So wow, I just found out some interesting things about the tournament — have to admit I wasn\’t paying much attention to the multi-hour foldfest. It was pretty much a big staring contest, or game of chicken, to see who blinked first.
Anyhow, the final table bubble boy: Dean Hamrick … his AJ couldn\’t beat Craig Marquis\’ QQ. Oh well, that\’s poker. Bummer. Hamrick posse included an elementary school friend, his brother, and another good poker bud of theirs … who is rooming while in Vegas with Craig Marquis. Umm, awkward. (Note — facts could be a bit shaky on this, as they also talked about some really bad suckout, AK vs. AQ, I think, but that doesn\’t match the final hand of the night. We will see, I am sure. Plenty of time.)
And hey, it turns out there is a storyline after all, even with a lot of no-names … It\’s a California-y final table, and of the nine remaining players, eight most of them are in their 20s. Wow. They all go up against the old man from STL, who happens to be the chip leader. No AARP ads coming here. And that\’s probably just as ESPN would like it.