The 2008 World Series has come and gone and will most likely, in a little less than three months, will come again. In the meantime, while cleaning out the computer(s) we’ve come across these “lost” episodes … recorded in the tail days of the main event. But this is everything … there’s no more, OK? At least not for now. So if you’d like to step back into the WSOP for just a few minutes at a time to the vocal stylings of yours truly and Dr. Pauly, by all means, have a listen/download. Some of it actually seems a little extra interesting with the benefit of a month-or-so of hindsight.
For the entire WSOP season click here.
The heretofore unheard old-new episodes, salvaged from the cut-and-pasting room floor:
Episode 30: The Cost of Donuts
Grubby joins the media to talk main event numbers and the price of trendy donuts in today’s oil economy. (3:19)
[audio:30-TOP-grubby.mp3]
Episode 31: Scotchy Poker
Dan+scotch early in the WSOP day=talk of Dario Minieri and Isabelle Mercier. (4:02)
[audio:31-TOP-scotch.mp3]
Episode 32: French Warfare
Benjo takes over the mic when Dan calls in drunk, and he and Pauly talk more about Isabelle Mercier live from the Day 2 killing fields. (5:14)
[audio:32-TOP-benjohappy.mp3]
Episode 33: New York & Texas
Michele Lewis joins in as Dan and Pauly break down the difference between Texas and New York humor, or at least the difference between Pauly and Dan. (2:40)
[audio:33-TOP-michele.mp3]
Episode 34: Go Team!
Dallas’ Raj Kattamuri is going deep, and Pauly tracks down Dan in the poker kitchen to find out what it takes to be patched up on Team Pokerati. (2:37)
[audio:34-TOP-teampokerati.mp3]
Episode 35: No Wiener
Benjo is not his usual jovial self as the main event comes to a close and he bids farewell to his American friends in the penultimate WSOP episode of Tao of Pokerati. (4:41)
[audio:35-TOP-benjosad.mp3]
Episode 36: Unhookered
The traditional late-late night poker-blogger farewell binge drinking at the Rio’s Hooker Bar, with guest appearances by Otis and Mean Gene. (3:29)
[audio:36-TOP-hookerbar.mp3]
The remaining 600-something players are in the money, and the field is dwindling fast. Fewer poker fans are checking out the action, and cash game players are practically non-existent. It’s that time that the World Series begins to come to a close; only four days left after tonight, and everyone is outta here.
So, the production that is the WSOP begins to shrink as well. The Poker Kitchen closed its doors tonight for the final time. With chains on the doors, the staff can be seen through the glass tearing down tables and packing up packets of ranch dressing. The only place left to get food in this area of the Rio for the next four days will be a makeshift pizza stand in the hallway and the gift shop for snacks and boxed sandwiches.
The All In Energy Drink booth has transported the last of its products to the warehouse. The Poker Players Alliance information booth is no more. The Hertz rental car company is gone. And various other booths, like Gamma-O Testosterone Booster and NatureEnergy will likely be deconstructed in the next 24-48 hours.
As media access for non-official media begins to be restricted tonight and in the coming days, with fewer tables and less space to get around the ESPN cameras, many members of the media will be less visible here at the Rio because of the limited access. Granted, there will be much more coverage to come as the remaining hundreds of players vie for seats at the final table, but the light at the end of the WSOP/Rio tunnel is causing some inevitable shrinkage.
Harrah’s really tried this year. Not only did they expand the Poker Kitchen to include a seating area and many more food choices, but they arranged for alternate food areas for players’ convenience.
Some of us have truly appreciated the efforts and love the choices, but the majority? Not so much.
The Poker Kitchen now offers Pizza Hut mini-pizzas, several sushi options, Capriotti’s sandwiches, boneless chicken wings, Krispy Kreme donuts, and hot pretzels. There were also carts set up in the main hallway leading to the Amazon Room with some of those options as well. One of the unique carts in the hallway was a Java Coast set-up that offered various coffee drinks, hot tea, etc. And just down the hall was a specially established sushi kitchen that offered Asian noodle dishes and sushi on an all-you-can-eat type basis.
Java Coast has been eliminated from the tournament. The specialty coffee cart has been removed from the hallway and replaced with a sad little table with serve-yourself plain coffee and tea. Ho-hum. And the Miranda Sushi & Noodle Kitchen is working off a short stack. There have even been announcements upon releasing players for dinner breaks that if they don’t start eating at Miranda’s, the place will disappear. I also heard from a reliable source Dan that Miranda is only getting about 30 customers per day. Ouch.
I feel bad that Harrah’s went through some trouble to line up more food choices for the players this year, and players haven’t taken advantage of them as predicted. As long as sushi keeps being offered in the Poker Kitchen, I suppose I’ll be happy.
WSOP officials wisely listened to complaints about the poker tent in 2007. It was a flimsy structure, at best, and with the slightest wind gust, the walls shook and rafters rattled. Players were irritated, members of the media were amused/scared, and powers-that-be were embarrassed. When the 2008 WSOP was announced, one of the first pieces of news to be released was that the poker tent was history. All poker players would be housed in the Rio Convention Center, and another ballroom was opened to handle the players indoors.
At the same time, it was announced that the poker kitchen would be in the spot where the tent was last year. Uh-oh.
When I first saw it, I thought it looked like a more sound structure, more like a super sturdy shed than a tent. And then the wind came. Today, it is cloudy, and drops of water are falling from the sky. (I live in Los Angeles, and folklore says this is called rain. People assure me the sun will return.) And the poker kitchen is a-shakin’ in the wind. Evidently, no matter how many bolts look to be holding this structure down, it still has the ability to terrify all who visit it. It could be just my luck that I’m in the poker kitchen, paying $2 for a Krispy Kreme donut that I certainly don’t need, and some flimsy light fixture will knock me out. Hey, if you know me, you know that’s possible.
