Celebrate a WSOP Win and Be Cordial to Staff? Nah.
Event 35 was won this evening by Dick Richard Austin. And evidently, that’s all he really wanted to be said about that. Therefore, there will be no bracelet ceremony or information released about him…or his bracelet…or his poker accomplishment. (Gotta twist the knife even more for 2nd place Sorel Mizzi and 3rd place Cliff Josephy, wouldn’t ya think?) The media release about the event read:
Following Austin’s victory, he declined to be interviewed. Furthermore, Austin refuses to participate in the traditional WSOP gold bracelet ceremony. This means there will be no gold bracelet ceremony held on Saturday, June 20th.
Austin is the first WSOP winner to decline participation in post-tournament activities. All other 34 gold bracelet winners this year have agreed to participate in interviews and festivities.
The WSOP Media and Pubic Relations makes every effort to provide as much background information about the winner as possible. However, coverage of this tournament (Event 35) is, by necessity, limited to facts and figures about the event, rather than the winner.
· Austin collected $409,484 for first place. He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet.
· According to the official records, Austin now has 1 win, 1 final table appearance, and 1 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP. He has $409,484 in career WSOP winnings.
Ed says:
June 19th, 2009 at 11:50pm
He must have family like mine and wants to keep all that money he just won on the down low.
Alicia says:
June 20th, 2009 at 5:24am
I was thinking something along those lines too…. Dick’s got a little somethin to hide.
Johnny Hughes says:
June 20th, 2009 at 7:45am
Good for him. At most of the early World Series, you could spend ten days at Binion’s without ever using your last name or your real name.
The greatest gambler in Texas, who I call Sand, stayed away from the World Seris, even though he had been great friends with Benny Binion and Johnny Moss for decades.
Benny said the IRS and the FBI are “on the rail.”
Look me up on google images. My face does not show. When it got down to three handed, they let Amarillo Slim win a bracelet in order to avoid publicity. Slim was considered very unusual in the gambling community since he courted the press.
DanM says:
June 20th, 2009 at 8:53am
***you could spend ten days at Binion’s without ever using your last name or your real name***
Ahh, so Joan Rivers was right all along …
Lee Jones says:
June 20th, 2009 at 9:47am
I don’t have a copy of the WSOP player release in front of me (and am too lazy to go find one), but (1) you don’t play without signing one, and (2) I will happily bet $100 that it says that the WSOP can use your likeness for publicity etc. And I will bet $25 that it says the player has to cooperate with the WSOP for publicity, announcements, etc. They’d be nuts not to have that clause in there.
Regards, Lee
“And if they didn’t this year, you can bet it’ll be in there next year. They’ll call it the ‘Austin clause’.”
Poker Shrink says:
June 20th, 2009 at 9:49am
Well you can’t avoid the IRS by ducking the media. Those forms still get filled out. I am going to guess it may not be about protecting the family privacy and perhaps more about having the family or the creditors discovering where you are these days.
California Jen says:
June 20th, 2009 at 12:13pm
No matter the reasons, it would have been taken better by the staff had the kid not been rude to them. If there was a reason for not wanting a lot of publicity, a quiet explanation would have achieved that goal.
And I agree with Lee that release forms are signed when you enter a WSOP tournament that they may use official photos, videos, etc. for their own purposes. He agreed to be photographed when he entered the tournament, so I doubt he had any notion of complete anonymity.
I’d like to think that Nolan has seen a lot in his WSOP days and has pretty thick skin, but for him to be furious and truly insulted by the way Austin treated him says a lot to me.
Anonymous says:
June 20th, 2009 at 2:33pm
We had two Richard Austin’s in our database and neither were from Jeffersonville, Indiana. So either he moved, or didn’t want his true location to be known.
It’s his business to refuse interviews, but from what I heard, he did so in a rude and pompous way. It’s less of a big deal since it was the only final table running, but imagine if there were two and the ceremony had to run with only one participant. I’m not sure how Harrah’s would have handled that.
DanM says:
June 20th, 2009 at 2:39pm
i can tell this is going to be so much fun figuring out what this kid’s trying to hide.
ed from pokerlistings spent a little more up-close time with him and his friends, and he reminded me that it’s always possible the guy is just shy. but i might be willing to wager money that that’s not the case.
Kevin Mathers says:
June 20th, 2009 at 2:41pm
Jeffersonville, Indiana is very close to Louisville, KY which is where he was listed in the day 2 chip counts.
Ed says:
June 20th, 2009 at 3:55pm
Dan, what if he is hiding from the mob and they read pokerati and find him because of this “outing” you have done?! Would you feel bad?
Johnny Hughes says:
June 20th, 2009 at 4:38pm
I agree that you know what publicity you are in for going in these days. Nolan Dalla is a very nice man. Anybody that is rude to him is on my enemies list.
Let’s get a list and a pool up for why he is on the hide. I’d wager it is mundane and embarrassing.
Child support.
Registered sex offender.
Any kind of felon that did not register with the Vegas laws.
Some deadbeat that owes all the bookies.
Old warrants.
Probation, and not allowed to leave some state.
Worked for George Bush.
A friend of Joan Rivers.
Marvin C says:
June 20th, 2009 at 5:43pm
I would assume this is his last WSOP appearance. Since any Nevada casino can bar anyone for any reason, I would assume this will be the last time they let him play.
Kevin Mathers says:
June 20th, 2009 at 7:03pm
I think most casinos ban people for a stronger reason than refusing to grant an interview to the poker media.
Vinny B. says:
June 20th, 2009 at 7:46pm
I was watching the broadcast online and the announcers mentioned he wouldn’t tell them about himself.
I got no problem with this guy declining interviews and the ceremony. He should be left alone.
Jon Katkin says:
June 20th, 2009 at 9:28pm
A competitor’s website managed to snag an extremely short interview with Dick. In it, he complained about having to stand for the national anthem during the bracelet ceremony.
Nolan was talking about it this morning, and was still pissed. In his words, “You stand for the national anthem because of all the people who can’t.”
I don’t care whether the kid is shy or not. He knew what he was getting into when he registered for the tournament and he should at least treat the staff and events with some level of respect, whether or not he wants to become part of the media machine.
DanM says:
June 21st, 2009 at 5:37pm
if he really wanted to protest, he coulda just sat.
but regardless, it’s hard to consider this being a matter of “conscientious objector” when there was nothing conscientious about it.
wearing an pro-Iranian opposition armband in a world cup qualifier is a statement … not running out on your bracelet interview.
pinkerton says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:32am
Maybe he just didn’t want background information about his “Pubic Relations” to get around. Borderline commendable in the media these days. I know I’m not looking forward to very many leaked home videos of the pros, although with all the nicknames they’re practically begging for it… The Secretary has a cult following, you think The Professor would merit the same? How about Pokerati’s own Donkey Bomber? Wow I better stop before I get started really, too many good examples.
In all seriousness though, if he’s witness protection, he should stick to cash games. Gigantic media-fueled tournaments are not the best place to hide once you make the final table, and if you’re not there to do that, what’s the point?