All In on Chan and a Draw

Johnny Chan is so serious about making All In Energy Drink a success that he has dyed his hair red and is throwing a tournament that almost sounds too good to be true.

You know that feeling when you shove all-in with nothing … You\’re pretty sure it was the right play, but you\’re nervous it wasn\’t, but even then oh well, because if your read was off at least you\’ve got two live little unders working on your behalf?

Uh-huh … That\’s kinda how I feel, having recently put $300 into Johnny Chan\’s All In Energy Drink(s).

All In is all over the WSOP this year — they\’re the official energy drink, making them the Red Bull alternative at the tables, and their patches are all over players. In an effort to drive online sales and overall poker-player awareness, they\’ve got a big booth right outside the Amazon Room, too, where the promotion they\’re pushing is a $500k free(ish)roll on July 1 and 2 … which I will be playing in because I bought 144 cans of the stuff. Yep, should be arriving at my doorstep any day now … [whistling phrroo-hoo] .. yep 12 cases make me one of their top 1,000 customers … yep, any day now …

It all made sense mathematically at the booth … I\’m getting a bunch of energy drinks (and energy water) for a Sam\’s club price ($2/can). And I actually like the stuff — the root beer is totally unique and fantastic in my minority opinion. So in making this purchase, I get to play in a fun tourney where not only am I competing for a $125k first prize, but also there\’ll be a bunch of pros in it with $1,000 bounties attached to their heads. Positive EV, right?

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The only thing that\’s giving me a little grumble in the tumble is that the numbers don\’t seem to add up on the other side of the felt. I mean let\’s see, the prize pool is $500k \”guaranteed\” … the promotion says it\’s limited to 1,000 players … I paid $300, people who bought multi-cases of All In before me got in for only $100 … now the price is $500 … and then all the pros who may or may not be freerolled … and two WSOP main event seats added to the prize pool. Would probably sound better were it not for All In\’s play with the word \”cases\” … technically I bought 12, even though it would be 6 if I were buying 144 cans of just about any other beverage. I dunno, it just kinda feels like the Poker Bowl, ya know? The difference, of course, is that this event has Johnny Chan\’s name and backing attached to it, but when it comes to honorable reputations among the top 3 bracelet winners of all times … um, let\’s just say Phil Hellmuth is a solid second.

But hey, I\’ve got an open mind, an enthusiastic desire to bust some pros, and if I wear the patch that came with my receipt, I get free All In root beers throughout the duration of the WSOP! (Go Hevad Khan-ish behavior!) Should be interesting to see what happens — because either this tournament is a model for corporate-sponsored events in the future, or it\’s gonna prove a money-loser for All In. Could be both and just a marketing loss-leader, of course, assuming the 144 doses of an unregulated, arguably addictive product sold over the internet arrive by US mail.

UPDATE: Still waiting …