TAMA, IOWA–The poker world is communing en masse at the Penn & Teller Theater in Vegas throughout the weekend — if not in real-life then via Twitter and/or ESPN3. But one person not taking part in the festivities is November Nine alum Darvin Moon.
\”I have no reason to be out there,\” says Moon. \”I\’m not playing.\” But that doesn\’t mean that the WSOP didn\’t want last year\’s runner-up to be there, front and center. In fact, according to one conversation I eavesdropped on between Darvin and a Heartland Poker Tour in the hotel lobby, Harrah\’s practically begged him to attend the event. He declined, and instead is here at the Meskwaki Bingo Casino in Iowa with the \”real people\” of poker.
I caught Darvin on vid late last night, filming from the ten seat of his tourney table. He was on break, well on the road to successfully satelitte-ing into the HPT Main Event, which starts today. Here are some snippets from our table talk:
Q: World Series offered for you to come to the taping of the November Nine, correct?
A: Yeah they called and invited me out, but I refused. Watching poker, without playing, is like watching paint dry.
Q: And that\’s why you played the Main Event this year at the Series?
A: I play for the money. The bracelet don\’t mean nothing to me. I\’m after the cash.
Q: I saw you playing over at the 1/2 tables. How\’d you do?
A: I got my ass beat. You got any money, and you play me in cash, you\’re gonna get it.
Darvin, his wife Wendy, and I bonded over some Iowa corn-fed red meat the other night at the very-local Rube\’s Steakhouse with the crew of HPT. Moon is here as the event\’s \”main draw\”, a last minute replacement for Scotty Nguyen, who was side-lined by a sinus infection. Both Moon and @TheScottyNguyen, as well as Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle, are slated to play in the Celebrity Charity Bounty Tournament at the HPT Season VI Finale later this month in Michigan.
BTW, I think it\’s pretty dang cool that Darvin has spent hours grinding out the 1/2 ($200 max buy-in) tables here with the local farmers, rather than playing the higher limits, or just showing up for the main. I can\’t think of a lot of other big names in poker that would have done the same.