Posted this link in a comment down below, but really it deserves a little more pimpage … as this write-up by Change100 provides one of the best factual recounts and opinionated analyses of the whole Tiffany Michelle final table sponsorship saga. She tells a compelling story of girl-power gone awry, and the deeper Tiffany got, the more in over her head her agent may have gotten … all while having to make decisions affected by the emerging corruption of Ultimate Bet and escalating high-pressure tactics from frothing sponsorship-brokering wolves trying to mount her in the midst of her WSOP heater.

Jeffrey Lisandro, one of Tiffany’s backers, had been hovering around the Amazon Room all day on Day 6. The other, PokerNews owner Tony G., had already left Las Vegas several days prior. The UB scandal was blowing up, and so was Tiffany’s chip count. Personally, I was concentrated on the task at hand– reporting the tournament– but couldn’t help but notice all the little side conversations that were taking place in the empty back quadrant of the room, which, until only 48 hours prior, had been a sea of poker tables. PokerNews people and Tiffany’s agent, Katie Lindsay. PokerNews people and other agents. And Lisandro himself, putting his arm around Lindsay and walking off with her to have a private discussion. The war over Tiffany Michelle was in full swing as she sat 100 yards away, propped up on her knees, playing in the biggest game of her life.

I spent 8 years in the Hollywood machine and dealt with a lot of agents in my time. They are some of the most ruthless, yet sickeningly hardworking people you will ever meet. The client’s interest is your interest, and it is the only interest. Everyone else can go fuck themselves. Agents can piss people off and get away with it because they hold the keys to the castle by controlling the talent. Talent is the only real currency in Hollywood. Producers, financiers, studio executives, marketing divisions, publicists? Without the talent what do they have?

While I’m not so sure I agree with pinning so much blame on Katie Lindsay from Suited Connections — full disclosure: she’s a personal friend of California Jen’s, and I always saw her as one of the “nice ones” — Change has a little more understanding of how a cutthroat television world can work (a world that is new to poker even though we’ve been on TV for 5+ years) and has me wondering if Tiffany Michelle weren’t, at least indirectly, an unforeseen casualty of a delayed final table that noticeably upped the television stakes as we got closer and closer to The November Nine.

Oh, one other interesting thing … check out Change’s post right before this one. You’ll notice on that picture of Tiffany Michelle, posted before anyone knew of the brewing UB/PokerNews friction … the PokerNews logo is the most prominently displayed, even after she did her deal with Ultimate Bet.

So bummer that ESPN has bad insurance — and I’m not just sayin’ that because Pokerati’s new made-for-TV patches just arrived. While the ESPN camerapeople are taking some atmosphere filler shots — you know, just in case Erick Lindgren wins his second bracelet — it really is too bad that the WSOP doesn’t have the ability to call a final-table audible or two. (The actual physical table for the bracelet-crowning end of the $5k NL 2-7 lowball single-draw w/ rebuys doesn’t even have hole-card cams.)

Not only is there a great field to follow, and multiple story lines … Lindgren going for his second bracelet, which would put him way ahead in the WSOP Player of the Year race … and speaking of POY, last year Jeff Lisandro and Tom Schneider had everything riding on the results of this event … but also, if you’re gonna show a crazy mixed game on TV, there’s really not a better one to televise than NL 2-7 single-draw.

TV fans are already comfortable with the concept of no-limit … and it won’t take much for them to understand that the best hand in this game is 2-3-4-5-7. Then mix in the poker psychology (wielded by top-notch pros) of a game where you get soooo little information on your opponent’s hand — there are only two rounds of betting — and consider that there are only 5 cards in each hand to think about … and there you have it: great, surprising and unexpected poker TV. (The $5k with rebuys also adds a bigger-money component to it as well.)

When I watched this game last year, I got totally hooked — would love to be able to play it somewhere. And F-Train’s solid coverage of it for PokerNews/the WSOP reflects that he’s finding the same thing. Read along for just a few posts and you’ll have a whole new understanding of a game you previously probably hardly knew.

UPDATE: Tom is now second in chips … click here to follow along.

OK, you know I don’t want to make this year’s WSOP all about Tom’s lack of sponsorable attention … but I can’t help it on this one … watch the WSOP video update, and they talk about what a star-studded final table this is … and they mention 6 of 7 players’ names. I guess the two bracelets and that WSOP POY title, like bitching about Tom’s lack of coverage, is so 2007!

Click here to follow along. Tom just picked up another big pot. He seems focussed.

Two other interesting things to note: 1) Barry Greenstein was the tiny stack once they got into the money; and 2) Last year’s POY race came down to this event (the last one pre-main event in 2007). Tom went out somewhere in the teens, leaving it to Jeff Lisandro to make the final table to snatch the Player of the Year honors. At the time his chip stack was strong, and Tom went over to donk off $3,000 at the high-stakes cash tables. (I’m sure he couldn’t even tell you what game he was playing.) But Lisandro fell short … so in a way, he probably really wants this win, too.

Event #18 is the No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/Rebuys tournament. The field was small with only 85 competitors, but those few people managed to rebuy 272 times and create a $1,036,035 prize pool to be divided between the top 14 finishers.

Today, the third day of the event, the final table is underway. Check out this line-up:

Seat 1: Jeffrey Lisandro (Salerno, Italy) 461,000
Seat 2: Mike Matusow (Las Vegas, Nevada) 520,000
Seat 3: Tom Schneider (Scottsdale, Arizona) 162,000
Seat 4: Erick Lindgren (Las Vegas, Nevada) 1,104,000
Seat 5: Barry Greenstein (Rancho Palos Verdes, California) 541,000
Seat 6: Tony ‘G’ Guoga (Melbourne, Australia) 394,000
Seat 7: David Benyamine (Las Vegas, Nevada) 410,000

Here’s the kicker. Hardly anyone can see it.

The table is being held on a table NEXT to the ESPN stage. The rail is insane, four- or five-people deep, and those people are frustrated because they can’t see anything. Throw in the official WSOP media, ESPN cameras and crew, and floor staff, there’s nothing to see. Some members of the media tried to go up to the Milwaukee’s Best Lounge so we could watch from above, though that is rather uncomfortable as well, and snap a photo or two, but security instructed us to leave. Immediately.

Why, I asked of some fellow media folk, is the ESPN stage empty with no other final tables running today? Why can’t move this stellar final table over there with more room for the media and lots of room for fans to take seats and watch? WHY? The Poker Shrink informed me that ESPN does not take out insurance on the stage and lounge areas if there is no final table scheduled there. There is no insurance on the area today, and evidently, no one can make a phone call to get it.

Therefore, the players are stuck in a very small space, their friends and family are having a tough time seeing the table, and those against the rail have fans breathing down their necks. The fans are annoyed that they can’t see the best final table of the WSOP so far. The non-official media is pissed at being treated rudely by the floor staff and security team - being shooed from the area and given NO explanation, leeway, or assistance.

After a few weeks of virtually no missteps on the part of Harrah’s and the WSOP, this may be one that they hear about from the players and the media.

I’ve been snapping quite a few photos of the tournament players thus far, but the one that I wanted is not yet a reality. I saw Vinnie Vinh wandering through the tournament area this morning, then again in the Poker Kitchen, but I wasn’t quick enough with the cam. Doh.

But here are some pics that I did get this morning. Andy Bloch’s shirt says, “I never finish anything.” Jeff Lisandro looks like he’s winding up for the pitch. And Tom looks like he’s, well, playing poker. Go figure.

The following question was posed on 2+2 and I really liked it. “Who Should Be the Player of the Year”? Here are the five that they proposed as possible candidates. For those of you that don’t know, I won; however I’m not saying that I should have and I’m not asking for your support; however, I think the debate is interesting. Here are the results for each of the players that they listed including total cash won, finishing position, number of entrants and event. If there are others that are worthy of consideration, please review their results for the assignment that I am going to give you.

Tom Schneider ($416,829):
Event 5: 1st/327 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better
Event 16: 4th/382 H.O.R.S.E.
Event 46: 1st/668 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better

Jeff Lisandro ($457,309):
Event 7: 13/145 Pot Limit Omaha W/Rebuys
Event 13: 2nd/398 World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em
Event 32: 1st/213 Seven Card Stud
Event 40: 18/620 Mixed Hold’em limit/no-limit
Event 46: 62/668 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better

Robert Mizrachi ($861,138)
Event 5: 26/327 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better
Event 9: 40/690 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
Event 16: 6th/382 H.O.R.S.E.
Event 26: 5th/192 H.O.R.S.E.
Event 50: 1st/314 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha

Phil Hellmuth ($738,724)
Event 10: 104/1,531 No-Limit Hold’em
Event 15: 1st/2,628 No-Limit Hold’em
Event 28: 6th/827 No-Limit Hold’em
Event 34: 25th/296 Limit Hold’em
Event 45: 31st/728 No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed
Event 52: 95/1,048 No Limit Holdem w/ rebuys

Freddy Deeb ($2,291,489)
Event 4: 45/481 Pot Limit Hold’em
Event 30: 27/847 No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed
Event 39: 1st/148 World Championship H.O.R.S.E.

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LAS VEGAS–Real quick, in 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ Rebuys … Tom Schneider goes out in 16th place. Boo! Jeff Lisandro goes out in 14th. Yay!

And with that, Tom Schneider is the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year. Wooo! More TK …

LAS VEGAS–The fireworks are still going off, just not as frequently anymore … and Tom has taken the chip lead. He’s been at a pretty tough table:

Seat 1 - Tony G
Seat 3 - John Juanda
Seat 4 - Tom Schneider
Seat 5 - Gavin Smith
Seat 6 - Howard Lederer

Click here to follow. Or here.

John Juanda (fantasy team disappointment) was just eliminated, so not sure if that means their table will break or have a player added. Also not sure where Jeff Lisandro stands, as an obvious typo has him listed with 146 chips (even though the antes were recently at 700).

At present, the official prize payouts and total number of entries haven’t been released yet, but we know (from our seat overlooking the action 12 miles away) that there were 78 players in the field, seven of whom get paid. Bottom payout is about $55k, top prize being $500somethingish-k.

UPDATE: Lisandro is the chip leader with 240,000. Tom is second in chips with 171,000. This doozy of a race for Player of the Year in a high-dollar obscure game played no-limit-style is back, baby!

BIASED JOURNALISM ALERT: Go Big Tom!

CLARIFICATION: Phil Hellmuth is also technically still in the hunt for Player of the Year. He reportedly has a paltry 25,000 chips. But he has had those 25,000 chips for at least two hours now. So for all we know he may or may not be the actual chip leader at some point during one of three levels.

ALT HED: Horserace Poker

(Yeah, but what a nail biter!)

LAS VEGAS–So wow, what a night it’s shaping up to be … with 49 players left, Jeff Lisandro is the chip leader, and Tom is second in chips.

I’m not at the Rio right now, am instead sitting solo on my rooftop at Mountains Edge. It’s supposedly 105 degrees right now, but I swear it doesn’t feel warmer than 90. The sky is perfectly clear and the stars are bright. And as I follow the WSOP’s $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw w/ Rebuys — Player of the Year on the line — I am encircled by the colorful snap, crackle, and boom of pyrotechnics. Anywhere I look — whether toward the Strip, over Green Valley, behind me in the mountains, North Las Vegas, and even eye-level from one house ever — there are fireworks going off. I can’t do the 360-degree panorama justice with my photographic skills and camera equipment, but I can tell you this is really cool. A second hasn’t passed in the last hour without a sparkle in the sky — some from big fireworks shows, some from big spenders at the roadside stands, and others just shooting off the small things out their windows.

Amazing to think of the thousands inside the Rio (and other casinos for that matter) who haven’t a clue about the brilliance going on all around them. What a celebration of all that is right in Poker America.

UPDATE: Huck Seed has been eliminated. So glad I dropped him from my fantasy team instead of Tom. Change100 is no longer the reporter on duty for PokerNews. That means I no longer have a Tom-pimping connection with the official information provider. Ooh, just saw a really cool blue sparkler, followed by crazy screamers! The sky is really pretty all across the Las Vegas Valley.

LAS VEGAS–We’ve got a doozy brewing in the final points event of the 2007 WSOP … with much more on the line than a single bracelet in the $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ Rebuys.

With 60 players remaining …

Tom Schneider, WSOP Player of the Year points leader, is currently 3rd in chips. Jeff Lisandro, who is only 20 points behind him, is currently 4th in chips. (Phil Hellmuth is also still alive in 2-7 Lowball, but he is a below-average stack, and has never made a WSOP final table in a non-hold’em game … so not much of a threat.)

Click here to follow along.

UPDATE: Players are on dinner break, and Lisandro has jumped into the chip lead. Tom is 6th in chips. Also kinda interesting that Tony G — the man behind the money behind PokerNews.com — is second in chips. Wonder if it’s too late for Tom to hire someone to pull a Nancy Kerrigan on Lisandro’s ass.

Lisandro reportedly wants Player of the Year so badly that he was willing to invest $100k in this event. Tom took a more fiscally conservative approach — taking a rebuy and double add-on for $20,000 total.

Not only does WSOP Player of the Year come with a certain amount of cache, but also it comes with extra cash. The winner receives an automatic buy-in to next year’s main event ($10,000), a buy-in to a circuit main event of his choice ($5,000), entry into the WSOP Europe main event ($10,000), and $5,000 in walking-around-money … adding up to a mano-y-mano lasts-longest battle for essentially a $30,000 overlay and any added business goodies that go with Player of the Year accolades.

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