Once upon a time, circa 2003, I had a Google Alert set up to send me an email every time a new mention of the word “poker” appeared somewhere on the internet. By the time I started getting like five a day (!) I began thinking this poker thing might really gonna catch on — and I bought the domain pokerrati.com (misspelling notwithstanding).

My how things have changed … not just with poker, but with the whole world-wide-web, and what people are searching for on it. Check out this amusingly related new bit from CardRunners video pro Lee Przytula, giving the contemporary poker player’s world view … as seen through Google interaction:

This one goes to 11: Rob Gusman and Danny Egelhoff knew there had to be a better way to watch poker — all they needed was a high-resolution camera with 11 lenses digitally stitched together.

When Danny Egelhoff was a “multimedia producer” for CardPlayer in 2007, he quickly realized, “we needed a way to make watching poker more interesting. Events were edited down to boring bare essentials, and viewers were force-fed what they had to watch.”

Fast-forward to the 2010 WSOP … Egelhoff, 31, and his partner, Rob Gusman, 34, are founders of All 360 Media, an upstart video company launching what some are saying could be the most significant technological advancement in poker since the hole-card cam.

For the past six weeks, these friends of 10+ years have camped out in a makeshift bunker across the hall from the Amazon room. In addition to powerful computers, video equipment and an all-in-one printer/copier/fax, there’s an air mattress, mini-fridge, and 4-cup coffee-maker — all of which have played a role in bringing their vision to fruition. This is Egelhoff’s fifth Series, Gusman’s first. Taped to the wall by one of their monitors is a letter from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, approving All 360 Media to record limited casino action with these strange cameras the GCB had never before seen.

The device looks something like a studio boom-mike outfitted with a Magic 8-ball at its end. It’s actually a special camera (they have two of them) with 11 different lenses all pointing in different directions, packed into a small black orb, and digitally stitched together to provide a seamless view of an entire poker area. The set-up is so new it doesn’t yet have a name. But it uses the same basic technology that Google Earth deployed to map out the planet … upgraded and customized for watching poker.

More…

Our good friends at CardRunners want you to know about a contest they’ve got going … the CardRunners Video Challenge … where you’ve got a chance to show your educational mettle in an effort to win cash and possible side-work.

We’re more than happy to pass on the info, and encourage you to follow your dreams of becoming a Hollywood an internet star by teaching online poker geeks to mathematically extract more money from their less-educated opponents.

CardRunners Is Giving Away Almost 10k In Prizes

CardRunners is going to pony up $5,000 for the best poker video, so if you ever wondered how your poker training teaching skills match up against the competition, now’s your chance.  We’re inviting you to submit the best poker training video at http://www.cardrunnersvideochallenge.com before 11am PT on July 1, 2010 to be eligible for the big payday and an offer to become a CardRunners instructor.

Spielberg. Coppola. You.

Visit CardRunners Video Challenge and submit your soon-to-be famous poker instructional video by following the stated instructions.  Don’t forget to review Tech Support 101 and Lee Pryztula’s Crash Course on Video Making.  It’s gonna be magic, baby.

“First Prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third Prize is you’re fired.” Actually, the real prizes are:

Grand Prize: $5,000 and an offer to become a CardRunners instuctor
Second Place: $2,500
Third Place: $1,000
Fourth Place: $500
Fifth Place: A deluxe poker chip set valued at $175

Cool. Sign up to submit your video here.

There’re lots of WSOP-videos out there … enjoyed the Degen Report on RawVegas, you know … we’ll continue to show you the best ones we stumble across. (And feel free to tip us off if you see something you particularly like.)

One that seems totally click-worthy for those looking to digest a full WSOP-day before the boss peaks over the cube wall is PokerListings’ WSOP Live! — a daily video wrap-up of hedlines and surrounding personalities covering the annual poker period where all of Las Vegas, not just the Rio, caters to our ilk:

In totally absolutely not-not-related news, the dudes at Listings have an awesome house not too far from Pokerati headquarters (and the Rio) with a pool, a huge yard for a dog to run/roll/sniff around in, a solid wi-fi connection, and an unlocked back gate. (Thanks guys! Sorry about the poop.)

Check it out:

Then buy a T-shirt.

Just like Panorama Towers (across the street from the Rio) seems to be the place to live if you are a bachelor/ette Las Vegas poker pro … N9NE Steakhouse (across the street from the Rio), seems to be a regular dining joint for the poker elite.

This in from our Palms spy earlier today/yesterday:

Greetings,

Poker legend Phil Hellmuth dined at N9NE Steakhouse inside Palms Casino Resort Thursday night (11.12.09). Accompanied by three friends, Hellmuth enjoyed a rib eye and a beer.

That’s it, he was the only notable person there on Thursday. We can only imagine how disappointing it musta been for Phil to find no pro athletes or music stars to exchange cell phone numbers with. Things were different about three weeks ago (sorry, leftover sighting) when, according to our embed, “Matchbox 20 lead singer Rob Thomas was dining downstairs at N9NE, as were former Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer and “Glee” actor Mark Salling, who ordered lobster potstickers and a kobe burger.”

+Devilfish palling around with (aging) British boy-bander

That same night:

In Playboy Club English professional gambler and poker player David Ulliott (known by the nickname Devilfish), was joined by six guests including entertainer Matt Goss who arrived later in the evening with 15 other guests. The group was drinking Ketel One cocktails.

Devilfish’s mate (in the British sense) Matt Goss is, according to an LA Times blog, “the hottest Vegas act you haven’t heard of” … and the newest musician in residence at the Palms. (He sold nearly 20 million albums 20 years ago.)

In lieu of our semi-regular Friday Night Video(s), here’s Goss’ new single, which features writhing chicks in lingerie amidst plenty of poker action:

While we’ll happily take credit for being the first to recognize the amazing gayness cultural importance of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face … props to WCP for tipping us off to this major sociopolitical statement wrapped around a poker-themed song:

UPDATE: And so long as we’re pilfering Wicked Chops content today … they’ve got the latest episode of PTV Cribs up, with Evelyn Ng showing her new pad in Panorama Towers (I’m pretty sure) after being foreclose-booted out of her previous rental at the property. She talks a little DJ Hero, too … so hey, we’re still on theme:

More douchebaggerous debaucherous good times leaking out from the UB’s big annual Aruba event … the kinda special gathering that even Full Tilt Red Pros attend. And here we see some guy I hadn’t heard of before, Poker Rapper, show Jeff Madsen that the one-time WSOP Player of the Year will never be the Eminem of Poker. (He almost sounds like he’s crying when he tries to comeback from the schooling by kicking it into Marshall Mathers gear.)

via PokerNews

Not to get all Lady Gaga over Phil Ivey … but seriously, the dude who’s only the third-biggest tournament winner in history seldom speaks to anyone not engaged in some sort of gamble with him for more than 30 seconds at a time. But he sat down for nearly 9 minutes with Poker.se and tells what it took to develop his game (15-16 hrs/day, 4-5 yrs), how rough it is to make it as a pro, bankroll management, the importance of Bobby’s Room during the WSOP, his bracelet prop-bet odds, November Nine preparation, etc.

via PokerNews

I apparently missed this a few weeks ago. In case you did, too:

via TheHitWoman.com

A new video came out yesterday … the long-awaited premiere of “Forever” by Drake (featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem) … which apparently is the second single off the soundtrack to More than a Game, a forthcoming documentary about LeBron James.

Check out how the video starts … an awkwardly cut opening with LeBron in a limo playing online poker (on PokerStars). Can’t quite tell what stakes he’s playing for, but his screen name is “RealLebron”, and he appears to be playing a short-stacked heads-up tourney (against “Royal 00′/”). Blinds are 10/20 … the little blind calls and the NBA star smiles, seemingly ready to move all-in for 970 more with pocket 4s.

Nice!

Then you realize he must be multi-tabling, playing a 6-handed cash game, too … then, PokerStars cameo complete, the real song begins.

Semi-interesting video from Steve Hall and Michael Chung … an overhead time-lapse shot of one of the events going on at the Commerce Hold’em Series in California.

The plot of this silent short-film: You’ll see a packed field piddling in pots early, and they seem to do that for awhile, but then things really pick up as bustouts accelerate and tables break — boom-boom-boom! And not to give away the ending, but the climax comes not with a final table, but a dramatic pan that makes you realize this event is even bigger than you thought it was … but this time, when players are gone, it could be because they’re just on break …

(Sigh.)

Check out PokerGossip.com for more of the ongoings at the Commerce, where Matt Savage’s experimental lower-middle-stakes festival is still going strong-ish.

You know that glorious feeling of having a cocky opponent check-raise into your top set with a nut flush draw? “Meet the Monster” … distinctly poker music by Five Finger Death Punch. The band kicks off their new tour at Wasted Space in the Las Vegas Hard Rock tonight … like not even a 25-second walk from a relatively tame 1/2 No-Limit Hold’em game:

Definitely a good tune for either your tournament or cash game iPod.

New to me … Here’s a (just-barely) safe-for-work video by the Norwegian rock band Jaqueline, called “Olivia,” about the convergence of poker and strippers … and all the potential tilt associated with both:

Sexy. You’ll notice the attractive presence of Kem cards in what looks to be a game of Omaha on a table by Cardmeister, a high-end Scandinavian tablemaker.

Well not exactly … but WSOP-Europe isn’t too far away, and I just found this promotional video, which amused me: