Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
There is no flash photography at the World Series of Poker. You will learn this fact right-quick if you pull out your point-and-shoot and blast your favorite player with an explosion of white light. A security guard may walk over to tell you to cut it out; the floor may announce, “Ladies and gentlemen, no flash photography, please” over the PA. I think I heard that announcement 25,000 times last year. There’s a reason why the photographers covering the WSOP use lenses that look like anti-tank missiles–they have to shoot in low-light, and that means a lotta glass to make the pics look good.
There is one exception to this rule–photographers can use their big external flashes when snapping pics of bracelet winners. These are the shots that end up on magazine covers, turned into posters, hung on the wall. And the happy player sitting there surrounded by cheering fans and bricks of cash (to say nothing of the bracelet) probably won’t mind the temporary blindness brought on by popping flashbulbs.
I brought my flash to the Rio today. Because there’s a chance that I’ll have to use it, late, late tonight. Annie Duke is among the final 18 in the $10,000 Omaha/8 World Championship, and that event will play out until the bracelet is awarded. Annie has her work cut out for her–she returns with 133,000 in chips, while John Monnette, the chipleader, has north of 1.1 million. But if Annie scoops a few pots (as she did in the photo below), she could make a long, long day of it. And give me an excuse to break the rules.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Annie Duke, annie duke omaha, annie duke omaha/8, world series of poker, WSOP
Comments (0)
Sunday, May 31, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
So last night I wrote a post about how poker players have to grind and grit it out if they want the glory. How that blue-collar, lunch-pail work ethic is what really separates the champs from the chumps. So what did I do after posting that paean to the unglamorous side of poker? That’s right–I went to a wild party at a glizty Vegas nightclub!
In my defense, as I staggered from the Amazon Room last night I had no intention of going out. But when someone asks if you’d like a VIP pass to the official World Series of Poker launch party, the proper way to answer that question is, “Yes please!”. So I lugged my 30 pounds of gear up to ND’s Fuego in the Rio and fell in with a gaggle of poker media types at the bar. Technically this was a work event (and will be described as such when I write my bar tab off on my taxes) but my guilty conscience required that I perform some minor labor to justify my presence. The giant LED displays ringing the club were projecting the WSOP logo along with some wild swirly lights and I said, hey, if I’m gonna lug my camera around, I might as well use it:
They were also scrolling the names of every WSOP World Champion along the walls, waited a bit before shooting this pic:
I hope you’ll forgive the sketchy quality of these photos, it was dark in there (though the darkness was periodically erased by pulsating strobe lights) and I didn’t have my flash with me. Plus it can be hard to take tack-sharp photos when you’ve got a beer in one hand. Though I did put my beer down and put the camera to my eye when the singer and dancers took to the floor:
And…
That’s a beautiful, beautiful…dress. Wow. What stitchwork.
A bit later Jeffrey Pollack took to the stage to officially welcome everyone to the 2009 World Series of Poker, and also to introduce a new rap video starring Lacey Jones (who was the hostess of the party). After the video Lacey took the stage and, thank God, I got one salvageable shot of her speaking to the captivated crowd:
It was about that time that I learned via Twitter than Annie Duke had been knocked out of the $1,500 Omaha/8 event in 30th place. She tagged her tweet “#iamtheworst”, no doubt her frustration was at its peak after coming up short after such a deep run. And that’s when I decided to call it a night and head for home. The hour wasn’t too late, but I knew tomorrow (today) would be a busy day. The final table of the $40,000 Anniversary No-Limit tournament, the start of the Champions Invitational, Day 1b of the $1,000 Stimulus event, and the finale of the $1,500 Omaha/8 tournament. Plus whatever weirdness happens to go down at the Rio on this last Sunday in May. It’s gonna be a long day–back to the grind.
Tags: Annie Duke, annie duke omaha/8, jeffrey pollack, jeffrey pollack wsop launch party, Lacey Jones, lacey jones wsop launch party, world series of poker launch party, wsop launch party
Comments (0)
