"No running!" warned one of the Harrahs staff. "Release the hounds!" screamed Ali Nejad.

"Wow, I have never seen that before," remarked Jack Effel. In four years, that was a a first to me. People so excited to watch poker that it was an all out mad dash. It's not running of the bulls, just a poker tournament.

In one of the first hands after the break, Tiffany Michelle is catching up to 5M. I saw one hand where she dragged a pot with Q-9 and crippled Rafael Caiaffa in the process.

Matusow is up to 2.3M. He hung out with Andy Bloch and the Poker Shrink on the break. The Shrink mentioned that Matusow is the best he's been all main event. Might even be in better head space than the night he won the bracelet. Matusow was amazed that Gert Andersen had over 9M in chips.

"That's the luckiest fuck in the tournament or the biggest donkey in the room," he said before he took his seat.

* * * * *
4:17pm....

Big Stacks: Gert Andersen, Nikolay Losev, Albert Kim, Brandon Cantu, Ivan Demidov

Players Remaining: 44

Recent Bustouts: Phil Hellmuth 45th, Adam 'Roothlus' Levy 48th

Action slowed down a bit, considering there were 29 bustours in the first two hours of play. But in the last three minutes? Three bustouts. Less than 20 to go before the day is over.

Tiffany Michelle is still on a roll. She's back in the top 10 in chips. As I scouted out her table, Adam Levy busted out when his A-10 could not improve against Queens.

Matusow is a vacuum claener today. He's sucking up chips. Up to 3.3M.

Hellmuth has been the shortstack for most of the day. It got really bad for him over the last level. He was on death watch when he slipped under 500K considering the average stack was well over 2.5M. He was all in at the featured TV table with Ah-Qd versus Jh-Jc. The flop was Kd-4h-3h. Hellmuth picked up a sweet redraw when the 10h fell on the turn. Gutshot. Two overs. Flush draw. The result? Nadda. Out in 45th place.


Courtesy of PokerNews.com
With Hellmuth's departure, the featured TV table cleared out. Fast. All eye are on Matusow and Tiffany.

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

Today's smoke break is sponsored by PokerStars!



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

Big Stacks: Nikolay Losev with 10M, Gert Andersen, Brandon Cantu, Tiffany Michelle, Aaron Gordon

Players Remaining: 44

Players just returned from a break.

Prediction... if Tiffany Michelle advances to Day 7... she'll drop UB and be wearing PokerStars gear. Poor Tiff is getting raked under the coals on 2+2 for selling out her boob to UB.

* * * *
6:21pm....

Big Stacks: Brandon Cantu, Gert Andersen, Albert Kim, Nikolay Losev, Joe Bishop

Players Remaining: 37

Recent Bustouts: Kido Pham

Average stack is now over 3.5M.

Mike Matusow was moved to the secondary table with Ylon Schwartz. I sweated that for a bit with the Poker Shrink. Nothing really to report. Tough table for Matusow.

Tiffany Michelle was moved over to the featured TV table with Kido Pham. People are cheering for her but nothing to the sort of rowdiness from the legion of Matusow fans. She took her first real hit of the day and lost about 1M before she got some of her chips back when she check-raised Ivan. She's now past 6M again and in 6th or 7th place in chips.

"ESPN has spiritual people from all over the world praying for Tiffany. It would make for great TV," said Flipchip.

Greg FBT Mueller was in the crowd sweating Tiffany. No massage girls. He told me that he texted two to get their asses over to see him.

Sometimes I forgot about how hungry I am until I'm reminded by food. One spectator put me on food-tilt when I saw his In & Out drink cup. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Must have food now.

Yes, it's nipply in the Amazon Room, especially in random spots where it's simply freezing.

Room has been buzzing about Jack Effel's terrible floor call on a string bet from Nikolay Losev.

Here's how Change100 described the action:

Chip leader Losev had all of his 100,000 denomination chips stacked up into one tall tower. He gripped the tower, slid it out toward where the dealer button sat in front of his chip stack, and then pulled it back. He then took 15 chips off the top of the tower and bet 1.5 million.

Several players at the table were alarmed at this, especially since Losev had made what appeared to be a string bet only a few hands prior. In that incident, Losev had picked up some chips, cut them down in front of his stack, then returned to his main stack two more times for additional chips before stacking them all together and pushing out his bet. Losev's motions on that hand were ruled by the floor not to be a string bet.

Tournament Director Jack Effel was called over to the table to make a ruling. Losev ended up getting a warning about moving his chips that way, but did not receive a penalty. Since Losev does not speak English, his translator relayed the information to him at the end of the hand.

Felipe from Portugal and I have been doing lots of throwing things prop bets. So far? We're even for the day.

* * * * *
7:21pm....

Big Stacks: Brandon Cantu, Kelly Kim, Gert Andersen, Albert Kim, David 'Chino' Rheem

Players Remaining: 35

Recent Bustouts: Andrew Rosskamm 37th, Felix Osterland 38th

Tiffany Michelle is 6th in chips with over 7M. Matusow still at 3M.

Your past will come back to haunt you when you go deep at the WSOP main event. I overheard one conversation between a couple of people sweating one of the final 40 players.

"He's a total degenerate. He lost tons of money online. Playing tournaments. He would spend thousands every weekend. He spent his school loan. He borrowed money from me, my brother, and my brother's wife's sister's boyfriend who plays for the Padres. We drove up here to collect our debts. He's owed us. For years."

I just wish I knew who they were talking about. Or does it matter? That's a scenario that has been playing out all summer and the main event is no different. As much as Iggy tried his best to keep his identity a secret, it was tough to remain in the background even with 400 players to go. At this point, there is huge media scrutiny and pictures of every remaining player plastered up on Poker News. If any of those guys are deadbeats and owe money on the street... well you know exactly where they're gonna be.

Players are on a ninety minute dinner break.
* * * * *
8:45pm....

Big Stacks: Brandon Cantu, Albert Kim, Kelly Kim, Gert Andersen , and David 'Chino' Rheem

Players Remaining: 35

Players back from dinner break. Tiffany has a shade under 7M. The Mouth is just under average with 3.5M.

Usually the time after the dinner break is some of the loosest of the night. A flurry of players tend to bust out right after the break. With only eight to go all signs pointed to an earlier night than anticipated. I picked 5am as the stop time. That's eight hours away and I hope I'm not right and it takes one hour of play to bust a player. The consensus pick has been... "by Midnight." I hope so, but you never know.

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

Big Stacks: Brandon Cantu, Dennis Phillips, Kelly Kim, Tiffany Michelle, Albert Kim

Players Remaining: 33

Um... not much to report. Lots of inaction... only two bustouts in the first hour after the dinner break.

Oh, and Sklansky walked around the Amazon Room with a hooker who trailed ten feet behind him at all times.

* * * * *
11:01pm....

Big Stacks: Dennis Phillips, Craig Marquis, Peter Eastgate, Gert Andersen, and Kelly Kim

Players Remaining: 29

Mike Matusow is out. The fate of the entire WSOP rests upon the supple shoulders of Tiffany Michelle. If she makes the final table... everyone will watch it. If she busts out before that... I doubt anyone would watch it without a Hellmuth or Matusow.

A dejected Matusow sulked for several minutes while the Poker Shrink was nearby to give advice if needed.

I glanced at Ylon Schwartz's bio sheet. By far, his was the funniest out of the final 79 players. Big time pros like Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth were too cool to fill out bio sheets. Yeah, I understand some of it's total bullshit, that's why Ylon's was hysterical. Here's a sample...

Name: Ylon Schwartz
Occupation: Frisbee Salesman
Nationality: Betazoid
Education: Boodles School for Future Juniper Addicts
Amateur or Pro: Unclear
Hobbies: Laying in Hammocks
What's on your iPod: "It was stolen at the WSOP."
Proudest Poker Accomplishment: Won a badbeat jackpot.
First thing you do after you win the main event? "Go somewhere my friends would never find me."

How could you not root for Ylon? The poker world needs more wisesasses like Ylon instead of dickheads like... insert pro's name here ______ .

* * * * *
12:02am....

Big Stacks: Craig Marquis, Dennis Phillips, Tiffany 'Hot Chips' Michelle, Peter Eastgate, Gert Andersen

Players Remaining: 27

Matusow busted out on one of the last hands before the break. With Matusow and Hellmuth both eliminated, the majority of railbirds cleared out. A few hardcore Tiffany Michelle fans stuck around, but for the most part, once Matusow busted, the crowds slowly dissolved.

Shortly after the break, Cristian Dragomir, aka Phil Hellmuth's nemesis, busted out in 29th place. Nikolay Losev went out n 28th place. With that bustout, action was over for the day.

Lime Tossing Results.... Otis 150, Pauly 150. We played Inside the Limes... two limes each. I threw first and went way left. Otis nailed his toss to go up $150. On his second throw, he missed wide right. I had a chance to tie it. I totally tilted Otis when I skipped my lime into the $150 zone to even the score. Push! Overall I'm up $70 this summer.

Action will resume at noon on Monday where we play down from 27 to 9. Stay tuned for official end of Day 6 chipcounts.

Top 10 Chip Counts:
1. Dennis Phillips (St. Louis, Missouri) - 11,910,000
2. Craig Marquis (Arlington, Texas) - 11,460,000
3. Tiffany Michelle (Los Angeles, California) - 9,755,000
4. Peter Eastgate (Odense, Denmark) - 9,325,000
5. Kelly Kim (Whittier, California) - 8,840,000
6. David "Chino" Rheem (Los Angeles, California) - 8,280,000
7. Gert Andersen (Herning, Denmark) - 6,740,000
8. Paul Snead (Kings Park, New York) - 6,600,000
9. Chris Klodnicki (Voorhees, New Jersey) - 6,245,000
10. Judet Toni Cristian (Bucharest, Romania) - 5,000,000

Thanks for reading. See ya tomorrow.


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