WSOPeople: Gabi’s My Girl! + Go Gregg Merkow, too!
I’ve got a horse in the ladies event … Gabriela Hill, whom you can follow at @GabrielaHill. She’s not a Pokerati patch-wearer (yet) or anything, but I was the lone media representative to accept the very odd offer from her disgruntled former agent, @OliverTse.
Seriously, it was a strange prop bet offer … one deemed “unprofessional” by some, and made one other refer to Oliver as the Kim Jong Il of Poker. Though Oliver is Chinese, not Korean, the metaphor kinda sorta holds … because by all means he is sometimes an ostracized “player” in the industry, left to his own devices … and let’s face it: the guy would presumably love to get his hands on some nuclear weapons and wreak havoc on all who ever have tormented him since high school.
I’ll share with you more details of the wager itself as I learn to understand them. But basically – and these are the odds that just seemed too good to pass up on my end — if she’s still alive by the time I show up at the Rio, I’ll get my $10 back. If she makes it to the final table, I get $1,000. There are all sorts of other increased payment tiers along the way.
Though she probably doesn’t remember it, Gabriela Hill and I actually met last year — Oliver introduced us. At the time he told me (with extra emphasis on the rolled R’s) that she was a hot Latin American player. Good enough for me! This is her first ever WSOP bracelet event, apparently. Go Gabi Hill! You the girl!
(FYI, she has only like three followers on twitter, so click on over and become an “early adopter”.)
Meanwhile, as Gabriela’s working on building her stack in a way that makes Dan money! justifies her trip to another continent, we’ll also be following Gregg Merkow closely, as this longtime Pokerati fan — wielding a bankroll fueled at least in part by the high-roller contingent of Batfaces — has his best chance for a bracelet in as long as we can remember.
He’s the chip leader with 18 players left in $2,500 NLH. The short stack going in there, btw, is Phil Ivey … who hasn’t even showed up yet, but has already outlasted three players who started the day.
Click here to follow that action.
UPDATE: Merkow went out 9th. 🙁 We swear his donning a Pokerati patch and the subsequent cooler effect was purely coincidental.
UPDATE: Supposedly Gabi is out, too. 🙁 I hope you’re happy, Oliver!
Oliver Tse says:
June 7th, 2009 at 4:49pm
The “prop bet” I have vs Dan M:
1. If Gabriela Hill does not survive past dinner break of the WSOP Ladies Event, then Dan M. has to donate $10 to the Nevada Cancer Institute, the official charity of the WSOP Ladies Event.
2. If Gabriela Hill does survive past dinner break of the WSOP Ladies Event, then I will lose the following amount to Dan M.:
* $10 if Gabriela Hill has chips after dinner break
* $100 if Gabriela Hill were to make the money (top 9% of field)
* $1000 if Gabriela Hill were to make final table
Notice that I cannot make any money on the prop bet I offered. I can only lose money, up to $1000 in this case because Dan M. was the only media member who accepted the prop bet proposal after I revised the payouts to make the bet “EV neutral”.
Alicia says:
June 7th, 2009 at 5:13pm
Congrats to Gregg!! Awesome payday, man!!
Oliver Tse says:
June 7th, 2009 at 7:47pm
I have lost my prop bet to Dan M. At least $10.
@GabrielaHill reports she has chips at dinner break.
Oliver Tse says:
June 8th, 2009 at 1:59am
I will settle my prop bet to Dan M. by paying him $10 on or around June 22.
@gabrielahill reported that she was eliminated at the end of level 9, well short of the money.
DanM says:
June 8th, 2009 at 2:03am
Oliver, thanks for playing. It was much fun on my end. Woulda been more fun had she made the final table, of course.
You know I like and respect you … but be careful. People are starting to think you’re a bit crazy!
Oliver Tse says:
June 8th, 2009 at 7:58am
> You know I like and respect you … but be careful. People are starting to think you’re a bit crazy!
Good. One prominent poker media member has labeled me on his Twitter feed as the “Kim Jong Il” of poker.
Looks like I will have to come up with more creative ways to fit that particular image. 😀
DanM says:
June 8th, 2009 at 8:00am
Yes, any ban on nuclear weapons at the 2010 WSOP will be known as the Oliver Tse Rule.