Yeah, here he is … Mike Wilson, from Canada. Funny(ish) guy. Glad to see he’s still kickin’ around the WSOP.

From Pokerblog.com:

Party Player Profile: The Foot
By: Dan Michalski – August 04, 2006

Mike Wilson from Canada did not make it to Day 3, but he considers his first WSOP a success regardless. As a competitive bridge player, he’s no stranger to big national tourneys. But Texas Hold’em is relatively new to “The Foot.”

He started playing online after leaving a local casino “ticked off” — not just because they wouldn’t accomodate his special needs, but because, he says, they were jerks about it in the process. So he signed up with PartyPoker because he just wanted to play the game like everyone else. After playing online for less than a week, he won a 3,500-player Party freeroll and a seat in the main event at the WSOP.

(Harrah’s, by the way, was accommodating, allowing him to have a friend sit nearby simply to help him push in big stacks of chips when necessary, and restack them when he won a pot.)

As mentioned, Wilson’s been eliminated. But he’s still in Vegas and can likely be found rolling the dice at a nearby craps table.

LAS VEGAS–By the way, one of the things I suspect they’ll rethink for next year … they got rid of the $1,000 bracelet events being held after the main event started. While a good idea not to cheapen the bracelets, it really has sent all the action to Bellagio … and has turned the Amazon Room into 3/4 of a ghost town at what is essentially the most exciting poker being played yet.

LAS VEGAS–If you had the over in any main-event field-size over-under bet … you almost certainly won. Considering the hit poker took as a whole since last year’s WSOP, everybody seems pretty happy about the numbers for 2007. Small dip … Clearly the 2017 WSOP will feature between 25,000 and 250,000 players.

For 2007:

6,358 players
621 spots paid
621st place — $20,320
1st place — $8.26 million

Thanks to Justin from PokerPages for the early info.

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.”

A few more fun WSOP graphs for your geometric contemplation:

The question I am asked more so than any other in recent weeks is an estimate on the size of the main event field. Pokerati is sticking to its over/under of 4,001 — though we acknowledge that there are all sorts of mitigating factors that could come into play and seriously alter the differential between projection and reality, one way or the other.

This first one shows the growth of the main event over the decades, with the blue orbs representing the size of the prize pool.

The Main Event: Bubble Fixin’ to Burst?

This next one shows the amount Harrah’s took out of the prize pools in 2006. I’ll be honest, I expected this to be more troublesome, and to be showing a disturbing trend since the casino behemoth took over the WSOP. But that’s simply hasn’t been the case. The following graph is posted on a logarithmic axis … not sure what that really means, but it makes things fit a little better … so take that into account when assessing what that main-event spike really represents.

More…

Anyone who’s covered the entirety of any World Series in the poker-boom era knows that the Main Event is pretty much an altogether separate entity than the dozens of events leading up to it. The security is different, media is different, and even the fans are different. I think this funky little graph of the 2006 WSOP — where the bubbles represent the size of the prize pools in each event — illustrates the concept pretty well. Click the image below to enlarge:

x axis = event number
y axis = number of players
bubble = prize pool

What’s interesting is that, obviously, the number of online qualifiers has everything to do with the size of the ME. Last year, they represented 6,600 of the 8,800 entrants. But with the preliminary events, there were relatively very few getting in via online satellite. So I can’t imagine these lesser planets will change much at all this go-round.

For comparison’s sake, below is the same data charted for 1985 and 1975.

More…

We’re hearing some interesting rumors from reliable sources about a fundraising poker tournament that didn’t happen in San Antonio this weekend. The purpose was reportedly to raise money for the American Legion there — with top prize being a WSOP main event seat. Either that prize was donated by none other than Richard Lee … or Lee had something to do with the organization of it. But apparently the cops shut it down before it happened.

Ahh, remember the good-ole-days when the police could just look the other way?

For those of you who may not recall, Lee was the well-connected, family-lovin’ San Antonio bookie businessman who finished 6th in last year’s WSOP main event (winning a cool $2.8 million) … only to have his hometown police rain on his welcome-back parade by busting into his house to confiscate cash and cars on allegations that he was running an online gambling ring. His case is still pending.

Just when Bob Daily thought his resignation from Harrahs was final, DG Holdings Ltd (United Kingdom) and their online gaming division pulled him back in.

Robert Daily stated:

“After my resignation, DGH approached me to join their group as a board member to provide leadership to their online gaming platform – especially poker – and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I have made many great friends within the poker industry and I look forward to working with them in the future from a different perspective.”

Bob was appointed as the 2006 WSOP Tournament Director and again for 2007.

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

Wow, I don’t even know where to begin on this WSOP press release. So does this mean it’s true that in the World Series you can lie about your hand, but not tell the truth?

Reigning World Series Of Poker® Champion Jamie Gold
Won’t Face Retroactive Penalty For Rules Infractions

LAS VEGAS – March 28, 2007 – The World Series of Poker will not penalize reigning WSOP World Champion Jamie Gold for two rules infractions that occurred during the 2006 WSOP Main Event.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Gold said that in one incident he exposed a hole card to an opponent. He said that in the other incident he told an opponent he held top pair and top kicker after the opponent had bet. While common in cash games, such actions are violations of WSOP tournament rules.

Under the 2006 WSOP rules, Gold would have been subject to a penalty requiring him to sit out 10 minutes of play – if WSOP floor persons had seen either of those incidents when they occurred. The rules for the 2007 WSOP call for a 10-hand rather than 10-minute penalty.

More…

I was just working up a new poll … something for the non-Texans maybe? … and had a look at the very first poll we ever ran on this site. Interesting (in hindsight):

The first year we’ll see a decline in the number of entries to the main event of the WSOP is:

Started: June 18, 2006
Total Votes: 27

• 2008-2010: 56% (15)
• Go Batfaces!!!¹: 19% (5)
• none of the above¹: 11% (3)
• 2006: 7% (2)
• 2007: 4% (1)
• 2011-2020: 4% (1)

¹ = Added by a guest

Hmm, suspect we’d get different results if we ran it twice.

Like way more … and hence the power of a net-savvy poker media willing to “upset” a poker player. Seriously, maddest props to RawVegas.tv as they continue to kick some technological, pseudojournalistic ass …

In this video, Jamie Gold finally gets real — or at least semi-real — acknowledging that he is not a “great” player, he definitely got lucky, and making himself subject to the Crispin Leyser lawsuit may have been bad form.

“I really screwed some things up,” Gold says. “There [were] several times where as the guys from Wicked Chops so aptly put it, that I basically monkey-fucked a football when it came to handling my success.”

Awesome. Jamie Gold is my new best friend. Now all he has to do is say about 1 million Hail Marys and he can go on to being a real ambassador for the game.

It’s snowing outside. If you don’t mind, please bear with me as we shut down about 30 open Firefox tabs that Pokerati has accumulated over the past few days.

First off, happy February 14. If you do a Yahoo! or Google image search for “valentine poker” (quotes excluded) here’s the first thing you see:

HOLLAND has officially legalized online poker, licensing the game to its government-run land-based casino. This development comes shortly after a round of raids on AMSTERDAM home games. (See the connection?)

UTAH has no intentions of legalizing gambling, but the state did amend some recent legislation to ensure that AMATEUR TEXAS HOLD’EM is allowed in bars.

Meanwhile, WYOMING is one step closer to legalizing “social” cash games in bars and restaurants, though big tourney action may still be outlawed.

A lot’s going down in MACAU, which apparently generated more gambling revenue than LAS VEGAS in 2006. This sorta expansion has Virgin pioneer RICHARD BRANSON putting a few billion into the Asian gambling pot.

But Chinese casino mogul STANLEY HO isn’t gonna let the round-eyes gank all his action.

JOHNNY CHAN has plans to eventually open shop in Macau (and elsewhere) — has partnered with the makers of The Block to create “the world’s first poker hotel.” Tourney director extraordinaire MATT SAVAGE is part of his team — we can only hope this doesn’t mean all of China will be taught to do the flop one card at a time.

Here’s a pokery valentine, from CUBA:

Speaking of communism, you probably have heard by now that the US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE has seized $55 million worth of Neteller funds as evidence.

About $520 of that belongs to yours truly. I suppose that makes me COLLATERAL DAMAGE in the [tag]War on Poker[/tag]:

Here is what Neteller has to say about how and when we will get our money.

Amy and the Shrink have an update on the investigation into a seriously BOTCHED COLOR-UP during last year’s WSOP main event.

It coincides with news that HERSHEY’S has been named the Official Chocolate of the 2007 WSOP. Mmmm, two million extra chocolate chips!

POKERTEK, makers of dealerless electronic poker tables, is being sued by TELLIS, a TEXAS-based software company that doesn’t even have a website.

Haley continues to investigate the legal battles between HARRAH’S and FREDERIC SCHIAVO over the rights to WSOP.COM.

This valentine from PKR.com suggests that while a man’s hand may seem stronger than a woman’s … it’s still possible that she’s holding the nuts:

UPDATE: Just re-watched the vid, and the lady actually would need some help on the turn to make her straight-flush.

Did you know the proportion of WOMEN PLAYING POKER continues to grow? The XX-chromosome set reportedly represents 30 percent of online players now.

BRANDI HAWBAKER, cute-as-pie poker girl and Full Tilt nipple-cover model, has reportedly found a new way to fund her bankroll by stripping at SPEARMINT RHINO. (Congrats on the new sponsorship deal!)

Remember, on February 14 and forever …

Just got my official form letter from Jeffrey Pollack — telling me the 2007 WSOP will begin June 1 … and with the main event starting on July 17, we’re looking at a Pokerpalooza* that could last a full two months.

I also just read this AP article, about how that new law we all love to hate may hurt the WSOP. The issue, of course, is not just the absence of thousands of players previously sent by the likes of PartyPoker, but moreso that Harrah’s — in an attempt to prove compliance with the UIGEA? — has said they will not take third-party entrants this year. Hence the predicted decline in the biggest historical indicator of poker growth … total entrants into the main event of the WSOP.

(Speaking of … check out the new poll on your righthand side. What do you think we’re lookin’ at?)

OK, anyhow, so the most peculiar thing I found in this article was from WSOP media honcho Gary Thompson:

Tournament spokesman Gary Thompson said since 2005, organizers have not accepted third-party registrations for the $10,000 buy-in main event from online gambling companies with U.S. operations, and that hasn’t stopped it from attracting record fields.

Uhh, no third-party registrations since last year? I think about 6,000 competitors in the main event this year might disagree. (Can anybody get confirmation of this? I seem to remember hearing that about 2,600 players paid the $10k straight up … but can’t find a good blog-fact on it.)

While we love to give the suits at Harrah’s lots of hard times, some of which are occasionally deserved, Thompson is actually a pretty good egg … not one to feed you just the corporate line, and generally open to semi-constructive criticism. So he’s not one you’d expect to purposely spread disinformation. Reading on …

“In 2005 and 2006 we had record fields each year. We’re confident again that 2007 will be the best one ever,” he said.

Thompson suggested that a loophole that allowed players who qualified online to pay their own entry fees directly, after being given the fees by online poker companies, would continue to pass muster with regulators.

Ahh, OK, so now it makes sense … Harrah’s is speaking semi-vaguely, hedging bets, not overly committing to anything. And/or are finding a way to back away from previous insinuations that online players were not longer going to be part of the WSOP game.

* I’ve got dibs on that phrase.

Tim Lavalli and Amy Calistri just put up some pretty good investigation of the $2 million worth of extra chips that mysteriously appeared during the main event of the WSOP. Must read. They narrow it down to 22 minutes where the badness comes into play — and though I have only skimmed parts 2 and 3, apparently they also dismiss the possibility of cheating.

You’ll also find continuing discourse on the subject on PokerBlog. Dr. Tim says:

I wanted to give you a heads up on this before it hits the net. Amy & I have been working on a series of articles about the 2 million extra chips on the table in the WSOP Main Event. In about an hour Pokernews.com will be putting up the first three articles, this got a bit rushed because Harrah’s has figured out that we have them by the short hairs and they were going to make a statement. There will be two or three more articles in the next week or so.

Everything that pokernews is too chicken to print will go on PokerBlog and I intend to start the discussion on PokerBlog as soon as the articles go up.

Seriously, can you believe this guy has a Ph.D?

Over at PokerBlog, I put up another “lost archive” — an interview with Tuscaloosa Johnny and Jay Greenspan, author of Hunting Fish: A Cross-Country Search for America’s Worst Poker Players about some of the most horrendous play seen at the WSOP.

I also recently came across this pokery podcast/podcasty poker by Dallas’ own Manny “the Minnow” Mendoza, recorded during his debut outing to the World Series. Seriously, how could the Morning News have let him go.

And Manny, if you are looking for work, please know that Pokerati is hiring!

We offer $0 a year and no benefits — not too different than Belo! I really hope you consider this opportunity. Others are welcome to apply, but be sure to click the above link so you know what kinda competition you are up against and where we set the bar.

Here’s the latest on Richard Lee … who shows why, regardless of what crime he may or may not have committed, he’s probably a good-guy.

Compare Lee’s first public statement on his legal troubles to that of Jamie Gold … who hired a PR firm to spew a bunch of yadda-yadda bullshit.

This just in … a few hours ago police in San Antonio raided the home of Richard Lee — 6th place finisher in the WSOP.

Click here to see the TV news report.

Police reportedly were executing a warrant that allowed them to seize everything inside his estate in the tony Shavano Park neighborhood … because cops claim possessions inside may all be ill-gotten gains. According to a police spokesman, this was not a raid to arrest Lee, but it was part of an investigation into a “major” online gambling ring.

Wow wow wow.

Of all the final tableists, Richard Lee was arguably the nicest guy there. The anti-Jamie Gold. After he busted out in 6th place (winning $2.8 million), I asked him:

You’re the only one at the final table not wearing anything from an online poker site. Why is that?

His answer:

“I don’t need the money, I have plenty of money, and I decided that I wasn’t going to endorse anyone but God, my family, and San Antonio, Texas.”

Yee-haw! I screamed on the inside. I looked over at Nolan Dalla, because he knew what I was getting at with my question, and being a Texan, he, too, likely felt the internal whoop.

Anyhow, it was an impressive statement by Lee. Supposedly the going rate to wear an online poker site’s gear at the main event final table was $500k. (As opposed to $50k at other televised final tables.) But if what police are suspecting is true, then huh … wonder if there wasn’t some other reason he didn’t want to attach his name to any semblance of an online gaming site.

(Mean Gene can add another one to his entertaining POKER: CSI line-up.)

UPDATE: Here’s the San Antonio Express-News on the investigation.

I got a very kind email from Ed/Stan the other day, along with a copy of his bankroll-management graph. He apparently has done rather well at the microlimits with $20 he deposited on Titan (for the Pokerati Inaugural Online Invitational?). He says:

Just wanted to share with you my Aug sessions so far. I think I owe you and the friends who I have played/talked poker with over the last year. This is the best I have done yet and it has not even been a full month. The sessions were mixed too. Mostly .05/.10 PLH but I played a few .05/.10 NL, some SnGs and a couple $10 tournaments that I lost.

Here are the results of his sessions over time, with G/L meaning gain/loss, based on an individual session:

click to enlarge

Wow, very well done, Ed! Seriously, impressive slow-and-steady build — just like you’re supposed to do it. Not sure I deserve any credit, however, as you’ll see my final tally for table play during the WSOP looks similar, but different:

But hey, I guess that’s just “variance,” right?

ALT HED: Leading by (Bad) Example

Appeared on Hold'em Radio's "Beyond the Table" with Tom Schneider last week. Semi-interesting stuff as this WSOP final tableist and I discuss Harrah's and the corporate influences in the World Series of Poker; how Tom did; life in the $400/$800 mixed game; how I did; life in the $3/$6 mixed game; and bad beat deadbeat stories when it comes to loaning money.

Part 1
early audio troubles, WSOP sponsorships, limit hold’em shootout structure, $1,500 rookie, $50k HORSE temptation / structure

MP3 File

Part 2
high-stakes cash games fun, bad dealer tips from presumably good people / Tom, bad business decisions ==> bad service, challenges to Jeffrey Pollack

MP3 File

Part 3
the art of loaning money, high-stakes Roshambo (with Iggy), good friends and bum deals / dog poop

MP3 File

Defending champ Jamie Gold’s first reported not-good: He supposedly promised the dealers a $1 million tip if he won, and he did, but he didn’t deliver. First, we have reports from a WSOP dealer on Pokerati, and now “coonie” has put up his first-person account of stiffage on PokerBlog.

Bad form, to say the least. But a complete final-table snubbing? Either poker players are assholes as a race, or they are making collective commentary. When “the house” (Harrah’s) is already taking an over-substantial vig … and selling the shit out of everything in the near vicinity, it’s understandable — not necessarily right, but understandable — that the players decide, you know what, we’ve given enough … I earned this money.

With dealers reporting a huge pay decrease and veterans declaring their disinterest in returning and players already complaining about the quality (and quantity) of dealer scabs … this is probably one of the very first issues Pollack & Co. will have to look at. And how they handle it … well 2007 will be the real test of corporate poker influence, and whether it will improve or corrupt the game.
More…

Tune in to “Beyond the Table” on Hold’em Radio tonight (7 pm central) and you’ll hear me joining Tom Schneider to talk about our impressions of the WSOP. I’m really looking forward to it — because we were both there for a long time, but experiencing it from different perspectives. (He made it to only one final table.)

He’ll also be a good person to ask why the high-stakes cash games dissolved so quickly at the WSOP. One day I watched Scotty Nguyen and Ming Ly yammering at the chops (in Vietnamese) waiting to get in on some $400/$800 action with Tom, Andy Black, and Sean Shiekhan … the next day there’s just about nobody there. Stuff like that.

Should make for good chit-chat. Click here to listen live. (We go on in a few minutes.)

P.S. Buy Tom’s book, because somebody needs to.

LAS VEGAS–OK, this woulda been breaking news had I gotten it up yesterday, but I did not — you know, main event and all — so for now, just pretend it is yesterday, with about five players remaining at the final table …

One of the Sapphire girls just got new breasts! She’s very proud of them, and according to Eddie Williams (of “Bad Beats” on AM-1300 The Zone in Austin), she is more than happy to let journalists “try them out.”

“Very niiice,” Eddie reports.

Meanwhile, Pokerati has its fact-checkers on the case.

LAS VEGAS–So the WSOP is over. I am tired(ish). $12 million yadda yadda. Fuck you all for caring.

Jamie Gold is the winner — seriously, I’m not a fan of Johnny Chan, so is this guy an ass? (He’s undoubtedly no Greg Raymer.)

Second place went to David Williams Paul Wasicka. CardPlayer said he’s from Minnesota. Bluff Radio kept saying he was from Dallas, and other people say he was from Colorado. So I asked him directly: Where are you from?

He said he was born in Dallas and lived there until he was age 7. Now he considers himself a Coloradan. OK, we’ll take it. I also invited him to come play with the Batfaces, and he looked confused.

LAS VEGAS–Johnny Chan has been trying to help his super-stacked protege Jamie Gold win. And right now he’s reportedly a little perturbed that Gold has been taking on Allen Cunningham in the wrong way. Steve Rosenblum reports that Chan has supplied Gold with info on a big Allen Cunningham tell, one that he may or may not have failed to exploit.

(I think … am a little confused, because the tell Rosenbloom references would require Gold to go into the tank to pick up on. But apparently Chan wants Gold to put Cunningham to the test … which is pretty much straight-up poker, of course.)

LAS VEGAS–One of my many unpublished posts-in-progress was called "Pokerstock." Get it? Like the WSOP is the Woodstock (in all its incarnations) of Poker. Brilliant, I know.

Anyhow, click below to have a listen to the opening National Anthem at the WSOP 2006 main event final table today — performed by former Aerosmith and Rod Stewart guitarist Jimmy Crespo, who currently plays in a band called Phoenix (performing nightly at the "Big Apple Bar" at New York, New York) with his pal Tony Davich:

MP3 File

LAS VEGAS–So everyone is talking Jamie Gold. He’s been dominating since Day 3. Turns out there’s an interesting story on how he got into the game. He’s Johnny Chan’s agent, of course — we all know that — and the inspiration for some character on “Entourage,” a show I don’t watch. (But all that leads me to believe he might be an asshole.) Anyhow, he was negotiating with Bodog to get some celebrities seats. As part of the negotiation, he wanted two seats — one for himself and one for a friend.

This is where my info gets a little foggy, but basically he got one seat … and I’m not sure how he and his buddy figured out how who got to play, but in the end, he took the seat … and now, of course, is guaranteed multiple millions.

But he’s only got half of himself. The other half of whatever he wins will go to — inside sources say — WPT Boot Camp instructor Crispin Leyser.

LAS VEGAS–While Pokerati is working hard to bring you some semblance of coverage of the WSOP main event final table — damn, one of my Iggy horses just went out in 8th place (Boo, Swedes!) — and trying to direct the coverage on PokerBlog … there’s another place where you can find some well-written semi-live blogging of the final table … perhaps shockingly, via the Dallas Morning News.

Check out Manny “the Minnow” Mendoza as he discovers that watching 18 hours of poker and trying to cover it may or may not be very exciting.

Another new journo blogger I’ve met is Russ Scott from Moline, Ill., and blogging at Lucky Dog Poker. I get the sense from his early posts that he will be a welcome new voice in the poker blogosphere.

My other new favorite blogger here at the WSOP is fellow Andy Bealophile Michael Craig. He already knows greatness when he sees it.

LAS VEGAS–Lloyd Shinn officially finished in 11th place yesterday, paying him $7,222. Nice return on a $175 satellite investment. (Yet so close to the big-bigger money in Event #44.)

LAS VEGAS–Tony the Actor writes in with a question about why I haven’t been drunker (and reports of some extra-fun prop betting):

So, I was out there [in Las Vegas] for a few days last week, assuming I’d run into you. I was at the Alliance get-together, but didn’t see you there. With all the BS involved in getting into the game itself, I just turned my attention toward the Trade Show and all the parties. Can you say “open bar”?? Did you go to Ultimate Bet’s party at the Voodoo? Too much fun. And I bowled with Johnny Chan at the Hard Rock suite. Playboy TV was there and I got interviewed by Stacey Fuson. I think they thought I was some “bowling guy”. Once I stumbled through showing Stacey how to bowl, I was good to go (hey I was on camera, I must be somebody) – so as the party became more private the poker guys got up there and started bowling for 1000 bucks a throw, paid immediately in cash… these guys will bet on anything.

Tony, sorry I missed you. Sadly, I have not achieved my WSOP inebriation goals this year. The event turned into actual work for me, which somehow, despite most of it being for PARTY poker, meant less blogging, less poker playing, less poker watching, and less partying.

What is poker coming to when you can’t do your off-the-table work all fucked up?

LAS VEGAS–Daniel Negreanu is on some sort of WSOP board that will be advising Harrah’s suits on future WSOP set-ups. And just heard him on the live pay-per-view coverage agree with announcer Howard David that these $1,500 and $1,000 “bracelet” events kinda dilute the value of other bracelets. He says WSOP officials will be seriously considering eliminating any bracelet events that start after the main event. Negreanu — who I think is the best poker ambassador since Mike Sexton — says that without many pros in these post-main-event events, particularly the ones that start when pros are still alive in the main event … “These bracelets should come with asterisks.”

That, of course, is something Gonz has been saying all along.

LAS VEGAS–The cards are in the air. It’s quite a spectacle, to say the least. We’ll be trying to bring you a glimpse of it here and on PokerBlog. During the introductions I learned that, though he currently lives in Minnesota, Paul Wasicka claims to be from Dallas. Had I known that, I might have made a different $100 side-bet with Iggy. The blogfather is taking Allen Cunningham, I’ve got Richard Lee (Go Texas!) and Erik Friberg (Go Sweden!). Anyone else is a push.

LAS VEGAS–Was looking for an update on Dallas pokerer Lloyd Shinn (pictured, right) in Event #44, $1,500 NLH. Pokerati wasn’t there, and apparently neither was anyone else. I can tell you he finished somewhere between 10th and 22nd, winning more than $4,000 but less than $13,000. Well done, Lloyd!

Here’s a picture of Shannon Elizabeth/Fadel, who also cashed in this event (her third money-finish of the series) … but not as much as Lloyd:

Here’s a picture of Clonie Gowen … (why do so many people insist on misspelling her name?) … en route to her second cash of the 2006 WSOP.

She was playing in a satellite, presumably to get into Event #43, also a $1,500 NLH bracelet event. She placed 19th, winning $2,867. (Interesting.) Others who did well in that tourney included JC Tran (2nd), Can Kim Hua (5th), William Chen — another final table! — (7th), Tom McEvoy (11th), Bob Feduniak (13th), and Max Pescatori (34th).

Not sure what’s going on in Event #45, yet another $1,500 NLH event (can’t they at least mix in some Omaha, or blackjack?) … but a bunch of pros were in that, too … including Clonie … and Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth.

It seems like they are still playing right now.

Not sure how either Clonie or Doyle did … or any other pros for that matter. But they’re down to four players and Hellmuth is 2nd in chips. Will be an interesting start to the final day of the main event if everyone wakes up to Phil Hellmuth having won his record-setting 11th bracelet.

LAS VEGAS–Dr. Tim has a great post over on PokerBlog about the infrequent but recurring problem of players losing chips at the WSOP — particularly when they’re nowhere near them. In it he brings up a very real poker issue that the Harrah’s suits may or may not have given full consideration. In it, he suggests moving to chips loaded with, um, a computer chip … to make tracking them easier. If you ask me, this is simply a future reality in all casinos — and maybe the U.S. Treasury, eventually — so now the question is it going to happen in poker in a matter of a few years or many many years.

I also think counterfeiting is potentially a big issue. Just take a look at those blue $500 buy-in chips. There’s nothing special about their labeling. Though I personally don’t know how to do it, I bet I know someone who does.

There are A LOT of chipmakers out there in these poker boom days. That’s a lot of people who like to play poker — but presumably aren’t good enough to make their living ON the table — who have the knowledge, contacts, and wherewithall to counterfeit chips. All it would take is a friend in China and a trip to Kinko’s …

Let’s face it, the Harrah’s and the WSOP will have made 10s of millions on the WSOP when all is said and done (despite lower cash game rakes). It would be worth their while to put a few of those million into computer-chipped chips. Granted, that might put about 15 CardPlayer interns out of work, but if they don’t do that, then the WSOP will suffer from the same issues that hindered poker way back in the day … when people were reluctant to play because you never really knew whether or not you were playing in an honest game.

LAS VEGAS–Why is it that any semi-known from Texas gets the nickname Tex? Last year we saw it with John/Derek Barch … who is now known simply as Tex Barch.

Lloyd Shinn is doing well in the $1,500 NLH event. He’s in 11th chip position with 23 left. But have any of you ever called him Lloyd “Tex” Shinn before?

(Mel “semi-Brit” Judah and Matthew Hilger are also still alive.)

I guess Lloyd joins some good homeboy company:

Tex Brunson
Tex Cloutier
Tex Gordon
Tex Gowen
Tex Williams
Tex “Todd” Brunson
Tex Beal
Tex Fawcett
et al.

LAS VEGAS–They’re down to 30 in the $1,500 NLH event, and Dallas pro Lloyd Shinn is still alive. Faced with a relatively tiny stack (less than 4,000 chips) at the bubble, “You hit a point where there’s a fork in the road, and I had to make a decision which way to go,” he said. “Either I was going to have to go for the win, or just try to make it in the money.” He decided to just blind his way into the money … folding hands like AQ, AKs in the cut-off … “I’ve folded Aces [pre-flop] five times in a tournament before. Doing it here would be an easy one.”

The fact that he won his way in on a $150 satellite factored into his decision. His strategy seemed to work, as he’s sitting with about 12,000 chips now and nearing the 5-figure payouts.

Shannon Elizabeth / Fadal also cashed in this event. With three money finishes in the 2006 WSOP, I think that unofficially puts her among the Hollywood Poker A-List:

Gabe Kaplan
Ben Affleck
Tobey Maguire
Jennifer Tilly
Shannon Elizabith

Serious Wannabees
James Woods
Norm MacDonald
Louie Anderson
Penn Jillete

UPDATE: Shinn survived to Day 2. There are 23 players left, and he’s got about 20,000 — average stack is 50-60k. “Once I got into the money, I started getting some cards,” he says.

LAS VEGAS–Richard Wyrick did not call me this morning for any helpful hints. He was first man out, in 27th place. Coincidence? I’m just sayin’ …

LAS VEGAS–So I’m following Richard Wyrick — aka Deadeye Dick — and I think he knows I’m happy to be his sounding board whenever he wants to talk poker strategy. He probably also knows that I keep coming up to him offering unsolicited advice whenever he’s on a break now, but hey, I demand the most from my athletes. When the going gets tough … it’s simple: you should try to play well. That’s the best way to win.

Just got a little more info on tournament director Jack Effel’s “no coaching” declaration.

Apparently, WPT champion Martin de Knijff was doing more than offering friendly advice to one of his poker cronies. He allegedly had secured himself a red media badge, allowing him access to “the moat,” and from there he was “coaching” at least one of his fellow Swedes still alive in the main event. Not while in hands, of course (at least not as far as I know), but in between hands with regularity — presumably in Swedish.

And that’s a no-no … particularly now that so much is at stake with every observation and decision.

LAS VEGAS–There’s a PartyPoker player still alive in the main event that we are following on PokerBlog. His name is Richard Wyrick — a very nice fellow I met on the PartyPoker Million. Anyhow, he is getting pretty short-stacked, and I just got off the phone with him. I was kinda tickled when he made it into the money after we had a strategy discussion the night before. I felt I had something to do with his success, but I wasn’t going to say anything, because deep down inside, I know that I sometimes think every woman wants me, too … so who knows what he really thought of my drivel.

(My advice there was a page stolen from Subway Jon as he coached La Sengphet through the bubble of the Ladies event.)

Anyhow, as I was saying, I just got off the phone with Richard. Apparently I am his coach. So I just told him that he has to be looking to push all-in. (His M is equal to about 6 right now.) Look to attack medium stacks, I said. In general, play super tight, but look for situations where your cards don’t matter … and if you’re forced to move all-in with a weak hand, you’re better off playing 5-7o than K-10s.

So with Wyrick calling me for advice, he is obviously doomed. But if he makes the final table, then I am a genius. And then, of course, all the girls will really want me.

ALT HED: Go Big Dick!

UPDATE: I just checked on my bandwagon protege … He looked at me and motioned with his fingers that he had 450,000 left in chips. Blinds are at 10k/20k +3k, and he’s UTG. Ever the coach, I nodded, tapped my index finger to my forehead and mouthed the words, “Play smart.”

LAS VEGAS–Am left wondering if I shoulda made a side-bet with Mike & Tom on Dallas vs. Ireland. (Actually, I probably coulda wrapped all of Texas into it, too.)

Matt Wilson is 7th in chips right now, with $1.2 million. Alas, I can’t tell you who’s at his table, but be sure to click on the little graph that shows the escalation of his stack size. It suggests he’s playing well … using his comfortable stack judiciously to continue his slow climb. That’s probably the right thing to do (anyone disagree?) as there’s still a lot of poker to be played, and he can afford to play it pretty much on his own terms right now.

UPDATE: Ouch, not sure what went awry … bad beat or bad play … but Matt Wilson is out. 112th place. $51,129.

LAS VEGAS–By the numbers, we don’t have many … but there are a couple Dallas guys moving deeper into the money:

Matt Wilson (the former dealer) took a slight hit but is still in fine shape — in 13th chip position with $1,000,000.

Whitney Blanton, noted quality 5/10 cash game player, apparently just doubled up. He’s still pretty short stacked with $135k.

Will try to get pictures … but it’s getting near impossible to get near the action, so hopefully they’ll make it to the final three tables where it turns into a media free-for-all.

UPDATE: Wilson just picked up a big pot — +$300k — so apparently he is playing some poker.

I suspect Whit is just patiently (desperately?) waiting and waiting to move all-in, because blinds are eating and he still has to wait out the elimination of another 40+ players to move up an additional $5k in payout.

LAS VEGAS–Already up on YouTube … the agony and ecstasy of crossing into the money:

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.

LAS VEGAS–Quick little WSOP-stupid rant … As you all probably know by now, this year the WSOP is all about dot-net. Now I’m no lawyer, and I always want to do poker right, but I think I could make a good case in just about any court to convince a jury that dot-net, for all its legitimacy, is hardly distinct from dot-com. Think about it … terrorist-ish groups like Hamas and Hezbollah really do do legitimate things, like pay for people’s medical expenses, build hospitals, homes, etc. That’s what gets people to love them … and from there they are welcome to kill away. Same thing for online poker, really.

OK, maybe not-so-quick a rant … anyhow, the WSOP is clearly scared shitless about dot-com this year. And probably not even half as scared as the actual online sites that make so much money from their dot-com endeavors. Many representatives from non-US poker sites have been warned to not carry dot-com business cards, and for extra protection in the wake of David Carruthers’ arrest, some of them didn’t even bring their computers — presumably fearing there was too much dot-com info on them.

So now, with ESPN cameras rolling even more than before, all media has been warned to cover up any semblance of dot-com … and here’s where I am getting pissy. You see, today I am wearing a shirt for LoneStarPokerTables.com. I’m running out of laundry here at the WSOP, so swag it is … and today I am donning “the widowmaker” t-shirt from Mulry & Co. And this is apparently causing a problem. For the WSOP. And for me.

From the “new” official rules, posted today:

APPAREL CONTAINING LOGOS FOR ANY DOT COM GAMING SITES MUST BE COVERED WITH A DOT NET STICKER.

And thus, I have been instructed to put a dot-net sticker on my lovely shirt from lonestarpokertables.com. My first beef with this is that it’s not a gaming site! It’s a friggin’ tablemaker! As far as I know, furniture is not illegal anywhere in America.

A word of advice to the WSOP: Stop posting rules and then changing them nilly-willy. It’s been a theme throughout the 2006 WSOP — inconsistent, on-the-fly decision making, along with declarations of rules that may or may not exist. If you say something is one way, then stick to it! You said “gaming companies.” So stop yelling at me for following the letter of the memo.

With all due respect, you have a lot of intelligent people equating WSOP officialdom with “fuckheads.” I would never say anything so harsh, of course … but I thought you might want to know how others are phrasing their discontent.

And on a more serious note — because really, when it comes to looking out for poker’s interests, we are all on the same team — the WSOP and pro-poker forces should be careful … because basically, with these now-ubiquitous little stickers, they are knowingly putting LIES on the air, particularly when the dot-net site doesn’t even exist. I hear that kinda media misrepresentation can get you shot in England! I also suspect it might alert Bob Goodlatte and his anti-poker cronies to the front-business nature of somanythingspoker.net.

Of course maybe I am wrong. Because, you know, “covering up” is always a good way to avoid legal problems.

LAS VEGAS–Tuscaloosa Johnny ("Johnny Kamdis"[sic] on CardPlayer) will start Day 3 tomorrow with more than 140,000 chips. That's pretty good. As things stand now, he and Daniel Negreanu are currently the best hopes for bloggers to make the final table.

Anyhow, here's the Alabama J-man telling us how things went on Day 2A; his strategy for Day 3; and why he probably won't play the hammer but may play the "Tuscaloosa Slick." (Featuring Ryan from Absinthetics, another blogger hopeful, who was seated at the same table with Johnny and enters Day 3 with about 40,000.)


MP3 File

A group of poker bloggers went to the All-American Grill afterwards to celebrate their advancement (and eat). Almost poetically, Johnny ordered a Sam Adams and a huge slice of Apple Pie.

LAS VEGAS–It seems clear now that the Rounder Club plays better poker than the Batfaces. The Big Randy is out … he started off in a very comfortable position on a very comfortable table, didn’t get any cards, then 45 minutes later was moved to a very aggressive table with lots of big stacks … and he still didn’t get any cards. OK, maybe not all RCers are as good as all BFs, but the best Rounders are provably better than the best Batfaces — overlap not withxcluded. With a $40k win and far better backing deals, Como is (thus far) the TBR of 2006.

Meanwhile, none other than Manny Mendoza took down a $175 satellite at the Rio today. He was out-chipped 2:1 when it got down to heads-up, and unable to negotiate a chop, he reversed the chip differential and then chopped … he took two $500 chips, the other guy took one, and I’m not sure what happend to the money ($120 cash) … I think they played for that and Manny won. Regardless, Manny will be competing for a bracelet in tomorrow’s $1,000 event.

I also hear that Steve Carter was doing well in the main event. But no confirmation of that.

UPDATE: OK, am pretty sure Steve Carter is still alive and well — thanks Alicia, for the heads-up! — but how he’s doing is another story. For now, we’ll go with CardPlayer, which has “James Steve Cartee” near the chip lead, with more than 210,000 chips.

According to PokerPages, there’s also a “Jame Cartee,” who curiously has only 21,000 chips.

LAS VEGAS–I couldn’t find Bill “Shaggy” Carr, so I’m not sure if he’s still alive … but longtime Pokeratizen Sanbob (aka Robert Sanchez) is alive and well after the end of Day 2A with about 60,000 chips. He won his seat on PokerStars, so the best place to follow his action will be via Otis & Co.

LAS VEGAS–We’ll just call him C0mo, as in Perry with a zero. He wanted me to change his name to something like Cuomo or Chris C. because he feared Googlish repurcussions for his semi-gambling prowess. But I think he is still just trying to get rid of his nickname “Como the Homo.”

Anyhow, the Lodge’s 2005 player of the year asked me if he could use his prize money to buy into the $1,000 Bellagio tourney instead of a WSOP event, as he believed it provided better odds — such a math geek. Since game selection is an important part of poker and that’s really all I want for my players … good poker … I said sure, no problem. So he took his seat and found himself at the table with Miami John Cernuto and Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi. Chris C. did better than they did … he took 4th place.

Payout: $40,000

Seriously, I have the chills and/or want to cry.