Looking at the players, the table positions, the chip stacks, the personalities … got together with David Chicotsky from Maven Training and @AgentMarco from QuadJacks to assess the nitty-dirty of the November Nine:

(In a nutshell … gogogo Joe Cheong?)

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.

More…

Twitter seems to be the primary medium that I am releasing information, so definitely check that out for up-to-date information (@Mark_Gahagan). Some thoughts after the first hour of play:

• The Mizrachi clan is definitely the loudest of the bunch, whenever he is in a pot the crowd goes nuts when he wins.
• Senti is an all-in machine, he’s shoved about 4 times and won without seeing every time.
• Showdowns are light, only 1 so far and it took a while for it to even happen, with Racener’s overpair beating Dolan’s top pair.
• The crowd, outside of the Mizrachi situations, are pretty quiet so far, not nearly as much excitement as the ESPN coverage would lead you to believe.
• For a while, I thought Matt Jarvis was going to be the first casualty of the day, he seemed on tilt after losing that big pot earlier to Joesph Cheong.

Break is coming soon, will definitely use that opportunity to take in some light, its way too dark in the press box.

Just as a quick heads-up, there will be a LOT of twittering between Dan and myself today. If you dont know the accounts by now, be sure to follow @Pokerati and @Mark_Gahagan for up to the minute updates from the Pokerati crew.

Looks like they’ve taken care of the patch problem over at full tilt. Ty Stewart was on the verge of blowing up at the media in last week’s conference call when he was bombarded by questions, but now it seems that the people at FTP have found a good workaround:

Full Tilt Patches

• Michael Mizrachi
• John Dolan
• Joseph Cheong

Cardrunners Patches

• Matt Jarvis
• John Racener
• Filippo Candio

Poker After Dark Patches(!)

• Soi Nguyen

That last one I did not expect. Poker After Dark is so obviously connected with Full Tilt its nauseating, and as for Cardrunners, well, its a lot more separate than PAD, but, its also close enough. Harrah’s hasn’t done anything yet, but the cards having gone in the air just yet.

So after a confrontation with a confused usher (The Bluff crew, Pauly, and myself were shuffled between lines for about 5 minutes because no one knew what was going on), I finally made it into the press box. No sign of Dan, but I’m assuming he’s too trashed to actually make it just running a little late. People are very slowly filing into the theater, but I imagine things wont get crazy until closer to noon.

Meanwhile the press here are a little antsy, and current guesses are that the final table will “only” last until 2-3 in the morning, which would be a godsend because it the 9-to-2 play lasts until 8AM again I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of dead people in the press box.

When Dan finally gets here, I’m sure he’ll let us know his feelings regarding this.

PS: I’m in the press, but didn’t bring a camera #rookiemistake

Podcasting action shots. Not quite worthy of video, but certainly would make for a good holographic Slurpee coin.

That’s the big news — major-extreme technological advancement, from the original producers of Pop music disguised as a poker podcast … after prolly more than 200 episodes that required actual clicking efforts for our listeners to hear, we now have it where a single click can get you Tao of Pokerati updates forever and ever.

Click here to subscribe, and enjoy the first episode, getting ready for this weekend’s big WSOP action … nice one out-the-gate, starting off by misidentifying Michael Mizrachi’s ethnic heritage as if I were the Sharron Angle of Poker:

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

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

TEL AVIV–While waiting to check in to our flight to Zurich from Ben Gurion intl airport in Tel Aviv I figured I’d hop on the free wifi and see what’s going on at Pokerati. As you can see, no luck. Dan needs to work on Pokerati’s international relations.

So I’d like to take the chance outside of the normal “news-y” feel of my posts to give you, the reader, a brief overview of who will be providing you coverage of the final table this week. Dan requires no introduction, but you all are probably wondering just who the hell I am.

Briefly, I’ll go over what I do other than media work, because it might help put some context on my “style” of reporting. I am a Computer Engineering Ph.D. student (read, mega-nerd), and I’ve been involved in the poker world for about 5 years now. I’m a big basketball fan, avid video-gamer, and enjoy long walks on the beach probably still enjoy most other things that college-aged students do (although, the thought of a computer guy doing things outside does seem a little out of the ordinary). I know I’ll be a little on the young side for a final table reporter (maybe?) but I’ve been told I know what I’m doing.

I have been active in the poker media for about a year, and taken a very non-traditional route to get to this point. I started out doing a podcast on my own for members on the Pokerroad forums in January 2010. A few months later, I was picked up by Cardrunners to host the Rabbit Hunt podcast (which you guys should definitely check out if you get the chance). I’ve done a lot of my reporting vocally, but somewhere along the lines Pokerati was insane kind enough to give me a shot at not only starting to write for the site, but actually provide some tournament coverage as well. This will be the first time I have gone out to Vegas as a journalist, so this will be a new experience for me. I hope to be able to share with you all the interesting things I spot, the feelings I have while at the final table, and some of the thoughts that will undoubtedly come up throughout the weekend.

Anyway, I know you all have read some of my posts, so I appreciate you all reading what I’ve had to say thus far. We have some interesting content to provide this weekend, so I hope you’ll join us for the ride.

A relatively routine raid of a low-stakes poker game in Greenville, South Carolina turned bloody yesterday night — as police tried to gain entry to a poker house. The game host, now known to be Aaron Awtry, 72, shot through the front door, striking sheriff’s deputy Matthew May with a bullet that went through his arm.

A vice squad in SWAT gear returned fire, hitting Awtry with multiple rounds in his arm and thumb … which was followed by a 20-minute standoff between cops and players, according to a spokesman for the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department. Both shooting victims were taken to the hospital where they are in stable condition.

There were 12 people and Awtry in the house at 502 Pine Knoll Drive when police arrived at about 9:20 pm last night. According to frontline witnesses, they had just finished a small buy-in dinnertime tourney … and a 1/2 cash game was just getting underway when someone saw 5-0 approaching on a security monitor. Before he could clearly vocalize an alert, a battery ram begin slamming the front door and players froze. Awtry, who players say has notoriously bad hearing in his senior years and presumably believed the game was being robbed, began shooting at the door with his pistol, firing “at least once” according to a player, “multiple shots” according to police. At least four officers returned fire at the door with at least 20 bullets from their higher-powered assault weapons.

As Awtry fell back into the poker room entryway, he balked, “Why didn’t you tell me it was the cops?”

click to enlarge

More…

I’ve returned from Spain after attempting to live-tweet a very informative conference with some great minds on the forefront of gaming law. Here’s a look at some important legal developments from @GamingCounsel over the past week …

1. American Midterm Shuffles - Today, everyone is thinking about the US elections. Are the pundits right? Are the Democrats headed for heavy losses? Will Harry Reid prevail in Nevada? What does it all mean for Internet gaming, specifically for poker? Whatever happens today, the trend towards legalizing and regulating Internet gaming will continue in the United States. The focus may move to the state level - although some are saying that a new Reid bill could  be passed before the end of the lame duck Congressional session on December 31^st - and, if Senator Reid loses (which is unlikely), things may be slowed down. However, the push for poker by many interested groups is too big for one person or one election to derail entirely. Some see today as crucial to the industry (see: Offshore Gaming Association); taking the long view, however, I’m a bit more sanguine.

#

2. Kentucky vs. Microgaming - Things always seem to be developing in the Kentucky domain name seizure matter. Several weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Kentucky denied the writs of IMEGA and the IGC, sending the questions of standing and jurisdiction back to the Franklin Circuit Court (that was only a waste of 6 months); recently the Commonwealth added Microgaming to its list of defendants in the separate but related suit against Pocket Kings (FullTilt Poker) and PartyGaming for damages. Kentucky is seeking to recover triple the amount of losses of those located within Kentucky against these three “and unknown defendants. [EGR Magazine]

#

3. New Bank Seizures - Circumstances continue to challenge those servicing the US-facing Internet poker market. In Seattle, federal prosecutors have sought to cause the funds of Secure Money Inc. (a payment processor based in Canada) to be turned over to the US government. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

#

4. Boyd Gaming Fundraisers - On October 26^th, Boyd Gaming Corporation announced that it’s seeking to raise $500M through 8 year senior notes in a private placement. The bonds will be guaranteed by certain Boyd subsidiaries. Boyd will use the funds to pay off existing debt. This continues the recent trend of gaming companies reaching out to the broader markets (some through IPOs - see Betfair) to raise funds. [Boyd Gaming]

#

5. IMGL Conference Summary - The International Masters of Gaming Law had their fall conference in Madrid last week. It was a great series of sessions and contained lots of stories and gossip (lawyers are as bad as judges and schoolgirls for thriving on gossip). Snippets on the US: rumours about Harry Reid working on his own poker regulation/tax bill; predictions about New Jersey and Florida being the most likely to pass intra-state gaming bills among the states; and, forecasting that current US-facing operators will still have a significant role to play post-US regulation. [Gaming Law Masters]

Barrister Stuart Hoegner is an expert but not quite a “master” in international gaming law whom you can follow regularly @GamingCounsel.

Some may recognize me from Twitter, a few may have cracked my aces a time or two, and it’s possible that some of you were smart enough to jot down that number I left on the bathroom wall. If you don’t recognize me AT ALL, then you’re part of an exclusive group called “Almost Everyone”.

My name is Kim Shannon, and I’m all up in everyone’s bidness… which is why Pokerati invited me to share with you the poker gossip and celebrity “news”. My initial response was “I’d rather drink a thumbtack-and-jalapeno smoothie”, but then Dan reminded me that I still owe him a beej from a prop bet I lost… so here I am.

Let’s skip the gristle and get right to the bone, shall we, with what’s buzzing in poker … or wait, is that coming from my purse?

Clock Blocked

Word from the felt is that Daniel Negreanu and Andrew Robl have kissed and made up in the wake of a spat over last week’s episode of “The Big Game”, in which Negreanu & Tony G were poster children for fucked up poker etiquette. Poker bitching about implied collusion aside, I hadn’t seen so much high-fiving and snickering since I last got “Eiffel Towered” in a drunken MFM.

After the broadcast, Tony G redeemed himself by posting a quasi-apology, but Daniel kept the drama going with a post of his own expounding on Robl’s nittiness. I was in the middle of reading Robl’s rebuttal when I realized that I had been punching myself in the face the whole time over the pettiness of it all. However, I do feel the need to give Daniel a special award for managing to refrain from calling Robl a “cunt”.  Then, just as I was about to start placing bets on who would blow a gasket and sprain their vagina first, Negreanu ruined my fun by saying he has since called Robl and smoothed things over.

A-Rod’s Poker

Alex Rodriguez was in the Ivey Room at Aria with Jean-Robert Bellande last week — supposedly playing 50-100 NL with a couple non-pro Aria regulars. Tweeting from Haze Nightclub, @BrokeLivingJRB reported that A-Rod “won 3k” in the game, which sounds to me more like 5-10 without steroids — hardly enough for new pair of Yankee-caliber starter tits. Dealers say A-Rod tipped adequately, btw, tossing “like $36 in gravel” before leaving the game. Not one to hit-and-run, he was back at the tables a couple days later, playing 10-20 NL at Bellagio. John Kim snapped a pic. Orel Hersheiser (great first name, terrible last) also joined the action somewhere along the way.

More…

With the elimination of Sorel Mizzi on the bubble in 7th place, the WPT World Poker Finals final table is set for its Tuesday conclusion.

Two of the bigger names, Hoyt Corkins and Jason Mercier, were the first two to hit the rail on Day 5. It took less than three hour-and-a-half levels to cut 12 in half and finish up the action for the day.

There is 36:18 remaining in Level 23, which is 4,000/12,000/24,000. The average stack is 1.21 million. Tom Marchese went wire to wire with the chip lead on Day 5.

Here are the chip counts heading into the final table:

1. Tom Marchese – 3,022,000
2. Jeff Forrest – 1,949,000
3. Mohsin Charania -1,024,000
4. Nikolai Yakovenko – 624,000
5. Dave Inselberg – 344,000
6. Kevin Stammen – 341,000

Play will resume at 4 pm Tuesday.

This Thursday, I will be making my way to Tama, Iowa to meet up with the Heartland Poker Tour crew once again, this time at their event @ Meskwaki Bingo Casino (Oct 31-Nov 7.)   In preparation for my trip, I’ve been organizing the videos and pics I shot a couple weeks back while covering the HPT Fifth Anniversary Bash in Minnesota.

I found some footage y’all might be interested on this election-day-eve as I posed to a couple burning poli-poker questions to the pstars-patched host, Greg Raymer, asking:

Question 1: What does the PPA front man think of his sponsor blocking players in Washington State?

Question 2: Does libertarian @FossilMan think that internet gambling be allowed for poker-only, or does he feel that all games should be permitted in HR 2267?

Question 3: In Raymer’s opinion, should Indian Reservation casinos, such as the Shooting Star, feel threatened by legalized internet gambling?

Check it out.