Gettin’ Trippy
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Can this really be the end of just the first week of the World Series of Poker? It feels like I’ve been in the Amazon Room for one long neverending day. That’s the way the WSOP works, the days flow into each other, you keep time not by the date but by the event number. Today sees the start of Event #7, the first $1,500 No-Limit event, which comes on the heels of the $1,000 Stimulus No-Limit tournament. That event, by the way, still has 50 players battling for the bracelet, and they’ll battle until someone wins it today. Or in the wee hours tomorrow. Because they gotta play down from FIFTY to the champion in one long session, bringing to mind the phrase “death march”. We’d been wondering if the extra chips and extra levels might mean some insanely long sessions. Well, welcome to the Amazon Asylum.
The combination of sleep deprivation, pumped-in oxygen, sketchy diet, and megawatts of nervous energy start to mess with your brain. I’ve taken thousands of pictures the last few days, and I find that the ones that look the most “real” to me are often the ones I play around with the most. Even stone-sober and with six solid hours of sleep last night, this is how I remember Phil Hellmuth leaving the stage after he was eliminated from the Champions Invitational tournament (won early this morning by Tom McEvoy:
During that final table I was standing across from 2002 World Champion Robert Varkonyi, and I could see the reflection of the table in his sunglasses. So I was seeing what he was seeing, though in reverse. No wonder my head started to hurt:
The other day in the Omaha/8 event Phil Hellmuth and Jennifer Harman were sitting at the same table and Phil gave Jennifer a copy of his new book Deal Me In. It isn’t just online players who multi-task when they play:
Maybe it’s my tee-totaling and early turn-ins that has my brain sparking and tweaking. Maybe three Bass Ales for lunch and an all-nighter is what I need to reset my cerebrum to it’s default settings. Then again, I like the pretty colors.
Related posts:
- Another Day at the Office Day 15 of the World Series of Poker (I think...
- One In, One Out Phil Hellmuth will not be making his 42nd final table...
- Balls in the Air It’s a busy night at the Rio with tournaments scattered...
- Two Weeks Notice Hard to believe that we’re two weeks into the 2009...
- Rule 96 We’re about to start Event #13 of the World Series...
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, deal me in, deal me in book, jennifer harman, Phil Hellmuth, phil hellmuth champions invitational, phil hellmuth deal me in, Robert Varkonyi, robert varkonyi champions invitational, world series of poker, WSOP
