It’s that time of year again… Poker players descend upon SoCal for the L.A. Poker Classic, and the Commerce Casino buzzes with tournaments and cash games of all shapes and sizes. I finally made my first jaunt over there on Monday to check out the $10K HORSE event, the first of its kind at the LAPC, and was taken aback by the masses in the tournament room - 1,362 to be exact - for the $335 NLHE rebuy. Word was that the $100K guarantee was the draw, but the final prize pool was nearly $400K. The line of alternates wound through the hallways, and it took so long to thin the field that the $10K HORSE start-time was pushed back.

With Tournament Director Matt Savage running the LAPC show for the entirety of the series, all poker media was invited to cover it. Steve Hall has been there for the majority of it, providing some updates and gossip as only he can. (Personal fave: report of Nelly’s random appearance to play high-limit cash.) With the Monday HORSE event and subsequent $10K heads-up, PokerRoad settled in for their live shows, Life’s a Bluff came to pick up some interviews, and CardPlayer got comfortable for the duration to provide live updates of the major preliminaries and the main event. Word is that PokerNews will even be showing up for the main, as Savage welcomes the coverage, overruling (in most areas of coverage) the usual WPT media restrictions.

The pros have been all over the 2009 LAPC, starting with David Plastik winning Event 2, Fabrice Soulier taking Event 16, Jason Mercier Event 19, Frankie O’Dell Event 22, Jeff Madsen Event 24, and Scotty Nguyen grabbing another HORSE title in Event 29 (the aforementioned $10K event). The $10K heads-up will find its winner today, and the $10K WPT main event begins on Saturday.

Side note: Scotty Nguyen is evidently unable to win a HORSE event without controversy. CardPlayer reported that he taunted another player and began to show signs of his 2008 WSOP behavior, though he calmed down after a warning from Savage.

From CardPlayer updates:

As his chip stack has grown at this final table so has the level of Nguyen’s voice. He specifically taunted Matt Graham after he busted him in fifth place in a manner that definitely crossed the line.

Really? Damn.

I know January Player of the Year rankings mean about as much as a WSOP main event Day 1 Level 3 chip lead, but still, a quick look at CardPlayer’s 2009 POY, and I can tell you that it looks different from any other year I’ve looked at it this early — with so many non-Americans high on the leaderboard.

We’ll see if this holds up and says anything about the level of skill worldwide … it may just be reflecting the growth of international tournaments. Still … it’s different, and noted.

I’m assuming Dan’s at the Golden Nugget watching the taping of day 1 of the latest season ofHigh Stakes Poker, but for those that want to know when it airs, Card Player is reporting that season 5 of HSP will air starting March 1 at 9pm ET on GSN. The network made a recent decision to make Sunday their “Poker Night”, with Season 6 of the World Poker Tour episodes at 6pm ET, and previous seasons of High Stakes Poker at 8pm ET. As mentioned before, the minimum buyin will be $200,000, with the blinds $400/$800 with a $200 ante. Last year’s taping of a $500,000 minimum buyin game last season appears to be gone, as it tightened up the play to the producers’ dismay.

Today’s also the 45th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s death, we should probably note. JFK was a little before my time, of course, but Stu Ungar (1953-1998) … his tragic end actually played a significant role in piquing my interest in the professional game. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it at the time, but something about his obit caught my eye … age 45, “of as yet undetermined causes” … you might argue that he was the first rock star of poker — with triumphant on-stage performances and a self-inflicted final exit, a la Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain.

I have this multi-drawer file I call Dead Story Office — not about the deceased, but full of notes and documents (from mostly pre-poker days) on stories that never quite came to fruition — and one of them: “World Series of Poker”. Though I didn’t quite see how it all came together (and in retrospect it couldn’t be more of an uh-duh observation) I was pretty sure Ungar had to be a major and fascinating character.

If you’ve got nothing better to do, click below to rummage through the manila folder where I’ve carried a guy I never knew with me through four homes and two external offices over the past 10 years:

More…

While the poker community focuses a great deal of attention on the Kentucky governor’s attempt at censorship and the potential for Rep. Barney Frank to do something with H.R. 6870 after it recently passed in the House Financial Services Committee, there are a few other poker news nuggets to pass on.

~Without so much as a press release to announce it, it seems that UltimateBet has signed Michael Binger as one of its newest team members. Oh, Michael, you too? Adam Levy has also joined the team, again with no official notice from the UB staff. The news came via Mean Gene’s UB Aruba blog and a picture posted from the welcome party.

~Short-Stacked Shamus gave his take on the recent issue of CardPlayer magazine in which Jeff Shulman said that CP was unaware of Scotty Nguyen’s unsportsmanlike behavior at the 2008 WSOP $50K HORSE event because of restricted media access at the final table. Disingenuous was the word over at Hard-Boiled Poker.

~It seems that the Eastern Europeans love them some internet gambling, and no recession will get in their way. A researcher with Global Betting and Gaming Consultants shows that a steady increase will continue because of favorable broadband and law changes, not to mention the Eastern Europeans’ “propensity to gamble.”

~Evidently, Senator John McCain likes him some gambling, specifically high-limit craps. How negative EV… The New York Times has looked into McCain’s ties to Indian gaming, and the gaming industry in general, and dug up some interesting info about lobbyists and McCain’s connections to them.

~The more I hear about WSOP “November Nine” chipleader Dennis Phillips, the more he seems like a great guy whose inner philanthropist has been able to shine with his $900K take-home money and potential for the $9.1 million first prize. In this episode of PokerRoad Radio released during the Borgata Poker Classic earlier this month, the guys sat down with Phillips and coach Roy Winston (huh?) where he explains that decision and his future plans.

Just watched this week’s episode of the WSOP … and saw Phil Laak in the Old Man disguise for the first time. Couldn’t help but think, as pointed out by a commenter, how is this any different than someone’s having two different accounts online?

He gave an interview in July to CardPlayer* where he talks about the stunt sociological poker experiment, the benefits of anonymity, and how players can change their live persona at the table over the years.

*CardPlayer goes embeddable!?! Great, now what’ll we bitch about? Nice!

Best pic of Phil in disguise here.

Stumbled across this billboard the other day just a couple blocks away from the Rio.

Interesting to see a poker pro 1) with Mike Tyson-esque tats running up his face; and 2) with no reference to his pokering nor a Full Tilt logo anywhere in sight. Of course probably not a bad idea for anyone in the poker biz to diversify their life portfolio … but I can’t help but wonder if last year’s main-event final tableist doesn’t want anyone in the poker world to actually see his Sigfried and Roy side exposed. Actually, I guess it would be bizzaro Sigfried and Roy, or Roy’s evil brother … regardless … who knew Lee Watkinson wanted to sell you knives and skulls to wear at your next formal dinner?

The recent CardPlayer coverboy’s billboard is located just south of the Rio on Dean Martin Dr. (Industrial) facing to the northeast. That means anyone driving in from the south won’t see it, because it will be behind them; but nor will anyone heading to the WSOP from the north … because they would exit I-15 on Flamingo about a third-mile before Lee Watkinson’s topless torso graces their field of view. The only way a poker player might see this sign is if he were leaving the Rio to grab a quick bite at the In-n-Out Burger.

The website he’s pimping — www.leewatkinson.com — doesn’t seem to be fully converted yet for his fashion line … it’s actually about poker … but it does have some funny pictures of Lee taking on an orangutan as a poker protege.

Hey Jen, check it out … Pauly has some interesting thoughts on the matter: [via Wicked Chops daily email]

If you play online poker (especially if you are one of the blind fools still playing on UB), it’s in everyone’s best interest to spread the word on this important thread…

Superusers and Silence: How UltimateBet let players get cheated for millions by Steven Ware & Cornell Fiji (2+2)

One of the more interesting things to me, however, is a comment from Change100:

Funny, how on the day you post about the UB cheating scandal, Card Player.com is running these two headlines:

“Absolute Poker Offering Up to 100% Reload Bonus”

and

“Ultimate Bet RAI$E Program Gives Money for Points”

Duly noted. And that, dear readers, is something to keep in mind as you follow the WSOP on the internet this summer. We know your company internet time is limited, after all … and though we “professional” bloggers don’t have nearly the resources of the big-boy poker media, you can probably trust us more not to greedily lead you astray.

Though we make our livings, too, covering poker, it was only a few years ago that we made virtually no money whatsoever … we did it just for funsies and booze/tax deductions … and because of these faint but not-too-distant memories, it’s a little easier for the independent bloggers out here to be semi-principled and give you coverage not driven by the pursuit of potentially dirty cash. Drugs and hookers notwithstanding, of course.

It seems that Doyle Brunson has been called out - by buddy Patrik Antonius - to play a heads-up match.

Patrik told CardPlayer during an interview that he would play Doyle any game for any amount of money. Doyle seems a little irked in his recent blog post because he doesn’t like playing heads-up, and he seems to be a taken off guard that Patrik issued the challenge through a magazine article. Since they are friends, it seems that Patrik should have approached Doyle directly, wouldn’t you think?

I really like Patrik and I think he is a great player, but he cast the gauntlet and I’m prepared to do battle. So, I accept his challenge.

I think he made a mistake when he said, “I’ll play him any game for any amount.” I’ve got 7-10 different games, all of which I’ve played in Las Vegas casinos for high stakes, that I’m willing to commit to for at least a seven figure match. There will be no animosity between us; we are both pros who love a good gamble. It will be interesting if he accepts and I’m sure we will both have a great time playing.

Seven figures, huh? Can some math genius figure that out for me? That’s a lotta dough!

The Final Four is set … and PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, and Bodog have all been fully eliminated. The upcoming matches:

Phil Ivey vs. Chris Ferguson
Huck Seed vs. Andy Bloch

Holy crap, it looks like it will be some actual hardcore competition amongst four notably accomplished players. Who woulda thunk it?

Also totally shocking commendable is that CardPlayer’s coverage is kicking butt …

More…

Last week was the Chinese New Year — we’re in the year of the Rat — and to celebrate, CardPlayer had Tom Schneider explain to all the white kids out there how to play what has never really been known as the Yellow Game.

ALT HED: I miss Sang.

Click here to watch Uncle Tom’s video lesson about properly arranging your cards in Chinese Poker.

Just got the latest CardPlayer in the mailbox and discovered there’s a part II to Bob Pajich’s year in review, titled “Poker’s 2007 Odyssey: A Review of the Year’s Historic Events Concludes.” Didn’t realize there was gonna be a sequel.

Beyond the Table listeners heard Dan mention Part I in the most recent episode, and how despite referring to 100-plus players the article failed to name a certain 2007 WSOP Player of the Year and BTT co-host.

So I had something to look for here in part II. Let’s see . . . over 50 names highlighted in this one. No way. Yr kidding me . . . .

I think I know what the lost Angry Julie segment might have been about.

Strange. Just listened to the latest episode of Beyond the Table, the first of the new year. If you haven’t queued up “ . . . Who Needs Enemies?” yet, let me forewarn you. The guys talk about poker. That’s right. Poker. I mean like all the way through.

What the hell?

After a brief rundown of the several January tourneys presently ongoing, Tom offers some winning wisdom regarding tourney selection. Then, prompted by a question from Karridy, there follows a smart, insightful discussion about differences between cash game players and tourney players. Yeah, I know. “Smart” and “insightful” usually ain’t what us BTT fans are looking for. But there it is.

Next the trio turn their attention to Dan’s first poker session after moving to Vegas, as well as the rambling, gambling fortunes of Dan’s friend, Bob. The show concludes with a stunner of sorts regarding CardPlayer’s recent 12-page, comprehensive overview of “Poker’s 2007 Odyssey: A Review of the Year’s Historic Events.” (Hint: The article ain’t as comprehensive as one might have hoped.)

Oh, there were opportunities for the hosts to get away from the pokery content. Other topics arise, such as Dan’s sex life, Barack Obama, and froteurism. (Not at the same time. Ahem.) But somehow none of these offered enough turbulence to divert Beyond the Table from its poker-specific flightpath.

Do let the BTT hosts know how you feel about this strange new development by calling the listener line at (888) 820-8091 or emailing theshow(at)beyondthetable(dot)com.

Curious … we all know the regular hubbub over ladies events — are-they-discriminatory-or-not-and-who-cares-oh-look-there’s-a boy-in-a-dress-ok-cards-in-the-air. But am wondering if the ladies honored in this article about their forthcoming induction into the new Women in Poker Hall of Fame might find the CardPlayer hedline offensive. Because you know, Binion’s isn’t even like on the Strip, let alone a place you should expect to see Linda Johnson topless, right?

Tom Schneider’s memorable 2007 is coming to an end — WSOP Player of the Year, 7th in CardPlayer’s POY, 96th in Bluff’s — oy, now he gets to start all over. But before he does, we get a sense of where this semi-regular blogger’s accomplishments fit into the bigger word beyond poker (or, as Scotty Nguyen says, “Poker Beyond!”) … as Tom has been chosen as a finalist — and poker’s only representative — for ESPN’s 2007 All-SportsNation Team.

Click here to vote, preferably for Tom.

The Top 5 get the Espy honors. Currently the leaders are Randy Couture, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Tom Brady, Alex Rodriguez, and Brett Favre … with Tiger Woods following just a single percentage point behind. Yikes, tough competition for Tom — dare I say tougher than any he has seen at the poker table? — but kinda cool that he’s (at the time of this posting) right ahead of Dirk Nowitzki and tied with Kaká.

Seriously, click on over … for the sake of poker players everywhere to further boost the ego of everyone’s second-favorite Beyond the Table cohost.

CORRECTION: Tom is ranked 96th overall for the past two years by Bluff. For 2007 he finished 158th, compared to 76th in 2006.

Tom Schneider has snuck ahead of J.C. Tran in the CardPlayer Player of the Year race. Currently in 5th place, he’s only 7 points behind Bill Edler for 4th. With a lot of big action coming up — Bellagio 5-diamond and the Venetian NPL main event and probably some others — it could get pretty exciting down the December home stretch.

So while a few pros have convinced me I shouldn’t be poo-pooing Tom’s chances to win it all, I will go out on a limb and say he really needs a big payday to get those top honors, as he looks a little weak in at least one column:

RANK	PLAYER	POINTS	FINAL TABLES	WINNINGS
1	David Pham	5,410	10	$1,534,242
2	Jonathan Little	5,272	9	$2,503,145
3	Scott Clements	5,138	6	$2,206,981
4	Bill Edler	4,777	7	$2,757,042
5	Tom Schneider	4,470	7	$733,589
6	J.C. Tran	4,458	5	$2,364,097
7	David Fox	3,788	8	$566,152
8	James Van Alstyne	3,588	7	$731,158
9	Jared Hamby	3,573	5	$1,252,311
10	Danny Wong	3,406	7	$869,975

I think I’ll bid on this item, since I didn’t get my personally autographed copy during the PokerBowl as promised. Speaking of, here is a great article by Dallas Roughneck, T.J. Cloutier, on the unfortunate demise of my team.

Meanwhile, Tom is currently playing in the main event of the WSOP-Circuit event at Caesar’s Indiana, where he has made yet another final table. He enters into tomorrow’s action as a short stack, so he’s got some of work to do and might need a little luck early on. (With blinds at 2000/4000 +500, he’s got 45,000 chips.) Click here to follow the action, which gets underway Friday at 2 pm.

Beyond competing for the $223,000 first-prize payout, Tom is trying to stay alive in the overall Player of the Year race as the 2007 poker “season” comes into the homestretch. His placement in the CardPlayer rankings certainly stands out, and in fact looks similar to his situation at tomorrow’s final table, which will be Tom’s fifth of the year:

RANK	PLAYER	LOCATION	PTS	F. TBLS	GROSS WINNINGS
1	David “the Dragon” Pham	Redondo Beach, CA	5,410	10	$1,528,480
2	William “Bill” Edler	Las Vegas, NV	4,696	6	$2,690,704
3	J.C. Tran	Sacramento, CA	4,458	5	$2,359,257
4	Tom Schneider	Phoenix, AZ	3,792	4	$656,274
5	Jonathan Little	Pensacola, FL	3,672	8	$1,788,240
6	Jared Hamby	Las Vegas, NV	3,573	5	$1,252,311
7	James Van Alstyne	Las Vegas, NV	3,480	6	$713,217
8	Ted Lawson	Fort Lauderdale, FL	3,335	8	$1,083,407
9	Scott “BigRiskyy” Clements	Mount Vernon, WA	3,218	5	$750,396

More…

The latest post about Donkey Bomber’s troubles on the Iberian Peninsula reminded me … he was also on the cover of CardPlayer magazine recently. Perhaps this honor is a curse? Three covers ago, CP featured Brian Townsend — and inside was an interview where he explained how one can go from a small-stakes online player to a monster buy-in new-guy on High Stakes Poker. Of course, at the same time, Townsend, known as SBRugby in the online world, was chronicling on his own blog how he had been in the midst of a multimillion-dollar downswing and was considering giving up poker altogether. Oops!

Click here to read the really good interview with Tom. My favorite line from the first Pokerati blogger ever to grace these pages:

Over time, the one thing I learned is that I’m going to surround myself only with people who make me feel good. It’s amazing if you do that how much more successful you can be in everything.

Check it out … Beyond the Table has a new distribution partner in CardPlayer, where we’re putting up some special episodes for the US Poker Bowl. And, of course, you can always hear the latest semi-regular, never relevant jimjabber from Tom, Dan, and Karridy (and SnG Steve!) — aka the 2nd Greatest Podcast in the History of the Internet — here.

There are four players left in the WPT Legends tourney — anyone’s game — and Tom Schneider is guaranteed anywhere from $228k to $1.6 million. Not a bad paycheck, but Tom … we have to talk! Is that really enough for you to be blogging for the World Poker Tour and CardPlayer?

Check out Tom’s new gig here, and here. Or, to quote from the official WPT site:

Tom Schneider - Pro Blog
Thursday, August 30, 2007 06:43 PM PDT

That was a fast and furious level. David Pham and Mike McClain both doubled up quickly through Shi, and Shi was pretty short when he made a move. He went out in sixth and McClain followed in fifth.

I didn’t really play many hands and only lost about 300,000 on the hand I did play. Things showed open up a bit more now that we are four handed. Out of the four remaining only David is really short stacked.

- Tom

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Tom Schneider - Pro Blog
Thursday, August 30, 2007 05:25 PM PDT

So far my experience at the World Poker Tour final table has been a bit chaotic. This is nothing like my World Series of Poker final tables. Those weren’t televised and things are a bit different under the hot lights.
There’s also a lot more money at stake than when I won my two bracelets this year. The media has been crazy with interviews all day long and now they are putting make-up on me so that I can look good for the camera.
They are getting ready to start, so we’ll see how it all turns out.

- Tom

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Interestingly enough, since Tom has started working for the WPT-CardPlayer Trust, he has dropped from second in chips to the short stack.

UPDATE: Robert sends word from the rail:

Tom just doubled u[p]

OK, so maybe it’s not earth-shattering … but I take great pleasure in reporting the results of the WPT Legends tourney before CardPlayer did. No media badge needed, and I didn’t even pay a dime for the privilege! Woo-hoo, poker journalism is easy!

So anyways, yes, we they have moved on to Day 4 … with 18 people still in contention for the $1.6 million win. One of those players is our own Tom Schneider, who is 5th in chips with 803,000, and our newly beloved Robert Goldfarb, who has a little better than half the average stack with 296,000. That whole M=11ish thing again.

Blinds start tomorrow at 5k/10k + 1k.

All remaining players are guaranteed at least $34,000 (net: +$24,000) and the tournament resumes tomorrow as they play down to a 6-man final table.

At the end of Day 2 of the WPT Legends of Poker tourney at the Bike, there are 53 players remaining … 45 of whom will make the money — $16,000 for crossing the bubble — and a few who will have a real chance at the $1.6 million first prize. Tom was a serious force all day, but ended up with 180k in chips … just below the average stack line. Robert (along with David Chiu) will start Day 3 with the smallest stack. Should be a real test of his critical bubble play. That or pocket queens on his first playable hand will or will not hold up.

Dallas underground expat Gavin Griffin is also alive and well, by the way.

Interesting thing in the official tournament wrap-up is the growing disparity between CardPlayer, now in partnership with the WPT, and the WSOP. I guess it’s kinda like Japan and Italy were technically allies in WW2, semi-united in their animosity toward the USA and its way of doing things:

Legends of Poker Day 2 Recap

In a quiet corner of the Bicycle Casino, day two of the Legends of Poker played out as the antithesis of the World Series of Poker. The first major tournament since hoards or poker fanatics descended upon the circuit, Legends produced a focused group of name professionals that batted until 53 were left standing. Flurries of action were set between long periods of calm, and numerous pros fell early.

I guess it shouldn’t surprise us that they are trying to put a positive spin on the “closed set” nature of their events. After all, it is quite different from the carnival atmosphere of the WSOP, and indeed, that’s their prerogative to run ‘em that way. It probably will work just fine — players will still play — but gotta say, I probably wouldn’t care as much about what’s going on behind closed curtains if I didn’t have a couple friends alive behind them.

Any thoughts on this from you poker-geeky internet readers out there?

Day 2 of the $10k main event of the WPT Legends of Poker is well underway in California (aka the Oklahoma of Las Vegas).

Click here to follow the chip-by-chip coverage.

The Arizona contingent of Pokerati is representin’ … Donkey Bomber is second in chips right now (behind Dutch Boyd) and Big Robert is hanging on, trying to make it to Day 3. With 89 players left, he’s a shortish stack with 30k. Blinds are 800/1600 +200. Other Arizona peeps doing well/on fumes include Danny Fuhs and Mike Wattel.

Beyond all those guys, I’m watching the fake Todd Phillips and Batface fantasy-teamer Danny Wong — who’s got a plenty healthy stack as he guns for his third WPT final table in a row.

By the way, there’s also lots of crazy poker media stuff going — this being the first WPT event with semi-closed coverage after a legally questionable deal between Berman/Lipscomb Inc. and CardPlayer. California girl Jen Newell over at Wisehand should have some decent insight … as she used to work with the WPT, has covered their events before, and knows her way around the back-halls at The Bicycle Casino, unlike Gonz, who gets kicked out when he goes there.

Sent an encouraging message to Robert G (who is not being covered by the WPT-CardPlayer junta) while typing this post regarding his 30k: You are definitely good enough to work with that. M=11? Please.

His response: 15k.

I suggested he shift into panic-and-pray gear, but he tells me he’ll find a spot to 1-2 punch his way out. Alas, I also told him yesterday that I was “rooting for him.” Oops … kinda forgot, as plenty of old Lodge players can attest … that’s kinda the kiss of death.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ–As I make my way back to Texas, I heard there was a big Chinese Poker game taking place in the Valley of the Sun, on a table made of suede no less, so I had to go check it out. Donkey Bomber was at the table — fresh off a plane from North Carolina, and frankly, a little shocked to see me there having not applied for media credentials through him — as was two-time bracelet winner Pat Poels, a dude named Rocky, Pokerati’s newest sexy blogger Big Robert, and Jesse McGinty … a Chinese Poker champion who apparently gets no love from CardPlayer, journalistic or otherwise. He won the inaugural $5,000 “Grinder” Chinese Poker Championship at Planet Hollywood (taking home about $50k) … but try to find mention of him in the magazine and it’s near impossible, even though CP was all over this event. (Was I the only one who went to a J-School that gave us an automatic F if we misspelled a name?) Also find it curious that Bluff didn’t include this Chinese Poker tournament in their rankings — even though it was a $5k event, which is the line they use — and vehemently defend — to determine which tourneys matter.

Anyhow, it’s starting to become clear to me … the Arizona Posse gets no respect. No wonder they are all so angry all the time.

The Chinese contingent of the Arizona Posse: (L to R) Robert Goldfarb, Jesse McGinty, Pat Poels, Nekpal Singh, and Tom Schneider.

They were playing $25-a-point (with royalties), which would grow to $50-a-point and then $100-a-point and then betting on drawing seven cards at random from the deck and making the best five-card hand. (I almost bought into that action. In fact, now that I think about it, getting 4:1 on $50 with no skill disadvantage … probably a mistake not to.) Learned a lot about playing Chinese from these guys. For example, I had no idea you could play five-handed with two decks, but you can! And when I questioned their use of non-Kem/Copag cards — they went with the more papery Bicycles — it was not because they were cheap, but because 100-percent plastic cards are a little too slick for optimal Chinese splays. Who knew!?!

(The AZ-Posse, that’s who.)

The Bellagio-like spread health-conscious buffet at Casa de Goldfarb.

Though I left before the game broke, McGinty seemed to be the guy to beat, as he was up a couple thousand dollars by 2 am.

CardPlayer’s non-embeddable video coverage of the event won by the Irish Italian guy above. Click to watch.

For those of you that enjoyed the RawVegas.tv interview with Vinnie Vinh’s chair you’re in luck. Apparently, Cardplayer was able to get the same interview. Not sure if it’s the same chair but all those poker chairs look alike anyway.

LAS VEGAS–There are four people left in the media room this hour — yours truly, a guy from Gutshot, the very-short uneducated gent who picks up trash off the floor and re-velcro’s the table skirts, and a former CardPlayer intern who’s been promoted to cub reporter.

While lamenting the long hours and empathizing with PokerNews for their struggles with chip-counts and hand recall, CardPlayer guy says:

“I definitely made up suits of cards. All the time.”

I think I’m flummoxed. I mean sure, SEO is so 2006 … but Pokerati’s traffic has been growing, our content has been improving, other blogs continue to find reason to link us up, and we’re ready to bust nuts at the super-big frickin’ WSOP! Yet in the eyes of almighty Google, we are less than we once were — as Pokerati’s “page rank” has dropped from 5 to 4.

This may not mean much to most of you, but it’s kind of a bummer to poker web geeks, especially those of us who just finished reading Search Engine Optimization For Dummies. You see, we have long been a 5 here at Pokerati, and frankly, kinda felt like we should be a 6 … or at least wanted to become one because all my friends were 6s. But Big Brother Google must have recently recalibrated its algorithm or something, because their page ranks have dropped, too. Check it out:

Pauly dropped from 6 to 5
PokerProf — from 6 to 4 (LasVegasVegas dropped from 7 to 5)
Bill Rini — from 6 to 5
The Fat Guy — from 6 to 5
Iggy — from 7 to 5
PokerBlog (run by the SEO team at PartyPoker) — from 6 to 4
Wicked Chops — from 5 to 4
PokerWorks — from 6 to 5
CardPlayer — from 7 to 6
Bluff — from 6 to 5
worldseriesofpoker.com — from 7 to 6
PokerStars Blog — hanging tight at 6
Up for Poker — hanging tight at 5
The Poker Biz — from 4 to 3

More…

If you haven’t had enough of famous politicians running for President, now you can throw a playa into the mix.

Greg Raymer for (Vice) President!

Hmmm, I see campaign contributions flowing already.

A quick update. Pokerati Blogmate, Tom Schneider, is sitting comfortably with 285,000 at the end of day 2 of the Five Star Poker Classic at the Bellagio. When I spoke to Tom yesterday, he was bagging 72,000. I would love to know how the other 215k came to be, but Tom still gets no love from CardPlayer’s live coverage.

First off, since we’re makin’ fun … let’s give some due props to our friends at CardPlayer — their new CardPlayerTV section (new to me at least) I gotta say is pretty damn good … from a functional interactive internet layout user-friendly usability perspective, very well done. As to the content itself, well that’s another story:

Just have a gander at “The Mouthpiece,” starring/featuring/all-about Mike Matusow. Wow, and you thought some of CP’s favorite poker pros-cum-writers were bad …

I did find two interesting timestamps, however … 1) at 2:20 he starts a bit that ends with a vociferous “Fuck off!” … and 2) at 15:00 Matusow panders to endorse non-overtly pokery products such as Vitamin Water (pink bottle) and Ritalin.

Now if only CardPlayer were willing to let us embed these videos in our own sites, people might actually watch them regularly enough to elicit good-ole-fashioned commercials from companies without affiliate codes or deposit bonuses.

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I was setting up Pokerati on Myspace today (helping Dan out with his pink shirt to-do list) and I came across these fun videos that may put you in the mood for the upcoming 2007 World Series of Poker! - Dan, insert the stupid cheerleader pix.

Poker Rap

And this one gives me warm fuzzies. I think it may have been done by Lisa Wheeler of CardPlayer.

2006 WSOP

Episode 2.4.3

The Bluff Power Rankings vs. CardPlayer’s Player of the Year // Tom prepares for “Cash Poker,” a televised $25,000 buy-in ring game at Binion’s / Dan worries that Tom may lose because no-limit cash games aren’t his specialty // Psychoanalyzing Amarillo Slim’s mental state after his latest reported armed robbery / Tom’s childhood fondness for the 1972 champ // Reliable rumors on how the media set-up will work at the 2007 WSOP / Tonya Harding vs. Nancy Kerrigan on press row // Tom’s Winning Wisdom: Integrity is Key

Click to listen (23 min, 21 meg)

aired live on Hold’em Radio 1-31-07

It’s a tough event filled with mostly pros … a combination of known names, touring circuit junkies, and recognizable big-cashers at just about every table, competing in the $15,000 “Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic.” Click here to follow the chip-by-chip action. After Day 1A, Clonie Gowen is the chip leader … and here’s what she had to say:

And check out this kinda cool video that shows most of the entire day in about a minute. Nice riff:

While there are lots of well-known poker entities in solid chip position, one player of particular note is ZeeJustin Bonomo — the disgraced PartyPoker self-colluder. He has been around the Bellagio all week — and doing well having made a final table. In an earlier tournament, the CardPlayer video children crew stopped him for an interview, and asked him all the standard questions about how his event was going. But they failed to ask, essentially, “so what’s it like to be back on the poker scene after your self-imposed hiatus upon being ‘busted’ for online cheating?”

Is it that hard, CP? It’s a legitimate question — one we all want to know the answer to. And what benefit is it to you by not asking such questions?

When the hot little CP video chicky (derisive, sexist undertones intentional) was asked why she didn’t inquire about ZeeJustin’s public return to poker, she allegedly replied, “Because we’re not allowed to. We can only ask non-controversial questions.” Ahh, we see. And that, CardPlayer, is why, even though you do plenty of good stuff on your confusing, selfish, non-linky website, we will continue to see you as journalistic pussies deserving our respect scorn and contempt.

It’s also why we will always opt to send our readers to PokerWire whenever possible for the same coverage you try to provide. Just an FYI in case you care, which presumably you don’t.

UPDATE: ZeeJustin is doing really well at the 5-Diamond … having made three final tables in the past week-and-a-half. CardPlayer has the stats — something they actually do a good job with. Now if only his bio page linked out to various hedlines giving real scoop on punk-bitch methods and related (important) discussion about real threats to poker fairness that exist online …

Kudos to CardPlayer for stepping up their poker journalism a tad. Their current cover story is a Playboy-style interview with WSOP champ Jamie Gold, and in it they don’t try to pretend he’s not a controversial character with questionable poker values.

B+

In the interview, he addresses the presence of bodyguards — you are welcome to believe or not believe his claims that there were Nancy Kerrigan-style threats. (I am pretty sure I heard someone in the hallway scream, “I’m gonna kill that motherfucker!”) He also — scroll down to the end — directly addresses his dealer tip, or lack thereof … claiming that everyone who deserves something will get theirs, but he never attached a number to it. Well done, Michael Friedman, for getting him to address these topics.

But the one issue not discussed was his lawsuit with Crispin Leyser. And that’s where CardPlayer gets docked significant points.

I’m pretty sure Jamie’s “people” set up the interview only on the grounds that he wouldn’t be asked about the $6 million he may or may not owe Leyser. Fair enough … it’s common for subjects of lawsuits not to want to comment on pending litigation. But they can’t prevent you, as in CardPlayer, from writing about it! Ask Allyn … she’ll tell you … lawsuits are a public records, and therefore the media has every right to address them in pretty much whatever capacity they see fit. At a minimum, CP shoulda printed something in the story acknowledging the basis of the lawsuit and any interview restrictions pertaining to it. Or, legally speaking, they coulda just agreed to whatever with Jamie Gold and then renegged on the deal.

LAS VEGAS–It’s fun (and easy) to make fun of CardPlayer, but sometimes they’ve got some pretty good stuff. I enjoyed Bob Pajich’s article about the Hollywoodization of poker, for example, and just recently I stumbled across this video … about what online poker means to the poker world. It’s a well-constructed assay of the online poker lifestyle, complete with visible degeneracy. I just wonder if CP producers realize what it is that makes it so great.

In the video, you’ll see:

Online player #1: They say I’ve got tells, but fuck’em, I’m from Texas!
Online player #2: I love online poker! I’ve been playing since I was underage!
Jennicide: I couldn’t handle school, you know, grades and shit … so I turned to online poker.
Phil Hellmuth: Bring it on, beyotches!

The CardPlayer reporter is kind enough to let kids know that despite all this legality stuff they’re hearing, they can still play as much as they want while the grown-ups are arguing about it. Awesome. Kudos to any intern who played a role. Seriously, it’s this close to Spinal Tap.

LAS VEGAS–So we ragged on CardPlayer for misspelling Johnny Kampis’ name, and Steve Carter’s. Steve Carter, it turns out … is out. Why? Because he was never in. CardPlayer’s error … replicated by the rest of the media, as we have been given no choice but to follow the great work of their interns.

I learned about Steve Carter’s not being in from Chris “Rebuy” Martin … who is not the same as the Chris Martin who currently is dominating chip-wise.

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Another interesting thing … Neither blogger — Johnny nor Ryan — is included in the chip counts any more. They were up there yesterday … and CardPlayer has actually been doing a good job adding names as the tourney progresses. So what’s up with that? Is it just another guffaw, or a personal anti-blogger slight? Ryan Kallberg, interestingly enough, was a Full Tilt qualifier. And he’s relatively accomplished, poker-wise, too — so you’d think they would keep him up there for sure. Likewise, there’s no mention of blogger Matt Maroon. I don’t know if he was being tracked yesterday and later removed like the other two, however.

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UPDATE: Tuscaloosa Johnny is out — he had kings in an AA vs. KK vs. QQ hand. Gets paid about $16k. Ryan and Daniel Negreanu are still in.

So is Micon from Neverwin.

The Dallas player to follow now is Matt Wilson — a former Third Pair dealer who is currently 22nd in chips.

Click here to stay semi-updated.

More…

(Pronounced: IN-stah-WHOA-sop.)

LAS VEGAS–So wow … I’ve arrived in Vegas, checked in at Rio media center, and haven’t watched a single hand of poker. Yet there’s already so much to report on. Where do I begin?

First of all, the numbers are clearly bigger this year. This is evident in the parking lot. The Rio parking lot wasn’t this full last year until a few days before the main event. They also have valet parking this year.

As we speak, JOE HACHEM is at a final table with DUTCH BOYD in the $2,500 6-handed NLHE event. But am I even allowed to report that? Dutch is the big stack. He may or may not have at some point played an ace.

UPDATE: Hachem and Boyd are heads-up. Good poker battles right from the git-go. Sorry we can’t live-blog it. OTIS has some decent updates going on.

RE-UPDATE: Boyd just pushed all-in with A5, Hachem called with AQ, Dutch caught his card (and his bracelet) on the river.

OLIVER TSE pointed out earlier this morning that if Dutch wins, a lot of folks would like their money back … and it’s time for ESPN to address the POKERSPOT.COM issue.

Oliver’s forum posts were not met kindly by the corporate Harrah’s folks. PR Honcho GARY THOMPSON called Oliver in for a private meeting. “I was just taken to the woodshed,” Oliver says.

Upon being told he is not supposed to post anything negative about ESPN, Oliver was challenged (by Thompson, I believe, but am not sure), “Are you a journalist … or are you a blogger?” The ESPN/Harrah’s suits (who have their own internal tiff going on) are apparently under the impression that bloggers are rabblerousers, and journalists get their stuff cleared by PR directors before they publish. Amusing, no?

There’s NO SMOKING inside the Rio Convention Center this year — even in the corridors.

A FIRE ALARM went off today. While it left a handful of media guys locked out of the media center, the games kept going with hardly a pause. A few players and dealers looked up in an effort ot listen to the voice giving instructions, but when it became evident that they could hardly make out what she was saying, play carried on unfazed.

Bic is the official lighter of the WSOP.

The MEDIA CENTER is bigger and better this year. But it’s farther away from the action.

The food is way better — and acceptably priced. ($6 for a half-pound ANGUS BURGER, with two slices — two slices! — of cheese.) All this action is going down in the POKER KITCHEN. You know, part of my poker dream has long included seeing the phrase “in your kitchen” added to the poker vernacular. I guess this is close … but still, the kitchen has yet to reach the level of stature as “the hammer.”

Bathroom situation: also vastly improved — plenty of places to pee.

A lot more slutties scantily clad women hired to sell stuff milling around here, too. The SAPPHIRE strip club has a booth at the WSOP.

A lot of media seems to be on tilt. There’s even talk of an internet blackout day and legal action against CardPlayer. The phrases “First Amendment” and “tortius interference” keep coming up. But some of the more experienced journalists (from a non-poker-media background) are just going about their jobs. After all, it’s just poker … not a GULF WAR.

My new favorite place — the MILWAUKEE’S BEST LIGHT GARAGE. It’s outside “across the street” from The Kitchen … like a sports bar … with lots of crappy-but-cold beer, cushy leather chairs, a convenient smoking area, a pool table, tires, mufflers, funny signs, and get this … three DART BOARDS. Alas, they are soft-tip, not bristle. But beggars can’t be choosers, right? If someone wants to bring a real dart board, perhaps we can convince them to let us put it up put it up without anyone noticing the change.

CLONIE cashed in one of the three events she has played thus far.

Eavesdropping on an attractive young blonde talking with an old man of noticeable heft; she was wearing lacey panties. Their conversation began with discussion casinos in SHREVEPORT and OKLAHOMA, and soon turned to “a bust in Dallas” at “a place called ACES.”

We now return to our regular programming …

So, um, like the World Series of Poker is underway. And the CardPlayer Mafia is apparently cracking down. You can follow the early coverage via Pauly and LasVegasVegas. Oh, and Otis, too … (Others, including Amy Calistri and yours truly, will be out there soon.)

But don’t expect to follow the semi-live action via Daniel Negreanu’s blog. He was chastised today for trying to use his Blackberry from the poker room floor. Not sure how incensed he was or wasn’t, but apparently he called in his personal assistant (Patti) and asked her to take notes for him at the table for his blog since he couldn’t use his electronic personal assistant.

In typical Negreanu fashion, he has made a nice adjustment … replacing his blog with video diaries — shot outside the Rio. Good stuff … by why do I think CardPlayer’s ill-thought-out attempt to monopolize coverage inside the Rio will result in more good stuff taking place outside the Rio?

Thanks, Wade, for the scoop.