Gary Wise from ESPN fame joins the The Rabbit Hunt as their guest panelist of the week on an all-UB news cycle. We discuss the state of the company, the raids that occurred over the weekend, their recent deal with the DOJ, and the continued fallout their recently laid off pros might feel going forward. True to the subject matter, we had a lot to talk about, so we hope you enjoy!
Here are a few links to get your mind kickin’ before we get into the throes of poker “news” … to sites that have been on my radar of late for varying reasons. These independently selected, never-for-sale (except at the very top and very bottom) click-worthy internet suggestions are brought to you by the fine folks at:
Tao of Fear — Pauly steps away from poker and Phish to take on the real world, a place that turns out to be filled with (very real) mayhem, foreigners, and death … and that’s just Wall Street pre-Libya! There’s a fine line between current events and conspiracy theory … a few pills and maybe a shot of whiskey, too.
Bill’s Blog and Hardboiled Poker — two of the more thoughtful poker blogs out there … well-informed, and always adding something new to the conversation. I never link to Bill Rini or Shamus enough … but hey, following either of these guys is kinda like a subscription to the New Yorker … so much good stuff, just near-impossible to keep up. I have about eight specific posts from each of them waiting to be written up, but usually about 2/3 through, one of them produces a missive that makes me realize the pedantic flaws in whatever I was originally thinking.
Poro Report 2011 — kinda like Drudge, or actually a lot like Drudge … a well-culled link-dump directing you to the most current and relevant bits of poker news and industry convo harvested from around the internet.
LV Fashion Report — Some new sassy blogger chick’s take on Vegas people and all their outerwear is trying to suggest. (With a few sneak peaks at new Vegas properties, too.) I’m pretty sure “Kate Couture” isn’t her real name, but I think I’ve seen her running around Panorama Towers … so obviously she’s got insight into the most pea-cocky of poker players.
J Gary Wise — my fellow 2x award-winning Poker Beat sparring partner seems to be swimming with craziness these days without TPB to give him a wild-rant fix — (I know the feeling) — and thus the ESPN columnist has been spewing out original, semi-intelligent content rather fierce. Sometimes pokery, sometimes not, but either way, Gary is still Gary, and therefore sure to at some point make you wanna punch him.
A Year of Culinary Curiousity — Former Pokerati contrib Jen Newell has a new non-poker blog … about food and cooking and edible bad beats. In a way, it is kinda like a poker blog, as Jen tries to move up in stakes and hone her kitchen game — skill and luck determining results. Glad she decided against calling the site All You Can Eat, Baby!
The Maven Training — If you’re not maximizing your return at the tables, you’re playing suboptimal poker, leaving profits behind. Whether you prefer cash games or tournaments, live or online, be the best at your table by training with accomplished pros. Next boot camp: March 4-6. 10% Pokerati discount here.
Day 1b of the 10,000 + 350 Main Event drew a field of 209 entrants, creating a total field of 346 entrants, with the top 36 making the money. First place will be worth 830,401 when the final table is held Tuesday afternoon. 188 players will return Saturday at 12pm London time to play another six 90-minute levels. The current chip leader is James Mitchell with 178,850 in chips. Other notables from Friday returning include: November Niner John Dolan – 173,700, Antonio Esfandiari 105,125, Phil Laak – 96,675, Phil Ivey, – 94,350, Viktor “Isildur1?” Blom – 91,850, and defending champion Barry Shulman – 86,325. A tentative table draw is available at WSOP.com, where you can find updates there as well as PokerNews.
Both Gus Hansen and Jim Collopy, who have one match remaining in the 10k NL HU final, still have chips in the Main Event. There has been no word on when the deciding match will take place.
PokerStars LAPT – Rosario, Argentina :: 24 players remain in their main event, playing down to their final table on Saturday. PokerStars Blog and PokerNews
TJ Cloutier Choctaw Poker Classic – Durant, Oklahoma :: $1,600 Main Event starts Saturday, Cloutier, Scotty Nguyen, Tom McEvoy scheduled to appear. Rounders’ Radio appears to be handling live streaming of the tournament this weekend.
PokerStars EPT London :: The final major poker series to hit London starts Sept. 28th – EPT London details
Finally, Dan Michalski appeared on episode #2 of Gary Wise vs the World at PokerStatic.com with Shaun Deeb, Daniel “Jungleman12” Cates, and Tim West.
It’s a voting thing (give your email address to everyone!) … and you can cast your vote online here.
Special props and encouraged ballot-stuffing on behalf of former Pokerati contrib Jen Newell and current Poker Beat cohort Gary Wise, who is the only male nominee in the whole contest. (How pissed must BJ be to not get that nod?) They are duking it out in the Favorite Blogger or Author category, while our pals at LuvinPoker and CardRunners are also facing off for the Most Encouraging Poker Forum Award.
Click below for more deets about the honours — what, no special Courage Award for Clonie? — and a full list of contenders in what some might call a great big catfight on behalf of poker grace.
The World Series of Poker starts on Friday, and the poker media (except for www.wsop.com) are getting ready with their various previews and other stuff to get their readers into the mood for six weeks of tournament action. Part of that is the fifth annual WSOP fantasy draft over at ESPN.com. Unfortunately, Pokerati’s own Dan Michalski apparently missed the conference call (he had the #1 pick) so here were the twelve participants in this year’s draft:
Eric Baldwin
Lance Bradley – Editor at Bluff Magazine
Andrew Feldman – Poker Editor at ESPN.com
Chad Holloway – Poker Pro Magazine
Howard Lederer
Bernard Lee
Daniel Negreanu – Defending champion
Dennis Phillips
Steve “Chops” Preiss – Wicked Chops Poker
Mark Seif
Gavin Smith
Gary Wise
Each participant made eight picks in the draft and the handy chart below displays their selections by round:
A detailed analysis from Feldman on the selections can be found at www.espn.com/poker
Page 2 features how points are earned and my selections:
From CardPlayer.com:
“Next year, you’re not going to have a Champions Invitational. You’re not going to have a $40K for the 40th-annual event,†said [WSOP Communications Director Seth] Palansky. “Both events probably come back 10 years from now, when we’re celebrating 50 years. We announced them and intended them as one-off specials.â€
First off, I’m not sure I really understand the meaning of “one-off”. Have heard it bandied around for the past year and have even used it myself, but the above quote doesn’t fit in with my definition.
Secondly, wasn’t there talk — perhaps on Gary Wise’s radio show? — about there being a $41k next year, $42k the year following that, $43k, $44k … basically an event growing each year in accordance with an attached Super Bowl number?
Scrapping the Champions Invitational also seems an interesting move. I won’t miss it, to be sure, but interesting that they’ve apparently just decided to nix it all together instead of giving it a second made-for-TV go and trying to scrap it.
With these being two of the four televised events this year, ESPN clearly had to have some say in the matter.
Tune in to Wise Hand Poker on Rounders Radio … right now Gary is talking to Hevad Khan, and then I go on to talk about … um … uh … (Gary, are you busy right now? I gotta question for you …) … and then after all that, he’ll have on Layne Flack, where he promises to ask him about hanging with Russ Hamilton and his most recent dalliances with the law.
Eventually you’ll be able to find the podcast here.
Pokerati’s own Dan Michalski took part in an “expert panel” for ESPN with Dr. Pauly, Chops of Wicked Chops Poker, Gary Wise, Bernard Lee, Lance Bradley of Bluff Magazine, and ESPN.com’s Andrew Feldman ranking the field of the NBC National Headsup Poker Championship, starting on Friday. Since I’m only able to write an article at one of these sites, let’s take a look at how Dan ranked the field:
Pokerati’s own Dan Michalski and an all-star cast of poker media will appear on the premier episode of “The Poker Beat” with Scott Huff at 1pm PT Thursday afternoon over at PokerRoad.
The lineup:
John Caldwell (formerly of Pokernews)
Gary Wise of ESPN and WisehandPoker.com
Matt Parvis of Bluff Magazine
Dan Michalski of Pokerati.com
BJ Nemeth of World Poker Tour
and Joe Stapleton of PokerRoad.com with some closing thoughts.
Topics will include the Obama and the UIGEA, the Durrr Challenge, and the L.A. Poker Classic.
This was my “career horoscope” yesterday:
Assuming you understand others is a big mistake. Bypass the analysis and stick to your own work.
Oops, but oh well, too late now … The podcast is up.
Because Gary Wise relies on me to tell him and his listeners how to think Hevad Khan canceled … (right)click here to listen to/download the entire episode (including the opening segment with Dewey Tomko) or press the buttons below to hear my segment — where GW hems and haws as I analyze the 60 Minutes and Washington Post pieces, then speculate wildly on the cheating scandals and their relationship to the present business/legal/political landscape and what it all may or may not mean for the future of the entire world! poker industry.
Wise Hand Poker (feat. Dan from Pokerati) 42:08
[audio:12-03-08-wisehandpoker.mp3]
RoundersRadio
Pokerati’s own Dan Michalski will be on Wise Hand Poker shortly (5:45pm PT?) to discuss the 60 Minutes/Washington Post pieces on the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet incidents. To listen live head to www.roundersradio.com.
OK, I just read Part 1 of the Washington Post story by Gilbert Gaul on cheating at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. I thought it was great and on target and technically correct to the letter when discussing legal matters. I learned a bunch of stuff I didn’t know, too.
Two-and-a-half specific things caught my eye:
(The name of the alleged cheater has circulated widely among poker players on the Internet. The Post is not publishing his name because, even though he purportedly confessed to AbsolutePoker, the company did not release its records and would not discuss the matter. The alleged cheater declined requests to be interviewed.)
Maybe I just haven’t been following it close enough on the forums, but I’m wondering whom they’re referring to here.
The story also doesn’t reference the new formation of Cereus, after acknowledging that UB would likely lose its license and be out of business soon. Hmmm. But that’s really new, and this story was possibly put to bed a few weeks ago?
The other thing is the last graf:
The Kahnawake now say they operate one of the most secure Internet gambling operations in the world. Tokwiro says it has “established cutting-edge security systems that make us the safest site in the industry.” But Catania said he does not expect cheating to stop: “I’m sure there are people out there right now figuring out, let’s say, ‘Here’s a way we can do it again.’
Yikes, that last sentence leaves it open-ended as to how part two of the story will fall when it comes to legalization efforts.
I really like poker’s chances (because I sincerely believe despite our internal battles with shadiness, our industry is on the right side of legal issues here) … and from what I’ve learned in my rookie dabblings in poker (and strip-club) politics, the treatment this story is getting in Washington DC — a big investigative feature spread out over two days with lots of informative sidebars — now guarantees (I’m like 86 percent sure) that our issue is on the 2009 political agenda. I’m not totally comfortable yet, of course. Current feeling in my gut is comparable to waiting for the river when all-in against an 8- or 9-outer. A little unsettling. But hey, that’s what we came here for, right?
In addition to the story itself, the WP’s got a bunch of goodies for those who want to dig deeper, or just check their work:
So there you have it. It would hard to expect anything more thorough. Kudos to “special correspondent Gary Wise“, too, for playing poker-biz fixer for the WP investigative team turning over rocks.
. . . according to Harrah’s Sports and Entertainment Director of Communications Seth Palansky. Palansky appeared on Gary Wise’s podcast Wise Hand Poker (the 11/19/08 episode) to talk about various subjects, including doing a little post-mortem of the delayed WSOP Main Event final table and broadcast.
As the pair discussed various promotional opportunities — as well as the distractions of the economic crises and presidential election that punctuated those last couple of weeks prior to the final table — Palansky stated how he had some news to “break†on Wise’s show. Per Kevmath’s transcription:
SP: We had a player booked on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, they chose not to do it.
GW: Are we allowed to ask which player it was?
SP: I don’t want to name names and get into that for anyone. We also had the Ellen DeGeneres show booked with another player, who chose not to do it.
GW: Why were these players choosing not to do these shows?
SP: That’s something that the players and their agents and advisors, etc. that should be in the position to answer….
Palansky goes on to “express a concern†that the unnamed players didn’t seize the opportunities to appear on the mainstream shows. “They’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities that get presented to them,†said Palansky. “And it’s unfortunate that in situations where we had a successful pitch and an opportunity for our players to be on that national stage, they chose not to.â€
Discussion has ensued on the 2+2 forum (where Kevmath’s transcription of the pertinent passages, unabridged, can be found).
Ed. Note: See Shamus’ own more detailed, existential thoughts on the making of a more-than-poker TV star here.
I’m about to head over to the Rio — I think I might actually play a bit today — but before I shut my computer lid (about as difficult for me as stepping away from a table when I’m still up) I wanted to share with you some blogs other than Pauly, LVV, and Wicked Chops that make for good reading during the WSOP. Most of these folks have real jobs here in the poker media, but that doesn’t mean they still don’t have interesting things to say:
Poker Shrink — he runs the show now at my old PokerBlog stomping grounds, and though I haven’t yet seen his shiny orb around these parts, he always has something informative to say, and a cutting way to say it.
Change100 — A friend with weed is a friend indeed … and this PokerNews reporter always has the good Hollywood insight to share.
Benjo — aka the Angry Frenchman; I have no idea what his blog says, but it’s often fun to read the Google translation of it.
Gary Wise — Gary knows everything about poker (just ask him) … but really, the Bluff/ESPN correspondo does know a lot, and has better player connections than anyone else in media row.
Snoopy — This limey mate has a great take on the game, and new hair to boot — capable of fourth-level thinking and comes up with hedlines like “Throw Juanda down the Well.”
Michele Lewis — Wicked Chops probably got the best of it in our trade of Fresh Princess and a blogger to be named later for, um, nothing … but that doesn’t mean we don’t still love her sassy-mom takes on the game.
Pokerfolio — Steve Hall doesn’t need a big camera to scope out the WSOP hotties, but he may need a new webhost.
Spaceman — Jason Kirk can’t seem to leave the poker world no matter how hard he tries, and while he’s not blogging for PokerListings this year, he occasionally keeps us posted on real life.
Hardboiled Poker — Short-stacked Shamus is an absolute must-read; he’s a rookie on the PokerNews WSOP reporting scene, but as he’s proved with his own blog since getting on the blogging train late in the game, sometimes new=fresh, and he gives more to really think about per word than just about anyone else out there.
Haley — The managing editrix of PokerNews is 0-and-1 on prop bets with Dan this year, but that doesn’t mean she’s still not a smartaholic; heck, she even knows who The Batfaces are.
Mean Gene — The most celebrated poker blogger in all of Pittsburgh makes the annual pilgrimage to the WSOP again, and nobody knows how to have more All-American fun while doing a top-quality job than this PokerNews tourney reporter.
I’m sure I’m missing a few — apologize for that — so send me an email and I will update accordingly. But these are the ones I have been checking out with the most semi-regularity, and often giving thought to.
And for a list of players who are also blogging their experiences, check out Up for Poker’s WSOP blog-guide.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back eventually. But this should keep you informed/entertained/busy for at least a little while.
Happenings at the WSOP while Ultimate Bet has signed another known online player:
Update: Tom Schneider interview with Gary Wise at roundersradio.com sometime between 5 and 7pm PT
Things got underway at noon in event #7, $2,000 NL holdem, 1,593 put up the money in their chase for a bracelet. The $10k Mixed Event World Championship will get underway at 5pm. There’s been talk about how this will all turn out. Some have expressed their concerns about the structure. The WSOP structure sheet says that 8 hands of each game will be played. However, there’s no way they can get 64 hands dealt in an hour, so how will the rotation be dealt with the next increase in blind/ante level. With triple draw 2-7, will there be two players out of action in a hand while cards are dealt to the other 6? Imagine what David Singer would think of that!
Speaking of Singer, he’s currently at the $1,500 PL holdem final table, which is getting the cold shoulder from ESPN while they cover the more attractive to TV final table. The action at that table will start shortly.
The $1,000 NL/rebuys tournament is underway and in a shocking development, day 1 chip leader Phil Ivey is out before the money. Play is currently at hand-for hand, so expect a long 10-minute period of not-so agonizing bubble play. Also on their day 2 is the $1,500 Omaha 8 or better tournament, both tournaments should reach their respective final tables sometime early Thursday morning.
More later this evening…
