It’s been interesting seeing different industry people come and go as the poker world continues to churn over into something new. Good riddance for some, greener pastures and/or potential prison time for others … either way, it’s good to see poker people thriving in different places.
So check it out … Jeffrey Pollack, one of the more controversial figures in poker (c. 2005-2011) seems to have found his way back to the NBA. The exiled WSOP Commissioner, who partnered with Annie Duke in an effort to save the game (or at least rebrand it) before an Epic flop, apparently has been working closely with Robert Pera and Jason Levien, new owners of the Vancouver Memphis Grizzlies. Best I can tell it will now cost Pera $100 million to properly dick over a city, and maybe there’ll be a party with Justin Timberlake.
Life’s not all about poker, right? Dan and Dr. Pauly head over to the sportsbook to watch the NBA Finals and chat about sportsbooks along the way…
2011 WSOP – Episode 11: Bookies, Dumpsters, and Mavericks (5:16) – Dan and Pauly ditch the action at the WSOP and wander over to the sportsbook to watch Game 6 of the NBA Finals, because Pauly bet the Mavs, which is also Dan’s hometown team. Dan asks Pauly to describe some of the complexities of sportsbetting, both in Vegas and in the shady underworld of online bookies.
For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives or subscribe to the Tao of Pokerati feed. 
As much as I’ve noted Team Pokerati’s struggles on the felt this summer, it’s not like our players don’t know their way to the WSOP payout window. Here’s a rundown of the team’s representative real-money scores so far:
(Click below for the Team Chauhan comparative results.)
Tom to La, after Team Pokerati’s first and only FT of 2010: “Congrats, you really played great. If I don’t bink a tourney soon, think you might be able to float me some scratch?”
Tom Schneider
$4,348 – 128th – $1.5k NLH
$22,085 – 14th – $1k NLH/Seniors
$3,352 – 52nd – $1.5k PLH
$6,128 – 32nd – $1.5k Omaha Hi/Lo
La Sengphet
$22,728 – 7th -$1k NLH/Ladies
Pat Poels
$13,232 – 10th – $2.5k Limit 2-7 3x
Robert Goldfarb
$6,128 – 29th – $1.5k Omaha Hi/Lo
The Big Randy
$3,428 – 196th – $1.5k NLH
Toothless Bob
$3,080 – 2nd place – $150 NLH (Binion’s Poker Classic)
$1,240 – 1st place – $65 NLH (Sahara nightly)
$355 – 4th place – $65 NLH (Sahara nightly)
John Harris (85Nutz)
TBD – first 2010 WSOP day 2 – $1k NLH
More…
That’s what he’s telling ESPN-LA. At least those are his plans if he can learn to beat the games he plays in. Check out his interview where he discusses poker, family, NBA business, and USC … but not the secrets of being a 77-year-old man bagging 23-year-old high-stakes railbirds.
I now have the time to pursue another profession. I’m going to become a professional poker player. Well, let’s say I’m going to become a poker player. Whether I can earn a living at it is questionable.
They didn’t ask the obvious question: You have lots of money and blonde hair … are you Isildur1?
The NBA has long been in line with the NFL when it comes to publicly opposing betting on their games — especially since one of their refs got so deep into it with shady non-legal sports-betting types that it may or may not have jeopardized the purity of his calls.
However, it turns out that busting bad guy Tim Donaghy has had the NBA taking a closer look at sports betting and seeing some new realities … perhaps.
While the league’s seemingly softening stance gets Las Vegas excited about the possibility of having its own franchise some day (the NFL still says no way, not never!) the discussion has now been opened up in the sports betting world for the possibility of “nationally legalized gambling” on the NBA.
I don’t even need to waste your time pointing out how obviously connected this is to anti-UIGEA efforts, right? Good to see the big-league sports media embracing PPA talking points … and at least one big-league honcho open to changing a long-held anti-gambling position.
Click here to read SI’s discussion with David Stern on where fully legal gambling may or may not fit in the future.
Ahh, it seems like only yesterday 25 years ago that the Dallas Mavericks had to choose between Sam Perkins and Charles Barkley … (Hakeem Olajuwan, Sam Bowie, and Michael Jordan had all gone before them.)
This year I’ll be taking part in ESPN’s fantasy WSOP draft … so with that, I’ve got to pick some players, preferably those who will perform. Personally, I’ve got my eye on a Dallas girl named Sara Chau to surprise a lot of people … but since she will likely only be playing a few events (unless, of course, she makes a big score early), she wouldn’t be a great pick. At the same time, you know me … I’m not gonna go with the traditionals — Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, et al (though I do think Erick Lindgren would be a fine pick) — and I’d probably be too embarrassed to reveal my fanboy leanings for Clonie Gowen, Tom Schneider, and Gregg Merkow. Plus, really, no offense to those three, but they just don’t give me proper odds, ya know?
Anyhow, please share with me any thoughts or suggestions about players who seem to be on their game and ready to tear it up in the 2009 WSOP.
BTW, does anyone remember who the Mavs took with their second first-round pick in 1984? Terence Stansbury. (Highlight the white space for the answer.)
Oops.
It’s clear Phil Ivey is a problem gambler. The question is whether he’s a problem for casinos and his prop bet opponents or himself. One well-respected ambassadorial poker friend of Ivey’s has said he worries that Phil is too into gambling — to the extent that he doesn’t really have the time of day for anyone who isn’t up for a big-money wager. And this year one of his Full Tilt cronies has reportedly said that if he keeps up the prop bets at his current pace, he’ll be broke in two years.
Yeow, I don’t know Ivey’s real numbers, but his friend who said the latter certainly knows a thing or 12 about going broke. The dollar amounts circulating for Ivey’s off-table wagers are $2 million. On two separate wagers — one about whether or not he will win a bracelet, and the other on the outcome of the Laker-Celtics series. Supposedly Ivey has $2 million riding on the LA winning the NBA Championship. Not sure if I believe it of course — just seems a little coincidental that both his big bets would tally $2mm on the dot … but maybe … regardless, a lot of people saw Ivey auditioning to be the next Spike Lee courtside at Game 1, and yesterday, Game 3/Day 1 of a $2,000 Limit Hold’em event, it was very apparent that he had a lot of something riding on the outcome.
During the tournament, Ivey had no problem convincing the floor to replace the big-screen tournament clock with the basketball game, and his opponents at this table got a rare glimpse of Phil without his usual inscrutable poker face (as Daniel Negreanu occasionally popped by to laugh).
ALT HED: I Like Big Bets!
Phil Ivey’s Laker Tells
Photos by Benjo:
[flickr album=72157605556879389 num=14]
Boston Celtics vs. LA Lakers … apparently people are pretty excited about this upcoming NBA finals. And while quite a few poker players have been known to place some sports bets, they’re gonna have to leave the Rio to do so this year…
Harrah’s Chairman and CEO Gary Loveman owns 2.4 percent of the Celtics, and that may or may not be a conflict of interest. The directive reportedly comes straight from David Stern of the NBA, and thus no Harrah’s properties will be taking bets on the NBA finals in data based sports picks. Talk about a hit for Harrah’s, the Rio, Caesar’s Palace, Paris, Bally’s, Imperial Palace, Flamingo, Bills, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Reno, Harrah’s Laughlin … perhaps a mini-boon for Bellagio.
The Palms and Silverton also won’t be taking bets on the NBA finals, as their owners also have ownership stakes in other NBA teams. I find this pretty darn interesting … because if the NBA can remove betting on the finals at these casinos, why wouldn’t they want to maintain the same level of “integrity” throughout the regular season?
