pic: Melissa Hayden

Durrrr in the headlights: Please, Melissa, I’m trying to eat …Who Tom Dwan what? How many chips? I need more sauce.

Play ended last night with 33 left and Durrrr the chip leader … by like a lot. (36 got paid.) Phil Hellmuth is 13th in chips, with 330k to Dwan’s 910k.

Here’s the event coverage Ivey and just about everyone will be sweating on Saturday: $10k Pot-Limit Omaha. Sigh. If only ESPN knew what Euros (and players in my 1/2 NL/PLO game at the Hard Rock) already do … that Omaha is hold’em, and thus can make for some great TV.

Others still alive include:

Jason Mercier
Devilfish
Ludovic Lacay (Benjo’s friend/French bad-ass)
Fabrice Soulier
Michael Binger
Daniel Alaeai
Tony Cousineau
Jason Lester (for viewers still insisting on familiar ’03-’04 faces)

Interestingly enough, the last man out for the night (winning $19.8k) was EPT Tournament Director Thomas Kremser … essentially the Matt Savage of Europe. Alexander Kravchenko, another pretty good-TV name, busted him.

But hey, this is PLO, so all sorts of card craziness can happen. Let’s reconvene when they get to the final table and see if indeed, poker geeks and uber-high-stakes prop-bettors everywhere will be clamoring about Dwan (and maybe Hellmuth) closing out the WSOP with a multimillion-dollar bang.

Episode 21: Poker for Africa(feat. Otis)

On June 30th, I attended the All In party at the Palms pool. The place was packed with more people than I expected. On the other hand, the door was completely disorganized. Some people got right in, while others who were supposed to be on the list were held up for quite awhile. I was supposed to be on the media list, but no one ever checked or even seemed to have a list, so I finally just got in on my word. And when I attempted to get a VIP pass through a friend, they had run out of them and looked a little panicked about it.

Free drinks were evidently a short-lived offer, and the bar in the VIP area was completely understaffed, causing patrons to have to wait 20 minutes or more for a drink. All in all, though, it was a large enough space for everyone, and most seemed to be having a good time. The entertainment for the evening was a rap act, which obviously got me excited until I saw that it was the guy who did the All In rap video with Johnny Chan. Yep, this one. And he did that song, followed up by the playing of the video of that exact song he just performed. Hmmm. But once the DJ came back and spun some good hip-hop tunes, the normal party atmosphere returned.

All in all, so to speak, the All In crew didn’t seem prepared for the kind of interest they generated, but the event went over well despite the snafus.

Last night, July 1st, the World Series of Barbecue took place at the Golden Nugget pool/shark tank. Howard and Susie Lederer team up with Steve Zolotow to have this shindig each year, and last year it was at the Zolotow home, but evidently there were some problems with the legality of shooting professional fireworks in a residential zone. So, they took the party to a public place this year… It was my first year in attendance, and it was fabulous!

Free drinks complimented the incredible buffet – filet mignon, lamb chops, hummus and stuffed grape leaves, pork from a terrified looking dead pig, taco fixings, and an incredible dessert set-up. The music was great, though it was interrupted by a Guitar Hero competition hosted by Evelyn Ng. After Jeff Madsen competed, he did an impromptu rap, as did Phil Ivey’s cousin. The two rappers ended up in a bit of a rap battle, which was more than entertaining to watch! (Ivey’s cousin won hands down, but Madsen wasn’t half bad.) Karaoke then took over the majority of the late evening hours.

Shortly after 10pm, the fireworks went off in grand fashion. Honestly, it was an extraordinary display! The karaoke continued after that and the party began to wind down as midnight neared. All the while, Phil Ivey hosted the charity tournament through his Budding Ivey Foundation in “The Grand” ballroom. Good times all around the Golden Nugget…

Tonight, the Ante Up for Africa after-party is being held at PURE but invitations are scarce. I think I’ll end up at the Bluff/Doyle’s Room party at Sapphire, which is where most of my friends are going. Besides, who am I to refuse an invitation to a party with tons of sexually frustrated men strip club party?