Corvette-ness makes the hedline seem plausible. Would have to cross-reference Clark County impound records with arrest reports from Las Vegas Metro to be sure … and though the presence of stripper-glitter in the passenger seat could be a telltale sign, windows were too tinted to be certain.

UPDATE: Or you could just check Wikipedia … to be reminded that Layne Flack does indeed hail from the state that some people consider the Oklahoma of Nebraska.

Still, before golf officially decided to go the degen route — or perhaps in preparation for it? — Golf Magazine ran a feature in their November issue about Phil Hellmuth, Layne Flack, Erick Lindgren, and Gavin Smith hitting the Las Vegas links, apparently foreshadowing the concept of risking big-big bucks on every hole:

Golf Magazine feature on High Stakes Poker Players Golfing

ALT HED: P.W.A. Straight Outta Bellagio

Most recently, at his own TASER Foundation charity tourney in Phoenix — the biggest high-society charity poker shindig of the year in Arizona — he was there to report on Brandon Cantu’s being shot with a taser gun … Cantu was paying off a prop-bet he lost at last year’s event with Clonie Gowen.

Damn, ouch … but cool … didn’t realize you could bounce back so quickly from those things.

BTW, an extra-funny … @DonkeyBomber was there as one of the “star poker players” who help make the event extra fun for the Big Charity donors who play … but even on his home turf, our favorite business-exec-turned-author-turned-2007-WSOP-POY-turned-struggling-poker-pro is no Layne Flack or even Roy Winston:

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/globenewswire/177471.htm

Included on the WSOP celebrity roster for the events are: 11-time WSOP champion Phil Hellmuth, Layne Flack, Antonio Esfandiari (“The Magician”), Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, Kenna James, Erica Schoenberg, Jeff Madsen, Roy Winston, Clonie Gowen, Brandon Cantu, Todd and Pamela Brunson, and Arizona’s own celebrity players, Kevin O’Donnell and Jim Schneider.

So much sayable about this, lol … and we can use the phrase “lol” because twitter comes into play. More Phil Hellmuth making a mockery of a few orbits before being pulled from the 2-7 Triple Draw … Tiffany Michelle talking about experimenting with UB and her breasts … Layne Flack being Layne Flack … Shawn Rice and Debo sitting … and just about everything else you might expect from a celebration of, by, and for “anyone who is anyone” in the UB poker world:

Anyhow, yes, the staged, sweaty Liv Boeree vs. Melissa Castillo violence is still on … And Layne Flack says he’s been asked to be the guy in the ring keeping everything in the PokerNews/UB reunification LoveFest clean. Says @back2backflack about the potential gig: “Next to being a pimp, [this is] a great job opportunity.”

I kinda like the ridiculousness of it and would certainly stop and watch if I happened to be passing by a contrived Boeree vs. Castillo brawl. And ever since The Real Deal closed, poker seems to have been lacking a little Théâtre de l’Absurde.

Hungary Hungary Bracelets

Peter Traply captured the first WSOP bracelet for Hungary, taking down the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout , winning $348,728. Andrew Lichtenbergerfinished in second, good for $215,403. Lichtenberger thought he had the tournament won when his A-K flopped another ace against Traply’s pocket sixes. Another six on the turn doubled Traply up, leaving Lichtenberger with just 250,000 in chips out of the 7.5 million in play. Lichtenberger would double up several times, eventually regaining the chip lead. But Traply would be too much, finally knocking out Lichtenberger when his A-K dominated Lichtenberger’s A-J to the delight of his Hungarian railbirds.

Jerrod Jamming in 8-Game

Jerrod Ankenman, co-author with Bill Chen of The Mathematics of Poker is the current chip leader (1,230,000) of the $2,500 8-Game event. Earlier eliminations included Players to Watch Layne Flack (7th) and Rami Boukai (13th) Online favorite Jimmy “Gobbo” Fricke finished in 9th place to bubble the official final table. Jon Turner (another Player to Watch) is currently in second place (822,000), as he continues to impress in mixed-game tournaments.

Sweating to the Seniors

The $1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship has about 120 players remaining as they’ll try to get as close to a final table as possible before the 3 am deadline. The current leader is Tony Brenner (315,000). Barbara Enright (85,000) and Eric Hershler make up a couple of the notable names remaining. Meanwhile, Players to Watch Lloyd Shinn (130th) and Berry Johnston (185th) did make the money.

The Author, The Cowboy and a Guy Named Warwick

The $2,500 Razz event has author Michael Craig (126,000) the chip leader, followed by “Cowboy” Kenna James (125,000) right behind him, followed by Day 1 chip leader Warwick Mirzikinian (98,000) with 43 players remaining, only 32 getting paid. Other notables remaining include Jeff Lisandro (59,000), Player to Watch Ville Wahlbeck (47,000), and James Van Alstyne (45,000), all involved in the thrilling WSOP Player of the Year race.They will also attempt to have a final table established by the 3am deadline.

Pot-Limit Holdem Boiling Over

The $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem World Championship drew a field of 275 entrants, 162 of which will return from their dinner break. The unofficial chip leader is David Singer (132,000), with David Stiecke (95,000), Vanessa Rousso (93,500), Bill Edler (67,500), Eric Baldwin (56,000), and Jason Mercier (51,000) just some of the notables remaining. Four more levels remain in their day before returning at 2pm tomorrow.

Omaha, Ha Ha!

The $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better event began with a field of close to 400 entries. No official chip leader has emerged, but the final Player to Watch that hasn’t been mentioned today, Daniel Negreanu is now working on his third tournament of the day, as he has already been eliminated from the Razz and Pot-Limit Holdem events. Could he go 0 for three? Check out the updates over at www.wsop.com or my morning update and find out.

Let’s start with the two final tables that are known at this time. The $1,000 NL Holdem final table decided to come back at 2pm today to get some exposure on ESPN360 (wsop.pkr.com for the non-US/non-ESPN360 viewer). Here’s how that final table will be seated with players who have earned at least $1,000,000 in tournament earnings occupying the first three seats (as always, tournament stats come courtesy of the Hendon Mob Tournament Database:

Seat 1: Dan Heimiller – 4,155,000
Seat 2: Jeff Oakes – 1,680,000
Seat 3: Nathan Mullen – 1,210,000
Seat 4: Phong Huynh – 1,310,000
Seat 5: James Matz III – 1,885,000
Seat 6: Steve Sung – 3,395,000
Seat 7: Panayote ‘Pete’ Vilandos – 1,940,000
Seat 8: Larry Sidebotham – 1,500,000
Seat 9: Danny Fuhs – 965,000

The other final table that is already known is the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha final table, which also starts at 2pm today, will be made up of:

Seat 1 – An Tran (did not report)
Seat 2 – Jason Mercier (384,400)
Seat 3 – Chris Biondino (182,000)
Seat 4 – Matt Giannetti (311,000)
Seat 5 – Kevin Iacofano (770,000)
Seat 6 – Jonathan Tare (639,000)
Seat 7 – Dario Alioto (315,000)
Seat 8 – Vic Park (341,000)
Seat 9 – Steven Burkholder (263,000)

Day 3 of the $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship returns for their final day today with 11 players remaining at 3am today. Poker veteran Eric Drache is the current chip leader (755,000), with Hasan Habib (593,000), Freddie Ellis (580,000), Jeff Lisandro (524,000) and Ville Wahlbeck (472,000) rounding out the top 5. Tim Phan, Daniel Negreanu, Max Pescatori and Greg “FBT” Mueller help round out the field that will return at 1pm today for the third bracelet that will be awarded today, which will create an extended bracelet ceremony on Thursday afternoon with all the jewelry being passed out.

Other tournament stuff on the next page:

The $1,500 NL Holdem event finished play today with about 340 players remaining, stopping just short of the money. Canadian Victor Greeley is the day 1 chip leader (195,300) with notables Jacobo Fernandez, Sorel Mizzi, Brandon Cantu, Grant Hinkle, and Alex Jacob returning at 2pm to play to their final table.

The $2,500 NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw event finished play last night with 35 players remaining, of which 21 will make the money. Layne Flack (75,125) is the chip leader, with Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Tony G among the several well-known names remaining in the field. They also return to the tables at 2pm to play down to the final table of 7.

On to events that actually get started today:

The two bracelet events that get underway today are events popular with the Internet community. The 12 noon tournament will be $1,500 NL 6-max, which was won last year by Washington state pro Ralph “Rep” Porter besting a field of 1,236 to take down $372,843. The 5pm tournament will be $2,500 Pot Limit Holdem/Pot Limit Omaha known better as “HA”, as the games will switch every 9 hands. Last year, Max Pescatori, “The Italian Pirate” took down his first bracelet in a field of 457 for almost $250,000.

As for today’s projections, the $1,500 NL 6-max is projected at 1,360 (I expect the over, with a field of close to 1,500), while the $2,500 HA is listed at 503 (also going with over, with about 530 who’ll be having a chuckle). More updates during the day here at Pokerati and www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

photo: Benjo

Team Pokerati player Julie Schneider.

In the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo event, where they’re down to 60something players, Team Pokerati has represented well. While Tom Schneider busted out plenty short of the money, Julie Schneider, aka Mrs. @DonkeyBomber, is alive and relatively well — as far as we can tell — despite her husband’s displeasure with where she has chosen to attach her emblem of Pokerati loyalty (go left breast!) and his refusal to let me straighten it for her.

In addition to winning a $20 lasts-longest bet with the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year, this is Julie’s first WSOP cash.

Other money finishers from Pokerati’s posse of Arizona mixed-game players include Robert Goldfarb, who finished in 67th place for $3,797, and two-time bracelet winner Pat Poels just went out in 64th place for the same payout.

UPDATE: Julie is out in 58th place, for $4,361. Layne Flack got the last of her chips.

Day 1a of the $1,000 NL Holdem Stimulus Special drew a full field of entries today as the WSOP tournament staff issued a press release declaring the event a sellout at 6,000 entrants, although official numbers are slightly below the 6000 total. There have been rumors that a few spots are still available on Sunday to select individuals who wish to register. An earlier rumor that alternates were being allowed to enter the event turned out to be incorrect. The players will be returning from their dinner break shortly, with less than 1000 players remaining to play the final 2 to 4 levels today. Among the notables that have already came and went: Kevin Saul, Shannon Shorr, and PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok, Joe Stapleton and Barry Greenstein.

The 40th Annual $40,000 NL Holdem event almost has its final table in place, as they’re now 10-handed and return from their dinner break shortly. Alec Torelli leads a stacked table with 5,375,000 in chips. The remainder of the table features Greg Raymer, Tony G, Ted Forrest, Justin Bonomo, Dani Stern, Vitaly Lunkin, Isaac Haxton, Noah Schwartz and Lex Valdhuis (with his girlfriend, Evelyn Ng, sweating the action on the rail).

The size of the Stimulus Special caused a one-hour delay in the start of day 2 of the $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better event. The players reached the money just before their dinner break. Notables who won’t be heading to the pay window include Phil Hellmuth, Andy Bloch, “Hollywood” Dave Stann, Scott Clements and Tony Cousineau. Defending champion in this event Thang Luu is near the top of the leaderboard, with Layne Flack, Freddy Deeb, Todd Brunson and Pat Poels all still in the fight. Special congratulations goes to former WSOP TD Matt Savage for his first WSOP cash. With about 85 players left, the goal is to play down to a final table for Sunday, but don’t be too surprised if there’s a couple of tables who’ll get to return tomorrow afternoon. Check out www.worldseriesofpoker.com for more updates during the evening, and here for players to follow.

27 players are eligible … and almost all have pre-registered. Bobby Baldwin ’78 has RSVP’d in the negative. But there’s one interesting name on the list of non-confirmeds* — well actually there’re five, but one of these is not like the others … in fact, as a member of the WSOP PAC, he’s probably on Jeffrey Pollack’s speed dial:

Mansour Maltoubi ’90
Hamid Dastmalchi ’92
Russ Hamilton ’94
Noel Furlong ’99
Chris Ferguson ’00

None of these are holdouts, from what we’re hearing … just MIA. (Though we’re not so sure the WSOP is looking that hard for Russ, because they could always give his invitation to Layne Flack.)

Wicked Chops is on the hunt for them here.

Current Poker Sith Lords
Russ Hamilton — guilty til proven innocent, and with good cause.
Ernie Scherer III — he’s still innocent til proven guilty, but considering that he faces the death penalty for killing his parents to pay off poker debts — and the last 10 Google searches found on his computer were “countries that don’t extradite to the U.S.“, I think we can rest assured that he will not become a Full Tilt pro anytime soon.

Dishonorable Mentions
James McDaniel — this Dallas poker room operator was convicted of killing an ex-cop, engaged in collusion in Oklahoma (my personal observation and unproven accusation), and is currently on trial for supplying drugs to one of his railbirds who ended up OD’d-dead in a portable toilet.

Reformed Reputations
Jamie Gold
Justin Bonomo
Dutch Boyd

Jury Still Out
David Sklansky — technically crime-free, but young aspiring female players are hardly flocking to his tutelage.
Amarillo Slim — he says he’s not guilty, and his family and a lie detector now apparently agree, even though his criminal record implies otherwise.
Layne Flack — everybody seems to like Layne, but unless he’s working undercover a la Poker Brasco, hanging with Russ Hamilton surely won’t help him get sponsored by Ultimate Bet.

So who else? Really, I’m not looking for a bunch of potentially libelous name-calling … but I am looking to create a list of once and future poker bad-guys, and maybe a rating system for criminals and outcasts and offenses that may or may not attract the attention of law enforcement, but still result in scorn and contempt from fellow poker players.

What makes it worse for these folks is that they haven’t gotten any refunds from Ultimate Bet — because either they paid off their “debts” in cash, or they too have been flagged for further investigation because of the large money transfers between them and Hamilton. So with that in mind, and some $60 million that would otherwise be in the Poker Economy unaccounted for … it’s always interesting to know what this man who has been convicted of nothing (and, sadly, charged with nothing) is up to.

Micon from Neverwin spotted him recently playing 2/5 NL at Red Rock:

Elsewhere around town, reliable sources tell us Hamilton recently played a bar freeroll at one of the pubs at Flamingo and Jones. (Still seeking confirmation on the bar’s name.) No buy-in and no prizes beyond bar tabs and food coupons. Supposedly playing with him in this same event (about six weeks ago?): Layne Flack.

No word on whether either of them made the final table.

More Matusow on Hamilton’s impact here. (Scroll halfway down.)

UPDATE: The bar where Flack and Hamilton were spotted playing a freeroll is Torino’s.

Listen live.

Eventually you’ll be able to find the podcast here.

I attended the Draw Party at Pure on Friday night and then met with my brother, who had flown into Vegas for Heads Up. I was under the impression that I was to play in the last bracket the next evening at around 8 pm. I was pulled over for speeding and refused a breathalyzer test as I have been instructed to do.  I have no idea why I was written a ticket for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. There were no emergency vehicles around, besides the police car. A test, given by the Las Vegas PD, later revealed that I had a blood alcohol content of zero. I also took a blood test, as I have nothing to hide. I was held for the mandatory 6 hours and released. I always go out of my way to not drink and drive. I regret that I was not able to play in NBC Heads Up and hope to be invited next year to play in this prestigious event.

There’s little reason to doubt Layne Flack’s version of events at this point. Refusing a breathalyzer test isn’t that unusual, because the blood tests are more accurate. 

If his blood-alcohol level was really zero, then the DUI charges would likely be dropped. That leaves two other relatively minor charges (speeding and the failure to yield to an emergency vehicle), which means that Layne Flack could come out of this untimely little episode with nothing more than traffic tickets — and a missed opportunity at the NBC Heads-Up Championship.

Clarification 1: Layne Flack was not in a car accident. Some of the earliest reports of this situation came from a statement that Mori Eskandani gave to some reporters at the NBC Heads-Up Championship, saying that Flack had to withdraw because he had been in a car accident. He wasn’t. (11:00 am PT)

Clarification 2: Lara Miller has followed up to say that Flack claims he had just one drink at Pure that night. Also, Flack took the blood test to prove that he was not just alcohol-free, but drug-free as well. (11:30 am PT)

Update 1: Andrew “good2cu” Robl blogged that he “ended up getting quite drunk” with Layne Flack that night, taking shots of tequila. This side of it seems to be turning into a he said/he said situation, where the tie will ultimately go to the results of the blood test. (12:00 noon PT)

Update 2:  Andrew Robl has edited the Layne Flack story out of his blog without an explanation. (6:30 pm PT)

He’s there right now … in Clark County City of Las Vegas Detention Center, charged with DUI, driving more than 21 mph over the speed limit, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/information/17503.htm

CORRECTION: City of Las Vegas Detention Center, not Clark County. The city booking unit is a much drearier place — it’s where they take locals to be charged with misdemeanors, while the fancy new CCDC is for tourists and alleged felons.

A typical stay-time in this joint is usually about 13 hours (I think they legally have to keep you for 12 to sober up) … so not knowing what time Layne’s Drawing Party festivities ended, it’s hard to speculate on whether or not he was involved in an accident that required medical treatment. When he does get let out, the unit he’s in doesn’t allow direct releases into the industrial North Las Vegas neighborhood … so you don’t just walk out the door. They take a van-load of inmates downtown and drop them off right outside the Golden Nugget.

UPDATE: Flack has been released. Neverwin Poker confrms.

During the break after the Diamonds Bracket concluded, we asked producer Mori Eskandani why Flack had been replaced, and why Oppenheim was the replacement rather than Chiu. Eskandani stated that Flack was in an automobile accident last night and was therefore unavailable to play today. Chiu, the first alternate, required four hours notice due to the fact that he’s based in Los Angeles. NBC was unable to give him that notice and therefore substituted Oppenheim, who lives in Las Vegas, at the last minute.

– Russ Hamilton and Layne Flack on RawVegas.tv
– The Bluff Magazine Online Challenge (complete with breaking news about JJ Prodigy; oops, he did it again!)
– Steroids in poker?
– The poker event sponsorship biz
– Vanessa Rousso and Tiffany Michelle baring some but not all

Listen live here.

And feel free to call in and harass at 866.925.8255.

The Poker Beat Podcast
February 12, 2009