Poker Nationalism
Swear we’re not gonna make this whole thing about poker in Belize or even Belizean poker in Las Vegas … hopefully we’ll be done with this post before the November Nine gets down to the final 3.
But it just turns out that 6th place finisher, Badih BouNahra, aka “Bob”, brought a rather unique element not just to the 2011 WSOP main event final table, but to poker. Beyond being the oldest guy to go single-digit-finish/seven-figure-payout deep, and more than just bringing a rowdy uniformed crowd that kinda makes him the Dennis Phillips of Belize … still gotta factcheck, but pretty sure he is the first and only November Niner to receive support from a national government.
Here’s a quick “interview” I did with Jose Manuel Heredia, Jr., Belize’s Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, and Culture, on what one poker player’s WSOP success means for his country.
(Belize just turned 30 years old … something that seven of the November Niners can’t yet say.)
And here’s a YouTube video BouNahra did for his government and the website he’s promoting on ESPN, www.travelbelize.org.
And, here’s a Tao of Pokerati on the impact of Belizeans, as felt by WSOP sports bettors in Nevada:
Dan and Pauly chat about the first three eliminations at the final table, including Belize Bob. His 200 supporters kept the atmosphere festive. They also bet heavily on Bob at the Rio’s sports book, which drove down his odds from 12/1 to 6/1.
