Roy.C.O - the Royal Casino Online

Phamily Poker Classic 2

2011-08-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA

I've took my customary week off after the WSOP to catch up on sleep and mull over the future and figure out what I'm going to do with myself the rest of 2011. But now, the fun begins. I about to embark on a two-week excursion and collect material for an upcoming book about a band from Vermont named Phish. I'm hitting the road to embed myself with hippies in the traveling circus, but there's going to be a little poker involved when the tour stops in Tahoe.

I'm playing in a charity tournament and the organizers even made me a bounty player!

Next Wednesday (August 10th), the Phamily Poker Classic 2 will take place at Harvey's in Lake Tahoe.

The Phamily Poker Classic 2 is a charity tournament with 50% of the buy-in being donated to the Mockingbird Foundation. The first event was held at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City during Halloween, when Phish played a three-night run on the Boardwalk. The tournament was a huge success, so much so there's a second Phamily Poker Classic tournament that will kick off next Wednesday in Lake Tahoe.

Buy-in for the Phamily Poker Classic $120 and there's still spots available. Click here to buy in.
The final table players get a cut of the prize pool in addition to some cool prizes.

FYI... I'm a bounty player which means if you knock me out of the tournament, you get an autographed copy of my book Lost Vegas: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker.

For the first event in October, I played along with Benjo and Irongirl. I busted very early last time around, but I hadn't slept in two days! I'm hoping to get some rest before the tournament go much deeper this year.

Full details on the Phamily Poker Classic 2 can be found here.

Click here for tournament rules.

See you next Wednesday in Tahoe. I hope everyone is not that spun out and sobers up (enough) in time to play some cards.

Return of Liz Lieu Tuesdays: Happy Birthday Edition

2011-08-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA

Happy birthday to a dear friend. Liz Lieu was one of the first people I met when I first got into poker. Both of our lives have taken many odd, strange, and wonderful turns, but we didn't get to where we are today without some pitfalls and tragedies. Alas, Liz is truly a survivor in a brutal industry and a legitimate success story.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Liz!

All photos courtesy of Liz Lieu.

2011 WSOP Index - Tao of Poker Coverage

2011-07-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA

What you have here is an index of all of Tao of Poker's coverage of the 2011 WSOP. Yep, quick links to daily recaps along with a few special nuggets. Don't forget you can also check out Tao of Pokeati podcasts as well.

Let's start with a couple of posts that were published before cards went in the air on Day 1. Among those were a few tidbits about the Ivey/Full Tilt lawsuit.

2011 WSOP: Before the Madness Begins - A prelude to the seven-week fiesta of poker.

WTF? Phil Ivey Suing Full Tilt Poker - In one of the most peculiar news stories since Black Friday, Phil Ivey announced he was leaving Full Tilt, suing Tiltware, and sitting out of the WSOP. All of these important announcements were made on his Facebook fan page. Whaaaaa?

Full Tilt's Angry Response to Phil Ivey's Lawsuit - The drama-filled start to the WSOP continued with an angry response from Full Tilt's HQs. That's the fastest they ever responded to anything in the wake of Black Friday.

Finding Pil Ivey and the Doctor Is In - The video crew at Bluff Magazine did an awesome job with their videos this summer, especially the bit Finding Ivey. I got tapped to tape an interview and you can see a teaser in this video.

The Circuit Cover and Interview - I was fortunate that Alexander asked me to be a part of his amazing photo project -- The Circuit. Check out what went down behind the scenes during the photo shoot, including a candid interview about what life is really like on the road following around the tournament circuit.

Okay, and now here are the daily recaps from the 2011 WSOP...

Day 1: Welcome to the Jungle and Phil Ivey's Titanium Balls - The 2011 WSOP kicked off with lots of questions swirling around about which pros would toe the company line and support Full Tilt Poker, and which red pros would ditch the patches and other FT branding. Phil Ivey fired the first shot with his lawsuit (announced via Facebook), but did he incite a mutiny with other red pros following his lead?

Day 2: Ivey's Hippodrome and Bare-Chested Scandis - Gus Hansen wandering around with his shirt undone and the ongoing saga between Phil Ivey and Full Tilt were among the more dramatic topics on the second day of action.

Day 3: Moneymaker and Johnny Fucking Chan Win Grudge Matches and Men the Master Cheating Accusations - A Made-for-TV event occupied the Mothership with Chris Moneymaker and Johnny Fucking Chan winning their Main Event "grudge matches". Meanwhile, in the real WSOP, Men the Master was the center of hurricane of shadiness when he hypocritically accused Hollywood Dave of shorting a pot. A shouting match ensued and both were on the verge of being disqualified.

Day 4: Jake Cody's Emos, Hooligans, and Hat Tricks - Jack Cody, the latest British wunderkind made history when he became only the third member of the Triple Crown club. His victory did not come without a little rail rowdiness along the way.

Day 5: Apocalypse Now (Guest Post by Change100) - Yes, I had the day off and Change100 stepped up to pen an atmospheric piece on the tension in the air at the start of the 2011 WSOP -- the first series in the wake of Black Friday and "money getting stuck on Full Tilt" fiasco.

Day 6: Ho-most for Maria Ho - The lovely Maria Ho went deep in the 5K NL event and came within one spot of winning her first bracelet.

Day 7: British Invasion, Vampire Squids, and the Devil - After the first week of nonstop poker, the first zombie begin to appear at the Rio. The zombies in turn attract the Devil along with treacherous vampire squids.

Day 8: The Marked Cards Conspiracy and the Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To - It's not the WSOP unless there's a controversy involving the cards. There's always something wrong with the decks. At the 2011 WSOP, a couple of the decks had a printing error that was only visible underneath the groovy purple grow-lights inside the Mothership.

Day 9: Cocking Blocking the Brits - The Brits launched an all-out assault on Las Vegas once again as they threatened to win another bracelet but the bloody 10-level rule was the only thing that prevented them from shipping another bracelet.

Day 10: Banning Booze, World Series of Mormons, and Sweating the Mavs - Despite the financial woes bringing America to the brink of ruin, the WSOP continued to thrive in the face of external adversity on both the political and financial fronts. The influx of players always brought with it a wave of fervor on the rail during final tables. The powers to be did not anticipate a Mardi Gras-like atmosphere inside the Mothership that is a fragile TV set and not a country-western bar. As a result, booze was officially banned at the final table.

Day 11: Social Media in Poker and Tex Dolly Blows Chunks - The poker world has changed for the better (or worst) because of the heavy influence of social media. Oh, and we found out through Twitter that Texas Dolly got ill during the middle of a tournament because of something he ate.

Day 12: Hellmuth Chokes and Prohibition Ends at the Mothership - Phil Hellmuth was on a mission to win his 12h bracelet, yet his attempt was thwarted. Meanwhile, much to the delight of the alkies in Vegas, booze was permitted to be consumed inside the Mothership. Yes, the short-lived prohibition was over.

Day 13: Tweaker City, USA - I experienced a rather sketchy encounter in the parking lot at the Gold Coast while hanging out with Benjo.

Day 14: Subterranean Homesick Alien and Brits Snag Third Bracelet - By the end of the second week of the WSOP, everyone is ridden with homesickness. Despite the malaise, another Brit won a bracelet, meanwhile, we decided to pay homage to old school Vegas with a trip downtown to where it all began -- Binion's.

Day 15: Triple ElkY and The Mark is the 22nd Best PLO Player in the World - The French surged during the beginning of the third week of the series. They won three bracelets in a short period of time and ElkY became only the fourth player to win the Triple Crown. Meanwhile, a close friend of the Tao of Poker went deep in a PLO event. Yeah, The Mark fell short of his first WSOP final table.

Day 16: Le Deux; French Snag 2 Bracelets in 24 Hours - The French surge continued with their second bracelet within a 24-hour period.

Day 17: Mike Sexton Heads-Up for Bracelet and Liquidating the Sahara - The Ambassador of Poker, Mike Sexton, went deep in the Stud 8 event, only to have it suspended due to the 10-level rule. Sexton was heads-up when his tournament was halted. Meanwhile, the big liquidation sale at the Sahara kicked off. Jerome and Camille shot a stunning video of that dreary sale day.

Day 18: No Country For Old Men; Barry Greenstein and Mike Sexton Denied Bracelets - Two poker greats came very close to winning bracelets, yet they fell short of the mark. In addition, the Senior's Event kicked off with everyone standing to attention when the Stars and Stripes were played.

Day 19: The Donkenator and Eating Death - Dominating a donkaments are never an easy task. Woever wins that bracelet damn well deserves it. I delve a bit into Milton's Paradise Lost in this recap. Enter at your own risk.

Day 20: The Egregious Case of the $9 Pizza and Stein Shines - It was a matter of time before I went off on an old-fashioned anti-food rant because of the horrendous $9 pizza that the Poker Kitchen tries to pass off as a culinary delight.

Day 21: A Day in the Life; Hellmuth Denied 12th Bracelet (Again) - This is my favorite piece of the summer, mainly because most of the hijinks happened outside the Amazon Ballroom that eventually morphed into my first Memento moment of the WSOP. Anyway, I went on a classic bender at the Gold Coast while Phil Hellmuth went deep once again and tried to win bracelet #12.

Day 22: Slowdown, Rocky Mountain High, and Chau Giang Confirmed Alien - The WSOP caught its breath at the start of the fourth week of play, while I determined that Chau Giang is really an alien.

Day 23: Timex Flashback, Jason Mercier Wins PLO Bracelet, and More Sordid Tales About Chasing the Dragon - I squeezed in a little personal Pai Gow degeneracy in between a recap about Jason Mercier's victory in the PLO event along with a flashback about the origins of Timex.

Day 24: Dwan Song, Revelry, and Hooligans - Whenever Tom "durrrr" Dwan makes a final table, the entire poker world stops to watch. With a few million in prop bets on the line, Dwan's final tables always have an added element of excitement. Alas, it was the Brits who sucked up all of the attention in the Amazon Ballroom as they railed their boy Middy and even drank Jager bombs out of their shoes.

Day 25: Rubber Soul, Electric Daisies, and Two-Tabling Pai Gow - The Electric Daisy Carnival swept through Vegas and a quarter million ravers invaded Sin City. Fabrice Soulier shipped a bracelet and became the third Frenchie to win one in 2011. Ah, and I also engaged in a live session of Pai Gow again and two-tabled it. I'm lucky I didn't get 86'd.

Day 26: The Sickness - If you've spent a significant amount of time in Las Vegas, then you've seen those afflicted with The Sickness. I spoke about some of my experiences with the dreaded disease.

Day 27: Shaking Down Ravers; November Niner Snags Bracelet - I had a situation when I should've rolled a couple of schwasted ravers in the elevator, but I couldn't cross over to the dark side and take advantage of the party people on the last day of the Electric Daisy Carnival.

Day 28: The Glass Onion; Lamb Leads POY - Donkey slayers, Brazilians, and Ben Lamb seizing the top spot in Player of the Year race.

Day 29: Carnival at the Mothership; Akkari Wins Bracelet - I went to cover a final table and a Brazilian soccer match broke out. The Mothership was transformed into a World Cup final when Brazil's native son Andre Akkari advanced to the final table and was heads-up for a bracelet.

"Vamooooooooooooooo!"
Days 30-33: OFF

Day 34: Happy Birthday, America - On the Fourth of July, America celebrated with its annual Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island. Only in America can we boast about binge eating to celebrate our creation and independence from British tyranny.

Day 35: Catching Up - After a brief holiday away from the Vegas grind, it was time to catch up on everything I missed.

Day 36: Don't Stop Believen' - Hellmuth and the 50K hit a hard stop. Grumbles ensued.

Day 37: Another Runner-Up Finish for Hellmuth; Whiffs on Three Flush Draws to Lose Bracelet#12 - Hellmuth had another disappointing evening after he whiffed on three big flush draws only to lose to Brian Rast, who won his second bracelet in 2011.

* * *
2011 Main Event Coverage

Prelude to the Killing Fields - The 2011 Main Event
With a Little Help From My Friends: The Michael Stevens Story by Change100
Day 38- Main Event Day 1A: Dolly's Abyss
Day 39 - Main Event Day 1B: Luck Rack of Lamb
Prope Bets with Remkos and Micros WSOP Episode
Day 40 - Main Event Day 1C: One More Saturday Nite
Day 41 - Main Event Day 1D: Spiderman Big Records, Perma-Bans, and 6,865
Day 42 - Main Event Day 2A: Torturing the One-Eyed Clown, Hellmuth Awakes, and the Euro Surge
Day 43 - Main Event Day 2B: Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Day 44 - Main Event Day Off; Annie Duke Wins Media Tournament
Day 45 - Main Event Day 3: Poirier and Jace Are Million Men and Tilt-A-Scandi
Day 46 - Main Event Day 4: Soft Bubbles, Zombie Apocalypse, and the Reincarnation of JRB
Day 47 - Main Event Day 5: There Must Be Some Way Out of Here
The Skinny: Day 6
Day 48 - Main Event Day 6: House of the Rising Sun; NOLA's Ryan Lenaghan Leads with 57 Remaining
The Skinny: Day 7
Day 49 - Main Event Day 7: Buy the Ticket, Survive the Ride
2011 November Nine Set
2011 November Nine Betting Odds

That's it. Thanks for following along this summer.

Photos courtesy of Benjo and WhoJedi.

The Best of Tao of Pokerati Podcast - 2011 WSOP

2011-07-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA

This summer was special because we had several different guests on the Tao of Pokerati podcast. I never got to have everyone on that I wanted due to scheduling conflicts, but thanks to everyone who joined us during the 2011 WSOP for the quickest poker podcast on the interwebs.

Thanks to Wolynski for the pic
So here's some of my favorite episodes from the 2011 WSOP. Enjoy!

Summer Favorites - Tao of Pokerati Podcast - 2011 WSOP

Episode 6: Ivey's Lawyer (4:17) - Dan and Pauly chat about the Ivey drama that transformed the opening days of the WSOP into the "World Series of Phil Ivey." Dan also shares some inside info on Ivey's lawyer, renown criminal attorney David Chesnoff.

Episode 7: Sahara Liquidation with Remko and Benjo (6:12) - Benjo and Pauly discussed the Sahara Casino liquidation sale/auction with one of the members of the Dutch press, Remko. Both Remko and Benjo expressed a keen interest in acquiring a slot machine for super cheap, while Pauly has his eyes set on a Pai Gow table. Meanwhile, Benjo and Remko try to figure out how to ship a slot machine from Vegas to France and Holland.

Episode 12: The Tweaker Edition with Benjo (4:02) - Benjo and Pauly hang out at the Gold Coast and watched a tweaker get 86d by security. They later encounter the tweaker in the parking lot, and Benjo asks Pauly for a quick tutorial about the seedy Las Vegas meth scene.

Episode 14: Old School Cheats with Johnny Hughes (6:02) - Pauly sat down and chatted with a special guest -- the legendary Johnny Hughes -- who has been in poker circles for 50+ years. Pauly asks Johnny to share some stories about old school poker cheats and the "fear" of getting caught, which kept a lot of shady characters in line.

Episode 16: Brickless Cash Games Reprise (3:22) - Dan and Pauly recorded a quick follow-up to their previous episode while they hang out on the rail of the high-stakes cash games. They spot Eskimo Clark, "Cowboy", and other broke dicks lingering around seeking handouts from the high rollers.

Episode 17: WSOP Fashion Report with KevMath (5:10) - Pauly chats with KevMath, who is a self-described "fashion expert." The two compare and contrast the different styles of clothing worn by members of the media. KevMath also reveals why he won't wear shorts.

Episode 19: KevMath Keno System with KevMath (6:01) - Pauly and KevMath hang out at the dive bar in a bowling alley at the Gold Coast. KevMath was in the middle of crushing a video Keno game, when Pauly asked him to share a couple of his big secrets to beating the game.

Episode 20: Adieu, Benjo (8:40) with Benjo - After almost a week of speculation and rumors, Benjo confirms that he's leaving Las Vegas and heading home to France. His brief stint at the WSOP is officially over. One chapter ends, and a new one begins. Dr. Pauly, Dan and Benjo hang out in the dive bar inside the bowling alley at Gold Coast to listen to Benjo bid his farewells.

Episode 21: New Dynamic Duo with Snoopy (5:59) - Pauly holds auditions for a new sidekick with only one requirement -- a outrageous accent. Snoopy, a writer from London, nails the audition. In this episode, they discuss modeling their new dynamic duo on the Batman & Robin television series, in addition to re-locating the Bat Cave to England and installing bat poles in the press box.

Episode 23: Brazil's Mothership Invasion with AlCantHang (2:50) - Pauly and AlCantHang are on the rail inside the Mothership watching the heads-up battle between American Nachman "The Landlord" Berlin and Brazil's native son Andre Akkari. Al and Pauly record a quick episode moments after Akkari won a decisive pot to cripple Berlin, and the Brazilians went berserk.

Episode 26: Main Event Begins! (6:34) - The Main Event is upon us and before the cards went in the air, Pauly is hanging out and listening to TD Jack Effel's long-winded introduction and a quick rundown of the rules to all Main Event players. Jack then introduces Texas Dolly to utter the famous phrase, "Shuffle up and deal!"

Episode 27: Almost Famous with Snoopy (3:32) - While players return to their seats after the dinner break, Pauly and Snoopy notice Jason Alexander posing for pictures with fans. Snoopy explains why Seinfeld wasn't a big hit in England and Pauly discovers someone dressed as Snow White in the crowd. Pauly also wonders if Snoopy would ever dress up in a costume for the Main Event.

Episode 29: Media Mania and Golden Toilets with Change100 and AlCantHang (3:08) - Pauly is still in the media event, so Change100 takes the opportunity to chat with AlCantHang. They both busted rather early, especially AlCantHang, who won a dubious honor of being the first player to bust out. His reward? A Golden Toiler trophy for last place.

Episode 33: Two Brits, One Irishman with Snoopy (5:09) - Snoopy gives Pauly the latest British report with three tables remaining in the Main Event. Snoopy clues us in on the two Brits (Sam Holden and JP Kelly) still alive along with Eoghan O'Dea from Ireland. Even though O'Dea is Irish, Snoopy and Brits are still keeping an eye on their "adopted" player.

Episode 36: KevMath WSOP Exit Interview with KevMath (8:50) - Kevin "KevMath" Mathers is officially done with his WSOP assignment, but he stopped by the Rio to watch the action on Day 8. He bumped into Pauly, who sat him down to discuss his favorite moments (and least favorite) during his first ever WSOP. Pauly also quizzes him on any strange "fan" encounters along the way.

Episode 37: Pseudo-Final Table (6:02) - Dan and Pauly are on the rail of the Mothership as action resumes for the pseudo-final table of ten, otherwise known as the November Nine bubble. Plenty of tension in the air because the final table will be set with just one more elimination.

Episode 39: Bruno's New Toy (4:20) - Fun Warren brought a batch of dolls to the WSOP. The dolls, resembling famous poker pros, were custom made in London . He left a couple behind for Pauly and Dan. Pauly got Phil Hellmuth, while Dan seems a little disappointed with Daniel Negreanu. Dan suggests that he'll probably give the Negreanu's doll to his dog Bruno, so Bruno will now have a new play toy.

If you want to listen to more episodes from the 2011 WSOP, visit Tao of Pokerati podcast archives.

November Nine Betting Odds - 2011 WSOP

2011-07-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Do you want to place a bet on who will win the 2011 WSOP Main Event? The Wynn casino released betting odds for the November Nine.

Here's the opening lines...

2011 WSOP Betting Odds
3-1 Martin Staszko - 40,175,000
17-5 Eoghan O'Dea - 33,925,000
6-1 Matt Giannetti - 24,750,000
6-1 Phil Collins - 23,875,000
6-1 Ben Lamb - 20,875,000
7-1 Badih Bounahra - 19,700,000
10-1 Pius Heinz - 16,425,000
11-1 Anton Makievskyi - 13,825,000
14-1 Sam Holden - 12,375,000

Lines courtesy of the Wynn. Check your local bookie to see if lines have moved.

Martin Staszko fromt he Czech Republic is the chipelader and a 3-1 favorite. The longshot on the board is Sam Holden from the U.K. The Americans -- Phil Collins, Ben Lamb, and Matt Giannetti -- are each 6-1.

I like Eoghan O'Dea to win it all, but I'm going to wait to see if it moves to 4-1 or 9-2.

2011 November Nine Set

2011-07-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

2011 November Nine
Photo courtesy of Who Jedi
The moment you've all been waiting for...the November Nine is final set. There's nine players remaining in the 2011 WSOP Main Event Championship. Play will be suspended until November, when everyone comes back to the Rio to slug it out for the bracelet and $8.7 million in cash.

2011 November Nine:
Seat 1: Matt Giannetti
Seat 2: Badih Bounahra
Seat 3: Eoghan O'Dea
Seat 4: Phil Collins
Seat 5: Anton Makievskyi
Seat 6: Samuel Holden
Seat 7: Pius Heinz
Seat 8: Ben Lamb
Seat 9: Martin Staszko

November Nine Chip Counts:
1. Martin Staszko - 40,175,000
2. Eoghan O'Dea - 33,925,000
3. Matt Giannetti - 24,750,000
4. Phil Collins - 23,875,000
5. Ben Lamb - 20,875,000
6. Badih Bounahra - 19,700,000
7. Pius Heinz - 16,425,000
8. Anton Makievskyi - 13,825,000
9. Sam Holden - 12,375,000

November Nine - Final Table Payouts
1st - $8,711,956
2nd - $5,430,928
3rd - $4,019,635
4th - $3,011,661
5th - $2,268,909
6th - $1,720,396
7th - $1,313,851
8th - $1,009,910
9th - $782,115

To see who cashed in the Main Event, check out 2011 WSOP Main Event results and money finishers.

Stay tuned for a end of day recap. In the meantime, you can read Change100's stellar recaps over at RISE poker, or sift through my twitter feed @taopauly to glimpse about my thoughts as the day progressed, or listen to the quickie episodes of Tao of Pokerati podcast that we recorded throughout Day 8, including KevMath's exit interview.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Bruno's New Toy (Ep 39)

2011-07-20T01:23:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Fun Warren dropped off a couple of dolls resembling famous poker pros in the pressbox.Dan and Pauly each received one as a gift. Hijinks ensue...

2001 WSOP - Episode 39: Bruno's New Toy (4:20) - Fun Warren brought a batch of dolls to the WSOP. The dolls, resembling famous poker pros, were custom made in London . He left a couple behind for Pauly and Dan. Pauly got Phil Hellmuth, while Dan seems a little disappointed with Daniel Negreanu. Dan suggests that he'll probably give the Negreanu's doll to his dog Bruno, so Bruno will now have a new play toy.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Pucked Up Hand (Ep 38)

2011-07-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Dan and Pauly continue to hang out at the final table bubble for the November Nine. They pucked up a hand...

2011 WSOP - Episode 38: Pucked Up Hand (4:48) - Dan and Pauly thought they were recording an episode during an elimination hand, but they mistakenly got the players mixed up. Instead of a bustout, they witnessed a double up by Matt Gianetti. The simple error leads to a suggestion that perhaps the WSOP needs to highlight all-in players with special colored spotlights.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Pseudo-Final Table (Ep 37)

2011-07-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Dan showed up at the perfect time to hang out with Pauly, just as the final ten players were consolidated to one table...

2001 WSOP - Episode 37: Pseudo-Final Table (6:02) - Dan and Pauly are on the rail of the Mothership as action resumes for the pseudo-final table of ten, otherwise known as the November Nine bubble. Plenty of tension in the air because the final table will be set with just one more elimination.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: KevMath Exit Interview (Ep 36)

2011-07-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Kevin Mathers and he sat downw ith Paulyfor a chat about his first ever WSOP...

2001 WSOP - Episode 36: KevMath WSOP Exit Interview with KevMath (8:50) - Kevin "KevMath" Mathers is officially done with his WSOP assignment, but he stopped by the Rio to watch the action on Day 8. He bumped into Pauly, who sat him down to discuss his favorite moments (and least favorite) during his first ever WSOP. Pauly also quizzes him on any strange "fan" encounters along the way.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Patchwork Orange (Ep 35)

2011-07-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Dan and Dr. Pauly hang out on the rail of the featured TV table and wonder where have all the patch deals gone?

2001 WSOP - Episode 35: Patchwork Orange (6:06) - Dan and Pauly hang out late on Day 7. Dan tells everyone how his girlfriend checked out the Main Event for the first time to check out all the hoopla. The discussion shifts to patch deals and lack of huge sponsorship money on TV tables.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP Day 49 - Main Event Day 7: Buy the Ticket, Survive the Ride

2011-07-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Off in the distance shortly before the bewitching hour of midnight, a muffled sound resembling a mixture of clapping and two squirrels fighting echoed from the far side of the room. Someone won a pot at one of the outer tables and their friends on the rail celebrated wildly spilling beer on each other and acting like baboons during a spring mating ritual. The hand would be beamed around the world thirty minutes later via ESPN2, but for the moment, the loser sat idle and looked at the unfortunate river card. He was stunned and dazed, sort of like a boxing match when a fighter catches a glancing uppercut to the chin and falls to the canvas, only to pop up two seconds later, and wondering where the fuck did that come from? The film crew, dressed in black, captured his dazed expression as they circled his table, while a couple of field reporters scribbled down the final details of the hand in their own version of poker shorthand.

"Who won the pot," whispered the oblivious railbird in front of me.

"Obvious not the guy who just high-fived his friends on the rail."

With three or four tables left in the Amazon Ballroom, the number of media circling around the tables began to outnumber the remaining players. Add up all the tournament staff and railbirds, and the players were grossly outnumbered. They sat inside the ropes out on the floor or either on the secondary table and the massive, gaudy set inside the Mothership. Alas, for the first time since I started covering poker, agents were not slithering around the rail or trying to chase down big-stacked players on the break. The lack of online poker rooms vying for the hearts and minds of Americans and other poker fans deeply affected the endorsement cottage industry. The cold war is over after a swift round of indictments from the federales. As a result, millions of dollars in potential endorsement deals dried up. Without seven figures of free money in play, the vampires remained in the shadows -- there's no juicy and vitamin-enriched blood to suck dry.

On day 1 of the Main Event, I wandered through the Pavilion glimpsing at a poker tournament filled with thousands of dreamers, delusional gambling addicts, bucket listers, Vegas sharks, semi-pros with a chip on their shoulder, and a horde of amateurs. If I was a tournament player, I'd be drooling like Pavlov's frothing dog at all of the dead money sitting around in a poker-themed circle jerk.

By days 2 and 3, what was once a poker tournament had turned into a spectacle. By day 7, the tournament became its own reality show as the lines between sports and entertainment were blurred once again. The WSOP is definitely entertainment, but with a competitive edge, which is where the argument splinters off -- is it a sport or is it gambling disguised as sports entertainment? Regardless of which side you fall in that debate, the Main Event is the ultimate reality show and the only actors appearing in the tournament are the ones whom use their real names. Sure we might reference Everyone Loves Raymond or AJ Soprano, but that's just the roles we're used to seeing actors portray on the little box in our living rooms (and these days, with more people viewing/streaming programs on their laptops, those portrayals are beamed to their portable devices). The real life persons (Ray Romano and Robert Iler) dug into their pockets and plopped down $10,000. Doesn't matter if you're an NBA player, an electrician from Garfield, NJ, or an former internet pro who lives down the street at Palms Place. They each purchased a ticket to the bacchanal of poker.

As Hunter Thompson once said, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."

The ride is a journey. The journey is the path to fame, riches, and glory. The final step before all of that is achieved is the November Nine. All 6,865 entrants were focused on making to the end of each playing day, eventually advancing all the way to the final nine players, before they take a couple of months off and return for the November hippodrome.

Depending on who you talk to that is wearing a suit, this year at the WSOP has been its most successful yet. Pros will tell you the WSOP has turned tournament poker into one of those cheesy chain restaurants you'll find in an strip mall in America. Jaded vets will tell you otherwise -- how this year lacks the "punch" and "excitement" of previous years.

"It's like attending a funeral," one member of the British press said. "Except they usually have better food at funerals."

Yes, the 2011 WSOP reached new heights with more participants than ever before. How much of that is attributed to the lack of online poker, with junkies are playing more events to get their fix?

Don't forget that the wealth in poker is distributed every single tournament. If a pro wins a tournament, then the money will most likely stay within the inner circle of tournament poker. If a degen wins a tournament, the money will get sucked out of the poker economy and pissed away at the sportsbook or in the pits. Junkies and sex addicts will snort, shoot, and smoke away their profits, while the weak fools with penchant for strip clubs will most likely pay the rent for two or three exotic dancers. If ballers win a tournament, the money will disappear after they blow it in restaurants, clubs, and buying fast cars and luxury items for their lady friends. If a broke dick wins a tournament, most of that windfall gets kicked back into the coffers of backers and staking syndicates. And if an amateur wins a tournament (like Jerry Yang), he's taking the money back to his hometown and most likely never spending a cent of his winnings in Vegas, or circulating it back in play at the cash game or tournament tables.

But that's the beauty of the WSOP Main Event. The ticket cost $10,000. The longevity of the ride is essentially out of your hands. But the ticket gets you a chance at securing $8 million (minus taxes, fees, and loans you have to make to deadbeat friends and family members). The Main Event ride is not a carousel in the park that lasts three archaic waltzes. The Main Event Ride might last an hour or might get prolonged until November. If you fall short of the final nine, you still have a shot at drowning yourself in shit ton of cash. As we know in America (or at least, we've been brainwashed to believe it), money is a shortcut to happiness.

Then again, if you hang out at the cage, you'll see more miserable faces than the ER room at a hospital. It's not easy to get pumped about winning $242,000 when you feel as though you had a legit shot at a $8 million score -- that is, until some Eastern Euro donk ambushed you with a junk hand. One second you're smiling for ESPN cameras, and the next, you're fighting back tears after looking like a chump on the live stream.

* * *

Only 57 players walked inside the Amazon Ballroom on Day 7. After five levels (or 10 hours) of play, only 22 remained. Along the way, the adorable poker couple went busto as Doc Sands was eliminated in 30th place and his partner Erika Moutinho gotknocked out in 29th. The Golden Boy Erick Lindgren and most notable pro left in the field hit the road. Tony Hachem, the jovial brother of former champion Salty Joe Hachem failed in his quest to become the only pair of siblings to win a Main Event. The Gunslinger got gunned down in 45th place. The weird French dude with pink hair, Guillaume Darcourt, got flushed away. And the British wunderkind, JP Kelly, found his fate in 26th place.

Yeah, most of the big stories at the start of Day 7 became obituaries by the time the final 22 bagged up their chips. But that's not to say there's nothing to say about the 22 players who will return on Day 8.

Eoghan O'Dea is the son of the legendary Don O'Dea, otherwise known as the Godfather of Irish poker. O'Dea flew under the radar for the entire tournament until he emerged as one of the chipleaders late on Day 7. Only a Ukrainian ended the day with more chips.

Anton Makiievskyi ended Day 7 as overall leader after seizing the top spot. The 21-year old is still a little wet behind the ears, but he's got a legit shot at the November Nine in a breakout year for Ukrainian poker (the former bread basket of the Soviet Union boasts of four bracelets already in 2011).

Khoa Nguyen is third in chips. The engineer from Canada shares a last name that is synonymous with excellence (and controversy), but I bet you that he was the last Nguyen you thought would make a final table, right?

Andrey Pateychuk is the pride of Vladivostok, Russia. He's also the youngest player left in the Main Event, which makes him even money to advance to the November Nine. It's like a formula -- 21-year old always makes the final table.

Ben Lamb ended up fifth in chips, which is kinda disappointing considering the year he's been having. He already locked up the top spot for POY (after Bach busted) and has to hold off a Hellmuthian assault at the WSOP-Europe in October, but if he can continue his run and kep Helluth at bay, Lamb will secure himself the 2011 Player of the Year.

That rounds out the top 5 in chips, but Bryan Devonshire is probably the most notable pro left in the field. Aside from arranging complex chip structures, Devo's fans showed up with red pails, which they wore upside on their heads in homage to the eclectic 80s pop group. Devo is 15th in chips, but he has one hell of a rail that his opponents must contend with on Day 8.

You can check out Day 8 seat assignments and chip counts here -- The Skinny - Main Event Day 7.

So, there's 22 ticket holders left. Which ones will still be left standing when the ride comes to a complete stop?
* * *
Photos courtesy of Winamax and WhoJedi.

Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day.

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

2011 WSOP Main Event - The Skinny - End of Day 7

2011-07-19T01:20:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Erick and Doc
On Day 7, only 57 players walked inside the Amazon Ballroom. By the end of the night, 22 remained. Stay tuned for a complete Day 7 recap. In the meantime, check out some quick stats, results, chipcounts, and Day 8 seating assignments...

2011 Main Event - Quick Stats

Entrants: 6,865
Players Remaining: 22
Chipleader: Anton Makievskyi - 21,045,000
Payouts: 693
First Place: 8,711,956
Prizepool: $64,531,000
Juice to the WSOP: $4,119,000

Top 10 Chip Counts:
1. Anton Makievskyi - 21,045,000
2. Eoghan O'Dea - 19,050,000
3. Khoa Nguyen - 16,435,000
4. Andrey Pateychuk - 16,245,000
5. Ben Lamb - 14,690,000
6. Phil Collins - 13,805,000
7. John Hewitt - 13,265,000
8. Ryan Lenaghan - 10,415,000
9. Matt Giannetti - 8,920,000
10. Konstantinos Mamaliadis - 8,195,000

The Rest - Chip Counts:
Pius Heinz - 7,510,000
Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 7,075,000
Scott Schwalich - 6,920,000
Martin Staszko - 6,380,000
Bryan Devonshire - 6,190,000
Sam Barnhart - 4,935,000
Samuel Holden - 4,740,000
Gionni Demers - 4,655,000
Kenny Shih - 4,530,000
Lars Bonding - 4,140,000
Bounahra Badih - 3,385,000
Christopher Moore - 3,040,000

* * *
Day 7 Eliminations and Money Winners

The following players won $302,005:
23 Andrew Hinrichsen
24 Greg Kaplan
25 Jerry Van Strydonck
26 JP Kelly
27 Kyle Johnson

The following players won $242,636:
28 Philipp Gruissem
29 Erika Moutinho
30 Doc Sands
31 Steve Brecher
32 John Esposito
33 Nelson Robinson
34 Nicolas Fierro
35 Guillaume Darcourt
36 Hilton Laborda

The following players won $196,174:
37 Tony Hachem
38 Frank Sinopoli
39 Mario Silvestri
40 James Page
41 Tri Huynh
42 Fabio Sousa
43 Erick Lindgren
44 Ruben Visser
45 David Bach

The following players won $160,036:
46 Stephane Albertini
47 Tom Koral
48 Stuart Tuvey
49 Feming Chan
50 Matthew Kay
51 Stefan Huber
52 Jody Howe
53 Andrew Brokos
54 Zohair Karim

The following players won $130,997:
55 Sebastian Ruthenberg
56 Minh Nguyen
57 Per Linde

Here's a complete list of 2011 WSOP Main Event money finishers.

* * *
Day 8 Seating Assignments

Outer Table 334
Seat 1: Martin Staszko - 6,190,000
Seat 2: John Hewitt - 13,265,000
Seat 3: EMPTY
Seat 4: EMPTY
Seat 5: Ben Lamb - 14,690,000
Seat 6: Ryan Lenaghan - 10,415,000
Seat 7: Andrey Pateychuk - 16,245,000
Seat 8: Eoghan O'Dea - 19,050,000
Seat 9: Bryan Devonshire - 6,190,000

ESPN Feature Table - Mothership
Seat 1: Gionni Demers - 4,655,000
Seat 2: Chris Moore - 3,040,000
Seat 3: Khoa Nguyen - 16,435,000
Seat 4: Konstantinos Mamaliadis - 8,195,000
Seat 5: Kenny Shih - 4,530,000
Seat 6: Samuel Holden - 4,740,000
Seat 7: Lars Bonding - 4,140,000
Seat 8: EMPTY
Seat 9: Anton Makievskyi - 21,045,000

Secondary Feature Table
Seat 1: Matt Giannetti - 8,920,000
Seat 2: Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 7,075,000
Seat 3: Scott Schwalich - 6,920,000
Seat 4: Pius Heinz - 7,510,000
Seat 5: Phil Collins - 13,805,000
Seat 6: EMPTY- --
Seat 7: Bounahra Badih - 3,385,000
Seat 8: EMPTY
Seat 9: Sam Barnhart - 4,935,000

Chip counts and seating info courtesy of WSOP.com. Photo courtesy of WhoJedi.

* * *
Play resumes at noon on Tuesday. They will play from 22 down to the final nine. Stay tuned for a complete end of Day 6 recap.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Tent City

2011-07-19T00:31:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Dan and Pauly hang out on the smokers' porch and observe "tent city"...

2011 WSOP - Episode 34: Tent City (5:01) - Dan and Pauly went outside and wandered around tent city, where all of the ESPN live feed production trucks and Poker PROductions trailers were located. Pauly hasn't seen much of the semi-live coverage on ESPN and Dan clues him in on what he's been missing...

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Two Brits, One Irishman (Ep 33)

2011-07-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Snoopy joins Pauly for a conversation about the pair of Brits and one Irishman left in the Main Event field...

2011 WSOP - Episode 33: Two Brits, One Irishman with Snoopy (5:09) - Snoopy gives Pauly the latest British report with three tables remaining in the Main Event. Snoopy clues us in on the two Brits (Sam Holden and JP Kelly) still alive along with Eoghan O'Dea from Ireland. Even though O'Dea is Irish, Snoopy and Brits are still keeping an eye on their "adopted" player.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Semi-Live WSOP, Live from the Palms (Ep 32)

2011-07-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Hey, Dan and Dr. Pauly discuss the latest innovation in the Main Event...

2011 WSOP - Episode 32: Semi-Live WSOP, Live from the Palms (3:21) - The WSOP is being broadcast on ESPN with a 30-minute delay, and it's also being streamed online at ESPN 3. Dan has not been at the Rio, because he's been keeping an eye on the Main Event by watching ESPN's coverage. Pauly mentions that finally watched some of ESPN2's coverage, which was on in the background while he and Dan played in the Pokerati mixed game at the Palms.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP Day 48 - Main Event Day 6: House of the Rising Sun; NOLA's Ryan Lenaghan Leads with 57 Remaining

2011-07-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

At the start to Day 6, I jotted down a couple of potential stories that I needed to keep a keen eye on. Six seemed to be an appropriate number, so my goal was to answer all six questions by the end of the day. Here's a bit of my notes:

Day 6 Stories

1. The last woman standing -- who will it be?

2. JRB Watch - time for an implosion or will the deep run continue?

3. Can Joe Cheong become the first back-to-back November Niner?

4. When will Ben Lamb overtake Phil Hellmuth for POY standings?

5. Which "known pros" will be bagging up chips at the end of the day?

6. Will David Bach cough up the lead to Puis Heinz or Ben Lamb? Or will someone else seize the top spot?

Sometimes you get lucky and most of your questions are answered in a concise manner, especially on a rather strange Sunday in Las Vegas. How strange? Everyone went to dinner at 4:25pm and had a 2-hour break. Very strange indeed. What are we playing a circuit event at the WSOP of Del Bocca Vista? Only retirees hitting up an "Early Bird" buffet are ready to chow down at 4:30pm.

Me? I scurried out of the Rio and played an hour of so of Pai Gow. I wish I was hungry, but at the time, I needed to donk off a few chips while I sorted out the top 6 stories of the day.

* * *
Last Woman Standing

Three women entered the Octogon. Only one survived and collected Wicked Chops Poker's special "cup" for the Last Woman Standing. At my first WSOP Main Event in 2005, Tiffany Williamson made noise during her deep run (15th place) and even got to fling around chips inside Benny's Bullpen at the last ever glimpse of the WSOP at Downtown Las Vegas. In 2006, Sabyl Cohen went deep with a 56th place finish in the largest-ever field at the WSOP. In 2007, Maria Ho took 37th place and almost got drenched by a keg of beer from rowdy railbirds. If you read Lost Vegas, you know about the controversy surrounding Tiffany Michelle's 17th place finish at the 2008 Main Event. In 2009, Leo Margets from Spain finished in 27th place. Last year, it wasn't that great of year for the Ladies because no one finished in the top 3 tables. Alas, Breeze Zuckerman posted a 121st place finish, good enough for the WCP Last Woman Standing cup.

In 2011, a trio of women were still alive at the start of Day 6: Amanda Musumeci, Erika Moutinho, and Claudia Crawford. Crawford hit the rail in 85th while Musumeci waited until the final level of play before she bailed out in 62nd place. Ergo, Erika Moutinho shipped the Last Woman Standing cup.

Amanda Musumeci

Claudia Crawford
Moutinho not only has a name that is ripe to be snarked on via Twitter, but she's also the girlfriend of Doc Sands -- himself ensconced in a deep run at the Main Event. The couple even were seated at the same table late in the day. Sometimes, couples/spouses and siblings/family members are looked upon with suspicious eyes in poker rooms because of a potential collusion factor. I dunno about you and your siblings, but my brother and I grew up in a highly competitive environment. Sure we'd root for each other to win a tournament, but while we're both playing -- anything goes. We've both busted each other in the past and given the shot, we'd go after each other in the Main Event. The Mizrachis had a similar situation last year. Heck, even Annie Duke knokced her brother Howard Lederer out of the Main Event the year in which she bubbled off the final table.

Now boyfriend/girlfriend? That's a little tough, but then again, I've been with my awesome ladyfriend for over 5 years and we've pretty much argued about everything under the sun. You don't last that long in a relationship unless you've run the gauntlet of debate/argument topics -- and still be on speaking terms without chucking sharp objects at each other. So in that regard, I assume Moutinho and Sands would gun each other down if given the opportunity. After all, it's the WSOP Main Event -- a made-for-TV event -- and as the saying goes, "It's not show friends, it's show business!"

I'd expect all eyes are keeping a close watch on the couple, which means it's nearly impossible to pull off any shenanigans because they are under intense scrutiny, especially with 57 players to go. But congrats to Erika Moutinho. She still has a shot at becoming the next (and only second) woman to make the final table.

Erika Moutinho
Oh, and speaking of brothers -- Tony Hachem is trying to make history by becoming the first pair of brothers/siblings to ship the Main Event. His older brother, "Salty" Joe Hachem won the last ever Main Event played out inside Benny's Bullpen in 2005. Ah, that's the locale of the infamous "Oi! Oi! Oi!" chant and let's not forget the "Pass the sugar!" mantra that got beat to a dead horse in the subsequent years.

* * *
JRB Watch

Jean-Robert Bellande (known aliases are JRB, Bobby, or Busto Bobby) is an evil genius and managed to brand himself, quite successfully, as the consummate broke dick poker pro. Bellande crossed over into rare and coveted territory for the poker world -- as a network reality TV star. Poker fame is one thing, but reality TV show fame is an entirely different beast. Many more Americans watch Survivor compared to WSOP broadcasts on ESPN, which means Bobby Bellande is famous in Middle America because he appeared on TVs inside homes, apartments, and trailer parks in various fly-over states.

Bellande is also very open about his deviancy and lack of control when it comes to bankroll management, Much like many young pros who come into money for the first time, JRB and the young guns often opt to keep up their lofty lifestyles at the expense of their bankroll. Hence why "Broke Living" is such a truthful way to band oneself in poker, especially because behind the scenes many well-known pros are struggling financially -- either trying to maintain the baller lifestyle, or they're stuck six or seven figures of makeup to various backers and staking syndicates.

Love or hate JRB, at least he's honest with his financial situation. Plenty of pros issue press releases or brag on social media about why they are skipping the WSOP or other events while whitewashing the real truth -- because they are broke. A few years back when Gus Hansen was rumored to be stuck almost $10 million (most of it to Doyle Brunson), the Great Dane was AWOL from the WSOP preliminaries. I bumped into his "agent" in the hallway and said, "Where the fuck is Gus? Tell me he's banging the Swedish bikini team?" His agent acted coy and said, "Gus is home in Denmark spending time with family and playing golf with friends." I quickly scribbled down in my notebook -- "Agent tried to bluff me. Gus is broke."

JRB is always a fun sweat because his stack has more ups and downs and massive swings than a gold mining stock listed on the NYSE. One moment JRB has his back against the wall and on the brink of elimination. The next thing you know, he's sitting pretty on a big stack and you know it's just a matter of time before he spews off his chips. We took bets in the press box when JRB would implode -- but we were also impressed with another deep run in consecutive years.

JRB haters rejoiced when he busted in 65th place, meanwhile JRB fans were bummed out when he was eliminated late on Day 6. Busto Bobby added $108,412 to his bankroll. I have no idea how much of his action he sold off, but expect it was anywhere from 42 to 98%.

* * *
Back-to-Back Subiime?

Since the inception of the November Nine, there has yet to be a player to make multiple November Nine appearances. Only one player from the 2010 November Nine was still alive -- Joe "subiime" Cheong. After a tough implosion at the final table inside the Penn & Teller Theatre, Cheong busted in third place. He was seeking redemption and attempting to erase last year's bitter memory with another final table stint. Plus, without online poker, Cheong needed to gobble up as much cash as he could to pad his bankroll because grinding live poker is a mind-bending chore in the post-Black Friday world.

Alas, Cheong got knocked out in 114th place and only won $54,000 or so. That's chump change compared to the November Nine payouts, but at least he exited the Amazon Ballroom with the distinction of being the last November Niner left standing. Doesn't he get a lifetime supply of beef jerky for that feat?

* * *
Lambs, Brats, and POY

Phil Hellmuth did everything within his power to win his 12th bracelet this summer. He ended up with three disappointing runner-up finishes, but entered the Main Event in the top spot for the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year race (powered by Bluff Magazine's astute ranking system). At one point Ben Lamb held the lead, until Hellmuth leaped ahead a couple of weeks ago.

But now -- with Hellmuth's elimination and Lamb still alive in the Main Event -- Lamb surpassed Hellmuth once again to reclaim the top spot in the POY race. Of course, David Bach has an outside chance of seizing first place if he ships the Main Event and both Lamb/Hellmuth whiff at the WSOP-Europe.

Oh, in case you didn't know, the WSOP-E counts towards POY points. It was a controversial decision and most pros were against it because they were lazy fuckers who didn't want to have to fly to Cannes in October to play in all of the WSOP-E events in order to secure their leads in the POY. You bet your ass Hellmuth already booked his flights to France and he'll be playing in every preliminary including the WSOP-E Main Event. I guess you can expect Ben Lamb to show up as well in order to preserve his top spot.

* * *
Familiar Faces (of Death)

Who is going to be the token pro at the final table? Every year it seems as though a name pro stands out from the rest of the pack. With Phil Ivey sitting out this year's Main Event, a handful of pros went into Day 6 hoping that they'd step up and become this year's token pro. The exposure is tough to top, especially if you're not considered one of the top-tiered pros in terms of TV popularity and outlandishness. Guys like Allen Cunningham have millions and millions in career earnings, but they are nice, quiet guys at the table, which means they are overlooked by ESPN cameras, who spend more time roaming the floor capturing douchey behavior and other outbursts of uncouth manners

Speaking of Allen Cunningham, he went deep during the year Jamie Gold won and was hoping to add another final table to his already impressive resume. Alas, Allen busted in 69th place. That meant the golden boy -- Erick Lindgren -- became the center of attention.

Lindgren going deep
Lindgren recently got married to Erica Schoenberg before the Main Event began. If there's another reason to hate Lindgren, there you go, because he married one of the cooler chicks in the poker scene. Lindgren finally got the bracelet monkey off his back a couple of summers ago, but why not add a November Nine appearance to his list of accolades?

Lindgren flew under the radar, so low in fact, that my buddy F Train didn't even notice him until Day 6. Sometimes pros will do that to you and sneak up out of nowhere. While everyone was focused on the chipleaders and the race to a 10 million-chip stack, Lindgren got lost in the kerfuffle.

Lindgren ended Day 6 in the second half of the pack (38th to be exact). At this time of the year, he's usually sifting through fantasy football magazines (joke source goes to his agent, Brian Balsbaugh) and gearing up for the upcoming NFL season. But in this instance, the magazines will have to wait because E-Dogg is attempting a shot at the improbable -- a seat at the November Nine.

By the way, speaking of notables, one of the producers from my favorite show Weeds is Matt Salsberg. He finished in 70th place. If you ever wonder where all the random poker references came from -- it's Salsberg! Well done, sir. By the way, if you happen to read Tao of Poker, I'd love to submit writing samples (and hook you up with a copy of Lost Vegas) to be considered as a staff writer on your upcoming series about poker players. Heck, I'd even write for Weeds if given the opportunity. Let me know if we can do lunch when I get back to L.A.!

* * *
Bag It Tag It, Sell It to the Butcher At the Store

David "Gunslinger" Bach began Day 6 as the chipleader. Everyone still left in the Main Event was gunning for the big dog. By the end of four full levels of play, Bach slipped to under 2 million -- a paltry sum indeed. He'll start Day 7 in 42nd place or trailing the leader by 9 million.

Speaking of leaders, Ryan Lenaghan sort of came out of nowhere to finish Day 6 with the lead.He bagged up 12.8 million. Lenaghan, a pro from the Big Easy via Alabama, emerged late on Day 6. Most of the attention throughout the day went to Phil Collins. No, the drummer from Genesis was not playing in the Main Event, rather it was the online pro known as USCPhildo. And no, he didn't go to Southern Cal, rather, he attended South Carolina. Anyway, Collins became the first player to pass the 10 million mark, much to the delight of the media who quickly busted out Phil Collins jokes/lyrics/song titles.

Lenaghan snatched the lead away from Collins, who finished up 7.2 million after dropping a slew of chips. Collins still managed to pull off a Top 5 finish on Day 6.

And then there's Ben Lamb. He seized the lead at one point during Day 6, but couldn't keep pace with Collins or Lenaghan. But never count Lamb out. He finished Day 6 with a shade under 10 million -- good enough for second overall.

By the way, Bryan Devonshire and Puis Heinz (my new favorite name at the Main Event) are 11th and 12th in chips with a smidgen below 6 million. They are both within striking distance of the front pack.

* * *
Photos courtesy of Winamax and Wolynski.

Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day.

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

2011 WSOP Main Event - The Skinny - End of Day 6

2011-07-18T01:20:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

There's 57 players left over in the 2011 WSOP Main Event. Stay tuned for a complete Day 6 recap. In the meantime, check out some quick stats, results, chipcounts, and Day 7 seating assignments...

2011 Main Event - Quick Stats

Entrants: 6,865
Players Remaining: 57
Chipleader: Ryan Lenaghan - 12,865,000
Payouts: 693
First Place: 8,711,956
Prizepool: $64,531,000
Juice to the WSOP: $4,119,000

Top 10 Chip Counts:
1. Ryan Lenaghan - 12,865,000
2. Ben Lamb - 9,980,000
3. Matt Giannetti - 7,940,000
4. Andrey Pateychuk - 7,255,000
5. Phil Collins - 7,240,000
6. Hilton Laborda - 7,160,000
7. Nelson Robinson - 6,420,000
8. Tri Huynh - 6,295,000
9. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 6,070,000
10. Kyle Johnson - 5,970,000

The Rest - End of Day 6 Chip Counts:
11. Bryan Devonshire - 5,970,000
12. Pius Heinz - 5,695,000
13. Guillaume Darcourt - 5,340,000
14. Chris Moore - 5,260,000
15. Konstantinos Mamaliadis - 5,065,000
16. John Hewitt - 5,045,000
17. James Page - 4,045,000
18. Andrew Hinrichsen - 4,025,000
19. Jerry Van Strydonck - 3,985,000
20. Nicolas Fierro - 3,800,000
21. JP Kelly - 3,750,000
22. Per Linde - 3,750,000
23. Khoa Nguyen - 3,530,000
24. Tom Koral - 3,390,000
25. Ahtoh Makiievskyi - 3,385,000
26. Lars Bonding - 3,370,000
27. Sam Barnhart - 3,145,000
28. Scott Schwalich - 2,940,000
29. David Sands - 2,765,000
30. Gregory Kaplan - 2,760,000
31. Stephane Albertini - 2,635,000
32. Stuart Tuvey - 2,585,000
33. Martin Staszko - 2,550,000
34. Eoghan Odea - 2,535,000
35. Andrew Brokos - 2,505,000
36. Tony Hachem - 2,250,000
37. Samuel Holden - 2,220,000
38. Erick Lindgren - 2,195,000
39. Fabio Sousa - 2,150,000
40. Erika Moutinho - 2,075,000
41. Philipp Gruissem - 2,005,000
42. David Bach - 1,985,000
43. Feming Chan - 1,955,000
44. Bounahra Badih - 1,860,000
45. Steve Brecher - 1,805,000
46. Mario Silvestri - 1,725,000
47. Gionni Demers - 1,625,000
48. Stefan Huber - 1,469,000
49. Matthew Kay - 1,295,000
50. Kenny Shih - 1,240,000
51. Zohair Karim - 1,240,000
52. Frank Sinopoli - 1,105,000
53. Ruben Visser - 1,070,000
54. Jody Howe - 1,065,000
55. John Esposito - 1,000,000
56. Minh Nguyen - 1,000,000
57. Sebastian Ruthenberg - 890,000

* * *
Day 6 Eliminations and Money Winners

The following players won $130,997:
58 Brian Yoon
59 Thomas Grey
60 Tyler Bonkowski
61 Chris DeMaci
62 Amanda Musumeci
63 Marc-Andre Ladouceur

The following players won $108,412:
64 Guy Gorelik
65 Jean-Robert Bellande
66 Jacob Bazeley
67 Peter Gelencser
68 Bryan Follain
69 Allen Cunningham
70 Matt Salsberg
71 Mitchell Cogert
72 Niall Charlton

The Following players won $90,343:
73 Jared Vengrin
74 Aaron Ruppert
75 Ben Mintz
76 Hoi Lee
77 Paul Spitzberg
78 Michael De Gilio
79 Alex Moore
80 Frederick Berger
81 Pablo Ubierna

The following players won $76,146:
82 David Barter
83 Evan McNiff
84 Robin Jens Colbin
85 Claudia Crawford
86 Marc Mclaughlin
87 Jonathan Seelbach
88 Bolivar Palacios
89 Daryl Jace
90 Frank Calo

The following players won $64,531:
91 Benjamin Logan
92 Christian Harder
93 Julian Stuer
94 Mars Callahan
95 Sorel Mizzi
96 Harold Wasson
97 Tahsyn Makani
98 Nathan Meyvis
99 Raymond Henson

The following players won $54,851:
100 Jamie Shaevel
101 Chamath Palihapitiya
102 Ara Melikian
103 Aaron Jones
104 Thomas Pedersen
105 Robert Peltekci
106 Vladimir Geshkenbein
107 Eli Elezra
108 Lance Steinberg
109 Duane Alexander
110 Massimiliano Martinez
111 Sami Kelopuro
112 Alexander Dietrich
113 Jens Kyllonen
114 Joseph Cheong
115 Steve Rawle
116 Wai Cheng
117 Bryan Colin
118 Magnus Persson
119 Guerfi Mesbah
120 Matthew Wantman
121 Matthew Frankland
122 Ryan Jaconetti
123 Seth Davies
124 Peter "Nordberg" Feldman
125 Chris Bonita
126 Blake Bohn
127 Marton Czuczor
128 Thomas Oldcroft
129 Jonathan Pinx
130 Cortland Mcjannet
131 Vasily Tsapko
132 Rupert Elder
133 Cory Albertson
134 Jeff Becker
135 Guiseppe Pastura
136 Patrick McNamara
137 Alexander Debus
138 Jimmie Guinther
139 Marius Maciukas
140 Timothy Adams
141 Carl Olson
142 James Ruszkiewicz

Here's a complete list of 2011 WSOP Main Event money finishers.
* * *
Day 7 Seating Assignments

Table 312
Seat 1: John Esposito - 1,000,000
Seat 2: David Bach - 1,985,000
Seat 3: David Sands - 2,765,000
Seat 4: Ryan Lenaghan - 12,865,000
Seat 5: Pius Heinz - 5,695,000
Seat 6: Stephane Albertini - 2,635,000
Seat 7: EMPTY
Seat 8: Martin Staszko - 2,550,000
Seat 9: Hilton Laborda - 7,160,000

Table 314
Seat 1: EMPTY
Seat 2: Matt Giannetti - 7,940,000
Seat 3: Fabio Sousa - 2,150,000
Seat 4: JP Kelly - 3,750,000
Seat 5: Tom Koral - 3,390,000
Seat 6: Andrey Pateychuk - 7,255,000
Seat 7: Frank Sinopoli - 1,105,000
Seat 8: Minh Nguyen - 1,000,000
Seat 9: Zohair Karim - 1,240,000

Table 324
Seat 1: Phil Collins - 7,240,000
Seat 2: Konstantinos Mamaliadis - 5,065,000
Seat 3: Nelson Robinson - 6,420,000
Seat 4: James Page - 4,045,000
Seat 5: Erika Moutinho - 2,075,000
Seat 6: EMPTY
Seat 7: Gionni Demers 1,625,000
Seat 8: Tri Hyunh 6,295,000
Seat 9: Stefan Huber 1,470,000

Table 326
Seat 1: Bryan Devonshire - 5,970,000
Seat 2: Scott Schwalich - 2,940,000
Seat 3: Ben Lamb - 9,980,000
Seat 4: EMPTY
Seat 5: Nic Fierro - 3,800,000
Seat 6: Eoghan Odea - 2,535,000
Seat 7: Matthew Kay - 1,295,000
Seat 8: Sam Barnhart - 3,145,000
Seat 9: Ahtoh Makiievskyi - 3,385,000

Table 334
Seat 1: Feming Chan - 1,955,000
Seat 2: Jody Howe - 1,065,000
Seat 3: Lars Bonding - 3,370,000
Seat 4: Kyle Johnson - 5,970,000
Seat 5: Andrew Hinrichsen - 4,025,000
Seat 6: Steve Brecher - 1,805,000
Seat 7: Jerry Van Strydonck - 3,985,000
Seat 8: Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 6,070,000
Seat 9: Gregory Kaplan - 2,760,000

Table 336
Seat 1: Tony Hachem - 2,250,000
Seat 2: EMPTY
Seat 3: Philipp Gruissem - 2,005,000
Seat 4: Sam Holden - 2,222,000
Seat 5: Bounahra Badih - 1,860,000
Seat 6: Mario Silvestri - 1,725,000
Seat 7: Per Linde - 3,750,000
Seat 8: Khoa Nguyen - 3,530,000
Seat 9: Ruben Visser - 1,070,000

Table 340
Seat 1: EMPTY
Seat 2: Andrew Brokos - 2,505,000
Seat 3: Guillaume Darcourt - 5,340,000
Seat 4: Kenny Shih - 1,240,000
Seat 5: Stuart Tuvey - 2,585,000
Seat 6: Sebastian Ruthenberg - 890,000
Seat 7: John Hewitt - 5,045,000
Seat 8: Chris Moore - 5,260,000
Seat 9: Erick Lindgren - 2,195,000

Chip counts and seating info courtesy of WSOP.com. Photo courtesy of WhoJedi.

* * *
Stay tuned for a complete end of Day 6 recap.

2011 WSOP Day 47 - Main Event Day 5: There Must Be Some Way Out of Here

2011-07-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

The demarcation line between pipe dreams and reality falls somewhere toward the end of Day 5 of the World Series of Poker Main Event. If you can survive the onslaught in the killing fields and somehow make it to the end of Day 5 without a scratch, then you're on the verge of fulfilling your wildest dreams. Most players play poker because they are driven by ego, money, and/or fame. And a small category of folks are fired up by all three motivating factors. Sprinkle in a little luck, blessings from the poker gods, a slew of poker acumen -- and you have a recipe for a potent elixir -- one sip from that so-called Holy Grail will attain you immortality.

That is, if you get a shot at have a sip of the sweet nectar.

* * *
"Vegas has no respect for history," blurted out my cab driver and twenty-year inhabitant of Las Vegas as he pined over the eventual destruction of his favorite casinos -- the Dunes, Stardust and the Sahara.

"At least the WSOP hands out bracelets," I assured him. "That's one of the few places in Sin City that recognizes the old in order to tantalize the young."

But aside from the notion of bracelets, you'd have to struggle to find an hints of history at the Rio. Only the Amazon Ballroom housed the massive murals of former Main Event world champions. However, if you walked into the Rio's convention center on Day 5, you might have wondered, "Where did the Wall of Champions go?"

Yeah, for some odd reason, the entire convention center was stripped of WSOP logos and branding. Once the Pavilion went out of commission on Day 4 all of the chairs vanished and were lined up in the back service hallways. I walked down a narrow corridor with a wall of banquet chairs stacked 10 to 12 high or $100,000 to $120,000 worth of buy-ins. Within a ten yard stroll, I passed $1 million worth of dead money.

The Poker Kitchen and the hallways were next on the list. All branding was removed including the wrinkled Player of the Year banners in the hallway connecting the casino to poker's Mecca. The corridors leading up to the Amazon Ballroom were bare -- with just a few tables shilling poker books that everyone already owns and another table hawking cheap sunglasses.

The stripped down hallways gave the WSOP an odd feel on Day 5. Outside the Amazon Ballroom, it seemed like any other day at the Rio instead of "Moving Day" at the WSOP. Then again, aybe that's why they dubbed it Moving Day, because a bunch of workers were packing everything up and carting it away to the depths of some storage facility. In case you wondered where they housed POY banners for Allen Cunningham and Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schneider, it's in the same highly-guarded facility with the Ark of the Covenant, Elvis' brain, and the flying saucer that crashed at Roswell.

* * *
Even though outside the Amazon Ballroom it barely looked like the most prestigious poker tournament was running -- 378 poker players slugged it out for eight hours. When they bagged up chips at the end of the night, only 142 players remained. The field inched closer and closer to a number under three digits and the pay jumps made your eyes grow wider and wider. As the few remaining known-pros busted, the cameras focused on the lesser-known professionals and a couple of amateurs were caught up in the opening minutes of their 15-minutes of fame, as a flock of drooling media reps circled the tables, while the ESPN cameras hovered.

Inside the Mothership, a trio of familiar faces were seated on the center stage --Allen Cunningham, Daniel Negreanu, and Jean-Robert Bellande. Allen Cunningham flew under the radar for most of the Main Event, probably because he's usually the most quiet person in the room and he's also had a bleh WSOP leading up to the Main Event. Allen has a chance to turn his entire summer around with another final table appearance. He was one of the favorites to win the 2006 Main Event, but the cards didn't quite fall his way.

Negreanu fell to the wayside in 211th place. Even an army of Negreanu-heads at home helping log hands couldn't help Kid Poker. I guess the poker gods decided it wasn't his time to win the Main Event.

Jean-Robert Bellande (Busto Bobby or JRB) must have cashed in some karma points because JRB advanced to Day 6 with a healthy stack worth 1.1 million. Maybe this is Bobby's year? He managed to avoid an implosion. Instead, Day 5's Demolition Award (aka the Dimitri Nobles Trophy) for worst implosion goes to Manoj Viswanathan. The New Yorker started the day as the overall leader, took a hit early on, then busted unceremoniously in 191st place.

* * *

Gunslinger
Photo by WhoJedi
Cue the rise of the Gunslinger.

At the 2007 LAPC, one of my colleagues joked that David Bach asked to be put into the chip counts as David "Gunslinger" Bach. It might have been a joke in 2007, but after snatching up a 50K HORSE Championship and ended in Day 5 of the Main Event as the chip leader, maybe it's time to finally bestow the Gunslinger moniker on Bach?

Bach is a character for sure -- the unshaven Bach with a Georgia twang looks like a guy who walked out of a Widespread Panic concert instead of the chipleader at the WSOP. He's usually clad in a cowboy hat and some sort of seasonal shirt. Bach has a bad back and is rarely seen without a massage therapist working on his troubled areas. He even attempted to bring his own chair to WSOP. He's often snagged a dealer's chair to sit in that instead of the creaky banquet chairs -- the same beige chairs that have been used since I started cover the WSOP at the Rio in 2005.

Bach ended Day 5 as the chipleader with 4.7 million. He got most of his chips by ravishing Vanessa Rousso's stack. Last week on Day 3, Bach dragged one monsterpotten with an aggressive call against Rousso, then finished her off shortly after. On Day 5, Bach re-activated his luckbox powers in a decisive hand against Max Bach four-flushed the German... and the rest is history.

* * *
2011 Main Event - Quick Stats

Entrants: 6,865
Players Remaining: 142
Chipleader: David Bach - 4,706,000
Payouts: 693
First Place: 8,711,956
Prizepool: $64,531,000
Juice to the WSOP: $4,119,000

End of Day 5 - Top 10 Chip Counts:
1. David Bach - 4,706,000
2. Pius Heinz - 4,699,000
3. Kyle Johnson - 4,654,000
4. Phil Collins - 4,109,000
5. Ben Lamb - 4,032,000
6. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 3,462,000
7. Sebastian Ruthenberg - 3,354,000
8. Lars Bonding - 3,327,000
9. Bryan Devonshire - 3,292,000
10. Thomas Grey - 3,262,000

Notables:
Sam Barnhart 3,065,000
JP Kelly 2,664,000
Fred Berger 2,119,000
Daryl Jace 2,110,000
Tony Hachem 2,067,000
Joseph Cheong 1,988,000
Christian Harder 1,624,000
Jean-Robert Bellande 1,230,000
Sami Kelopuro 936,000
Peter "Nordberg" Feldman
Ray Henson 795,000
Amanda Musumeci 738,000
Steve Brecher 736,000
Eli Elezra 707,000
Allen Cunningham 641,000
Carl Olson 531,000
Sorel Mizzi 500,000
Erick Lindgren 385,000
Cory Albertson 258,000

Click here for a complete list of 2011 WSOP Main Event money winners.

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

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

2011 WSOP Day 46 - Main Event Day 4: Soft Bubbles, Zombie Apocalypse, and the Reincarnation of JRB

2011-07-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

"Shake it off," said the enthusiastic railbird as he rushed down the corridor to keep up with his friend, who had just busted from the Main Event, and walking as quickly as possible down the hallway without actually running. His face was so read, it looked like a pimple ready to burst.

"Shake it off?" snapped the busted player amidst the walk of shame. "Are you fucking kidding?"

"Hey, you were in the Top 750," said the consoling friend in a soothing Tony Robbins-type of voice. "That's something to be proud about. Hey, I'm proud of you!"

"Proud? I'm out. I played my ass off and now I'm out. Fuck my life. I hate poker."

The top 693 players were awarded prize money at the 2011 WSOP Main Event. Everyone else who took a shot at fame, glory, and the massive payday went home empty-handed. Sure, maybe each player got a couple of pictures of themselves flinging around chips at the poker table to post on Facebook. If they tussled in any sizable pots, maybe they left Vegas with couple stories about check-raising a well-known TV pro, which they'll tell every time they got super shitfaced drunk at their local pub.

The WSOP might be the home office for grizzled veterans and established pros, but it's also the location of fantasy camp for amateurs who decided to take a shot at the big time. It's one thing to get coolered on Day 1 or donk off your chips on Day 2 with an unfortunate four-bet-bluff-shove and hit the road early on, but if you make it as far as Day 4 and bust out a couple of spots before the money -- that's one of the most frustrating and disappointing results you could experience in poker. Talk about suicidal tendencies.

The Main Event is dragged out over two weeks with almost a full calendar week in between Days 1 and 3. If you have life leaks, those days off in Sin City could absolutely bury you. 48 hours in Las Vegas is like a year of debauchery in any other city. Ask Carter Gill who ran into a little spat with Harrah's security and they banned him from all properties after he threw the clothes of a lady friend (pro or girlfriend? we still don't know) out of a window. I could tell you other horror stories about degens pissing away their bankroll tossing dice or playing Big O cash games while waiting to return to action at the WSOP. And then there's the guys who get so bored that they have to fill their down time by getting rolled by hookers, or worse, falling in love with an exotic dancer named Rachelle.

Busting out on Day 4 of the Main Event is one of the most traumatic events to happen to any poker player. The demoralizing elimination enough to scar you for life and send you spiraling into the depths of mega-life-tile.

I felt bad for the guy in the hallway who busted out before the money bubble broke and all he wanted to do was walk off his tilt, yet his happy-go-lucky buddy on the rail completely fucked up and failed to understand the sheer anger that pumps through your veins when you get so close in the Main Event -- yet miserably fall short of the mark. The busted player didn't want to hear any positive spins on his downfall. Shit, if someone told me that I should be proud of missing the money by 30 or so places, I'd take off my shoe and beat the piss out of him. Anyone who tries to lift your broken spirits with cheesy daily affirmations or new age bullshit deserves to get their ass whooped.

I walked behind the two gentlemen in the hallway and kept cringing the more and more that the railbird tried to make his busted friend feel better. Sure the railbird's intentions were pure, but he should know better than to try to console a dejected gambler. The only thing that might make the busted player feel better is to hate-fuck a hooker. Shit, I almost tackled the clueless railbird and held him down while the busted player stomped on his testicles and scooped out his eyeballs with a plastic spork.

Come on, folks. Even all the cocaine and strippers in the world is not going to make the guy who busted short of the money feel any better. He played his heart out for over a week and avoided getting slaughtered in the killing fields, only to get picked off a half hour from the bursting of the money bubble.

Seat open, table 366! Dead man walking.

The busted player reached the front door to the Rotunda and I heard a huge crashing sound, as a blinding yellow light forced its way into the darkened corridor. The front door flew open with a short, yet forceful roundhouse kick. I'm sure the busted player wanted to punch three holes in the railbird's head and use it to bowl three games at the Gold Goast, but instead, the door became his surrogate punching bag.

"Fuuuuuuuck!" screamed the busted guy as he exited the Convention Center and continued his walk of shame across the sizzling asphalt of the Rio's parking lot.

Welcome to the Zombie Apocalypse.
* * *
This year's Bubble Boy honors went to Reza Kashani. The newcomer from Orange County, CA busted out on an odd hand, mainly because he's an amateur and didn't understand the concept of bubble play -- especially at the WSOP where hundreds of aspiring min-cashers sat rigidly on their puckered assholes. One guy next to the pressbox had a stop watch with him and was stalling (but well within the rules) because he took a few seconds short of his allotted time before he folded. Ah, the old trick of stalling on the bubble to secure a min-cash. It happens every year and only a few people can actually pull it off.

Check out Shamus' tale about one man's struggle with a short stack on the bubble. A compelling story for sure and I rarely root for players, but I definitely was pulling for Steve Rosen.

The money bubble lacked the excitement and volcanic energy of previous bubbles. I can't explain why because all of the normal bubble procedures were in full effect -- the non-exclusive media was kicked out of the playing area and ESPN cameras had free reign of the floor to capture the unfortunate bubble boy (or girl). This year's bubble took almost 46 minutes before the proverbial popping of said bubble. Even when the player's reached the money, the celebration from inside the Amazon Ballroom was much more subdued than the frantic and New Years' Eve type of jubilation I had been used to experiencing. I'm still trying to pin point the exact reason for the flat bubble -- it's like opening up a bottle of champagne that was flat or getting a skunk beer. A few veterans also shared similar sentiments.

Anyway, Reza Kashani got taken out by November Niner Joe Cheong. He collected a freeroll into next year's Main Event for finishing in 694th place. I really feel bad for the schmuck who busted in 695th place -- or what WhoJedi dubbed "the secret bubble boy."

Allinat420
Photo courtesy of WhoJedi
By the way, Matt Stout is making a deep run. He passed 1 million in chips on Day 4, much to the delight of the herb-friendly crowd at the WSOP. If the Tao of Poker still gave out an award for "Burner of the Year", rest assured Stout would win every year.

And speaking of deep runs, how about JRB aka Bobby Bellande or Busto Bobby. He was down to his last 70K and avoided an elimination by doubling up with Q-4 sooted. That was the decisive hand he needed to propel himself for the rest of the day. When he bagged up chips at the end of the night, he had over 1.1 million. Epic, eh? JRB is on a rush. Expect him to be at the featured TV table on Day 5. JRB is good for TV.

* * *
2011 Main Event - Quick Stats

Entrants: 6,865
Players Remaining: 378
Chipleader: Manoj Viswanathan - 2,115,000
Payouts: 693
First Place: 8,711,956
Prizepool: $64,531,000
Juice to the WSOP: $4,119,000

End of Day 4 - Top 10 Chip Counts:
1. Manoj Viswanathan - 2,115,000
2. Sam Barnhart - 1,925,000
3. Pius Heinz - 1,887,000
4. Stephane Albertini - 1,867,000
5. Daryl Jace - 1,849,000
6. Lars Bonding - 1,813,000
7. Kyle Johnson - 1,761,000
8. Matthew Kay - 1,756,000
9. Mazin Khoury - 1,707,000
10. Max Heinzelmann - 1,672,000

Notables:
JP Kelly - 1,332,000
Ben Lamb - 1,268,000
David Bach - 1,142,000
Jean-Robert Bellande - 1,134,000
Peter Feldman - 1,100,000
Mark Newhouse - 1,070,000
Guillaume Darcourt - 1,052,000
Joe Tehan - 893,000
Joseph Cheong - 862,000
Eli Elezra - 777,000
Matt Stout - 750,000
Kevin Saul - 739,000
Collin Moshman - 732,000
Garry Gates - 722,000
Sorel Mizzi - 648,000
Andrew Webking - 624,000
Daniel Negreanu - 619,000
Tony Hachem - 610,000
Allen Cunningham - 582,000
Sami Kelopuro - 577,000
Erick Lindgren - 492,000
Carl Olson - 431,000
Peter Jetten - 404,000
Jon Friedberg - 364,000
Christopher Brammer - 344,000
Jon Turner - 305,000
Gabriel Nassif - 299,000
Diogo Borges - 273,000
Freddy Deeb - 258,000
Ray Henson - 226,000
Christian Harder - 208,000

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Secret Bubble Boy (Ep 31)

2011-07-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

It's the most exciting time at the WSOP! The Money Bubble of the 2011 Main Event finally burst and Dr. Pauly and WhoJedi were there.

2011 WSOP - Episode 31: Secret Bubble Boy with WhoJedi (1:31) - The Main Event crawled toward the Money Bubble, which historically speaking is always the most exciting time in poker. However, this year's bubble popped in the corner of the room and happened so quietly that everyone almost missed it.Luckily Pauly and WhoJedi were on the scene to give you their quick assessment.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP Day 45 - Main Event Day 3: Poirier and Jace Are Million Men and Tilt-A-Scandi

2011-07-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

At least 1,000 souls were mercilessly crushed on Day 3. If you must be precise, the exact number is 1,012. That's how many players advanced to Day 3, yet failed to bag up their chips at the end of the night.

Only four levels (or eight hours of play) were designated for Day 3, which meant 253 players busted out every level, or one elimination every thirty seconds. If you blinked, you missed a bustout.

Photo by WhoJedi
After the field was divided into four flights on Day 1 and two flights on Day 2, the entire field was in the building for Day 3. The Pavilion was in use at the start of the day, but by night's end, it was no longer the scene of the crime as the entire field has consolidated into the Amazon Ballroom. As TD Jack Effel explained, "Someone in this room will be the next WSOP Main Event champion."

For the first time since cards went in the air on Day 1A, it felt like the Main Event, with a buzzing excitement bubbling inside the Amazon and spilling out into the adjacent hallways. Poker PROductions virtually ignored the opening days of the Main Event and were ready to spring into action on Day 3. In addition to full-on coverage, ESPN created a bit of history of their own by streaming the feature table inside the Mothership on a 30-minute delay, but with hole cards. If you were a hardcore poker fan, you had the opportunity to watch the WSOP in almost real time on ESPN 2 or online at ESPN 3.

The innovation was received with mixed reviews. Poker junkies an tech geeks are going to gush about the live streaming, while trolls, boobirds, and Luddites are going to hate on anything. If anything, the addition of the live stream absolutely destroyed wifi options inside the Amazon Ballroom,so many members of the media were flustered with the inability to provide live updates. One of my colleagues hinted at a conspiracy, but I chalked up the clusterfuck due to growing pains. After all, this was the first day of a full TV crew and the first time the WSOP was aired semi-live.

But tech issues aside, the poker tournament was still the big star and if you've either played in the Main Event in the past or happen to cover poker tournaments, you are well aware of the lack of stupendous action that accompanies any tournament.

Yeah, live poker is not the most exciting thing to watch in the world. I get more excited watching lesbian kissing videos on YouTube.

F Train wrote something yesterday that stood out: "If live broadcasts are the future of televised poker, then televised poker is in deep trouble."

I somewhat agree with F Train's statement especially if the tournament is still 1,000 players away from the most tense and exhilarating moment -- just before the money bubble bursts. I think the final day leading up to the Main Event, when three tables remain (or 27 to go), would make for much better live TV because there's significantly more drama involved because there's more cash on the line and everyone is trying to become a member of the November Nine. Plus, everyone (media and fans) will be able to follow along with the big stories, back stories, and side drama -- because most of that doesn't flesh itself out until a couple of levels after the money bursts.

Action on Day 3 of the Main Event is still a little stale and boring. Perhaps capturing the money bubble would be a great moment for live TV, but then again, I've seen extended bubbles that seemed to go on and on and on. In addition, the monkey-push-fest that ensues after everyone min-cashes is not what I would call scintillating.

If the future of televised poker starts at Day 3, well then, it might not survive because the masses will get bored because it's hard to keep viewers at home engaged with a plethora of other entertainment options. However, if the semi-live stream picks up the action with four or five tables to go, then the innovative semi-live streaming with hole cards will modify and enhance the post-modern version of televised poker.

* * *
So much for being a chip leader on Day 2A or 2B. When action returned after the early bird dinner break (yes, dinner break was at 5:25pm PT -- which gave players an opportunity to graze the buffet with grandmas and other octogenarians), the first million-chip stacks emerged. When play was suspended at the end of Level 14, only two players had monster-stacks -- Patrick Poirier (1.3M) and Darryl Jace (1.2M). At the same juncture in 2010, the overall leader had just passed the 800,000 milestone.

Photo by WhoJedi
Only three former champions were alive -- Berry Johnston, Robert Varkonyi, and Phil Hellmuth. The white-haired Johnston won the Main Event 25 years ago -- before Tom Dwan, Annette Obrestad, and Timex were even born. Johnston faded a field of only 141 players to win the Main Event in 1986. At the present moment, he's one of 852 runners remaining -- and only the top 693 get paid out.

Robert Varkonyi sat at a table right behind Phil Helllmuth, so he had to watch Hellmuth garner all of the attention on that side of the Amazon Ballroom. It was as though Hellmuth was constantly under surveillance from the roving film crew, while Varkonyi operated in his shadow. At least Varoknyi survived the cut. A slew of former Main Event champs found their fate on Day 3 including Tom McEvoy, Huck Seed, Carlos Mortensen, and Joe Cada.

If you only watch poker for celebrities, then you're gonna be bummed out because Jason Alexander and Brad Garrett but went busto on Day 3. Only Robert Iler (aka AJ Soprano) advanced to Day 4. The thespian who portrayed Tony Soprano's son is on the verge of cashing -- that is if he can avoid getting whacked with an ice-pick to the back of the head on Day 4.

For complete chip counts on the final 852 at the end of Day 3, visit WSOP.com's chip count page.

* * *
Four levels meant a lot more personal hijinks. Heck, my day started off with a bang. I had a room for one night at the Gold Coast and woke up inside a casino instead of my house a few miles away from the Rio. First order of business? 8am session of Pai Gow. Heads-up against the dealer. I played every Dragon Hand and had a rough start to my day. The gambling gods were not too keen on me in the morning.

I wandered over to the sports book, fueled by a tip from AlCantHang's new tout services. With the second half of the baseball season in full swing, we focused on Milwaukee against Colorado. Al had a live mis-click when he accidentally told the cashier the wrong team and they booked the bet that way. Alas, the mis-click for Colorado was the best bet because the Brew Crew got stomped.

Only one way to shake off a shitty Pai Gow session and sportsbetting-tilt --- PLO. As soon as the 4th level of Day 3 ended, Michalski picked me up to take me to his mixed game at the Palms. The game was in full swing when I arrived and only had to wait 15-20 minutes for a seat to open up. While I waited, I marveled at all of the freaks roaming around the Palms. They were attending a Midnight viewing of the new Harry Potter flick, which meant plenty of random hot girls dressed up like slutty Gryffindor. I kinda felt like a leering, dirty old man and channeled my inner Bukowski while I waited for a seat to open up...

Mixed Games Line Up:
Seat 1: Drunk Scandi - Sven
Seat 2: Drunk Scandi - Ulf
Seat 3: Drunk Alex Outhred
Seat 4: Rehab guy ...then Merchdawg
Seat 5: Hawaiian shirt guy
Seat 6: Michalski ...then Katkin
Seat 7: Crazy Asian
Seat 8: Your Hero
Seat 9: Wheelchair guy ...then quiet local

I was a little sloppy wasted and tweeting haikus...

Playing Palms mixed games
Michalski stacked by Scandi
Top set never holds

Four hearts on the board
Katkin against a Scandi
Straight flush sinks Katkin

Dropped another buy-in
Crazy asian flopped the joint
Pathetic cowboys

Merchdawg monkey tilt
McDs forgot his french fries
Stacked him with ten-nine

I tilted Merchdawg when I refused to run it twice during PLO. He flopped bottom set and I flopped a straight with 9-10, which held up. The kid was already on tilt before he sat down because McDonalds forgot his fries. I took advantage of the fast food tilt and got back whatever money I lost to the crazy Asian guy.

The Scandi in seat 2 had a fortress of chips at his end of the table, over four stories high and closing in on 3K. Katkin got stacked during hold'em when he lost with an Ace-high flush against the Scandi's straight flush. Katkin paid him off, even though everyone inside the entire casino knew the kid had a straight flush. Scandis rarely show off tells, but this kid's mouth was so wide open and his tongue hanging out with a waterfall of drool flooding his stack. Shit, the table lifted up three inches because the Scandi had such a hard on that it was almost knocking over the table. I'd pop a boner too if I rivered a straight flush and was about to get paid off.

But Katkin got revenge. He double through the drunk Scandi. I knew he was drunk because he was talking more frequently and his face was all red. The Scandi was in typical costume -- white dress shirt unbuttoned half way, black dinner jacket, and perfectly messy blonde hair. Actually, they were both (Seats 1 and 2) dressed like that. Katkin doubled up which sent one of the Scandis on slight tilt. He started speaking in Scandic and all I heard was... "Hürty gürty hürty gürty fücking Katkin top setten hürty gürty."

Then I got a shot at the big stack. I limped with A-Q-J-9 double suited red cards. Scandi 1 raised 4x and Scandi 2 min-raised. I had to call $40 to see the flop. Everyone bailed and it was me against a pair of Scandis. The board was Ac-Qc-Qs. I check-called a $120 bet from Scandi 2, meanwhile Scandi 2 bailed. The turn was the Ks, giving two flush draws. We both checked. The river was the 7s. I checked. He shoved and had me covered. I hesitated for a second, saying something like if he has Aces (or Kings), I'm fucked. Then I called and tabled A-Q for Queens full of Aces. He spread his four cards without turning the over and cursed in Scandic.

"Don't fucking slow roll me, Ulf. This isn't the state run casino in Stockholm. I will shank you."

Ulf picked up two cards and angrily tossed them across the felt. One hit Katkin's arm, the other fell short of his stack. I can't recall if Katkin or the dealer flipped over those cards, but the Kh-Qh was exposed. The dealer made him table his other two cards, both were small diamonds.

Wow, boat over boat.

I snatched the cash right out of the pot and then tipped the dealer a redbird as I raked in the 1.2K pot. Holy shit, that was a bit crazy considering we were only playing 1-2 NL/PLO with a $5 straddle. I doubled through the fuming Scandi who kept cursing underneath his breath in Scandi.

"Hürty gürty hürty gürty hürty gürty fücking hürty gürty slow played boat hürty gürty hürty gürty fücking Doctor Paüly hürty gürty!"

Pauly 1, Drunk Scandi 0.

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

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

NewTao of Pokerati Podcast: British Beef with Snoopy (EP 30)

2011-07-15T01:20:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

On Day 3, Snoopy and Pauly hang out behind the press box and Snoopy gives us the rundown on the Brits still remaining in the Main Event...

2011 WSOP - Episode 30: British Beef with Snoopy (8:01) - As play progresses on Day 3, Pauly and Snoopy hang out and discuss the finer aspects of British beef. Well, not really, but the title sounded rather cheeky. Actually, the two chatted about which Brits were remaining in the Main Event, along with a quirky story about sharing electric shavers and Neil Channing's bustout. Snoopy us to keep an eye out for the up and coming Chris Brammer.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP Day 44: Day Off and Annie Duke Wins Media Event

2011-07-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

A rare day off at the WSOP. So how do we celebrate? By heading to the Rio to play in a turbo media event. If anything, the event gives the media and hard-working WSOP staff (especially their non-paid interns), a chance to hang out and play some cards and win some cool prizes. The event was tweaked this year to include much better prizes and bounties, which in turn made the media tournament as popular than ever.

Upon arrival, the security guard wouldn't let us inside the Amazon Ballroom. "They're setting everything up," he said, more to shield me from blowing the surprise than preventing me from going where I was supposed to go.

A special prize table was set up with booze (special prizes awarded to any interns who had the misfortune of busting out early) along with the trophies for first and more importantly -- last place -- a trophy especially for the fool who busted first. Ah, the proverbial boobie prize. This year's prize? A Golden Toilet with the engraving "WSOP Last Place."

For a moment, I thought I was going to get the boobie prize. In a way, I was irked that I didn't get it last year at the 2010 media event, when I tried to but on the first hand and ended up busting on the second hand after I shipped all my chips across the felt to Gary Wise.

This year? I got my chips all-in pre-flop on the first hand -- only to discover that I was being punk'd. Let me rewind a bit. I dunno when this tradition started, but the folks running the tournament created a fake hand to kick off the tournament. Change100 was involved in the crazy set-up hand last year and everyone had no idea what was happening at the time as a huge crowd gathered around her table in utter astonishment. When the hand was complete, Nolan let everyone know they had been punk'd. Funny prank for sure, which lightened the already breezy mood of the players.

For the 2011 media event, Nolan and company decided to prank us again with another cheeky opening hand. This time, the prank happened at my table and I was the one getting punk'd. On the first hand, I peeked down to find two Aces. I chuckled knowing it was either pure luck to see the Rockets, or I was about to get punk'd.

I open-shoved for my 10,000 stack UTG when the blinds were 100-200. Everyone folded (even the old guy with pocket Kings) until action got to Harley in the big blind. He snapped called with 2-2. The dealer fanned out the flop,which sure enough had a deuce. The turn was an Ace and the river... a deuce. Quads suck-out, much to the delight of the circle of fellow media who flocked to the table.

I kinda hoped the hand wasn't rigged and I had won the boobie prize. Alas, the floor guy came over to shake my hand and said, "Thanks for being a good sport." Yep, I got punk'd and took it in stride.

One older gentleman in seat 7 was confused and baffled. He insisted that I was out and protested when the dealer gave me my chips back. Everyone else at the table understood it was a practical joke.

"So you set up a cold deck?" he snapped at the dealer. "You were in on this?"

The dealer didn't know what to say because she was just following orders as part of the festivities. Sometimes the best jokes are ruined by spoilsports and someone with a middle name "Idontgetit." In this instance, the guy in seat 7 was not pleased. He refused to sit back down and play for fear of more cold decks. He really thought he was getting hustled -- in a WSOP media freeroll.

BJ Nemeth was seated to my left and we both looked at each other and rolled our eyes. I mouthed, "Who is this fucking guy?" Because I honestly had never seen him before. Then again, the media tournament brings people with badges out of the woodwork that I had never seen before -- and I had been covering the 2011 WSOP since Day 1 and covering the WSOP since 2005.

The grumpy guy opened up a newspaper and buried his face in a crossword the rest of the time, only looking up once to chastise a dealer for not adjusting to a level change. The dealer was actually throwing us all a bone by keeping one extra hand at 100-200 level instead of jumping to 200-400. Alas, the old guy was a stickler for details -- which I can respect -- but he didn't have to be a dick to the dealer. The dealer snapped back at the curmudgeon, "Thanks for telling me how to do my job." To which the grump had a curt response, "If you did it right, I wouldn't have to point out your mistakes." Ouch, touche! We had the rumblings of a potential brawl! Jaded dealer versus pissed off old guy. In an all-out alley brawl, I'll bet the dealer every day of the week and twice on Wednesdays.

I turned to BJ and we simultaneously mouthed to each other, "Who's this fuckin' guy?"

Harley had been open-shoving about 50% of the hands because wanted to bust quickly and play cash games on his day off, but he actually woke up to a hand -- Kings. Grumpy guy opened, Harley shoved, and old guy figured his pocket fives were ahead, so he called off the rest of his stack.Grumpy guy was livid when he say what he was up against. Harley's Kings held and the old guy stormed off. At least he got a free copy of Annie Duke's new book.

In Annie's defense, she tried to bust early and give away her chips, but the cards fell her way and she amassed a big stack. She advanced to the final table and eventually won it all after she beat Zimba heads-up for the victory. Annie donated her bounty prize to the dealer and she also donated her first place prize (iPad 2) to assist with the Joplin, MO tornado relief.

Me? I busted somewhere around 65th place. The rest of the day was bleh for me. Long story that I'll eventually write about in a few weeks on Tao of Pauly, but for now, I was happy to flee the Rio and rest up for the last surge. With Day 3 of the Main Event on the horizon, there's still six days of play left before we reach the November Nine.

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

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

New Episode of Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Media Mania and Golden Toilets with Change100 and AlCantHang (Ep 29)

2011-07-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Dan is AWOL and Pauly is still playing in the WSOP Media Event, so Change100 and AlCantHang hijack the Tao of Pokerati for a special episode...

2011 WSOP - Episode 29: Media Mania and Golden Toilets with Change100 and AlCantHang (3:08) - Pauly is still in the media event, so Change100 takes the opportunity to chat with AlCantHang. They both busted rather early, especially AlCantHang, who won a dubious honor of being the first player to bust out. His reward? A Golden Toiler trophy for last place.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP Day 43 - Main Event Day 2B: Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

2011-07-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

You hate to peak too early.

Doesn't matter if it's poker or sex, it's utterly embarrassing to blow your load before you're supposed to. A chip leader on Day 1 or 2 of the WSOP means absolutely nothing unless those chips are used to propel you into the highest echelons of the poker circus -- the November Nine -- which in gambling terms is the greatest show on Earth. Well, maybe not Earth, but certainly in Las Vegas once Bob Dylan packs up his gear and takes his song and dance act to the next city on his tour. So with the exception of Bob Dylan, the WSOP is still the biggest show in town and Ben Lamb is one of the colorful main characters, with a name that's straight off the pages of a Tennessee Williams play.

Ben Lamb
Photo courtesy of Winamax
The leading man, Ben Lamb, lead the charge on Day 1B (see Luck Rack of Lamb) and decimated the field during the opening flight of running with the donks. Although Day 1 might seem like a sprint, the entire Main Event is a post-apocalyptic marathon in which mutants and roving gangs of thugs are trying to prevent you from reaching the Promised Land. Despite the appalling carnage left on the bloodied battlefield, Lamb rose above his competition on both Day 1B and again on Day 2B.

Even if Lamb busted on Day 1, he'd still be considered one of the most outstanding players during the 2011 preliminaries. Lamb thrived on pressure and collected one bracelet after three final table appearances. At one point late in the summer, Lamb was #1 on the WSOP Player of the Year leader board (with this year's point system powered by Bluff Magazine). It wasn't until Phil Hellmuth went deep in the Players' Championship for his third runner-up performance before the Poker Brat elbowed Lamb out of POY's top spot.

Unlike Lamb, Hellmuth struggled on Day 1 and barely survived the day. Hellmuth's rough Main Event continued when he showed up late on Day 2 when he forgot what day he was playing. If Hellmuth's wife didn't call security to wake him up with a "welfare check," the Poker Brat would've gotten blinded off, while half-baked reporters speculated if Hellmuth spiraled into the depths of a deviant narcotics binge similar to other famous no-shows -- Stuey Ungar and Vinnie Vinh. Alas, Hellmuth arrived, albeit late on Day 2A, and quashed whatever rumors that he was a crackhead, or worse, an Ibogaine addict.

When the Main Event clock reached the end of Level 10, Ben Lamb was still out in front of the blood-thirsty pack of 1,000 or so players. Lamb also extended his lead to over 551,000 in chips. Only one other player, Kevin Saul, finished Day 2B with at least a half o' mil in chips. Saul's online screen name is some clever combination of lowercase and uppercase characters with a play on Above and Below, which I can never figure out which is which. AboveBelow? BelowAbove? BelowSideways? And I'm not even going to attempt to figure out the capitalization. If I was cooking on good old-fashioned trucker's speed, perhaps I'd write out all 5,423 combination and variations of Saul's online screen name, but since neither of us can play online poker anymore due to the fucking jackals in Washington cockblocking a perfectly legitimate racket, it just doesn't matter. I'm praying that if/when online poker returns to American soil, that Saul will opt for a much easier screen name to remember like KevSaul420.

I can read minds, so hurry up and finish reading this post so you can either continue to jack off to Swedish golden showers videos on RedTube, or rush over to "like" a dozen of the most mundane things ever mentioned on social media. In case you were wondering -- Day 2A's leader Aleksandr Mozhnyakov from the Russian Motherland, never cracked the 500K mark, but in overall terms, he'll begin Day 3 as third in chips behind Lamb and Saul. Sheesh, that combination sounds too biblical for my tastes. I'm seriously hopping the Family Radio crackpots are just a bunch of overzealous Jesus Freaks and that the Second Coming isn't scheduled for any time during the next week or so. Because if Jesus and his army of angels return to Earth, the first they will do is blow up the Jersey Shore house and smite the entire city of Las Vegas -- the modern Sodom and Gomorah. Hell hath no fury like a pissed off angels on a mission from God. All atheists better head to the city limits quickly before the maelstrom of Armageddon is nigh.

I apologize for the tangent, where were we? Oh, that's right... Day 2B of the WSOP Main Event.

* * *
2011 Main Event - Quick Stats

Entrants: 6,865
Payouts: 693
First Place: 8,711,956
Prizepool: $64,531,000
Juice to the WSOP: $4,119,000

Day 2A Runners: 2,031
Day 2A Survivors: 822
Day 2A Chip leader: Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 478,600
Day 2B Runners: 2,490
Day 2B Survivors: 1,080
Day 2A Chip leader: Ben Lamb - 551,600

* * *

Photo courtesy of WhoJedi
In case you were wondering about your favorite pros or it you have a fantasy poker league, here's who ADVANCED to Day 3 (according to a list furnished by Nolan Dalla from the WSOP)...

Doug "Toolbox" Lee, Freddy Deeb, Alexandre Gomes, Donny Mizrachi, Phil Laak, Matt Matros, Kristy Gazes, David Bach, David Oppenheim, Joshua Tieman, Fred Berger, Shannon Shorr, Adam Junglen, Brad Garrett, Minh Ly, Mike Caro, Jason Mercier, Dan Shak, Jason Alexander, Daniel Negreanu, Annette Obrestad, Mickey Appleman, Ted Forrest, Lee Childs, Shaun Deeb, J.P. Kelly, Tex Barch, Ville Wahlbeck, Allen Rash, Mel Judah, Vitaly Lunkin, Ben Lamb, Patrik Antonius, Dan Kelly, Justin Bonomo, John Racener, Tony Hachem, Peter Gelencser, Jeff Madsen, Robert Cheung, Victor Ramdin, Erick Lindgren, Thunder Keller, Lyle Berman, Sam Stein, Minh Nguyen, Matt Matros, Scott Clements, Todd Brunson, Steve Danenmann, David Chiu, Matt Savage, Jeffrey Lisandro, Allen Cunningham, and Jake Cody.

Yep, there's still seven former WSOP Main Event champions still alive and in the hunt for a second title...

Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston, Phil Hellmuth, Huck Seed, Carlos Mortensen, Robert Varkonyi, and Joe Cada.

And here's a few players that I know of who advanced to Day 3 with a minimum of a 100,000 in chips, yet fell short of being on the "official list of notables"...

Garry Gates, Justin "FluffDog" Filtz, RISE Poker Team Pro Jean-Robert Bellande, Carl Olson, Raul Pino, Will the Thrill Failla, Pete Carini, Danny Ryan, David Baker, Mark Muchnik, Jared Hamby, Scott Carlson, Jared Jaffee, Leif Force, John Myung, John Shipley, Matt Stout, Taylor Caby, Galen Hall, EmilPatel, Quoc Nguyen, Lars Bonding, Bryan Micon, Blair Hinkle, Ricky Fohrenbach, Brian Lemke, Amit Makhija, Humberto Brenes, Keith "The Camel" Hawkins, Guillaume Darcourt, Sebastian Ruthenberg, Max Weinberg, Peter "Nordberg" Feldman, Russell Rosenblum, Diogo Borges, Miami John, Andrew Webking, Jeet Shetty, Athipoo Phahurat, Abdulaziz Almashal, Jon "ApeStyles" Van Fleet, Christian Harder, Tyler Patterson, Daniel Ospina, Court Harrington, and Jani Sointula.

Oh, and let's not forget friends of Tao...

Louie Cohen (who has a shade under 85,000), Kristy Gazes (70,000), Jen Shahade (65,000), Bilney (53,500), and Neil Channing (very very low, he's on life support).

By the way, here's some more numbers for you stat geeks, which was compiled by Nolan, Seth, and the WSOP crew...

How the eventual world champions stood at the end of Day 2:
2010 - Jonathan Duhamel ranked in 889th place.
2009 - Joe Cada ranked in 99th place.
2008 - Peter Eastgate ranked in 484th place.
2007 - Jerry Yang ranked in 26th place.
2006 - Jamie Gold ranked in 155th place.

Based on WSOP figures (2006 to present), 9 of 10 End of Day Two chip leaders cashed. The previous results are as follows:
2010 2A – David Assouline finished in 44th place
2010 2B – Boulus Estafanous finished in 733rd place
2009 2A – Amir Lehavot finished in 226th place
2009 2B – Peter DeBaene finished in 398th place
2008 2A – Brian Schaedlich finished in 456th place
2008 2B – Peter Biebel finished in 273rd place
2007 2A – Jeff "Mr.Rain" Banghart finished in 41st place
2007 2B – Gus Hansen finished in 61st place
2006 2A – Yuriy Kozinskiy did not cash
2006 2B – Dmitri Nobles finished in 76th place

Yes, so good news for Ben Lamb and Aleksandr Mozhnyakov. According to these stats above, there's a 90% chance they will cash in the 2011 Main Event because only one Day 2 chipleader (Yuriy Kozinskiy) completely whiffed. The worst Day 2 leader cashed in 733rd place and the highest anyone ever finished was 41st place.

That's it for now. Day 3 will resume on THURSDAY at noon. Wednesday is a staff holiday, so there's nothing going on at the Rio.

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

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

2011 WSOP Day 42 - Main Event Day 2A: Torturing the One-Eyed Clown, Hellmuth Awakes, and the Euro Surge

2011-07-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Varkonyi will always be lost in the shadow of Moneymaker
Photo by MeanGene
14 out of 18 former world champions advanced to Day 2. Out of respect for the champs, the media monitors the progress of all of them in the Main Event from start to finish. Even Jerry Yang. Besides, if any of them actually go deep enough, the story writes itself with headlines like "Former Champ Seeks Another Title" or something to that effect. If it's an old-school champion, say Bobby Baldwin for instance, who last won the title before many of the hot shit internet players were even born, a deep run in the Main Event is an opportunity to bookend his historic career with another championship, but in a completely different era.

The modern champions who ushered in the poker boom are closely monitored by folks at home because they have become household names. As poker fans, we conjure up images of their winner's photo whenever we hear their names whispered.

The first-ever Main Event final table I ever recall watching on ESPN was back in 2002 when Phil Hellmuth was super pissed that Robert Varokonyi knocked him out, so he promised he'd shave his head (all proceeds going to charity). Gabe Kaplan was the color commentator back then and hole card cameras had yet to be infused with the spotty coverage. We all know that Varkonyi beat Julian Garder heads-up for the title to win $2 million. Despite the victory, Varkonyi did not receive the accolades of previous champions (and champions to follow) and most of the Vegas-based poker elite thought his victory was a joke. Within moments of his win, Varkonyi was already on the defensive as the Rodney Dangerfield of poker because he couldn't get any respect.

Varkonyi didn't have the greasy wheels of the massive poker media machine (fronted by the online poker industry) behind him because the media was still relatively small back then, slightly more unbiased, but with much more journalistic integrity. When Chris Moneymaker won the next year and subsequently ignited the boom, along came a plethora of poker media outlets which were propped up by the online poker industry. Alas, the industry became a bunch of shills and puppets all focused on the same ultimate goal -- to get more people to play online poker. As a result, bashing the skill of the champions is seriously diminished and reserved for only salty pros and trolls on forums. That's just the way it is. I didn't write the rules, but the writing was on the wall by the time I arrived at my first WSOP in 2005.

The philosophy was rather simple -- the bigger fish they see, the more people watching at home on ESPN would want to play poker. Alas, the adage fits -- don't tap the glass.

Ergo, Varkonyi did not have the "protection" of the media that Chris Moneymaker gets and will always have. After all, the boom was not nicknamed the "Varkonyi Effect." A better example of this untouchable bias is how the media treated Jamie Gold's run to the 2006 title. In the weeks and months after he won and the subsequent airing of his hands on ESPN, Gold's play did not come under fire from the media (although the folks on 2p2 had a field day with his boorish behavior and style of play). Instead, most of the media focused on the sensationalized legal case and impending trial involving Gold after he was sued by Crispin Leyser. For the three of you who don't know, Leyser claimed Gold owed him half his Main Event winnings due to a verbal agreement before the Main Event began. Gold eventually settled and only a few people know for sure how much of Gold's $12 million payday he actually had to give up. I still say runner-up Paul Wasicka walked away with the most money at the 2006 WSOP Main Event.

Flash forward to today. If you win the Main Event, you're bulletproof and untouchable. Let's not forget that wicked bad beat Jonathan Duhamel put on Matt Affleck. Instead of everyone ganging up on Duhamel, he sorta got a pass on that bizarre and donkilicious hand. Whereas, whenever a media rep interviews Affleck (and probably to the day he dies), they inadvertently bring up the infamous hand that sent Affleck to the rail in tears. Even to this day, we refer to Duhamel as the defending world champion instead of the "evil dude in the black hoodie with a funny accent who put a wicked beat on Matt Affleck."

Speaking of Duhamel, rumors swirled around the Rio that the film crew missed his elimination hand. Whoooooooooooops. In previous years, every hand that the defending champ played in the Main Event was carefully scrutinized by the producers at 441 Productions with a roving unit hovering nearby to capture anything peculiar or tragic (like an unfortunate elimination). Alas, during mid-day action Duhamel hit the rail. In a historical perspective, there's not going to be a repeat champion this year after Duhamel hit the road.

Since we're talking about former champions who hit the road on Day 2A, we can add a few more to that list including Scotty Nguyen (no mas "baby" or Corona count), Action Dan Harrington, and Johnny Fucking Chan. In case you were wondering -- Phil Hellmuth, Jamie Gold and Joe Cada advanced to Day 3.

* * *
When you say the words "welfare check" it means something completely different outside of Las Vegas. Alas, inside the city limits, a welfare check is a phrase used by hotel/casino security to investigate whether or not a patron passed out and puked in his/her own vomit.

I have a prior incident in which I needed to seek out a welfare check. It happened a couple of Decembers ago after AlCantHang tied on a Saturday night bender to end all benders. We were all supposed to hang out at the Palazzo the next morning/afternoon and sweat the football games. AlCantHang missed the 10am kickoff. He also missed the 1pm kickoff. His beloved Eagles played the Sunday night game, and by the time it reached 5pm there was no sign of ACH. Our mutual friends freaked out. Me? I'm one to let the man sleep off an epic bender. Alas, they persisted that someone call security and check up on Al. I was kinda pissed off at the time because I got stiffed a few hundred bucks on the bill when a few party crashers skipped out on their portion. To walk off the steam, I volunteered to talk with security at the Imperial Palace and have them check up on Al. I wandered up to the podium and explained the situation. At that point, the head of security barked into his walkie talkie, "Can we can a welfare check for room 10420?"

In case you were wondering, Al was okay. He eventually opened up his door and saw me standing there. He had no idea what time it was. When we walked back into the room, he had a warm (full) bottle of Heineken sitting on a table with a large pepperoni pizza (minus one slice).

"Oh shit," said Al while rubbing his temples. "I guess I ordered a pizza last night."

Yes, Al was just sleeping off a long night in Vegas.

Flash-forward to Day 2A of the Main Event. Phil Hellmuth never showed up to play a relatively short stack. Hellmuth thought he was playing on Day 2B and turned off his phone. He even put out the "Do Not Disturb" sign, which if you spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, you know it's a coinflip if the maids actually honor that sign. Anyway, Hellmuth was out cold and trying to catch up on some zzzzzzzs when Hellmuth's agent discovered he was AWOL. The agent called Hellmuth's wife, who mentioned the room was in her name. She called the Rio and asked security to do their own "welfare check" on the Poker Brat. Unlike in AlCantHang's situation, Hellmuth did not tie on a bender so fierce that he needed to sleep it off for a dozen hours. Alas, some quick thinking from Team Hellmuth helped get him down to the Amazon Ballroom.

Hellmuth eventually arrived at his table. Instead of freaking out, he hunkered down and chipped up. He did everything in his power to protect his top spot in the Player of the Year race by advancing to Day 3 with a stack a tinge below 65,000. Some folks believe in miracles. Never underestimate the ego of Phil Hellmuth. After a trio of runner-up finishes, if he can't win another bracelet in 2011, in his own twisted mind, he's sure as hell going to lock up Player of the Year honors.

* * *
By the end of Day 2A, Europeans held 5 out of the 6 top spots in chips.

End of Day 2A - Top 6 Chips:
1. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov (Russia) - 478,600
2. Tuan Vo (USA) - 434,500
3. Guillaume Darcourt (France) - 410,500
4. Stephane Albertini (France) - 400,100
5. Wilfried Haerig (Germany - 366,000
6. Massimilliano Martinez (Italy) - 355,000

Guillaume "Pinky" Darcourt
Courtesy of Winamax
For the last few days, I wondered who the hell the weird guy with pink hair was who stopped by sporadically to chat with the French press. Alas, it wasn't ElkY, but rather, it was Guillaume Darcourt. The pink-headed Frenchman advanced to Day 3 with almost a 420K stack.

Darcourt was among two Frenchies in the front pack, led by Russian Aleksandr Mozhnyakov, who ended the day with nearly a half mil in chips. Also rounding out the Top 6 are a German (Wilfried Haerig) and a Italian (Massimilliano Martinez). I have to add those names to my spell-check so I don't have to see a red squiggly line underneath their surnames.

Out of 2,031 players from the combined fields of Day 1A and Day 1C, only 822 remain.

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

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

2011 WSOP Day 41 - Main Event Day 1D: Spiderman, Big Records, Perma-Bans and 6,865

2011-07-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

"At least the Playboy model got the phrase right," snarked one of my Dutch colleagues. "The football player totally fucked it up last year."

The football player he was referring to was the Dallas Cowboys' Emmit Smith, who botched last year's "Shuffle up and deal" (aka SUAD) honors. If you don't know, every day at the WSOP a celebrity guest or poker icon gets to utter the infamous phrase for SUAD. It's sort of like dignitaries getting to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

On Day 1D of this year's Main Event, the suits opted for the blonde with big tits. Why? Boobs sell everything, besides we had a "big theme" going on for Day 1D. The final and fourth opening flight of the WSOP featured 2,809 contestants -- which tied for the most number of WSOP entrants for a single day of play -- and the overall numbers flirted with 7,000. Once you see the rest of the numbers across the board, you'll understand what I'm talking about regarding big tits and big numbers.

Then again, all themes aside, big tits are big tits no matter how you cut them.

The bottom line is this -- the 2011 WSOP was the biggest and baddest and most boobular in the history of poker. Sure, it sounds like a little PR spin, but the numbers don't lie. According to a WSOP press release:

"Total WSOP participation is up 8.5 percent, with 68,807 entrants lifting the prize pool 8.4 percent over 2010 levels and establishing a new milestone of $127,468,010 heading into the Main Event."

The (entire) 2011 WSOP had the most number of participants since the inception of the WSOP. The record-setting numbers in excess of $127 million made WSOP big wig Ty Stewart so giddy, he almost climbed up to the rafters and shouted, "I'm the KING of the world!!"

Not exactly. But twenty minutes before cards went into the air, Ty nearly hopped over the rail of the pressbox to express his immense pleasure about this year's records along with a Main Event number that had a shot at passing the 7,000-mark for only the third time ever (2006 and 2010). The WSOP almost passed that mark without the benefit of PokerStars and Full Tilt feeding them players. The WSOP was not reliant upon the online poker industry and Ty wanted everyone to know that they were bulletproof.

Alas, the actual number for the Main Event fell short of the 7,000-milestone by 135 runners, but heck if you ask me 6,865 is an impressive number in the current climate -- both politically and financially.

"Americans are broke and struggling," I mentioned at the dinner break.

"So if the rest of the world," added Pacocho.

Just before the dinner break, the official numbers were announced, which I discussed while enjoying a meal with Shamus and a couple of Spaniards -- Pacocho (one of the most celebrated poker writers in Spain) and Manuel (a pro who spent a couple of decades grinding it out in SoCal card rooms before, during, and after the boom). We tried to figure out where 6,865 runners scratched together the cash for the $10,000 lottery ticket. With Black Friday decimating the American online poker landscape and Europe amidst its own sovereign debt crisis (riots in Greece and Ireland with both Portugal and Spain ready to tumble like dominoes), we legitimately tried to determine where the origin of the money. Surely the backing syndicates couldn't put that many horses into the Main Event.

In the end, all I could come up with was fuck it money and told my dinner guests, "I guess a couple of thousand people, both pros and amateurs, woke up one day and said to hell with bankroll management! Fuck it, I'm gonna play in the WSOP Main Event."

6,865.

No wonder Ty Stewart showed off his Spiderman impersonation by scaling everything possible inside the Amazon Ballroom and expressing his jubilation over this year's WSOP numbers. Actually, Ty's free-climb exhibition did not include the Mothership because the aliens from Alpha Centauri loaned their hardware to Mori and his crew at Poker PROductions. Mori wants their deposit back, which means no climbing up on top on the Mothership (no exceptions for WSOP suits). Mori and his crew is already worried they'll get charged for the beer stains by especially soused British hooligans and not get back all of their Galactic Credits from the Alpha Centaurians.

* * *
Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

But let's break down some of the numbers, which have been thoroughly examined and approved of by both supercomputer Bill Chen and the KevMath 4000.

Main Event Quick Numbers:
2011 Main Event Entrants: 6,865
Payouts: 693
First Place: 8,711,956
Prizepool: $64,531,000
Juice to the WSOP: $4,119,000

November Nine - Final Table Payouts
1st - $8,711,956
2nd - $5,430,928
3rd - $4,019,635
4th - $3,011,661
5th - $2,268,909
6th - $1,720,396
7th - $1,313,851
8th - $1,009,910
9th - $782,115

The Rest of the Payouts:
10th-12th - $607,882
13th-15th - $478,174
16th-18th - $378,796
19th-27th - $302,005
28th-36th - $242,636
37th-45th - $196,174
46th-54th - $160,036
55th-63rd - $130,997
64th-72nd - $108,412
73rd-81st - $90,343
82nd-90th - $76,146
91st-99th - $64,531
100th-162nd - $54,851
163rd-225th - $47,107
226th-288th - $40,654
289th-351st - $35,492
352nd-414th - $30,974
415th-477th - $27,103
478th-549th - $23,876
550th-621st - $21,295
622nd-693rd - $19,359

Main Event - Day 1 Chipleaders:
Day 1A - Fred Berger - 209,000
Day 1B - Ben Lamb - 188,925
Day 1C - Kevin Song - 163,325
Day 1D - Maynard Little - 179,450

Main Event Survivors:
Day 1A : 560 out of 897
Day 1B: 618 out of 978
Day 1C: 1,471 out of 2,181
Day 1D: 1,892 out of 2,809

Here's some numbers for the entire 2011 WSOP, courtesy of my main man Seth Palansky and partially cut & paste directly from their press release:

The Basics:
- The 2011 WSOP has awarded $127,468,010 through 57 events.
- The 2011 WSOP has seen 68,807 participants through 57 events.

Age Demographics (thru 57 events):
- Average Age of Entrants: 37.33
- Average Age of Cashers: 36.31
- Average Age of Final Tables: 33.61
- Average Age of Winners: 31.10

Geographic Data (thru 57 events):
- # of countries entered: 98
- # of countries to cash: 73
- # of U.S. states entered: 50

Top 5 U.S. States to Cash:
1. California - 951 for $16,183,498
2. Nevada - 813 for $16,875,736
3. Florida - 360 for $6,428,270
4. Texas - 359 for $6,406,274
5. New York - 301 for $8,208,865

Canuck Numbers:
- # of Canadian provinces entered: 10 + 2 territories

FYI... For a list of World Rankings, including leading money winners by country, please click here.

Stats for Entrants:
- Only 3,637 of 68,807 entrants have been female – or 5.3%
- Thus, the men represent 94.7% of all participants to date.

Individual Stats:
- Out of 57 WSOP gold bracelets awarded, only Brian Rast (2) has won more than one.
- The current leader of the WSOP Player of the Year race is Phil Hellmuth (as of 7/10/2011), and the leaderboard for the WSOP Player of the Year can be found HERE.

Brian Rast during his bracelet ceremony on Day 1D
Photo courtesy of WhoJedi
MOST EVENTS ENTERED (by Individual):
1. Tom Dwan - 52
2. Shannon Shorr - 42
3. Justin Smith - 41
4. George Lind III - 38
4. Roland Israelashvili -38
6. Jason Mercier - 37
6. Sorel Mizzi - 37
6. Paul Volpe - 37

MOST CASHES (by individual):
1. Kirill Rabtsov - 7
1. Ben Yu - 7
3. Simon Charette - 6
3. Bryce Yockey - 6
3. Victor Ramdin - 6
3. Shaun Deeb - 6
3. Roland Israelashvili - 6
3. Davidi Kitai - 6
3. Dan O’Brien - 6
3. Shawn Busse - 6
3. Tommy Vedes - 6
3. Max Pescatori -6
3. Chris Klodnicki - 6
FYI - 42 tied at five

MOST MONEY WON (Female; individual):
1. Maria Ho - 2 cashes for $544,262
2. Marsha Wolak - 2 cashes for $194,239
3. Vanessa "princessdonk" Peng - 2 cashed for $137,983
4. Stephanie Nguyen - 1 cash for $131,900

MOST MONEY WON (by individual):
1. Brian Rast - 3 cashes for $1,952,443
2. Phil Hellmuth - 5 cashes for $1,591,004
3. Ben Lamb - 4 cashes for $1,331,832
4. Joe Ebanks - 3 cashes for $1,179,031
5. Chris Moorman - 5 cashes for $1,051,466
6. Allen Bari - 4 cashes for $894,259

MOST EVENTS ENTERED (female; individual):
1. Erica Schoenberg - 24
2. Maria Ho - 23
2. Liv Boeree - 23
4. Jennifer Tilly - 22
4. Odette Tremblay -22
6. Vanessa Selbst - 20

MOST CASHES (female; individual):
1. Melanie Weisner - 5 for $42,894
2. Erica Schoenberg - 4 for $16,515
2. Cyndy Violette - 4 for $43,885
4. Veronica Dabul - 3 for $15,143

* * *
Yeah, the numbers don't lie even though you can spin sentiment which ever way you want. But one thing is for sure from Day 1 that numbers were up across the board in both preliminaries and in cash games.

Before the series began, I hypothesized that the lack of online poker (not just for Americans but for any foreign players who couldn't log onto poker sites from their hotel rooms) would boost numbers in both the cash games and in the tournaments because online player shad nowhere else to go and were forced to play at the Rio. That was a no-brainer, but I really thought that the Main Event would take a it because players... 1) were still waiting to withdraw funds off Full Tilt, and 2) players would shoot their loads by the time the Main Event rolled around.

Depending on how you want to spin my hypothesis -- compared to 2010, the Main Event numbers fell short of the overall percentage increase in participants (3.7%) in the 2011 preliminaries. So if you go by the 3.7% number, the Main Event should have gotten 7,590 runners this year.

* * *
Champions, Heroes and Perma-Bans

Nolan Dalla shared an interesting stat with the press -- 18 former Main Event champions played in the 2011 WSOP Main Event and 14 of them advanced to Day 2.

The four who went busto? Doyle Brunson, Greg Raymer, Jerry Yang, and Chris Moneymaker.

Last year's champ Jonathan Duhamel is still alive and finished with a better stack this year than he had at the end of Day 1 last year. Other Main Event champs still in the hunt included Bobby Baldwin, Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston, Johnny 'Fucking' Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Dan Harrington, Huck Seed, Scotty Nguyen, Carlos Mortensen, Robert Varkonyi, Joe Hachem, Jamie Gold, and Joe Cada.

Hellmuth is kinda short and who knows if they Poker Brat will find his demise on Day 2, or if he'll turn things around and keep pace with Ben Lamb (who ended Day 1B as the overall leader and is currently right behind Hellmuth in the Player of the Year race).

Some good stories from Day 1D's field included a NYPD officer and 9/11 hero named Mike Kosowski. Check out Arthur's in depth article about the former NYC cop.

By now, I'm sure you heard about the Carter Gill story. I first caught wind of it after the dinner break when he sent a plea (via Twitter) to tournament director Jack Effel to help get him out of a jam. Gill is one of the bad boys of poker. The kid has some skills at the tables, but he's also prone to doing stupid shit when he's drinking heavily. Ah, life leaks destroy the careers of so many promising poker players. Gill is the classic example of what happens when your inner demons seize control of the bus and drives it right off a cliff.

According to F Train, Gill's buffoonery is not limited to American soil because he caused not one but two bar fights in Australia a couple of years ago.

"That's what happens when you pick a fight with a bouncer," F Train explained.

Anyway, Gill survived one of the earlier flights of the 2011 Main Event. During one of the days off between the end of play and the restart for Day 2, Gill got himself into hot water with a permanent banned from all Harrah's properties (actually it's Caesar's Entertainment (CE) now). He was told if he showed up to play, the federales would be waiting for him with handcuffs.

Gill freaked out and scrambled to ask anyone and everyone in the poker industry to help reverse the charges and figure out how he can play his stack on Day 2, when he's supposedly persona non grata in all Harrah's aka CE properties.

When the Twitterverse asked Gill for more details and the background story about what had happened, he explained (in 140 character or less) over a series of tweets that...

"threw a girls clothes out the window. It had a liscence (sic) she needed in it and she flipped. First she didn't care and hungout ... for hours more, then she calls a friend in security and gets me banned. I didn't even get to speak my mind. He kept accusing me ... of other things I didn't do. It was absurd."

Of course, we're only getting Gill's side of the story, but if he's telling the truth, it seems a bit odd that he was banned for the simple act of chucking clothes out a window. Then again, I know how authority figures don't like it when you mouth off to them. Who knows if Gill was giving them lip.

By the way, Las Vegas casinos have windows, but very few actually open up. Was he in a suite or was he slumming it at the Imperial Palace?

Speculation flared up on the interwebs and in the pressbox. You have no idea how many hooker jokes were flying back and forth. That seemed the most plausible -- that he pissed off the wrong hooker, who had connections deep into that particular casino's security force.

My Dutch colleague Remko wondered what the over/under was for number of accouterments and socks were tossed from the window. Of course, hookers don't wear socks, so Remko's O/U needed to be tweaked.

For the last level of play on Day 1D, Carter Gill's ban dominated the Twitter stream. We couldn't stop talking about it in the pressbox. Maybe it was a slow day (it kinda was despite the massive field).

At press time (I'm writing this on Monday morning), Gill is still banned and might not be able to play on Day 2. Alas, his stack will get blinded out and I'm sure his empty chair will be photographed with snarky captions.

Then again, you really have to fuck up big time to get 86'd from a Vegas casino. I suspect there's a lot more to this story than we've glimpsed out via Twitter. I know for a fact that Richard Brodie got banned from Harrah's properties after he went on a heater playing high-stakes video poker, but he eventually got permission to play in the WSOP and Harrah's eventually lifted their ban. Who knows what really happened, and what will happen with Gill. Stay tuned to find out the latest drama bomb at the WSOP.

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

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

The Circuit - Cover and Video Interview

2011-07-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

My colleague Alexander Bradley (an Aussie ex-pat living in Paris) started an amazing project called The Circuit, which focuses on life on the international poker circuit. Alexander focused on Europe the last few months but has since arrived in Vegas to shoot a couple new covers, in addition to creating video versions for PokerListings.

Here's my cover of The Circuit...

And here's the video...

Oh, just in case you wanted to check out a candid interview with KevMath, here's his Circuit interview...

Check out more editions of The Circuit.

2011 WSOP Main Event Payouts and Money Winners

2011-07-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Quick Numbers:
2011 Main Event Entrants: 6,865
Payouts: 693
First Place: 8,711,956
Prizepool: $64,531,000

November Nine - Final Table Payouts
1st - $8,711,956
2nd - $5,430,928
3rd - $4,019,635
4th - $3,011,661
5th - $2,268,909
6th - $1,720,396
7th - $1,313,851
8th - $1,009,910
9th - $782,115

The Rest of the Payouts:
10th-12th - $607,882
13th-15th - $478,174
16th-18th - $378,796
19th-27th - $302,005
28th-36th - $242,636
37th-45th - $196,174
46th-54th - $160,036
55th-63rd - $130,997
64th-72nd - $108,412
73rd-81st - $90,343
82nd-90th - $76,146
91st-99th - $64,531
100th-162nd - $54,851
163rd-225th - $47,107
226th-288th - $40,654
289th-351st - $35,492
352nd-414th - $30,974
415th-477th - $27,103
478th-549th - $23,876
550th-621st - $21,295
622nd-693rd - $19,359

* * *
2011 WSOP Main Event Money Winners:

The following players won $607,882:
10 Matt Hewitt
11 Khoa Nguyen
12 Bryan Devonshire

The following players won $478,174:
13 Konstantinos Mamaliadis
14 Scott Schwalich
15 Andrey Pateychuk

The following players won $378,796:
16 Ryan Lenaghan
17 Sam Barnhart
18 Kenny Shih

The following players won $302,005:
19 Aleksandr Mozhnyakov
20 Gionni Demers
21 Chris Moore
22 Lars Bonding
23 Andrew Hinrichsen
24 Greg Kaplan
25 Jerry Van Strydonck
26 JP Kelly
27 Kyle Johnson

The following players won $242,636:
28 Philipp Gruissem
29 Erika Moutinho
30 Doc Sands
31 Steve Brecher
32 John Esposito
33 Nelson Robinson
34 Nicolas Fierro
35 Guillaume Darcourt
36 Hilton Laborda

The following players won $196,174:
37 Tony Hachem
38 Frank Sinopoli
39 Mario Silvestri
40 James Page
41 Tri Huynh
42 Fabio Sousa
43 Erick Lindgren
44 Ruben Visser
45 David Bach

The following players won $160,036:
46 Stephane Albertini
47 Tom Koral
48 Stuart Tuvey
49 Feming Chan
50 Matthew Kay
51 Stefan Huber
52 Jody Howe
53 Andrew Brokos
54 Zohair Karim

The following players won $130,997:
55 Sebastian Ruthenberg
56 Minh Nguyen
57 Per Linde
58 Brian Yoon
59 Thomas Grey
60 Tyler Bonkowski
61 Chris DeMaci
62 Amanda Musumeci
63 Marc-Andre Ladouceur

The following players won $108,412:
64 Guy Gorelik
65 Jean-Robert Bellande
66 Jacob Bazeley
67 Peter Gelencser
68 Bryan Follain
69 Allen Cunningham
70 Matt Salsberg
71 Mitchell Cogert
72 Niall Charlton

The Following players won $90,343:
73 Jared Vengrin
74 Aaron Ruppert
75 Ben Mintz
76 Hoi Lee
77 Paul Spitzberg
78 Michael De Gilio
79 Alex Moore
80 Frederick Berger
81 Pablo Ubierna

The following players won $76,146:
82 David Barter
83 Evan McNiff
84 Robin Jens Colbin
85 Claudia Crawford
86 Marc Mclaughlin
87 Jonathan Seelbach
88 Bolivar Palacios
89 Daryl Jace
90 Frank Calo

The following players won $64,531:
91 Benjamin Logan
92 Christian Harder
93 Julian Stuer
94 Mars Callahan
95 Sorel Mizzi
96 Harold Wasson
97 Tahsyn Makani
98 Nathan Meyvis
99 Raymond Henson

The following players won $54,851:
100 Jamie Shaevel
101 Chamath Palihapitiya
102 Ara Melikian
103 Aaron Jones
104 Thomas Pedersen
105 Robert Peltekci
106 Vladimir Geshkenbein
107 Eli Elezra
108 Lance Steinberg
109 Duane Alexander
110 Massimiliano Martinez
111 Sami Kelopuro
112 Alexander Dietrich
113 Jens Kyllonen
114 Joseph Cheong
115 Steve Rawle
116 Wai Cheng
117 Bryan Colin
118 Magnus Persson
119 Guerfi Mesbah
120 Matthew Wantman
121 Matthew Frankland
122 Ryan Jaconetti
123 Seth Davies
124 Peter Feldman
125 Chris Bonita
126 Blake Bohn
127 Marton Czuczor
128 Thomas Oldcroft
129 Jonathan Pinx
130 Cortland Mcjannet
131 Vasily Tsapko
132 Rupert Elder
133 Cory Albertson
134 Jeff Becker
135 Guiseppe Pastura
136 Patrick McNamara
137 Alexander Debus
138 Jimmie Guinther
139 Marius Maciukas
140 Timothy Adams
141 Carl Olson
142 James Ruszkiewicz
143 Ben Tollerene
144 Sven Mol
145 Koen Schiepers
146 Joseph Johno
147 Timothy Faro
148 George Secara
149 Anthony Miller
150 Chris Kwon
151 Max Heinzelmann
152 Robert Kolbe
153 Andrew Rosskamm
154 Jeet Shetty
155 Daniel Retallick
156 Andy Ferguson
157 Greg Moore
158 Bryan Pellegrino
159 Paulo Figueiredo
160 Casey Diener
161 James Hopkins
162 David Labchuk

The following players won $47,107:
163 Nils Deknijff
164 Michael Bena
165 Mark Maletic
166 Steven Tabb
167 Rusian Gazaev
168 David Schnettler
169 Tod Holley
170 T.K. Miles
171 Pavel Perfilov
172 Patrick Coughlin
173 Garry Gates
174 Ralph Robinson
175 Chee Kian Chan
176 Spencer Cossette
177 Andrew Webking
178 Adolfo Monreal
179 Mazin Khoury
180 Donald Depew
181 Fernando Brito
182 Mark Newhouse
183 Andrew Jenkins
184 Stephen Bokor
185 Joe Tehan
186 Matt Stout
187 Blaise Dsylva
188 Aadam Daya
189 Gabriel Nassif
190 Jon Friedberg
191 Manoj Viswanathan
192 Paul Volpe
193 Sam Silverman
194 Kelsey Hendriks
195 Umberto Caloro
196 Yordan Mitrentsov
197 Bill Scheer
198 Gregory Ronaldson
199 Sergey Tikhonov
200 Patrick Poirier
201 Stewart Kaplan
202 Nikolaus Kovacs
203 Janet Callaway
204 Adrian Passfield
205 Conrad Coetzer
206 Jeff Siegal
207 Philippe Dauteuil
208 James Hoffman
209 Shawn Hattem
210 Jonathan Garneau
211 Daniel Negreanu
212 Hoai Pham
213 Jesse Steinberg
214 Mark Goshidigian
215 Jonathan Depa
216 Kevin Saul
217 Wilfried Haerig
218 Justin Cereste
219 Murry Oleson
220 Kim Chee
221 Michael Wasserman
222 Philipp Harti
223 Richard Lyndaker
224 Roberto Damelian
225 Patrick Fortin

The following players won $40,654:
226 Matthew Livingston
227 Simon Deadman
228 Nicholas Kamen
229 Alexandros Karnaos
230 Ismael Erkenov
231 Ross Tesser
232 Greg Ostrander
233 Jonathan Frey
234 Philipp Hochhuth
235 Guiseppe Zarbo
236 Nelson Dantas
237 Brendan Taylor
238 Lee Goldman
239 Joseph Milukas
240 Paul Chauderson
241 Brian Park
242 Jonathan Shah
243 Austin Schaff
244 Peter Jetten
245 David Chase
246 David Wilhoit
247 Carter King
248 Russell Thomas
249 Jason Mann
250 Stephen Giufre
251 Shinwon Kim
252 David Silverman
253 Andrew Pierce
254 Matthew Goldman
255 Narendra Banwari
256 Satoshi Isomae
257 John Moore
258 Scott Augustine
259 Walter Ferrero
260 James Calderaro
261 Scott Lipshutz
262 Jimmy Nickens
263 Collin Moshman
264 Samuel Ngai
265 Michael Minetti
266 Marvin Rettenmaier
267 Rufus Nagel
268 David Vamplew
269 Frank Cerminara
270 Guillermo Ramirez
271 Evgeniy Zaytsev
272 Sunny Chattha
273 Nicholas Newport
274 Jonathan Godfrey
275 Robert Mcgreevy-Iler
276 Diogo Borges
277 Bryan Fortin
278 Joseph Whittaker
279 Sol Bergren
280 Terry Hobbs
281 Ariel Albilia
282 Dmitry Savelyev
283 Joshua Lehrer
284 Per Strom
285 Taha Maruf
286 Jack Kashishian
287 Joseph Lacurrubba
288 Bryan Porter

The following players won $35,492:
289 Jared Jaffe
290 Tuan Vo
291 Michael Youssef
292 Laurence Houghton
293 Kenichi Takaki
294 Robert Matos
295 Omar Saeed
296 Marshall Schultz
297 Francis Anderson
298 Joshua Hillock
299 Michele Koerner
300 Robert Lipkin
301 David Earnest
302 Raymond Dehkarghani
303 Joshua Pollock
304 Tyler Sumrall
305 Edward Teems
306 Andrew Gilmore
307 David Inselberg
308 Stephan Keil
309 Michael Aron
310 Mimi Luu
311 Samuel Golbuff
312 Ilia Lekach
313 Alex Kamberis
314 Brett Flood
315 Nachman Berlin
316 Ilan Boubli
317 David Cloutier
318 Douglas Gord
319 Samuel Murphy
320 Michael Castaldo
321 Aaron Schaff
322 Tom Braband
323 Mark Dalimore
324 Michael Ium
325 David Levi
326 Dan Sztenderowicz
327 Giovanni Rizzo
328 Arthur Walker
329 Bjorn Li
330 Randy Hanley
331 Hayden Fortini
332 John Nixon
333 Jordan Rich
334 Kenn Pluard
335 Nathan Goldstein
336 Salatore Sproviero
337 Amitabh Mehra
338 Martin Dietrich
339 Richard Lee
340 Matthew Cohen
341 Andreas Kauffeldt
342 Sergey Altbregin
343 David Rounick
344 Jon Turner
345 John Cernuto
346 Peter Murphy
347 Philip Green
348 Shane Douglas
349 Bobby Poe
350 Tommy Le
351 Martin Ross

The following players won $30,974:
352 Tom Luce
353 David Mccaig
354 Jo Krautwald
355 Norberto Korn
356 Scott Davies
357 Guy Cicconi
358 Freddy Deeb
359 Matthew Leecy
360 Yu Shen
361 Kristopher Bradshaw
362 James Randolph
363 Maxime Nault
364 Geatan Balleur
365 Christopher Brammer
366 David Lenz
367 Shane Sigsbee
368 Josh Kay
369 Mike Ellis
370 Darus Suharto
371 Christopher Macfarland
372 Daniel Skolovy
373 Andrey Saenko
374 John Hines
375 James Bergen
376 Roger Hairabedian
377 Riekushein Wijermars
378 Joseph Couden
379 David Diaz
380 Dmitry Kuzmin
381 Leif Force
382 Joshua Tieman
383 Manuel Cuberos
384 Robert Weekes
385 Barry Werthmann
386 Morten Mortensen
387 Darren Kramer
388 Vasile Buboi
389 Yakov Hirsch
390 Helbek Tamas
391 Sandra Naujoks
392 Andras Kovacs
393 Joshua Weizer
394 Todd Brunson
395 Quoc Nguyen
396 Jonathan Hilland
397 Giuseppe Iadisernia
398 Coralie Renaud
399 Mark Kroon
400 Nick Gibson
401 Brian Zeid
402 Eric Stocz
403 David Meagher
404 Sargis Sargsian
405 Noah Garden
406 Raul Pino Arza
407 Dietrich Kuhlmann
408 Thomas Fuller
409 Jonathan Stamm
410 Garrett Gruener
411 Michael Adamo
412 Christoph Lovett
413 Marc Le Campion
414 James Riggs

The following players won $27,103:
415 Stanislav Alekhin
416 Antony Lellouche
417 Robert Wisiak
418 Jordan Smith
419 Patrick Sacrispeyre
420 Robert McLaughlin
421 Jani Sointula
422 Devyn March
423 Trevor Hebert
424 David Docherty
425 Michael Meredith
426 Viacheslav Zhukov
427 Anton Ionel
428 Terrence Valenzuela
429 Troy Gamble
430 Dmitry Podkopaev
431 Thomas Dean
432 Sung Yi
433 Christopher McCutchen
434 Charalampos Tsaoussis
435 Karl Erik Arvidsson
436 Michael Rozakis
437 Anthony Zeichick
438 Eric Siegel
439 Honore Taranto
440 Randy Pfeifer
441 Dennis Bejedal
442 Darren Woods
443 Blake Barousse
444 Paul Baron
445 Nikolai Senninger
446 Matic Markus
447 Michael Grizzle
448 Timothy Joseph
449 Fouad Eladli
450 Jeff Blenkarn
451 Joseph Ressler
452 Nicholas Verkaik
453 Ronnie Bardah
454 Peter Mendelsohn
455 Dong Wang
456 WeiKai Chang
457 Eric Haddad
458 Leo Whitt
459 Brian England
460 Chris Bjorin
461 Patrick Shepherd
462 ?????
463 Doug Kellams
464 Stefan Kopylciw
465 Christopher Moutzouris
466 Charles Ritchie
467 Justin Zaki
468 David Colin
469 David Fuss
470 Ben Roberts
471 Hai Le
472 Carlos Oliveira
473 Neil McFayden
474 Jeff Cohen
475 Walan Kite
476 Gregory Bastin
477 Ronald Paolucci

The following players won $23,876:
478 Rupom Pal
479 James Griffin
480 Travis Erdman
481 Per Jonatan Soederstroem
482 Steven Maurouard
483 Alan Keating
484 Markus Lehmann
485 Bryan Micon
486 Hernan Crespin
487 Arthur Lim
488 Max Casal
489 Tay Nguyen
490 Randel Brown
491 Kriston Cudmore
492 Bill Mullins
493 Lasell King
494 Sebastien Bergot
495 Alexander Wilson
496 Joseph Ehler
497 Lukas Baumer
498 Blair Hinkle
499 Samuel Phillips
500 Sam Simon
501 Dan Grolemund
502 Dmitrijs Meless
503 John Renzi
504 Maynard Little
505 Christos Arvanitis
506 Dominic Ricciardi
507 Takaaki Nakayama
508 Robert Bright
509 Jose Reyes
510 John Horten
511 Vanessa Rousso
512 Yohan Zaoui
513 Primoz Cimerman
514 Robert Varkonyi
515 Warren Fund
516 Khai Nguyen
517 Ryan Hall
518 Mark Fleddermann
519 Joe Serock
520 Mark Cole
521 Cherish Andrews
522 Bahbak Oboodi
523 Gregory Fishberg
524 German Teitelbaoum
525 Jamie Burland
526 Mohammad Abedi-Arani
527 Jason Doherty
528 David Zeitlin
529 Christopher Giddings
530 Martin Hruby
531 Luke Vrabel
532 Chris Furbert
533 Tracy Blackwell
534 Thomas Pires-Trigo
535 Matthew Huey
536 Fabian Reyes
537 Maxwell Greenwood
538 Bradley Soshea
539 Brandon Wong
540 Alexander Kuzmin
541 Pierre Sikias
542 Adriano Santa Ana
543 Ruben Velasco-Merino
544 Armando Marquez
545 Graeme Ladd
546 Robert Redman
547 David Stimper
548 Glenn Martinez
549 Patrick Devlin

The following players won $21,295:
550 Shawn Keller
551 Jonathan Jaffe
552 Danny Hannawa
553 William Heger
554 Eric Perez
555 Janeike Wilken
556 Jimmy Ostensson
557 Dennis Phillips
558 Clint Schafer
559 Tiago Lopes
560 Lawrence Scholl
561 Kirkor Tekneci
562 Robert Lofaso
563 John Beauprez
564 Ryan Mattson
565 John Graves
566 Ryan Daniel
567 Reggie Lyons
568 John Myung
569 Jay Carter
570 Chung Ho
571 Fried Meulders
572 Damien Rony
573 Jeffrey Rydz
574 Ian Palomo
575 Julien Rouxel
576 Patrick Blye
577 Alexey Golodyaev
578 Jonathan Krela
579 Martin Kabrhel
580 Corey Emery
581 Ardavan Yazdi
582 Peter Pensa
583 Romain Kowalczyk
584 Stuart Krasney
585 John Courtney
586 Steve Rosen
587 Blake Cahail
588 Russell Rosenblum
589 Francis Fulmer
590 Jamie Kerstetter
591 Michael Flesch
592 Douglas Polk
593 Steve Gross
594 Christopher Bolek
595 Sergio Coutinho
596 Chris Gillam
597 Matthias Much
598 Kevin Boudreau
599 John Bowler
600 Ramin Henke
601 Michael Cua
602 Stephen Rose
603 Nikita Nikolaev
604 Andrew Rose
605 John Hall
606 Richard Craig
607 Colin Walker
608 Dmitry Orlik
609 Kristy Gazes
610 Michael Hallen
611 Robert Gallaugher
612 Paul Kerr
613 Pratyush Buddiga
614 Jose Tavares
615 Selwyn Rivkind
616 Lee Childs
617 Chris Viox
618 Scott Shelley
619 Matan Krakow
620 David Marshall
621 Vito Branciforte

The following players won $19,359:
622 Andrea Vezzani
623 Adam Junglen
624 Daniel Buzgon
625 Christophe Benzimra
626 Steve O'Dwyer
627 Justin Conley
628 Terry Lade
629 Ryan Olisar
630 Craig Sweden
631 Marco Petrelluzzi
632 Gerald Paskert
633 Shannon Shorr
634 Kyle Lodes
635 Eric Ladny
636 Renato Almeida
637 Tim Mcelhannon
638 Javier Martinez
639 Jeff Frerichs
640 Klaus Pautrot
641 Piotr Pietrzak
642 Nathan Doudney
643 Bjorn Nyman
644 Jun Ishii
645 Yehuda Cohen
646 Jasper Wetemans
647 Jake Cody
648 Desmond Portano
649 Patryk Hopner
650 Christian Kruel
651 Sasa Stancic
652 Brian Powell
653 Naoya Kiraha
654 Mickey Appleman
655 Satrya Teja
656 Eric Jackson
657 Daniel Toffel
658 Steven van Zadelhoff
659 Vinny Pahuja
660 Jason Koon
661 Curtis Johnson
662 Pim de Goede
663 Bryan Veach
664 Philip Meulyzer
665 Greg Byard
666 Ray Sumon
667 Raj Vohra
668 Andrejs Maslencenko
669 Bingjian Ren
670 Christopher Brauch
671 Konstantin Maslak
672 Yury Gulyy
673 Christopher Way
674 Biagio Morciano
675 Mark Herm
676 Denilson Menezes
677 Hugo Marialvafelix
678 Zaher Samaan
679 Yaron Reuven
680 Martin Hanitz
681 Anselmo Villarreal
682 Jared Zito
683 Kenny Nguyen
684 David Haiman
685 Kyle Frey
686 Kaied Barkho
687 Arnaud Esquevin
688 Christian Bonde
689 Daniel Close
690 Keanu Tabali
691 Serefdursun Anar
692 Joshua Mullen
693 John George

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

2011-07-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Hellmuthian Entrance (Ep 28)

2011-07-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Phil Hellmuth, known for his grandiose and over the top entrances, showed up to play on Day 1C. Here's the report from Snoopy and yours truly...

2011 WSOP - Episode 28: Hellmuthian Entrance with Snoopy (6:26) - Phil Hellmuth arrived late to the Main Event in true Hellmuthian fashion as he showed up during the start of level 3. However, Hellmuth went for a much more low key entrance this year. Snoopy stalked out the hallway and waited for Hellmuth to arrive. Pauly and Snoopy discussed a couple of entrance concepts (like an astronaut or riding a donkey or a God theme) that they wished Hellmuth would've chosen.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

Prop Bets with Remko and The Micros WSOP Special

2011-07-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

My colleague Remko (aka @HappyFreaked) is from Holland, otherwise known as the Netherlands, or that weird European country where Amsterdam is located and you can smoke hash and get fellatio from a window prostitute in the seedy Red Light District.

Remko is here in Vegas to cover Dutch players and make me laugh in the pressbox. The kid also likes to gamble, especially on his native countrymen -- known for famous Dutch pros such as Marcel Luske, Noah Boeken, Rob Hollink and Lex Veldhuis.

On Day 1A, I won a prop bet. I offered Remko 25-1 odds on a Dutchie being in the Top 25 in chip counts. The closest Dutchie finished 31st overall. It was a bit of a sweat, but well worth the gamble. Instead of settling up, we decided to let it ride.

So what prop bets are in store for Day 1C?

- I gave Remko 20-1 odds on any Dutchie finishing today in the Top 25 in chips. The field looks like it's going to be in excess of 2,000 so I'm liking my chances even though I initially offered 15-1 when Remko wanted 25-1. We split the difference, so 20-1 it is.

- I gave Remko 8-1 odds on a non-American finishing Day 1C as the chipleader. 85% of the field is from the good old US of A. The numbers are in my favor, but I'm having second thoughts on this bet. I betcha if I do get screwed it's gonna be a Canadian!

- I also have a prop with my editor at Bluff, Lance (@Lance_Bradley). I bet the ain Event would get 5,999 or fewer entrants. He bet 6,000 or more. If I lose, I have to buy him a glass of top shelf scotch. At this point, the over is looking like a lock. Alas, looks like Lance gets to drink Johnnie Walker Blue on me.

- I bet Steve Frezer that the Main Event would not get 6,000. We have a couple of drinks on the line for that one, but Steve is from New Orleans, so that might cost me a pretty penny.

- I have Main Event props for OVER totals on 4,200; 4,999; 5,150; 5,400; 5,500. I have UNDER bets on 6,000; 6,500; 6,900.

- In non-poker news, I made a bet (getting 15-1) that Derek Jeter would NOT get his 3,000th hit by July 4th. Jeter went on the DL, so that bet was one helluva a sweat. By the way, how about Jeter? He hit a dinger for #3000. Only Wade Boggs was the only other player to do so, which is strange because neither are homerun hitters.

* * *
And here's the latest installment of The Micro for their special WSOP edition...

P.S. Gloria has a sweet bum! I blushed.

2011 WSOP Day 39 - Main Event Day 1B: Luck Rack of Lamb

2011-07-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Buddha once said that "life is suffering."

Buddha must have been a poker player, particularly a tournament player. Doesn't matter if a tournament has 10 runners or 10,000, because everyone except the winner cannot avoid an insufferable ending.

At the WSOP Main Event, a slew of amateurs might have qualified through satellites at a discounted price, so for a few of them a min-cash is simply delightful and anything else is gravy. But for the players whom consider themselves professionals, the adage fits -- the day you get knocked out of the Main Event is the saddest, most depressing, and demoralizing day of the year.

Which begs the question -- why do some of us live and some of us die?

I've often pondered that question while sitting at a poker table in Las Vegas chasing a one outer for my tournament life, or atop of Machu Picchu pondering the existence of extraterrestrial and the tremendous power of the sun god, or thanking a higher power (whether it's God, Buddha, or Mohamed0 that an airbag deployed just in time as your entire life flashes before your eyes.

I guess it all depends on how you view life and which side of the free will vs. determinism side of the debate you fall on. I know a few people who think that poker is all about skill, while others say it's about being skillful but also putting yourself in a position to get lucky. Then again, if a total donk and luckbox wins a bracelet (or even the Main Event), rest assured all the boo birds and haters will come out in droves to diminish the feat. I've seen it more often than not when luck trumps skill.

Ben Lamb
Photo courtesy of Winamax
Let me introduce you to Ben Lamb. His run at the 2011 WSOP is the epitomize of skill. He's sitting in second place in the Player of the Year race, right behind Phil Hellmuth. Unlike Hellmuth, Lamb won a bracelet this summer along with three final table appearances including 8th place in the $50,000 Players' Championship. Had Lamb gone deeper in that event instead of Hellmuth, he'd be out in front and Hellmuth would be chasing him.

Hellmuth has yet to set foot inside the Amazon Ballroom. There's been plenty of speculation about how he'll top previous gaudy entrances, but without UB to fund such over-the-top publicity stunts (All Hail Ceasar, the race car, the military parade, etc.), will Hellmuth eat a slice of humble pie and walk in the backdoor unannounced and quietly take his seat? Ha, fat chance. Hellmuth is a whore for attention, and he knows how to manipulate the show business aspect of poker as well as any pro in the game.

Ben Lamb didn't arrive with a harem of models or with a menagerie of press photographing his march down the corridor of the convention center. Instead, a laid-back Lamb walked into the Amazon Room just like the other 977 participants on Day 1B. Although Lamb has put up phenomenal numbers this summer and should be lauded as a god among mortals, if you've never seen his picture before, he could easily blend into the sea of runners and easily be mistaken as Joe from your homegame, or if you give him a garish hoodie, he could easily be mistaken as a Scandi donk.

Ben Lamb ended Day 1B as the overall leader. History is against him because chipleaders on Day 1s rarely, if ever, go deep. Then again, Ben Lamb could be the guy who flips the bird at history and decides that he'll be the first player to break that hex. One thing is for sure, there's still almost two weeks of poker left over before the final nine are left standing and have to return to the Rio in November to play out the final table, but lots of industry experts think that the way Ben Lamb has been running this summer -- he'll be a lock for the November Nine.

* * *
If you like numbers...

Day 1A: 897
Day 1B: 978
Day 1C: ???
Day 1D: ???

According to a friend at the cage, Day 1C is expected to have 2,000 players and Day 1D even more so. That means the 6,000-mark is well within reach. I guess we'll have to wait and see how many actually show up on Saturday (1C) and how many lazy-asses wait until Sunday (1D). But because of the final two flights are on the weekend, the numbers should be enough to push the Main Event totals over 6,000. Alas, I have an UNDER bet at that mark, but plenty of over bets in the 5,500 department.

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

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

2011 WSOP Day 38 - Main Event Day 1A: Dolly's Abyss

2011-07-08T03:35:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

In the film Wall Street, moments before the protagonist Bud Fox gets hauled off by the SEC and NYPD for insider trading, one of the elder statesmen in the firm, Lou Mannheim, pulls Bud aside to offer him advice...

"Bud I like you, just remember something -- Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him, at that time a man finds his character -- and that is what keeps him out of the abyss..."

If you ask me, Lou's advice was way to late. By that point in the third act of the film, the young and eager Bud Fox had been corrupted by the capitalist system and driven by pure greed to commit horrible crimes in order to get ahead in the game. Ergo, cheaters never win -- which was Oliver Stone's intentions as a filmmaker -- to demonstrate that greed is evil. The opposite effect occurred because Gordon Gekko, the villain Stone created, popularized the catchy tagline "Greed is good."

The slick-backed-haired and suspenders wearing Gekko become the iconic figure for all greedheads on Wall Street and in corporate boardrooms all over America ad worldwide. We were supposed to feel deep sorrow and empathy for Bud Fox because of his innocent descent into the abyss, but by the end of the movie I was among the majority of viewers who were super pissed off that he couldn't do the time in prison like a man, and instead ratted out his mentor Gekko.

In Wall Street Bud Fox bought a ticket (essentially a shortcut to fame and fortune) and knew his consequences... if he took his angle shot and missed, he'd have his soul crushed and he'd disappear into the abyss. That's the crux of Lou Mannheim's speech, which I quoted above.

* * *
All it takes is $10,000 and a set of balls. That's the beauty and simpicty of the WSOP Main Event Championship. Anyone... anyone... with $10,000 in cash (and/or satellite chips) can buy a ticket to the most prestigious and the richest tournament on the circuit. For the price of a used Honda Accord, you can take a shot at the becoming the next big superstar in poker, or become a multi-millionaire after a couple weeks of winning coinflips. All it takes is to be one of the final nine players left standing at the end of two weeks of slaughter and carnage in the killing fields, and overnight they'll become household names -- thereby securing what Andy Warhol dubbed their fifteen minutes of fame.

Much like show business, the November Niners have a very short amount of time to maximize their fame (for profit, free drinks, and getting laid) before their rising star fizzles out and their faces becomes a blurry image in someone's head that "used to be famous" at one time. In our celebrity-obsessed culture, fame is a fickle accolade because one minute you're on the cover of every magazine and everyone wants to do an interview with you, and then the next minute, you're replaced by the next hot, young, pretty thing, or the comeback pro of the year, or the donk du jour.

Ever notice that the pros whom stay in the limelight are the ones without solid winning records? They're good at what they do -- which is being able to manipulate the show business aspect of tournament poker and ham it up for the TV cameras. After all, who wants to watch a bunch of boring guys play poker? I have to do it for a living and have to eat a fistful of pills to keep things interesting, but the folks at home have to be interested, otherwise ratings dip and everyone loses revenue. It only takes one or two talkative and semi-controversial pros to liven up a table, and thereby spice up an episode or three.

My advice to friends/pros seeking out a shortcut to fame and fortune via the WSOP -- if you're a quiet and shy player, you have to go deep to get noticed. If you're a brash, salty, and someone who loves/hates you, then you have a decent shot at getting face time on TV -- but the deeper you go, the more camera crew can follow you around as much as possible.

A couple of years ago, Phil Hellmuth was seated at the TV table with eight very very quiet and timid players. Hellmuth explained that they were actually on a TV show (once they set foot on the ESPN featured table) and not so much a poker tournament. Unless they loosened up and started talking, the entire table was going to get broken and none of their loved ones would see them on TV. When Hellmuth wasn't running good at the tables, he did everything possible to keep the cameras on him at all costs -- from the tantrums, to the verbal lashings, to the vacuous entrances that serve absolutely no critical function whatsoever.

It just so happened that Hellmuth turned his poker game around in 2011 with a trio of runner-up performances and three shots at winning a bracelet. But when all else fails, enter the Poker Brat.

* * *
Doyle Brunson, good old Texas Dolly, is the greatest living poker player. At this point in the twilight of Brunson's career, he reminds me of Ted Williams when Teddy Ballgame was still alive -- because the powers to be at the MLB used to roll him out at Old Timers' Days and billed him as the greatest living ball player.

It's hard to argue against Texas Dolly's status as the greatest living legend, so it would seem odd to not have him at the WSOP Main Event. But that's what almost happened. Old Texas Dolly is just as described -- old. He wanted to skip the $50,000 Players' Championship and only played in honor of his late friend Chip Reese. Doyle had zero desire to play in the Main Event. It wasn't a money issue, but when Dewey Tomko put up the cash for Brunson's ticket, old Dolly felt obligated to play. He's old school like that, but then again, Dolly always shoots from the hip whether you agree with his chauvinist, old fashioned ways.

Luckily because of social media outlets like Twitter, we can get a glimpse into the legend's mind. He was honest when he said he was tired, depressed, and lacking enthusiasm for the game. Sure, that describes mostly everyone I know in poker, but Dolly is at a point in his life when he doesn't have to do jack shit. He begrudgingly showed up to play on Day 1A of the Main Event, and even though he didn't want the attention, he still shouldered the burden of being poker's icon and unfurled a forced smile onto his wrinkled face and uttered the infamous words, "Shuffle up and deal!"

Dolly has never been the same since Chip Reese died. It was like losing a brother, hes often said. Once Chip was no longer across the felt in cash games, Dolly lost all desire to play. At that point in his career, he kept the show going out of business obligations including his own online site. I could only imagine how much that pissed off a guy who has been a rogue his entire life -- bound by contracts and other legal mumbo jumbo -- when all he wants to do is be like any other grandfatherly type in America -- sit on a porch somewhere, swap stories, bitch about current events, and fawn over his grandkids. Alas, the Texas Dolly show had to continue whether he liked it or not. However, once April 15th and Black Friday hit and subsequently Blue Monday, Dolly lost the last semblance of sanity. His appearance at the 50K was out of respect for Chip Reese, but I as shocked he showed up on Day 1A despite his statement that he was skipping it all.

I guess that was the big news on Day 1A -- Texas Dolly might have played in his last ever Main Event. WIll he be back in 2012? No one knows but Dolly. If he ends up riding off into the sunset, well at least I can say I had a front row seat to his 10th bracelet in 2005 and I also saw the last hand he ever played at the 2011 Main Event. Short-stacked Brunson shoved with pocket fives. His opponent held A-Q and flopped two pair. Brunson did not suckout and even though he requires a single crutch to move his over-sized, hobbled body, Dolly quickly got on his scooter and bailed with a camera crew and one annoying fan running behind trying to snag an aurograph.

Brunson looked bored to death at the TV table inside the Mothership, while across the table, Mickey Appleman looked like he just woke up in the backseat of his car and crawled into the Amazon Ballroom. The lights at the Mothership were unusually dim with purple hues causing ominous dark shadows that hid the sparse crowd -- not even thirty people sat in the audience and watched the greatest living poker player in the world. Despite the murky purples, the bright white Stetson sitting atop of Dolly's head was the beacon for all light inside of the Rio. It caught the focus of my eye and I was mesmerized by the wisdom and stories saturated inside Dolly's brain. I heard that after Ted Williams died, his family kept his body and even froze his head. I wondered if all of poker could do the same for Dolly when he eventually passes, or put him into a cryogenic state ASAP and then unthaw him in two decades when there's a cure for whatever ails him.

* * *
"I'm ready to slit my wrist," joked one anonymous WSOP suit about the number of Main Event entrants on Day 1A that failed to meet his lofty expectations.

But hey, at least Jason Alexander played, right?

Photo credit: Winamax

897 is not a number worthy of a suicide. It's par for the course considering Black Friday and the fact the Main Event was scheduled to have Day 1C and Day 1D fall on the weekend.

One floor guy insisted the Main Event would get in excess of 6,200. I offered to take the under at that number and at 6,000. After crunching the numbers with supercomputer Bill Chen and feeding our data into the KevMath 4000, Snoopy and I waited for the prediction to be spit out. We hypothesized that we'd get around 5,500 runners.

Erick Lindgren must have acquired the same intel because he was looking to book bets on 5,500 and over.

With fewer than 900 entrants on Day 1A, we anticipated (and the suits at the WSOP prayed like a desperate Christian calling in his one-time chip with the Big Guy upstairs) that the bulk of the players would arrive on Day 1D -- in excess of 2,000 on Sunday -- and maybe as many on Saturday when the weekend warriors arrive for their shot at the glory, the cash, and the bling. At press time, the number of entrants on Day 1B was rather paltry and early estimates suggested that the 1,000 mark will not be broken until Day 1C.

Lindgren set a helluva a line, but we won't know until the end of registration on Day 1B to get a clearer picture on overall numbers.

* * *
Day 1A did not feel like the WSOP Main Event. It lacked the spark, the magic, the intensity, and excitement of my previous Main Events. Why? The low turnout was a factor -- simply less people playing so not as many freaks, costumes (aside from the dude who dressed up like Cinderella), or big names to gush about. The set up of the Amazon Ballroom including the massive Mothership sort of created major divisions within the room. In the past, on ESPN you'd see sweeping boom camera shots of the entire Amazon Ballroom with the clattering of chips in the background. That shot is impossible this year because 441 Productions no longer has the contract to cover the WSOP for ESPN. The new contract went to Poker PROductions -- the brain trust behind late night programs like Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker.

Poker PROductions comes from a closed set, TV game-show type mentality, whereas 441 approached the WSOP more like a reality show. Matt and Dave at 441 told the WSOP in their manner -- piecing together human interest stories while keeping the familiar pros and personalities in the mix to keep the audience at home comfortable with faces they recognized, meanwhile they weaved a backstory for the new fresh faces, especially leading up to the November Nine. It'll be interesting to see how this year's WSOP pans out, especially because thee is no specific coverage slated for Day 1s or Day 2s, and full coverage wouldn't happen until Day 3.

I think a huge part of the lack of atmosphere on Day 1A was the simple fact that 441 Productions did not have a presence at the WSOP. When you saw the entire film crew on the TV table and outer tables during previous WSOPs, you knew you were potentially walking onto a set where you might catch some of the same action you'd see on ESPN. Even the mobile units that roved the floors seeking stories created buzz and some drama because surly cameramen lugging hundreds of pounds of video equipment barreled into anything in their way while boom mic guys danced around behind the dealer to get into position to record any table banter. I really missed that aspect of the Main Event, because the floor had much less clutter than previous years. The vibe wasn't the same and the Main Event felt like a Donkament.

I'm hoping Day 1A as just an anomaly, and that the excitement will pick up with larger flights over the weekend. But for now, the gang at 441 are dearly missed. The WSOP doesn't feel the same without them.

* * *
By the way, here's an index of coverage on Tao of Poker from Day 1A...

Prelude to the Killing Fields
With a Little Help From My Friends: The Michael Stevens Story by Change100
Tao of Pokerati - Episode 26: The Main Event Begins
Tao of Pokerati - Episode 27: Almost Famous with Snoopy

* * *
By the way, the Main Event is here. Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day.

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

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Almost Famous with Snoopy (Ep 27)

2011-07-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Just before players return from the dinner break, Snoopy and I chat about Day 1A of the Main Event...

2011 WSOP - Episode 27: Almost Famous with Snoopy (3:32) - While players return to their seats after the dinner break, Pauly and Snoopy notice Jason Alexander posing for pictures with fans. Snoopy explains why Seinfeld wasn't a big hit in England and Pauly discovers someone dressed as Snow White in the crowd. Pauly also wonders if Snoopy would ever dress up in a costume for the Main Event.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

With a Little Help from My Friends: The Michael Stevens Story

2011-07-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

By Change100
Las Vegas, NV

Michael Stevens (left) and Mike Buttice on Day 1A
Michael Stevens lost the use of his arms and hands during his senior year of high school after being diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy as an infant. But that won't stop him from chasing down the biggest prize in poker. As first reported in the Journal-Courier, a local paper out of Lafayette, Indiana, Stevens and his two best friends, Mike Buttice and Dave Hughes made the 30-hour drive from the home of the Purdue Boilermakers to Las Vegas, where Stevens took his seat to play Day 1A of the WSOP Main Event. However, given his unique circumstances, he'll be needing a big assist from his buddies.

Over on Table 335, Stevens is ensconced in the five seat, while his two friends are taking turns handling his cards and chips for him. The WSOP brass gave both Buttice and Hughes special dispensation to assist Stevens, much like legally blind Hal Lubarsky's "card whisperers" were given over the last several years. Like Lubarsky, Stevens calls all the shots, declaring his own action and bet sizes.

Stevens met Buttice and Hughes while playing poker at a local bar. The three played in a Main Event satellite earlier this year at the American Legion Post in Lebanon, IN and while Stevens was among the early eliminations, Buttice went on to win the $10,000 seat, and gifted it to his friend.

Buttice is currently the one on shift, seated on a small stool behind Stevens' left shoulder. With each hand dealt, Buttice carefully picks up Stevens' hole cards, cupping them on either side to protect them, and holds them up to Stevens' eye level before returning them to the table. Stevens then verbally declares his action while Buttice physically executes the play. After half a level of play, like many in the room he's still hovering around his starting stack with 29,200 in chips.

Needless to say, we'll be following Stevens' progress throughout the Main Event and hope the poker gods shine brightly on him today.

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Main Event Begins! (Ep 26)

2011-07-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Moments before the Main Event kicked off, I raged solo and recorded an episode...

2011 WSOP - Episode 26: Main Event Begins! (6:34) - The Main Event is upon us and before the cards went in the air, Pauly is hanging out and listening to TD Jack Effel's long-winded introduction and a quick rundown of the rules to all Main Event players. Jack then introduces Texas Dolly to utter the famous phrase, "Shuffle up and deal!"

Photo courtesy of pkrgssp

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP Main Event - Prelude to the Killing Fields

2011-07-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

The calm before the storm.

That's the best way to describe the peaceful, tranquil, and serene Amazon Ballroom an hour before the doors open and Main Event players trickle into the tournament. Las Vegas Blvd. was constructed on unattainable hopes and aspirations, so much show it should be called the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. But even though everyone who flies or drives into Las Vegas knows the house almost always wins, there's a glimmer of hope as bright as the flickering lights of the Strip that perhaps this day will be the day when all of the gambling gods pull your number out of the ginormous bin of white ping-pong balls. While thousands of seasoned pros, jaded vets, donks, emus, ocelots, and tourists are led to their slaughter, nine people (percentages and history says it'll be nine dudes unless a woman kicks ass and makes history) will emerge as the next biggest swinging dicks in poker. The goal is to become one of the last nine standing otherwise known as The November Nine.

Only a couple of thousand or so gamblers, dreamers, and degens have the cash and testicular fortitude (or ~~clitoral~~ ovarian fortitude -- not to alienate my female readers) to take a shot at the big time. After all, you can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket.

In today's instance, the lottery ticket is a receipt for the 2011 WSOP Main Event Championship. Last summer's numbers were the second highest on record, but a little wrinkle called Black Friday nearly killed the lofty expectations of this year's Main Event as the entire online poker landscape was decimated in one single indictment by the DOJ. But once the 2011 WSOP began, the number of participants in cash games and preliminaries were up from last year. Some of that surplus is directly associated with the lack of opportunity to play online poker -- those damn junkies needed somewhere to get their fix! But would those surging numbers continue through to the Main Event? How would Black Friday affect the number of Main Event entrants that would have been fed through online satellites? I guess that's why you're here to tune in and find out.

Today marks the seventh year in a row I'm covering the WSOP Main Event. I wish it could be like the halcyon year of 2005, in the age before bogus "exclusive media" rules, where I could post whatever I want and whenever I want on my blog. Alas in 2011, I'm still restricted to the "one update an hour" due to Draconian and utterly retarded media rules. Even if I flirt with the elasticity of the rules and post every 59 minutes, I'll get flagged (like I did the last two years by those fucking Nazis at PokerNews who hired rats specifically to monitor who broke the one hour rule). I know, I know... it's bullshit in Tao of Poker's case because when was the last time I actually covered the actual poker tournament?

Anyway, I promised the suits at Harrah's (er, Caesar's) that I'd behave this year, so you're going to have to follow me on Twitter (@taopauly) for random updates throughout the day. I will do my best not to clog up your timeline with mundane and useless fodder, but if something odd, crazy, or just plain weird happens, I'll let you know. So follow @taopauly on Twitter for Main Event updates throughout the day.

Will I be doing a semi-live blog throughout the day? That's a great question. I wish I had the answer. I guess you'll have to tune in to find out. But rest assured, you'll get a proper end of day recap where I highlight all of the best of the best stories from throughout the day.

I'm gonna thank you in advance for religiously following along Tao of Poker this year and in previous years. The diehard fans are the ones whom I'm dedicating this year's coverage to. Due to recent events in the online poker industry and the ever-evolving, brooding artist within me seeking out new projects to work on, I honestly think this will be my last complete WSOP. I say that every year out of frustration, but this year is different. So many things happened that I didn't write about or may never write about, but a lot of heavy shit went down behind the scenes that altered how I perceive the WSOP and my role within it. Of course, if someone offers me a suitcase full of cash, I will write about anything -- even savants, douchebags, brokedicks, and inbred twats setting their money on fire. Besides, I'd rather just come out for the 2012 Main Event because can't imagine spending seven weeks in the trenches next summer. To quote Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon:"I'm getting too old for this shit."

Alas, enjoy the musings on Tao of Poker while it lasts. It's been a fun, bizarre, and wild ride and I wouldn't have traded it for any other experience. With that said, I need to step away from the press box, blow some lines of Adderall in the bathroom, and hope that I don't walk around the Pavilion or Amazon Ballroom with orange boogers hanging from my nose.

The 2011 WSOP Main Event is upon us. Are you fucking ready to get this show on the road?

Photo credit: Winamax
Stay tuned for who the hell knows what!

2011 WSOP - Day 37: Another Runner-Up Finish for Hellmuth; Whiffs on Three Flush Draws to Lose Bracelet#12

2011-07-07T02:37:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Faded
"We will, we will, Rast you! Rast you!"

The chant originated from a corner of the Mothership around 2am inside the Mothership at the final table of the $50,000 Players' Championship. Brian Rast's friends boisterously cheered on their hero by switching up the lyrics to Queen's "We Will Rock You", which has become a anthem for sports teams all around America. Rast's crew cleverly replaced "rock" with "Rast."

If Rast's name sounds familiar, it should be because he had already won a bracelet earlier in the year in an event he wasn't even considering. He got talked into it at the last moment by Antonio Esfiandari -- who offered to put him in on a virtual freeroll. Rast shipped that bracelet, much to the delight of Esfiandari.

Flash forward a couple of weeks later and Rast found himself heads-up for his second bracelet. If he won, he'd become the first multiple bracelet winner this series. If he lost, then Phil Hellmuth would win his 12th bracelet. The heads-up battle between Rast and Hellmuth represented Hellmuth's third opportunity to win a bracelet this summer. On the previous two instances, the Poker Brat failed in his pursuit for #12 against Eric Rodawig (Event #33 Stud 8 Championship) and John Juanda (Event #16 2-7 No-Limit Draw).

Hellmuth had two disappointing runner-up finishes to remain on 11 career bracelets, but the third time is the charm, right? Surely this had to be Hellmuth's night, right?

When Hellmuth busted Minh Ly in third place, he found himself with a 5-1 lead over Rast. It appeared as though this was going to be Hellmuth shining moment. The Mothership was rather quiet and subdued compared to previous final tables when binge-drunking Brits and joyous Brazilians filled the stands inside the Mothership, which gave it the vibe of World Cup soccer match with constant, overzealous chants for their objects of their affection. But the Hellmuth-Rast match up failed to live up to the grotesquerie that previously freaked out Poker PROductions, who feared their million dollar set would be drenched in beer, feces, urine, and blood.

The Hellmuth fans were so quiet it was hard to spot them (or hear them). Maybe they were the "silent majority" that former President Richard Nixon suggested hated the hippies protesting in the streets and were in favor of the escalated war in Vietnam and subsequent carpet bombing of Cambodia. At the Mothership, Hellmuth's wife and Hollywood Dave were the only two visible people cheering for Hellmuth. Maybe a few hundred spectators were secretly rooting for Hellmuth but were afraid to verbalize their enthusiasm for fear of getting pelted with rotten tomatoes from the vast legion of Hellmuth-haters. Instead, the silent majority sat on their hands while Brian Rast's "We Will Rast You" chant got louder and louder as the night progressed.

How could Hellmuth blow a 5-1 lead?

Whiffing on three consecutive flush draws. That's how.

On the first one, Hellmuth went for the obvious knockout blow with a 16.6M to 2.6M lead. Hellmuth held 9h-6h and got it all-in on a flop of 10h-4h-4s. Rast held Ad-Kh, and didn't have any redraws but held the best hand with just Ace-high. Rast faded the heart draw and doubled up. His crew exploded with the"We Will Rast You!" chant even though he was still trailing 14M to 5.2M. Rast needed help if he wanted to mount a comeback, but at least he gave himself the slightest of breathing room.

It didn't take too long before Hellmuth and Rast were all-in again. Hellmuth held another flush draw against Rast's top pair. The board was Kc-Jc-4d and Rast's Ks-7d was rather vulnerable against Hellmuth's 10c-8c flush draw. The Kd fell on the turn, giving Rast trips. His fans went berserk and begged the dealer for a 7c, which would've filled in a boat for Rast. The 6h spiked on the river. Rast faded another flush draw and pandemonium broke loose inside the Mothership. Rast had pulled even in chips with 9.6M apiece.

"We will, we will RAST you!"

Hellmuth whiffed on a second draw, but didn't seem tilted by any of it all. He had turned his back on the crowd and leaned over the rail to look at his wife. When he learned about his losing hand, Hellmuth slid back into his chair. Hellmuth wore a black hockey jersey with the number 99 on the back.

"Is he a Gretzky fan?" I asked Hollywood Dave.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's the hand he held when he won the Main Event in 1989," explained Hollywood Dave.

That was when Hellmuth won his very first bracelet. Little did he or any of the poker world would know that 22 years later, the Poker Brat would have more bracelets than anyone else at the WSOP.

The final table of the 8-Game Mix Players' Championship was converted to exclusively NL, which is a game more palatable for TV audiences, even though the final stretch of the Championship avoids the entire mixed game concept to determine the premier player in all forms of poker (well, at least 8 games -- maybe they will alter it to 10-games next year). I'm a purist when it comes to poker principles -- if you start out 8-game -- you gotta finish it out that way. Alas, poker tournaments become TV specials sometimes and that's when the producers call the shots because NL is more commercial than 8-game mix. Money is the bottom line and advertisers won't be wooed by lackadaisical ratings because a few inbred viewers will change the channel when Stud 8 is played out. Yes, it sucks when poker gets turned into a made for TV event. But that's the sole reason why the million dollar Mothership was created -- as a massive TV set to beam no-limit hold'em out to the masses.

With Rast holding a slight edge over Hellmuth, the two got it all-in again on the flop. For a third time in a row, an audacious Hellmuth shoved with a flush draw. He held 8d-2d on a board of Jd-10s-9d. Rast flopped the joint with Kc-Qd. If Hellmuth turned a diamond, Rast could re-draw to a better flush.

"One more fade! One more fade! One more fade!" Rasts crew screamed from the far corner.

The dealer dropped the 5h on the felt. A couple of "ooooohs" were let out from the crowd, while Rast's friends screamed "One more time! One more fade!"

The 8s fell on the turn. Hellmuth failed to fill in his flush and was eliminated in second place. Rast shipped his second bracelet and won $1,720,328. Meanwhile Hellmuth collected a little over $1 million, but more importantly, he re-gained the Player of the Year race. He needed a second or first place finish to kick Ben Lamb out of the top spot (especially after Lamb busted in 8th in the same event). Who knows if Hellmuth can retain the POY lead with the Main Event and WSOP-Europe counting towards the new point system devised by Bluff Magazine.

Hellmuth shook Rast's hand. The kinder, gentler poker brat acted like a consummate professional. No kicking over chairs. No verbal abuse. Just a simple hand shake and a wave of his right hand to the crowd. The spectators gave Hellmuth a warm, but short send off,while the TV crew cleared up the final table area for Rast's winner's photo.

Three runner-ups for Hellmuth? He really wanted to win a bracelet this year, so much so, that he diligently worked on his mixed games. It's obvious Hellmuth dedicated the off-season to improving his weaker games. His homework paid off with his third final table in a non-holdem event this summer.

My buddy Ryan said it best, "It's official: Susan Lucci is the Phil Hellmuth of daytime television."

* * *
By the way, the Main Event starts Thursday! Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day.

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

2011WSOP - Day 36: Don't Stop Believin'

2011-07-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

So much for the hard-stop rule.

Around 6am, with nine players remaining, action was finally stopped in the $50,000 Players' Championship -- one player short of the final table of eight. If they weren't going to play down to the final table, then why not stop it earlier?

Alas, I'm at the point at the WSOP and in my poker career when I don't ask questions -- stupid or rhetorical. Sometimes rules are made not to be enforced. Sometimes rules are made to be broken. Sometimes rules are just fodder for anal nits who have nothing else better to do with their lives than argue a point for the sake of arguing. I don't know any of those folks personally, because I would never be friends with anyone who wants to be an asshole and argue semantics out of sheer enjoyment.

Anyway, nine players remain in the 50K Player's Championship.

Minh Ly is the overall chip leader, with mixed-game cash game guru Matt Glantz, Ben Lamb, Scott Seiver, Brian Rast, George Lind, Owais Ahmed, Jason Lester, and Phil Hellmuth. Yes, that Phil Hellmuth, who is chasing bracelet #12.

The Poker Brat and the pro everyone loves to hate, went deep twice already this year with a pair of runner-up finishes. Both second place finished had thrust him to the top of the leaderboard before he was knocked out of the top spot by Ben Lamb last week. At this point, Hellmuth has a shot at re-taking the player of the year spot with a decent showing in the 50K, especially if he wins the event outright.

Hellmuth-heads will be flocking to the Mothership on Day 37 to see if he can finally pull off #12, otherwise, he'll come up short for a third time this summer. I'd hate to call Hellmuth a choker, because it's not an easy task to make one final table, let alone three at the WSOP. But if he can't win the bracelet, you bet your ass he wants to finish high enough (at least second) to re-take the overall lead in Player of the Year.

Both of Hellmuth's final table appearances happened in events other than hold'em. He's the self-proclaimed best hold'em player in the world, so it was a bit surprising to see him go deep in a pair of non-hold'em events along with 8-game mix 50K. But the final table has been tweaked and switched to NL, which might give Hellmuth a slight edge because hold'em is his wheelhouse.

With a pair of Donkaments running alongside the Mothership, the Amazon Ballroom will be complete pandemonium. On one side of the room, donks are being slaughtered and on the other, the Mothership will be where Hellmuth rises to the occasion, or gets dragged out on a stretcher.

The Main Event is just around the corner, but this last story has to unfold itself before we can get to the Big Show. Hellmuth is once again the big draw at the Rio. Love him, or hate him... he's the one guy that everyone will be focused on.

By the way, check out something I wrote about last year's WSOP called The Odium of Hellmuthstein.

2011 WSOP - Day 35: Catching Up; List of 2011 WSOP Bracelet Winners

2011-07-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Better late than never, right? While I shake off the rust and let the rest of the psilocybin run through my system, it's probably best to slowly get back into the grind of covering the WSOP. I definitely feel guilty for my fellow media reps who got stuck in the WSOP prison while I got a furlough, but then again, I fortunate to be my own boss and call the shots. In order for me to write the best I possibly can before the Main Event and 50K final table, I needed this short reprieve, but at the same time, my next book will be about being on the road with Phish, so this past weekend was necessary research.

Anyway, here's a complete list of WSOP bracelet winners and an index of everything I wrote thus far...

Here's a quick list on 2011 WSOP bracelet winners:

Event #1: $500 NL (Casino Employees) - Sean Drake ($82,292)
Event #2: $25,000 Heads-Up NL Championship - Jake Cody ($851,192)
Event #3: $1,500 Omaha 8 - Francesco Barbero ($262,283)
Event #4: $5,000 NL - Allen Bari ($874,116)
Event #5: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud - Gene Katchalov ($122,909)
Event #6: $1,500 Limit Hold'em - Harrison Wilder ($205,065)
Event #7: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship - Amir Lehavot ($573,456)
Event #8: $1,000 NL DONKAMENT - Sean Gertzwiller ($611,185)
Event #9: $1,500 NL 2-7 Draw Lowball - Matt Perrins ($102,105)
Event #10: $1,500 NL 6-Handed - Geffrey Klein ($544,388)
Event #11: $10,000 Omaha 8 Championship - Viacheslav Zhukov ($465,216)
Event #12: $1,500 Triple Chance NL - David Diaz ($352,808)
Event #13: $1,500 NL Shootout - Andrew Badecker ($369,371)
Event #14: $3,000 Limit Hold'em - Tyler Bonkowski ($220,817)
Event #15: $1,500 PLO - Brian Rast ($227,232)
Event #16, $10,000 2-7 No-Limit Draw - John Juanda ($367,170)
Event #17: $1,500 HORSE - Aaron Steury ($289,283)
Event #18: $1,500 NL - Foster Hayes ($735,400)
Event #19: $2,500 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Darren Woods ($213,431)
Event #20: $1,000 NL - Jason Somerville ($493,091)
Event #21: $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship - Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier ($331,639)
Event #22: $1,500 PLO - Elie Payan ($292,825)
Event #23: $2,500 8-Game Mix - John Monnette ($278,144)
Event #24: $5,000 NL Hold'em Shootout (2,000 Max) - Mark Radoja ($436,568)
Event #25: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud 8 - Chris Viox ($200,459)
Event #26: $2,500 NL 6-$2,500 - Oleksii Kovalchuk ($689,739)
Event #27: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship - Daniel Idema ($378,642)
Event #28:$1,500 NL - Andy Frankenberger ($599,153)
Event #29: $2,500 10-Game Mix 6-Handed - Chris Lee ($254,955)
Event #30: $1,000 Seniors NL Championship - James Hess ($557,435)
Event #31: $3,000 PLO - Sam Stein ($420,802)
Event #32: $1,500 NL - Kirk Caldwell ($668,276)
Event #33: $10,000 Seven-Card Stud 8 Championship - Eric Rodawig ($442,183)
Event #34: $1,000 NL - Mark Schmid ($488,283)
Event #35: $5,000 PLO Six-Handed - Jason Mercier ($619,575)
Event #36: $2,500 NL - Mikhail Lakhitov ($749,610)
Event #37: $10,000 HORSE Championship - Fabrice Soulier ($609,130)
Event #38: $1,500 NL - Arkadiy Tsinis ($540,136)
Event #39: $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/PLO - Mitch Schock ($310,225)
Event #40: $5,000 NL 6-Handed - Matt Jarvis ($808,538)
Event #41: $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout - Justin Pechie ($167,060)
Event #42: $10,000 PLO Championship - Ben Lamb ($814,436)
Event #43: $1,500 NL - Andre Akkari ($675,117)
Event #44: $2,500 Seven-Card Razz - Rep Porter ($210,615)
Event #45: $1,000 NL - Ken Griffin ($455,356)
Event #46: $10,000 NL 6-Handed Championship - Joe Ebanks ($1,158,481)
Event #47: $2,500 Omaha 8/Seven-Card Stud 8 - Owais Ahmed ($255,959)
Event #48: $1,500 NL - Athanasios Polychronopoulos ($650,223)
Event #49: $2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball - Leonard Martin ($189,919)
Event #50: $5,000 Triple Chance NL - Antonin Teisseire ($825,604)
Event #51: $1,500 PLO8 - David Singontiko ($268,235)
Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Hold'em - Matt Matros ($303,501)
Event #53: $1,000 Ladies NL Championship - Marsha Wolak ($192,344)
Event #54: $1,000 NL (2 Starting Days) - TBA
Event #55: $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship - TBA
Event #56: $1,500 NL - TBA
Event #57: $5,000 PLO8 -TBA
Event #58: $10,000 NL Main Event Championship - TBA

* * *

Tao of Poker - 2011 WSOP Daily Recaps

2011 WSOP: Before the Madness Begins
Day 1: Welcome to the Jungle and Phil Ivey's Titanium Balls
Day 2: Ivey's Hippodrome and Bare-Chested Scandis
Day 3: Moneymaker and Johnny Fucking Chan Win Grudge Matches and Men the Master Cheating Accusations
Day 4: Jake Cody's Emos, Hooligans, and Hat Tricks
Day 5: Apocalypse Now (Guest Post by Change100)
Day 6: Ho-most for Maria Ho and Other Monday Nuggets
Day 7: The British Invasion, Vampire Squids, and the Devil
Day 8: The Marked Cards Conspiracy and Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To
Day 9: Cockblocking the Brits
Day 10: Banning Booze, World Series of Mormons, and Sweating the Mavs
Day 11: Social Media in Poker and Tex Dolly Blows Chunks
Day 12: Hellmuth Chokes and Prohibition Ends at the Mothership
Day 13: Tweaker City, USA
Day 14: Subterranean Homesick Alien and Brits Snag Third Bracelet
Day 15: Triple ElkY and The Mark Is the 22nd Best PLO Player in the World
Day 16: Le Deux; French Snag 2 Bracelets in 24 Hours
Day 17: Mike Sexton Heads-Up for Bracelet and Liquidating the Sahara
Day 18: No Country for Old Men; Barry Greenstein and Mike Sexton Denied Bracelets
Day 19: The Donkenator and Eating Death
Day 20: The Egregious Case of the $9 Pizza and Stein Shines
Day 21: A Day in the Life; Hellmuth Denied 12th Bracelet (Again)
Day 22: Slowdown, Rocky Mountain High, and Chau Giang Confirmed Alien
Day 23: Timex Flashback, Jason Mercier Wins PLO Bracelet, and More Sordid Tales About Chasing the Dragon
Day 24: Dwan Song, Revelry, and Hooligans
Day 25: Rubber Soul, Electric Daisies, and Two-Tabling Pai Gow
Day 26: The Sickness
Day 27: Shaking Down Ravers; November Niner Snags Bracelet
Day 28: The Glass Onion; Lamb Leads POY
Day 29: Carnival at the Mothership; Akkari Wins Bracelet
Day 30: OFF
Day 31: OFF
Day 32: OFF
Day 33: OFF
Day 34: Happy Birthday, America

* * *

Random Vegas and Non-WSOP Musings

Pai Gow Diaries: Glow in the Dark Dragons
WTF? Phil Ivey Suing Full Tilt
Full Tilt Poker's Angry Response to Phil Ivey's Lawsuit
Money on the Dresser and Asshole Avoidance

* * *

2011 WSOP Tao of Pokerati Episodes Index

Episode 1: Woe Is Benjo (3:59) - Pauly, Dan, and Benjo returned for their first episode of the 2011 WSOP. Dan and Pauly are upbeat about the upcoming summer, meanwhile Benjo reveals he's not looking forward to the suicidal tendencies which crop up three weeks into the WSOP. Dan and Benjo also discuss a potential prop bet about whether or not Howard Lederer makes an appearance at the 2011 WSOP.

Episode 2: Ivey Drops Drama Bomb by Suing Full Tilt and Boycotting the WSOP (6:07) - Change100 joins Benjo and Pauly as they discuss the strange happenings on Day 1 of the WSOP. Phil Ivey became the only thing people discussed the Rio after a rather bizarre series of posts appeared on his Facebook page after he revealed his lawsuit against Full Tilt due to their lack of action getting money back to their players. Also, Benjo explains the scene when James Bord harassed and threatened John Juanda. Episode 3: Dan's Smoothie and Welcome to the Mothership (3:06) - Dan finally showed up to the WSOP a little late... three days late... and he ran into a credentials snafu. Pauly gives him some guff while he covers the heads-up Grudge Matches, but Dan is digging the plush couches behind the media perch.

Episode 4: Team Pokerati Update and the Men the Master/Hollywood Dave's Fracas (4:58) - Dan and Pauly hang out on the rail of Event #3 $1,500 Omaha 8 after the money bubble bursts. They discuss updates on Angry Julie, a member of Team Pokerati, along with detailing the highlights of argument that almost turned into a brawl when Men the Master (ironically) accussed Hollywood Dave of being a cheater.

Episode 5: Norman Invasion - Dan and Pauly try to hang out at the final table of the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship between Jake Cody and Yevgeniy "JovialGent" Timoshenko. However, they got stuck around a gaggle of drunken Brits supporting Jake Cody and then find themselves getting in the way of ESPN's camera crew while they taped a stand-up for Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

Episode 6: Ivey's Lawyer (4:17) - Dan and Pauly chat about the Ivey drama that transformed the opening days of the WSOP into the "World Series of Phil Ivey." Dan also shares some inside info on Ivey's lawyer, renown criminal attorney David Chesnoff.

Episode 7: Sahara Liquidation with Remko (6:12) - Benjo and Pauly discussed the Sahara Casino liquidation sale/auction with one of the members of the Dutch press, Remko. Both Remko and Benjo expressed a keen interest in acquiring a slot machine for super cheap, while Pauly has his eyes set on a Pai Gow table. Meanwhile, Benjo and Remko try to figure out how to ship a slot machine from Vegas to France and Holland.

Episode 8: Eskimo Yes, Jesus No (4:22) - Dan and Pauly try to pinpoint which pros are noticeably absent (Clonie, Jesus, Howard Lederer), while Eskimo Clark sightings have been rampant. They also try to figure out where the old Bat Beat Bar and Lounge went and why its been replace by a oxygen bar.

Episode 9: False Flags and Low Lights (4:04) - Dan and Pauly wander around the Pavilion and Dan points out the flags, or lack of international flags, hanging from the rafters. While Dan spins an international false flag conspiracy, he also wonders about the lack of bright lighting at this year's WSOP.

Episode 10: Hellmuth Denied with Change100 (2:46) - Seconds after John Juanda defeated Phil Hellmuth (who was seeking his 12th career bracelet), special guest Change100 and Pauly chat about the three hour heads-up battle between Hellmuth and Juanda.

Episode 11: Bookies, Dumpsters, and Mavericks (5:16) - Dan and Pauly ditch the action at the WSOP and wander over to the sportsbook to watch Game 6 of the NBA Finals, because Pauly bet the Mavs, which is also Dan's hometown team. Dan asks Pauly to describe some of the complexities of sportsbetting, both in Vegas and in the shady underworld of online bookies.

Episode 12: The Tweaker Edition (4:02) - Benjo and Pauly hang out at the Gold Coast and watched a tweaker get 86d by security. They later encounter the tweaker in the parking lot, and Benjo asks Pauly for a quick tutorial about the seedy Las Vegas meth scene.

Episode 13: Black-Hat Bracelet with Change100 (3:59) - Dan shows up at the very end of a big poker event, and observes with Change100 the first major on-the-felt story of the WSOP. They didn’t know as they discussed the color of hats and misprinted souvenir T-shirts going to Haitian refugees that they were witnessing the only other true all-in-and-a-call situation prior to the end of a heads-up match-up between two different kinds of bad-boys several hours later.

Episode 14: Old School Cheats with Johnny Hughes (6:02) - Pauly sat down and chatted with a special guest -- the legendary Johnny Hughes -- who has been in poker circles for 50+ years. Pauly asks Johnny to share some stories about old school poker cheats and the "fear" of getting caught, which kept a lot of shady characters in line.

Episode 15: Brickless Cash Games (4:43) - Dan and Pauly hang out on the rail of the high-stakes cash games in the Rio. They describe the bustling scene, but are a little disappointed the massive PLO cash game isn't running.

Episode 16: Brickless Cash Games Reprise (3:22) - Dan and Pauly recorded a quick follow-up to their previous episode while they hang out on the rail of the high-stakes cash games. They spot Eskimo Clark, "Cowboy", and other broke dicks lingering around seeking handouts from the high rollers.

Episode 17: WSOP Fashion Report with KevMath (5:10) - Pauly chats with KevMath, who is a self-described "fashion expert." The two compare and contrast the different styles of clothing worn by members of the media. KevMath also reveals why he won't wear shorts.

Episode 18: Mothership Stench with Timtern (2:43) - Pauly and Timtern are in the press section inside the Mothership, while sweating the final table of the Donkament. Timtern shares a story about a couple of railbirds who put him on mega-tilt, including the guy who took off his shoes. Pauly also describes the sketchy, yet pungent scene inside the Mothership.

Episode 19: KevMath Keno System with KevMath (6:01) - Pauly and KevMath hang out at the dive bar in a bowling alley at the Gold Coast. KevMath was in the middle of crushing a video Keno game, when Pauly asked him to share a couple of his big secrets to beating the game.

Episode 20: Adieu, Benjo (8:40) - After almost a week of speculation and rumors, Benjo confirms that he's leaving Las Vegas and heading home to France. His brief stint at the WSOP is officially over. One chapter ends, and a new one begins. Dr. Pauly, Dan and Benjo hang out in the dive bar inside the bowling alley at Gold Coast to listen to Benjo bid his farewells.

Episode 21: New Dynamic Duo with Snoopy (5:59) - Pauly holds auditions for a new sidekick with only one requirement -- a outrageous accent. Snoopy, a writer from London, nails the audition. In this episode, they discuss modeling their new dynamic duo on the Batman & Robin television series, in addition to re-locating the Bat Cave to England and installing bat poles in the press box.

Episode 22: Eskimo Dementia with Joe Dub (3:33) - Pauly bumps into Joe Dub while covering the final table of the $2,500 Razz. Joe Dub is eager to tell the story about how he saw Eskimo lurking around the rail of the Razz event and unsuccessfully trying to bum a stake off of someone with dementia. Joe Dub also shares a personal story about Eskimo asking him for money the first time they ever met.

Episode 23: Brazil's Mothership Invasion with AlCantHang (2:50) - Pauly and AlCantHang are on the rail inside the Mothership watching the heads-up battle between American Nachman "The Landlord" Berlin and Brazil's native son Andre Akkari. Al and Pauly record a quick episode moments after Akkari won a decisive pot to cripple Berlin, and the Brazilians went berserk.

That's it for now. I'm back in Vegas and will be providing coverage from now through the November Nine is set. Thanks for being patient and allowing me to get my head on straight before the Main Event Madness.

2011 WSOP - Day 34: Happy Birthday, America

2011-07-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
New York City

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest represents everything that is wrong about America.

The November Nine final table and parts of the Olympics are not aired live -- yet the lasciviousness spectacle of inhaling 60+ hotdogs in ten minutes was worthy enough of a live broadcast on America's premier sports channel.

Millions of our fellow citizens cannot afford to buy food and require assistance from the federal government with handouts and food stamps, yet every Fourth of July, we celebrate the rather useless skill of over-indulgent speed eating (which eventually gets puked up off stage) in what has become one of the most absurd and decadent events America created since we broke apart from the British Empire.

Then again, I couldn't think of a better "Fuck You" from America to the world and its hungry citizens, by rewarding gluttony and over-indulgence on its birthday -- and broadcasting the voracious contest LIVE on ESPN.

Over 42,000 competitive eating fanatics flocked to Coney Island to soak up the lecherous hot dog eating event in person while enduring the sweltering summer sun and braving a horrendous aroma of vomit and nitrate-ridden ass gas. The annual contest sponsored by Nathans, attracted almost 2 million viewers on ESPN.

Holy shitballs, 2 million people tuned in to watch a bunch of fat dudes and freaks with eating disorders? Only in America.

The corporate interests running America rarely reward intelligence or temperance, rather the mad scientists in the media are running a brilliant piece of subliminal marketing and psychological warfare. Millions of Americans are addicted to food, and millions more are hedonistic voyeurs. I'm actually surprised that the World Eating Tour (WET for short) isn't airing events once a week in prime time. When will there be a knock-off version inspired by Jackass, in which cash prizes are rewarded to contestants who can eat the most cockroaches inside of 17 minutes.

Not everyone can sing, yet American Idol is still one of the most popular shows on television since its inception. However, everyone in America eats and has some sort of affinity or aversion to food. Either way, how could you not want to watch humans act like barbarians gnawing away at flesh? Unless the suits in Hollywood get really desperate with a risque decision to air the first ever eating contests with cannibals.

Nathan's one is the most prestigious and most popular events in all of sports -- even greater than the Running of the Bulls and the Tour de France. Pigging out (then puking off screen) has blurred the lines of sports entertainment. Although it's fairly lowbrow on the entertainment scale, watching people eat hot dogs on the Fourth of July is a ratings moneymaker, on par with crotch shots of shitfaced starlets on TMZ. It's certainly more enthralling than watching douchebags and brokedicks play cards for several days straight.

Joey Chestnut is the Phil Ivey of competitive eating. He won his fifth straight Nathan's title this year and holds countless records in eating other foods like pizza and tacos. Since Ivey was a no-show at the WSOP, I should have headed to Coney Island to sweat his competitive eating counterpart. Alas, I never got back to the city in time to catch the trivial contest at Coney Island. Maybe next year? After all, as much as overeating might kill you and create long term health problems, the government turns a blind eye to the rapacious displays of blatant food abuse. Online poker is evil, but shoving 62 hotdogs down your throat is the ultimate display of independence.

If I could have a cushy assignment, it would involve some sort of book deal to write about my experiences covering the competitive eating circuit for one year. I should pitch this book to my French editor because Lost Vegas is a huge hit in France, and a similar book about the freaks I'd encounter on the hot dog eating circuit sounds like a depraved aspect of American society that needs further investigation.

* * *
For a second year in a row, I escaped from prison inside the Amazon Ballroom and fled Las Vegas to celebrate America's birthday. It's not that I'm extremely patriotic, rather my favorite band had a habit of playing gig on/around the special holiday of the Fourth of July, when Americans get a day off from work to cook up hot dogs, get drunk, and talk smack about how our forefathers back in the 1776 decided to tell the King to fuck off, then conscripted poor/uneducated colonists, hired German thugs and borrowed France's navy in a concerted effort thwart Great Britain's B-team.

After working 23 days in a row, I saved most of my time off for a quick sojourn to Watkins Glen to attend a music festival called Superball IX -- a three-day extravaganza, disguised as an excuse to embark on a 3-day bender and eat mushrooms in the middle of a raceway in order to clear my head before the Main Event begins.

If you cover the entire WSOP, you gotta flush out all the bad gunk that gets caught inside the hallways of your mind, otherwise you go absolutely batshit crazy. I missed all of the drama this weekend, and I'm still only hear about 10% of everything after I left the psychedelic circus and I'm slowly re-inserting myself back into the circus of the bizarre and incorrigible.

The dates for Superball coincided with a much need retreat from the WSOP to relax, regroup, and recharge my batteries before the WSOP Main Event World Championship. That's what's it's all about, right? The $10,000 World Championship. Everything else during the preliminary events is foreplay, or in sports terms, it's regular season with the Main Event acting as the "playoffs." In the parlance of America's past time baseball -- since I'm the team owner, GM, coach, and starting pitcher -- I pulled myself from the game to rest my arm for the playoffs. I flew out of Las Vegas with a couple of days clothing, extra hiking boots, a couple of paper clips, cash, my sunglasses, and tent. Since I was camping out, I welcomed the opportunity to unplug and ween myself off of my addiction to my laptop. After four weeks at the grind, the addiction was full blown and only a camping outing would provide the perfect conditions to avoid logging into my laptop, though my CrackBerry was methadone (but I did my best to maintain a safe distance from the WSOP -- I have yet to read a single email or any of Nolan Dalla's WSOP reports to see who won bracelets and made final tables during my absence on Days 30-31-32-33.)

At this point, you probably figured out I had skipped the WSOP for a few days on my annual Phishy pilgrimage before the Main Event.

I closed the laptop for good on Friday morning at sunrise a couple of hours before I rolled into Watkins Glen (the site of many NASCAR events, not to mention the location of the epic 1973 concert featuring The Band, The Grateful Dead, and The Allman Brothers Band). Once I shut the laptop, I didn't open it up again until Monday night or almost 90 hours long. I dunno if that's a record -- but it's damn close. I was going to wait a full 100 hours -- just to see if I could achieve the century mark, but during my drive back into the city, I had an idea for a post about America's birthday that I was going to write the next day (Tuesday morning) in the airport while waiting for my flight back to Vegas. But, that plan changed when my brother suggested we watch the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Halfway through the contest, I had a moment of clarity as Joey Chestnut shoved a few hot dogs into his mouth and chopped away en route to another victory. That's when I blurted out at the screen -- "Happy Birthday, America."

If we don't eat 60 hotdogs on TV, then the terrorists win.

2011 WSOP - Day 29: Carnival at the Mothership; Akkari Wins Bracelet

2011-06-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

A chant of "Ole! Ole! Ole! Pele! Pele! Pele!" echoed throughout the Amazon Ballroom as the ground shook before me.

"What the fuck? Did Brazil score a goal or something?"

I expected to hear some wasted announcer bellow, "Goooooooooooooooooooooooallllllllllllllllllllll!" But that wasn't the case because the World Cup isn't for another three years.

In the loudest, raucous, festive final table at the 2011 WSOP, Brazil's native son Andre Akkari won a bracelet while a hundred or so of his fellow Brazilian packed into an entire side of the stands inside the Mothership.

"Vamooooooooooooooo!"
Akkari made the final table of the Donkament on Day 28, but even though it was the third day of the event, they failed to play down to a champion. Akkari found himself heads-up against Nachman "The Landlord" Berlin when play was suspended due to the 10-level hard-stop rule. The two resumed play on Day 29, or the fourth day of the exhausting Donkament.

Even though The Landlord was an American with home field advantage, his dozen or so supporters, led by Ari Engel, could not match up against the voluminous Brazilians. Whenever the small group of Americans attempted to cheer for the Landlord, the Brazilians retaliated with a few chants disguised at taunts. The Yanks got the "Shhhhhhh" tossed back at them a couple of times and my favorite -- a condescending "Oooooh, baby, baby, baby!"

The Brazilians on the rail were veterans of many World Cup matches, so they were much better equipped to deal with the opposition. Come to think about it, the way the Brazilians controlled the flow, energy, and atmosphere inside the Mothership, the Landlord was playing in a hostile environment. Ergo, he was in Akkari's house because the Brazilians seized the home-field advantage by default when forty or so Brazilians showed up at the re-start of Day 4. Within an hour the Brazilians had doubled their size and then some.

The intimating Brazilians were dressed for the occasion -- gold and green soccer jerseys -- and lots of #10 jerseys. The only thing missing was vuvuzelas and caipirinhas. One of akkari's friends brought a Brazilian flag and draped it over the rail on the opposite side of Akkari. It seemed a little strange that his crew would be facing him -- but that's how the Brazilians wanted it -- to see their hero no matter what. And vice versa. For Akkari it must have been inspiring to peek up and see a hundred or so of his fellow countrymen and women fervently cheering him on like the premier football players in his country.

Pele. Ronaldo. Akkari.

The chants were led by one guy in the front row who looked like he was about to have a heart attack, or potentially lead a workers revolution. He shouted vociferously and whenever chants died down, he quickly started them back up. The Brazilians were never quiet for more than ninety seconds before they got whipped up into another frenzy.

At first glance, you might have thought the Brazilians were drunk, but it was the opposite scenario. Many of them were cold sober, but Brazilians are passionate people who get fired up about anything that has to do with their home country. You rarely see that sort of unwavering nationalistic pride in America. I was smitten with both jealousy and awe. On one side of the audience, a handful of Americans did their best to root on the Landlord, but their efforts paled in comparison to the boisterous Brazilians.

The Brits are a laconic and demure culture. They need booze and liquor to break open their shell. In short, the Brits flock to the rail whenever a British player makes a final table, but they are unable to fulfill their railbirds duties sober. In order to cheer, which goes against their reserved nature, the Brits get snookered to the tits. As a result, you see and hear about all of the binge-drinking antics from the hooligans. At one point over the weekend, a few rowdy Brits were drinking Jager shots out of shoes on the rail.

My buddy Homer suggested the most interesting and rowdy table in the history of the WSOP would pit a Brazilian heads-up against a Brit.

"All hell would break loose," Homer suggested. "Between the Brits and the Brazilians going back and forth at each other, they'd absolutely tear down the entire set."

The volume of cheering rivaled a Brazilian football match. Even when I was in the pressbox in the corner of the room away from the Mothership, you could still hear the rambunctious Brazilians from the other side of the Amazon Ballroom. Every time Akkari won a sizable pot, they went berserk.

I joked with AlCantHang, "We went to cover a poker tournament and watch two dudes play cards, and a soccer game broke out."

The Brazilians didn't touch a sip of booze. They didn't have to. Many of them barely slept when Day 3 ended because they were all riled up when Akkari advanced to the final table. They probably stayed up all night plotting a soccer chant setlist of tunes to belt out whenever Akkari won a pot.

The Brazilians brought back the "Wave" into fashion. It was a fan favorite at American sporting events in the 1980s, but the Wave has since died down and only gets started up by bored and drunken fans at baseball games. At the Mothership, the Brazilians unleashed two different versions. The Fast Wave was just as you expected -- the Brazilians happily standing up and sitting back down as the wave went half-way around the audience and quickly returned the other way. Afterward they'd belt out "Ole! Ole! Ole! Pele! Pele! Pele!" The Slow Wave is just as it sounds. Slow, but even more effective because it gave the Brazilians more down time before they collectively exploded into an ear-piercing chant while stomping their feet to generate a thunderous and bong-rattling bass beat.

"Ole! Ole! Ole! Pele! Pele! Pele!"

The Mothership shook and rocked back and forth a few times. I really thought they were ready to blast off on a few occasions, as the Mothership would shoot up and crash through the ceiling of the convention center. As George Clinton and P-Funk said it the best, "We're gonna tear the roof off this mutherfucker!'

If you ever attended the November Nine, then you witnessed the energetic atmosphere inside the Penn & Teller Theatre. With nine final table players, at least four or five support groups were enthusiastically cheering for their hero. However, the cavernous Penn and Teller diluted most of the crowd noise. But over inside the Mothership, the crowd was much closer to the action and the collective cacophony of "Ole! Ole! Ole!" chants echoed throughout the Amazon Ballroom, and even spilled outside into the corridors of the Convention Center.

The Mothership was built for days like Day 29, but I have a feeling the Mothership might get dismantled because of days like Day 29. Plenty of pros an players going deep on Day 2 and 3s issued a complaint -- and rightfully so. I understand their point that they're playing for a bracelet and several million in prize money, so a more subdued and respectful environment was more appealing to those players. However, from a show biz standpoint -- the louder, the better. If it's standing room only inside the Mothership, then the WSOP must be doing something right. Alas, when the WSOP is over, the suits are going to have to figure out how to maintain a festive environment at the final table, but at the same time, giving the other players a semblance of peace and quiet. It's a tough balance to maintain and I'm eager to see what type of solution (if any) that the powers to be conjure up. But for now and the rest of the 2011 WSOP, expect the final tables to be intense, rowdy affairs.

I rarely root for players, but I had a special spot in my heart for Akkari. I was covering the LAPT Lima in Peru (the same week as Black Friday), and Akkari had to leave the tournament unexpectedly because his father passed away. He was among the chipleaders when the first day ended and never returned for the next day. Instead, a Brazilian flag was draped over his empty chair as his stack was blinded down. Akkari had enough chips that he made the money -- barely -- but secured a min-cash. Akkari returned to Brazil and buried his father while he consoled his entire family. Two months later, he shipped a bracelet at the WSOP in front of a hundred jubilant Brazilians. His good friend Alex Gomes became the first Brazilian to ever win a bracelet a few years ago in 2008, and now Akkari solidified his name to the list of greatest Brazilian poker players of all time.

Akkari came from behind to win. He doubled up on a decisive hand with pocket Kings that nearly tipped over the Mothership. When Akkari pulled even with the Landlord, I wondered what would happen if Akkari had lost? Thank God the Brazilians were not drinking, otherwise, they might have flipped over the Mothership and torched it with a few homemade Malatov cocktails.

Once he caught up to the Landlord, it was a matter of time before Akkari finished him off. Before the final hand was even finished, a dozen or so Brazilians jumped the rail and mobbed Akkari. Before the river card was dealt on the final hand, the Brazilians jumped up and down around him while the rest of the crowd belted out a few victory songs. The mob on the stage hoisted Akkari up on their shoulder. They attempted to carry him around the Mothership until a few of them tripped on the main stage and the floor guys quickly stepped in and told them carry Akkari around wasn't going to happen. That's when someone opened a bottle of champagne and sprayed it over everyone on the Brazilians side of the Mothership. It really looked like a celebration at the end of a sporting event.

Pele. Ronaldo. Akkari.
* * *
For a quick recap of Day 29 at the WSOP, check out my recap on RISE Poker... WSOP Day 28 .

Don't forget, I recorded a podcast during Akkari's final table with AlCantHang. Listen here... Brazil's Mothership Invasion.

Checkout the Tao of Pokerati archives, aka best place to listen to the quickest poker podcast at the 2011 WSOP. I've had plenty of amazing guests this year including KevMath, Snoopy, Change100, Remko, Timtern, Johnny Hughes, Joe Dub, AlCantHang, and Benjo.

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

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Brazil's Mothership Invasion (Ep 23)

2011-06-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Pauly and AlCantHang head out to a soccer match and a poker tournament broke out...

2011 WSOP - Episode 23: Brazil's Mothership Invasion with AlCantHang (2:50) - Pauly and AlCantHang are on the rail inside the Mothership watching the heads-up battle between American Nachman "The Landlord" Berlin and Brazil's native son Andre Akkari. Al and Pauly record a quick episode moments after Akkari won a decisive pot to cripple Berlin, and the Brazilians went berserk.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP Day 28: The Glass Onion; Lamb Leads POY

2011-06-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

If you chop up and dice and slice enough onions, it will make you cry...unless you're cool enough to buy a SLAP CHOP! If you cook a lot at home, or happen to work the line in a restaurant, then you're well aware of the bizarre power of a simple vegetable. Onions make grown men cry. Same thing applies to the WSOP -- if you chop up, dice, and slice enough donkeys, then you will be brought to tears.

Dead donkeys make grown men cry.

Every few days a few thousands unsuspecting souls are led to the slaughter... and they pay good money for it. Depending on the day, the price tag of admission to the Donkey Grinder is as cheap as $1,000 and as much as $1,500. The sheeple (or is it Donkle?) march right into a lake of bloodshed without even knowing it. The few Donkey Slayers who survive the carnage are rewarded with luxurious paychecks and a gold bracelet. I also find it humorous that bracelet winners also get awarded their very own Diamond Club card -- good at all Harrah's properties. The WSOP staff should be giving out helmets, raincoats and waders to keep all of the Equus Asinus blood off of the winner's clothing. Nothing is more tragic than seeing a hoodie or Ed Hardy shirt ruined by donkey guts.

* * *
Whenever I see a flash mob of Brazilians roaming the hallway of the Rio with a green and gold flag in tow, I immediately think the World Cup is on and they are going to watch the match. Since this is an off year for soccer competitions, then it had to be a Brazilian at a WSOP final table. In this instance, the center of the Brazilian poker world was Andre Akkari. Every Brazilian showed up to chant soccer songs and other random things in Portuguese. They are more festive but less drunk than the rowdy British hooligans. All in all, depending on how you view the world, the Brazilian contingency is a fun bunch or annoying as shit. Personally, I think it's fun to get caught up in a mob of happy Brazilians. Please send more bottles of rum to the Mothership, stat!

The PokerStars Team Pro is a true legend in Brazil. He's sort of like Pele meets Doyle Brunson, but without the bicycle kick and Stetson. My favorite Akkari story is something he told me about playing a tournament in Korea and he got stricken wit the dreadful casino flu. He was roaming the streets looking for cold meds. He picked up a bottle of what he thought was water. The guy at the counter kept screaming at him in Korean, but Akkari tried to communicate in English that he needed water to wash down his cold meds. Akkari paid his money and began chugging the liquid. Within seconds, he spit it out everywhere because it was vodka.

Akkari advanced to the final table of a Donkament and was seeking a bracelet and the supreme title of Donkey Slayer. The Brazilians flocked to the rail inside the Mothership and action got all the way to heads-up against Nachman Berlin before the 10-level hard stop rule came into play. Yep, another bullshit delay. Why don't they play out the heads-up matches? It's usually around 3am when it stops. This is poker in Las Vegas and the two should slug it out until dawn. I'm getting tired of the damn pussification of America spilling into the Nanny States of Poker.

Oh, in case you were wondering, the Razz final table was also suspended with two to go. If I'm any of these players who have to come back to finish out the finals, I'd be pissed. Then again, if you're super tired or tilting hard and desperately needing a break, the hard stop time is to your advantage.

The eventual conclusion of Razz (Rep Porter vs. Steve Su) the heads-up match of the Donkament (Akkari vs. Berlin) will be on Tuesday afternoon. Brazil will have to wait a few more hoursbefore they can begin celebrating and turning the hallways into Carnival.

* * *
Going into the weekend, Phil Hellmuth was at the top of the WSOP Player of the Year (powered by Bluff Magazine). This year's ranking have been tweaked a bit and Hellmuth was on top without having won a bracelet. A pair of second-place finishes propelled the Poker Brat into the top spot. You got a sense that once Hellmuth got a whiff that he had a shot at POY, he really amped up his play.

Alas, Hellmuth fell out of the top spot after Ben Lamb's victory in the $10,000 PLO Championship. Lamb beat out Finish pro Lars Luzak and British pro John Shipley (remember him from Varkonyi's Main Event final table?). Lamb shipped the bracelet and put himself into position to take down POY honors. Unless Hellmuth can go deep in another event, he's going to have a tough task ahead of him if he wants to add POY to his resume.

2011 WSOP POY Race - Top 10:
1. Ben Lamb - 486.25
2. Phil Hellmuth - 420.75
3. Samuel Stein - 402.63
4. Mikhail Lakhitov - 401.80
5. Mitch Schock - 364.81
6. John Juanda - 336.00
7. Amir Lehavot - 330.75
8. Sean Getzwiller - 325.00
9. Jason Mercier - 323.45
10. Mark Schmid - 317.75

Click here for a full leadboard for Player of the Year.

* * *
The gang doing the videos for Bluff Magazine released this gem Finding Phil Ivey Video...

* * *
For a quick recap of Day 28 at the WSOP, check out Change100's recap on RISE Poker... WSOP Day 28.

Checkout the Tao of Pokerati archives, aka best place to listen to the quickest poker podcast at the 2011 WSOP. I've had plenty of amazing guests this year including KevMath, Snoopy, Change100, Remko, Timtern, Johnny Hughes, Joe Dub,and Benjo.

Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day.

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

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Eskimo Dementia (Ep 22)

2011-06-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Pauly and the infamous Joe Dub discuss an Eskimo-related incident on the rail. Here's the story...

2011 WSOP - Episode 22: Eskimo Dementia with Joe Dub (3:33) - Pauly bumps into Joe Dub while covering the final table of the $2,500 Razz. Joe Dub is eager to tell the story about how he saw Eskimo lurking around the rail of the Razz event and unsuccessfully trying to bum a stake off of someone with dementia. Joe Dub also shares a personal story about Eskimo asking him for money the first time they ever met.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP - Day 27: Shaking Down Ravers; November Niner Snags Bracelet

2011-06-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas,NV

I stood inside an elevator at the Gold Coast with Timtern and six other people; two well-roomed middle-aged tourists from the Midwest, a tweaker who hadn't showered in days, a 300-lb whiskey tango chick in a yellow muumuu, and two raver kids dressed up for Electric Daisy Carnival.

I was schwasted and tried not to laugh when Timtern rolled his eyes and jerked his head in the direction on the other side of the elevator. The raver kid wearing sunglasses and a rainbow headband was rubbing his hand back and forth against the wall of the elevator. His friend, wearing a striped tank-top eight sizes too small, happily explained to a middle-aged couple what Electric Daisy Carniival was all about.

"Biggest rave on the planet. Over 200,000 people."

I told Timtern if we were alone in the elevator with the raver kids, we would have rolled them. Timtern is from New York and could give off that "undercover cop" if he hammed up the Strong Island accent. All that was missing was a NYPD shield dangling around his neck to indicate an undercover officer. Me? I can bluff a good game, especially against schwilly raver kids rolling their tits off on a mixture of molly and Ecstasy. I would've posed as a officer with the Mattress Police and shaken them down for their entire stash. Of course, I would've shared any seized goodies with all of my friends for huge blow out when the WSOP is over. Even for the straight-laced ones, I would've sold off whatever product I seized and bought them $9 personal pan pizzas from Pizza Slut in the Poker Kitchen.

Alas, the elevator was too full and had cameras, so Timtern and I didn't have a chance to mug a the clueless raver kids. The last day of any music festival is always the craziest because by then everyone has scored whatever party favors they need, and at the same time, it's a "smoke 'em if you got 'em" philosophy. Those two kids were probably holding enough product to light up all of Oregon and we missed an easy target.

I actually considered robbing a bunch of drug freaks, probably because I saw a tremendous mathematical edge. Only a total fuck up would run to the cops to complain about getting their stash pilfered in an elevator robbery.

What has become of me? I'm calculating odds of getting caught shaking down raver kids. I've officially succumbed to the dark side.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who preyed up spun out kids who partied for three straight days. A couple of friends attended Electric Daisy Carnival and I was a little jealous -- that's my type of scene, but I wanted to get the hell out of the Rio and hanging out with a quarter of a mil drug fiends sounded like an fun alternative to standing around and watching people play cards.

One of our European colleagues left work early to attend the last day of EDC. Veteran party animal AlCantHang told one of our European colleagues, "Just don't die."

More sound advice from Al, a sagely first-ballot Hall of Famer for original Party Animals.

I took a rare evening off to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday. I always feel bad that Change100 has to spend her birthday working in Las Vegas every summer with me in a foul, grumpy, tempestuous mood because of the hellacious WSOP grind. Well, her birthday is the one day every summer when I suck it up and pretend to be good mood for her sake. It's like the opening scene in The Godfather, because her special day is the only day you can ask me for a favor and I won't tell you to fuck off. Lucky for her, she didn't have to work on her birthday and vowed she wouldn't set foot inside the Rio on June 26th for the first time since 2004. She also said she doesn't like to play poker on her birthday, because she doesn't want a potential bad session to ruin a good time. Totally understood.

The last few days have been birthday crazy among my peers. I dunno what it is with late October or early November that so many of my friends' parents were screwing at that time of the year to produce late-June babies. In a four-day period, birthdays included WhoJedi, Landon, F-Train, and Change100 (who also shares a birthday with my buddy BG). Yeah, we were drinking with a reason to celebrate the past week instead of drinking to escape the grind of the WSOP as it reached the conclusion of its fourth week.

I was happy and thrilled a couple of Change100's friends from California were in town to help her celebrate in style with a savory dinner at one of Emeril's restaurants on the Strip. Our wine tab was more than the food part of our bill... and I only had a glass because I don't like to mix booze and pills. The ladies got shitfaced and I was the luckiest guy in Vegas hanging out with three blondes and a fistfull of pharmies. I promised Shirley and Halli that I wouldn't make fun of them being lesbian lovers anymore, especially on Tao of Poker, because I had really been beating the "faux-lesbian friends" schtick to death and it's getting old. Besides, I really have to be careful poking fun at lesbians, especially with the Ladies Event on the horizon. The last thing I need at this point is to get chased down the hallway of the convention center by a group of pugnacious men-hating bull-dykes who want to tear out my fingernails for years of misogynist rantings.

Anyway, after dinner we retreated to the Gold Coast, which is where I like to unwind with friends and be left alone after long days at the Rio. When I'm at the Gold Coast, I'm off the clock and just want to disappear into a sea of local degens. It was a fun night. At least no one spilled any drinks on the Pai Gow table, and no one got 86'd or cut off. Compared to the events of the past week, it was a rather mellow night.

* * *
My philosophy this year has been to write about my experiences at the WSOP, so you get the perspective of this spectacle through my half-baked, and mostly drunk eyes. If you don't like it, tough shit. That's what the live updates are for so head over to WSOP.com. Life is short and the WSOP is simply too big to cover for a single person. Even the official coverage team has problems with an army of reporters and chip counters, but the folks at Bluff Magazine are doing one heck of a job covering the entire WSOP with 10% of the staff. Even if I am jacked up on Addys, there's only so much poker a sponge like me can soak up without becoming over-saturated, so the last thing I want to do is handcuff myself to a final table like I did in 2005 when there was only one final table per day, because on most days the Mothership and the secondary tables are playing host to a final table. Even then, with the hard stop rule, final tables usually don't end in a single day.

Despite my perpetually disheveled and hungover look at the WSOP, I'm doing my own thing and having much more fun this summer, dare I say the most fun I had since 2008 (when I sipped three weeks to go on Phish tour after the reunited after breaking up for four long years and gather up material for my next book) when I skipped 1/3 of the entire series. Seven weeks is a grind. It used to take me an entire month to recover from covering the WSOP and I'm not normal again until Labor Day. That's how crazy Vegas is every summer, so I understand why friends succumb to The Sickness. That's why it's important to take breaks at the WSOP, even if it's a half-day off to watch a movie or go on a hike in Red Rock Canyon. I know a couple of players who bailed for the next week or so in order to re-charge their batteries before the Main Event. Part of the reason I skipped Electric Daisy is that I'm about to take off for a few days next weekend after 24 or so days in a row sitting in the pressbox and wandering back and forth between the Pavilion, Mothership, and the sportsbook. The break could not have come at a better time.

Moving on...

Here's some actual poker content about the events at the WSOP...

Pechie ships first bracelet
Day 27 featured a couple of bracelets up for grabs. Justin Pechie won the Limit Shootout. I remember seeing that kid win a WSOP Circuit event at Caesar's Palace in the spring of 2007. Pechie has been on the tour for four years before he finally shipped his first bracelet and picked up another one for the Yanks. And by Yanks I mean the derogatory slang for Americans that the Brits popularized, because Pechie is a die-hard RedSox fan and I've never seen him without a Boston cap.

November Niner Matt Jarvis beat Justin "FluffDog" Filtz in five hands to win the 5K NL 6-handed. Again, what a crock of shit the 10-level hard stop rule when it's heads-up! Five hands? You delayed the final table over five fucking hands? That's at least two events this week (other one was Fabrice Soulier's victory) that concluded rather fast and the extra day was utterly necessary. Why not just play it out?

Anyway, Jarvis' victory notched a fifth bracelet for the Canucks. I know that the Mounties are monitoring the WSOP very closely because every time a Canadian player loses a heads-up match for a bracelet, hundreds of thousands of pissed off poker fans go berserk and riot in the streets of Canada...all of Canada.

Jarvis wins another piece of bling for Canadia
Speaking of riots... I'm still waiting for a full blown melee to happen inside the Amazon Ballroom, just like Change100 feared might happen in her guest post from week 1... Apocalypse Now. At this juncture no fisticuffs were reported, at least inside the Rio, but it's still a stressful environment.

I heard a couple of online kids got rolled by a hooker over the weekend, but that's par for the course in Vegas. I can't stress this pro tip enough: lock up your bankroll in the safe before you get naked to do the freaky-freaky with a working girl and she slips a roofie into your drink.

For a quickie recap of Day 27 at the WSOP, check out my WSOP Day 27 recap on RISE Poker.

* * *
Required WSOP Reading

Here's a few items of note for Monday....

Check out the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year Standings. Phil Hellmuth is on top with 420 points. (WSOP.com)

Here's WhoJedi's amazing WSOP Photo Blog. (WSOP.com)

I always pop over to Jeff's tumbr page, PKRGSSP, once a day to get a run down of the day in poker. I'm eagerly waiting for him to get back from his short-break. Keep up the solid work, bro! (PKRGSSP)

Agent Marco ambushed Howard Lederer in the parking lot of a sushi joint. I dig Marco and the QJ crew, but I really hoped he'd say, "Where my fucking money!" (QuadJacks)

One of my favorite parts of the day is waiting for the WSOP By the Numbers comes out. (Bluff Magazine)

In more Full Tilt drama... Jack Binion is somewhat interested in investing in Full Tilt Poker. I think it's a bad investment for Jack, but at this point, I want anyone to buy FT so me and my peers can get our money back. (Subject Poker)

Jesse May write about Durrrr. It's a two part series and a must read. Check out Part 1 and Part 2. (Poker Farm)

* * *
That's it for now.

Checkout the Tao of Pokerati archives, aka best place to listen to the quickest poker podcast at the 2011 WSOP. I've had plenty of amazing guests this year including KevMath, Snoopy, Change100, Remko, Timtern, Johnny Hughes, and Benjo.

Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day.

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

New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: New Dynamic Duo with Snoopy (Ep 21)

2011-06-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

With Dan AWOL and Benjo out of the country, Pauly searches for a new sidekick with an outrageous accent. He turns to Snoopy, who talks kinda funny...

2011 WSOP - Episode 21: New Dynamic Duo with Snoopy (5:59) - Pauly holds auditions for a new sidekick with only one requirement -- a outrageous accent. Snoopy, a writer from London, nails the audition. In this episode, they discuss modeling their new dynamic duo on the Batman & Robin television series, in addition to re-locating the Bat Cave to England and installing bat poles in the press box.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

2011 WSOP - Day 26: The Sickness

2011-06-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

"He's got what Bob Voulgaris would describe as the 'SICKNESS'," explained Jess Welman the other night as we chatted about the gambling proclivities of a colleague.

The Sickness.

It sounds like the ambiguous disease in a zombie flick, or the name of a really bad wrestling character. In the parlance of our postmodern poker world, the Sickness is used to describe degenerate gambling.

The Sickness.

Personally, I don't have the Sickness per se in gambling terms, rather I have the Sickness in life terms. I'm addicted to life and adventure. The reason I steer toward inebriation and intoxicants is to spice up mundane, everyday things. Yes, booze and pills are the hot sauce of life. With just one sprinkle -- KAPLOW!!! The ordinary becomes extraordinary.

But I'm a rare example. I usually have some semblance of self-control. My bank account is proof. Sadly, I know friends who if they had the same amount of money in their savings fund, would blow it all this summer. They have no control and will spend every cent out of their pocket and then when they go busto, will ask to borrow money from you, which completely sucks because now you're funding your friends' degeneracy -- without getting the benefits of the gambler's rush. Without naming any names, at least a dozen "pros" I know went home until the Main Event after blowing their wads after almost a month of lighting their money on fire. A couple of colleagues I share the pressbox with are already over budget with three weeks to go.

The Sickness. It's what made men like Steve Wynn billionaires, who are able to afford to buy millions of dollars worth of artwork and punch a hole in a Picasso -- and not sweat it.

The Sickness. It's what sucks every penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and silver dollar out of old ladies' purses as they foolishly chase another slots jackpot.

The Sickness. It's what calls out to you in the middle of the night, like an alluring siren inducing you to go on mega-monkey-blackjack tilt and you piss away last week's paycheck before the shoe is even over.

The Sickness. It's what draws thousands of broke dicks to the epicenter of the World Series of Poker. Even though ESPN airs a "disclaimer" from Gary Loveman during WSOP broadcasts, the entire operation gets wealthier every day and profits due to the Sickness.

The Sickness. It's the darkside of gambling that rears its ugly head from time to time and will bite off chunks of your flesh if you're not paying attention, so you'll have to spend the rest of the summer wandering around the hallways of the convention center with pus oozing out of a gaping wound.

The Sickness. It's been the downfall of the greats of the game. Every day I see a dozen or so "pros" with at least seven figures in winnings, wandering the hallways with the humiliating aura of a beaten-down gambler hovering over their heads.

The Sickness. If Phil Ivey every hits rock bottom in the gutter, it won't happen because of action on the felt, rather, it'll be because of his life leaks off the felt and in the pits and sportsbooks.

The Sickness. It's been going around the Rio the last four weeks. There's no immunizations to prevent you from becoming infected. There's no way to avoid coming in contact with it. Your only hope is having a strong mind and the determination to not pull out every dollar out of your wallet (or purse, or in some cases with random Russian dudes -- a satchel).

* * *
I succumbed to the Sickness on Saturday. It's sort of like when you catch a cold because your immune system has been run down. In my case, my degen immune system was low, which is why I was temporarily afflicted with the Sickness, similar to a 24-hour flu. Alas, it only take a few hours to lose your mud in Vegas. I'm lucky I only lost $305.

I'm an emotional person, but hide it well. My mother swears I get it from my father's side of the family. You can't be McCatholic unless you're consumed with an Irish temper and a penchant for the bottle. Of course if my old man were still around, he'd cite my mother's Asian heritage as the reason why I'm prone to the Sickness. Alas, I got the crazy Asian gambler mixed with an Irish temper pumping through my bloodstream. I'm doomed.

I could list a Jay-Z inspired list of 99 problems (but the bitch ain't one) that were tilting me on Day 26 of the WSOP, but I'm supposed to be a professional and rise about the bullshit and my own mental trappings. Most of the time, we imprison ourselves into our own minds' solitary confinement, which is why people often misread simple situations and blow it up into a drama of epic high school proportions. However, on the flip side, we often ignore the lunatic (as the Pink Floyd lyric suggests -- "there's someone in my head, and it's not me") roaming around and don't lock him up when he needs to be tasered and tossed into mental jail, where he can't do any more harm to the rest of your internal voices. The last thing anyone needs in Las Vegas is to have the lunatic seize control of your decision-making processes. Because when he does, you lose out to the Sickness and it's only a matter of time before you disappear into the darkness of the abyss and you move into a sister property of the Redneck Rivieria to work as a smurfer, someone who drives around picking up cold meds so they can cook up a fresh batch of homemade meth to sell to hundreds of thousands of local video poker addicts.

I dropped $400 in 6 hands at a $10 Pai Gow table. The waitress didn't even arrive yet with my rum drink before I dusted off all of my chips and wanted to gouge out the eyes of the Pai Gow dealer with one of the worst rugs I've ever seen sitting on the top of his head, like a skunk with curls died in the middle of skull-fucking him. I suspected my dealer was a Little Richard impersonator back in Hong Kong, but acted like a total docuhenozzle when he scooped up my chips.

"Sir, I was rooting for you to win," he said in a low voice as he snatched away four greenbirds.

"Fuck you, dickwad. I don't need a fucking support group. I need you to cut this stupid act and deal yourself a Jack-high Pai Gow. Do me a favor and shut the fuck and deal the cards faster, you twat-stain!"

The Sickness had taken root and I have no idea if I actually blurted out my internal dialogue, or if I just muttered that tirade under my breath. The Sickness makes me say strange things. The Sickness transformed me into a blathering degen idiot, like TJ Cloutier chasing boxcars at the end of a craps table.

Two incidents happened that nearly caused me to flip over the Pai Gow table in an utter rage. First, I accidentally spilled my drink (when it finally arrived). It was in late afternoon and I wasn't even drunk yet and very sober compared to 12 hours earlier when I sat in the same seat and was running back and forth successfully two-tabling Pai Gow. Change100 still is astonished I didn't get 86d for running back and forth on Friday night. But on Saturday afternoon, I was on such tilt from dusting off my stack that I spazzed out and knocked over my drink. The pit boss rushed over and pulled the large ice cubes off the felt and threw them under the table. He pulled out a rag and quickly wiped down the felt as Little Richard in the box squealed about not getting the cards wet.

Two hands later, with my last $10 in the betting circle, the dealer mucked my hand before I had a chance to look at my cards. He called over a different pit boss and explained what happened, and the pit boss glared at him like he was an imbecile who shat himself and wiped it on his face.

"Worst. Dealer. Ever." I snarked in my Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons voice. "He mucked my hand before I had a chance to see it. That's the most unprofessional move I've ever seen."

Of course, the dealer fanned out his hand -- Queen-high Pai Gow -- and I had to take a deep breath before I flipped over the table and pulled the shitty hair plugs off of the dealer's dense head. I couldn't control the metamorphosis from the happy-go-lucky guy into a Hulk-like monster afflicted with the Sickness.

Hulk. Must. Smash. Pai. Gow. Dealer.

I walked away from that table and scouted out a new table. I sat next to a local with a raspy-voice. She chain-smoked Benson and Hedges and gave me shit every time I didn't play the Fortune Bonus. I laughed. Normally I would have kicked her in the vag, but that time I was on suck mega-Pai Gow Tilt that I shrugged it off.

Cocktails!

I also reached into my pocket. I didn't pull out cash. Instead, I said hello to Mr. Percosett. If I was going to sit next to an old lady seven months away from speaking with a voice box, I needed to be faded to the tits so I didn't get tossed into lockup for assaulting an old lady (herself afflicted with the Sickness for two decades or more) for giving me guff about not playing the bonus

The Sickness.

* * *
That's it. I know I didn't write a lick about Day 26 of the WSOP, but I'm not losing any sleep over that. Luckily, you can head over to RISE Poker and check out Change100's quickie wrap of the day's events -- WSOP Day 26 Recap.

Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day.

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

2011 WSOP - Day 25: Rubber Soul, Electric Daisies, and Two-Tabling Pai Gow

2011-06-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Sorry for the late recap. I was waiting until the ecstasy wore off before I posted anything to the internet. God bless the Electric Daisy Carnival. I haven't seen this much pixie dust in Vegas since Phish played a three-show run in April 2004. If you're not in Vegas right now then you have no frigging clue about the mayhem going on this weekend with over 100,000 raver kids attended the biggest rave on the West Coast. Someone told me 250,000 but they're too fucked up to count how many eyes they have in their head, let alone give me true figures on how many ecstasy-popping candy-eating raver kids descended on Vegas.

For a couple of days, the Rio is not the biggest freak show in Las Vegas. Poker players were no longer gods in sunglasses among mortals, instead they seemed like malodorous, dirty old men compared to the half-naked pacifier-chewing, glowstick twirling untz-untzers roving the Strip and trying to get to/from the speedway for Electric Daisy. If there was every a time to score some good fucking drugs in Vegas, it's this weekend. But be advised, drink tons of water and don't do anything retardely stupid because the po-po are out in force. I really hadn't seen that many cops in Vegas since... well, ever.

Okay, I'm feeling much better after chugging 2 quarts of water and I've stopped dancing in place, something I had been doing since the sun had popped out out of the darkness of the Nevada sky. With hundreds of thousands of known-drug fiends humping, grinding, and rubbing up against each other on the outskirts of town, there was still poker to be played at the Rio, where glow-in-the-dark bracelets were scoffed at because grown men wanted the real bling -- a gold bracelet.

Day 25 at the WSOP was one of the random days when three bracelets were handed out. There could have been a fourth bracelet, but a hard-stop time prevented the conclusion of one of the Donkaments. By the way, with the hard-stop times at 10-levels, it seems as though we're caught up in a perpetual Donkament, which means a lot of min-wage carpet cleaners stay up all night trying to steam the donkey blood out of the carpet of the Pavilion. The carpet used to be white, and now it's beige and brown because they were unable to extract all of the spewed donkey blood from the killing floor.

If the speedway and Electric Daisy was a love fest, then the Pavilion was the personification of the brutality of a butcher shop. I probably shouldn't write too much about this donk on donk violence, because those PETA true-thuggers will show up and try to douse WSOP suits with red paint, or some of them will dress up like poker dealers and try to release captive donks into the wild.

* * *
Two final tables from Day 24 spilled into Day 25. As a result a pair of bracelets were handed out with an hour of each other. The locales had swapped. The 10K HORSE championship had started out in the Mothership, but when the heads-up battle between Fabrice Souiler and Shawn Buchanan resumed, the were moved to an outer table. Meanwhile, the rowdy Brits railing the $2,500 NL final table (with five still alive) was moved into the Mothership.

Fabrice Soulier wins his first bracelet and third for France in 2011
Photo courtesy of WSOP.com
It took only four hands before Fabrice finished off Buchanan. Another silly, retarded example on why hard-stop times when it gets to heads-up is foolish. But no one cares what I think, or thirty screaming French people for that matter. That final table should have been completed on Day 24, but the staff sent everyone home.

"I couldn't sleep," remarked Fabrice Soulier. I don't know how I could either holding a substantial lead and then having to stop play and come back the next afternoon.

Fabrice prevailed and won the third bracelet for the French. The former film and TV director from France made a decision over a decade ago to quit his job in the entertainment biz because he was staying up late every night playing poker, and dragging ass the next day at work. He decided to take one year off and play cards before resuming his career as a director. Flash forward 11 years later to the 2011 WSOP and Fabrice shipped his first bracelet.

"The happiest day of my poker career," said Fabrice as he fought back tears.

Fabrice explained that he's a very emotional player, which was one of his biggest problems over the years because he expended a lot of energy at the tables in order to retain control. This summer he spent time focusing on meditation and yoga, which helped center himself and focus on the task at hand.

Clear the mind, win a bracelet.

Right after Fabrice won his bracelet, much to the delight of dozens and dozens enthusiastic French supporters on the rail, I headed to the Mothership to watch Middy and the binge drinking Brits railing the conclusion of the $2,500 NL. When we last checked in with the Brits, they were pounding shots of Jager out of shoes. On Day 25, the rail for Tom Middleton was smaller and more subdued than the previous night. Most of the rambunctious hooligans were sleeping off their hangovers. Middy didn't win the bracelet and hit the road in third place. Russia and the Motherland took home its second bracelet when Mikhail Lakhitov beat Hassan Babajane heads-up for the title.

I had skipped out of the Rio to hang out for a buddy's birthday party before the third and final bracelet was awarded to Mitch Schock, after winning Event #39 $2,500 PLH/PLO.

In case you were wondering and a fan/stalker of Melanie Weisner, who at one point held the chiplead late on Day 2 in the Donkament, she busted out in 14th place.

For a quickie round-up of Day 25 at the WSOP, you should check out Change100's recap on RISE Poker and read about the WSOP Day 25 highlights.

* * *
I went on a bender. Call it sheer frustration that I couldn't head out to the speedway to trip my balls off at the Electric Daisy Carnival. I'm taking off next weekend to see Phish perform at the Superball IX festival at Watkins Glen, NY, which is perfect timing right before the Main Event, so I can recharge my batteries after working for 24 days in a row. Alas, I stayed at the Rip/Gold Coast/Palm's area to keep an eye on poker and survey the before/after Electric Daisy scene.

Anyway, my bender started in mid-afternoon with a trip to the Hooker Bar. I was sweating a baseball bet using the AlCantHang system. We're 3-0 so far and I'm ready to launch a new baseball tout site with ACH and KevMath. It's been a surreal heater and even more fun to cash those winning tickets. Don't ask how the fuck we tried to bet on a Florida Marlins homegame at Safeco Field in Seattle. Somehow the Mariners were a road team in the home ballpark.

After a quick rum drink at the Hooker Bar, I wandered over to the Gold Coast for a late afternoon session of Pai Gow with old people. I've been trying to teach my new roommate Halli how to play (I promised her that I wouldn't use the term lesbian or fake-lesbian anywhere within a ten-word radius of her name, so not to confused the SEO bots and spiders crawling all over this page) and after two sessions, she's getting the swing of things.

I was on the winning end of peculiar, yet exhilarating suck out that I have to share with you. After all, no one likes to hear demoralizing bad beat stories, especially Pai Gow bad beat stories, but here's a tale about redemption. I got dealt a miserable hand -- Queen-high Pai Gow. I opted for the Dragon and slowly unfurled my hand to see another Queen-high Pai Gow, but this one was even worse than the first one.

"I need a Jack-high Pai Gow," I begged my dealer. She was a tiny Asian woman, but definitely not a bot because she blinked and laughed, and besides the Gold Coast didn't employ boots until sundown.

She flipped over half of her hand and slowly positioned all of the cards. She turned over a Jack of clubs with only one card to come. The six visible un-paired cards had no straight or flush potential. I was sweating a Jack-high Pai Gow and she reached for the final card. In dramatic fashion, she tabled a 9 of hearts. Holy shitballs, I sucked out with a Jack-high Pai Gow and both my bets.

Highlight of my entire summer of Pai Gow... thus far.

I returned to work for a bit and recorded a podcast with Snoopy, before heading back to the Hooker Bar to celebrate WhoJedi's birthday. The party migrated to the Gold Coast late night for more hijinks. I spotted the weird old Asian guy who walked around with his arms folded and sweated random tables. My favorite dealer returned and Change100 and Katkin didn't believe that we were actually Facebook friends.

"Wait," my girlfriend said in astonishment, "You're friends on Facebook with Pai Gow dealers?"

"Actually, I'm friends with three."

Pro tip on how to separate the bots in the pits from real people? Bots don't have Facebook pages... yet.

Inspired by Daniel Negreanu's two-tabling performance at the WSOP, I decided to push the limits of getting 86'd from the Rio and ran back and forth between two tables. My original table included VeeRob, MerchDawg, Katkin, and Change100, and I would set my hand as quickly as possible and jog over to the other table with AlCantHang, Shirley, Halli, and Marie Lizette. I'd set my hand, run back over to my original table to see the result, then run back over to the second table to view that result, before I returned to my original table to repeat the process. I got away with those hijinks for 15-20 minutes before the pit boss brought in a cooler.

There's one particular dealer at the Gold Coast that is a known bot. She's tilt-inducing. Humorless. Emotionless. Never blinks. Bloody awful. Never responds to jokes and constantly gives you guff about not playing the bonus. I always lose when she deals to me, so I always reduce my bet to the minimum when she gets pushed to my table, or I get up and take a walk around. As soon as she took a seat at AlCantHang's table, I picked up my stack. Fuck the bots. My two-tabling experiment had come to a close.

Hopefully, AlCantHang will write up how he got 86'd from the Gold Coast. I had bailed by then, but one of the most funniest moments happened when Al accidentally punched Mel Judah in the face. Al had shipped a hand after the dealer flipped over a King-high Pai Gow. Al thrust his hands in the air and clipped Mel Judah who was hovering over the table. I couldn't stop laughing at Al's drunken antics because he didn't realize he cold-cocked the Aussie pro. We coined a new term for a sucker punch -- you just got Judah'd.

* * *
Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day and over the weekend for random WSOP stuff and other hijinks.

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

2011 WSOP - Day 24: Dwan Song, Revelry, and Hooligans

2011-06-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I love a good drunken spectacle.

Especially when a flash mob of possessed inmates seize control of the asylum. Depending on your perspective, you're in caught in the eye of a hurricane and found it utter hell, you were likeme, mesmerized by the sheer path of destruction that is about to be released, but on the verge of joining in on the madness.

Day 24 of the WSOP featured a pair of Day 3's ($10,000 HORSE and $2,500 NL) with fields attempting to play down to a final table and declare two new bracelet winners. The outlook was grim with both events grinding away at a much slower pace than anticipated. That and the 10-level hard stop times meant the odds were high that one of the final table would not finish by night's end, and when play reached that bewitching hour, both events were still running.

Photo courtesy of Winamax
Event #36 $2,500 NL was initially dismissed because it was going to played out on a secondary tale, and at this point, even the hardest hardcore poker fans got a little tired with the same NL-swan song.

But Event #37 $10,000 was everything that the promoters hoped for an more. With Ivey sitting out this year's fiesta of poker, Tom "durrrr" Dwan has become the hugest draw in poker. In the last year or so, Dwan has been a major attraction for the biggest nosebleed games online, or cash games in Maccau, or playing on a closed set for High Stakes Poker. Dwan still achieved rock star status, even with his affiliation to Full Tilt. Dwan somehow escaped the spumes of ire from those of us caught up in Full Tilt's Ponzi Poker, because he was the only one to make a public statement and offered to pull cash out of his own pocket. When Ivey attempted to sever ties with FT (awkward announcement via FaceBook), rumors suggested Dwan was about to follow Ivey and defect. I have no clue of FT's angry response was sufficient enough to quell any potential mutiny from FT's crew, especially Dwan... or... if Uncle Tilty secretly whispered something in Dwan's ear to keep him out the fracas.

At this point, if you've been following Dwan's relationship with the WSOP, you know about the various bracelet prop bets he has -- both publicly and privately. So whenever Dwan goes deep in a bracelet event, the collective assholes of certain prop bettors shrivel up.Dwan's final tables are not just about trying to determine the best player in that game on that time in history, but they are also about the redistribution of wealth in the poker community.

Read the piece I wrote last year 2010 WSOP Day 10: Most Likely You Go Durrrr's Way (And I'll Go Mine) about his run in a Donkament, while the high-stakes poker community sat on the other side of the room with a keen eye on Dwan's progress.

On Day 24 of this year's WSOP, Dwan advanced to the final table of 10K HORSE, along with Shawn Buchanan, Michael Binger, Fabrice Soulier, and Daniel Ospina. Dwan started out as the chip leader, but hit a few rough patches and went busto in 5th place. While the high-stakes community dodged a bullet, the international poker community was just getting warmed up.

A contingency of French fans gathered on Fabrice Soulier's rail inside the Mothership. Fabrice is one of the most popular players from France, and one of the cooler European pros you'd meet on the circuit. I remember when he went deep in the Main Event in 2007, and busted out in 421st place...an odd number for sure. Fabrice had another deep run in a HORSE event a couple of years ago, but fell short of his goal to win a bracelet.

Fabrice's popularity is derived from his breezy, yet engaging attitude. The amicable pro is kind of guy you'd sit at the end of a bar and shoot the shit with about poker, life, and the universe. Fabrice was the opposite of the two icons of French poker, ElkY and David Benyamine.

ElkY is an outlandish Frenchie version of David Bowie or Lady GaGa on quaaludes. Everyone calls him by one name -- like Bono, Madonna, or Elvis -- and dresses the part with weird accouterments, and carries himself with the panache of a rockstar.

Benyamine seems unapproachable, like a sad, quiet, tortured legend in the likes of Papa Hemingway. Benyamine seemed distant, even with the French press. I remember Benjo was super excited earlier this WSOP when he walked through the tables and Benyamine called out, "Hello Ben." We joked that was the most he's ever said to him in over six years. The American equivalent is if Texas Dolly called me by my real name, sort of a mind-tripping moment when the Godfather acknowledges your existence.

The French vocally supported Fabrice in nothing short of what I described as jubilant. The "Faaaaaaaaaaa-brice" chants inside the Mothership from the French were catchy, but were soon drowned out by a roaring squall of hooliganism outside on the secondary final table.

When Barmy Army bellowed, that meant only one thing -- a British player made the final table.

"It's Middy," explained my English colleague Homer. "He lives not too far from me in Leeds. Tom Middleton is quite a big draw among his friends. He'll either have a gigantic stack or spew it all off in a matter of hands. Middy is an exciting player to watch because you'll never know what will happen next."

The Brits on the rail of the $2,500 NL were dressed up for Ladies Night at Stoney's, a country western bar on the fringe of North Las Vegas. They hoped all the ladies were shithoused drunk on $1 cocktails, and couldn't resist their charming accents, and all of those young pros could bed American tourists with loose morals. Thanks to the Snookification of American society, that's like shooting spray-tanned orange fish in a barrel.

The Brits consumed liquor at a staggering pace -- food and beverage crew were losing their shit in the back hallways, scrambling around every nook and cranny inside the Rio to round up every bottle of Jagermeister. The night passed midnight and Middy's rail grew drunker and rowdier, which was pretty much the same story for any British assault on a bracelet over the last two years. Some nights have gotten a little crazy with an army of young, excitable, British players attempting to put their mark on WSOP history. They all embraced the Vegas attitude of anything goes, while putting a British spin on things. Hence the binge-drinking and ear-piercing chants that tilted a few players and media.

"We've only come to see Middy!" reverberated throughout the Amazon Ballroom.

A waitress contentiously brought out trays and trays of Jager and Redbull. At one point I heard "Eskimo" chants mixed in with "Get your tits out!", along with Middy's online screen name "Hit the Hole!"

At one point, Middy was on the brink of elimination when he got it all in with A-9 against A-Q. The Brits had conceded the hand pre-flop and began singing, "We're all off to Stoneys! We're all off to Stoneys!"

A Nine hit the board and a thunderous howl filled the room and the air reeked of Jagermeister. The Brits altered their chant to "We're not off to Stoneys! We're not off to Stoneys!"

I got crocked on Carlsberg at dinner and was cooking on Percs, so I was in the proper state of mind to embed myself on the rail with the hooligans. The antics were kinda funny, but I finally understood how riots begin. When caught up in a flash mob, you surrender to the group-think mentality and join in with the fervor, destruction and mayhem.

That's when events took a turn from absurd to utter anarchy. Middy's rail drowned shots of Jager out of shoes. That's no typo -- it's true -- shoes.

"This Middy kid better fucking win," I thought. "Otherwise these crunk'd up hooligans are going to turn the Mothership upside and torch the entire fucking thing to the ground."

Middy didn't win... yet and five players were still alive. Up on the main stage, no one had won a bracelet either. They were down two with Fabrice was heads up against Shawn Buchanan. For both tournaments playing down to a bracelet, action was suspended when play reached the 10th level. The hard-stop time was enacted an the party was over for both the French and Brits. Much to the chagrin of ChipBitch, the Germans didn't have to be called in to quiet the rowdy Brits and uppity French.

The deafening monsoon of revelry had come to a complete halt as a calming silence fell over the WSOP.

"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

Off to Stoneys.

* * * *
Follow @taopauly for Twitter updates throughout the day and over the weekend for random WSOP stuff and other hijinks.

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

2011 WSOP - Day 23: Timex Flashback, Jason Mercier Wins PLO Bracelet, and More Sordid Tales About Chasing the Dragon

2011-06-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I met Timex a few hours after he turned 18 years old. Flashback to 2007. London, England for inaugural WSOP-Europe at the Empire Casino in Liecester Square. The bouncers gave the kid guff and wouldn't let him inside because it was less than an hour after Midnight. Technically, he was 18 and eligible to set foot inside a casino in the UK, however, one of the bouncers was being a stickler for the rules and said he couldn't enter until the morning when the casino re-opened. After a bit of negotiation, Timex was allowed inside the Empire. Funny thing is that at the time, he probably had more cash in his pocket than the yearly salary of both bulky guards at the front.

Timex was a wunderkind -- a baby-faced teenager who ran one of the biggest staking syndicates in the world. At the time, Timex rivaled the Russians, Bax-Sheets, and Erick Lindgren in terms of backing numbers. I only caught a glimpse into their world because a friend of mine was one of Timex horses with a make-up of almost six figures. Part of me to this day is still astonished at how a high school kid from Canada could amass a big enough bankroll to back several of the premier online pros (circa 2007). With a knack for investing in profitable tournament players and generating income from his own deft skills at the tables (he holds the record for being the youngest EPT champion), Timex should be probably be working at Goldman Sachs or at Barcalys in London.

Then again, when you're 21 years-old the last thing you want to do is wear a suit and grind out 16-hour days at a trading desk, especially when the alternative is the life of a baller poker pro, when sleeping in late and skipping the first two levels of a tournament is the norm because you're spending your nights with your face buried in warm bosom of an exotic dancer, working her way through grad school for Anthropology, of course, because all Vegas strippers are either coke whores or PhD candidates. Every once in a while you hit the jackpot and find both.

Timex played in his first WSOP this summer because he's 21-years old now -- a dinosaur in the online realm, where teenagers ruled the virtual world like the meathead jocks in a John Hughes film. If Black Friday didn't happen and online poker continued to flourish, it was a matter of time before rogue 12-year olds dominated the scene. It's the video game element to poker -- for some kids, it's like when I was in high school and finally beat Zelda on the first incarnation of Nintendo. Then again, for some of these superusers and other known-cheaters, the online poker world is just like Contra, where you were just a few steps away from unlimited lives by using the cheat code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A).

In the post-boom (yet pre-Black Friday era) the time an online pro is able to legally play at the PCA or the Aussie Millions, they're like Chinese gymnasts -- at least five years past their prime.

Did you see the last summer Olympics? Some of those tiny, acrobatic gymnasts from China looked like they were eight years old. Who knows, but maybe right now, there's uber-wealthy Chinese businessmen creating massive sweat shops, and instead of hiring little kids to sew swooshes onto golf shirts, running shoes, and basketball sneakers (with a retail price the equivalent of three months wages), they hired kids to play video games -- in this case online poker. Currently, scattered throughout Southeast Asia, thousands of sweat shop kids are sitting in front of an impressive grind station and playing 43 simultaneous SNGs.

Sorry for the tangent. Moving on...

Timex made the final table of Event #35 $5,000 PLO 6-handed, but busted out in 6th. Also at the final table was David Chui, four-time bracelet winner, who busted out in 4th place. When it got to heads-up, Jason Mercier was pitted against some dude named Hans from Nicaragua. Whenever I see someone with a German name with a Latin American country listed as his home nation, I instantly get suspicious. If Hans won, he'd instantly become the Godfather of Nicaraguan poker (that is, if he wasn't already a Godfather in some other realm). Alas, it was not meant to be. Hans was slayed by Jason Mercier.

Mercier won his second career bracelet, and both were in PLO. Everyone knows he can play NL, but you can add PLO to the roster of games in which Mercier dominates. According to Hendon Mob, he has over $1.5 million in career WSOP earnings and over $6 million in lifetime earnings. Mercier has certainly come along way since he got shanked in a bar fight in Italy. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. But on Day 23, he was at the right place, at the right time.

According to a tweet from @JessWelman, one of the weirdest incident thus far at the WSOP happened at the final table during one of the breaks. Allen Bari, who won a bracelet earlier in the year and is staked by Mercier, was shithoused drunk and threw his flip flop at Mercier -- either trying to hit him, or knock over his fortress of chips. The security quickly 86's Bari from the Mothership. When Maercier won, they let him back in during the winner's photo.

Guess which guy is Bari?

* * *
I got a text from my fake-lesbian friend Halli that a douchebag video poker pro wouldn't leave her alone as she minded her business pecking away at a video poker machine, so I saved her from that awkward, yet annoying situation. Instead of blowing big bucks on booze, I suggested the Pai Gow tables at the Gold Coast because we could drink essentially for free. We had only one problem -- she didn't know how to play Pai Gow. I gave her a quick tutorial in the parking lot and we sat down at an empty table.

I knew KevMath was slumming at the Gold Coast because of his tweets. He had the day off and was on a bender that included bingo. He joined us, we ordered a round of drinks, and one slight fumble caused a spill. The last time I played Pai Gow at the Gold Coast, we also experienced an embarrassing table spill and shortly after we all got cut off. We were extra saucy that night, but that was not the case because we were in the middle of the first round. What amazed me was the expanded surface area of the spill. According to the Bill Chen formula for spilling bottles of beer at the Pai Gow tables, this spill was a category 3 (out of 5).

The deck was ruined and the pit boss quickly fetched a new deck. I asked for the old, wet one but my request was denied.

When a new dealer took her seat in the box, she joked with KevMath,"You no pee on my table! No pee!!"

I never considered urinating on a Pai Gow table, but come to think of it, there were instances over the last few years when I was so tilted by Pai Gow dealers that I could have whipped it out and let 'er rip.

Eventually more troops arrived including Change100 (who was grinding out our rent money at the Venetian), WhoJedi, Homer, and Landon. We had reuinited three of the original five who were with us during Monday's festivities, except we had a significantly less booze, due to the slow-moving, yet slammed cocktail waitresses.

I left some of the boys still in the trenches and left early to go home and write (if you consider 3:45AM early). I could have taken a leak on the table after WhoJedi took my exact seat and got dealt A-A; 5-5-5-5-x. He also had a fortune bonus riding, which he always plays, so he added a few more bonus bucks to his dominating hand. Dammit. I knew I should have played one more orbit. I was so pissed, I could've pissed on the table.