Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - Scott Ian
Usually my blogs will have some sort of narrative thread running through them. Less, bloggy, more story. This week’s entry is going to be a bit all over the place as it reflects where I am at which is all over the place. In the last month I’ve been from Los Angeles to NY to Vegas to Aruba to Japan and back to Los Angeles yesterday. Sitting on my couch I feel like someone pulled the emergency brake in a car going 100mph, spinning into a crash of jet lag and physical exhaustion. So before my brain melts out my ears for a day or two…
Aruba was a blast. What else could it be? UB throws the event of the year in my opinion. Ask anyone that was there and the smile on his or her face is all the answer you need.
This was my third Aruba trip and it was my best so far. What made it better/different? Having a much larger UB & AP pro team there for sure. There was a real sense of camaraderie amongst the pros and we were hanging out all the time. From instigating the chaos at the pool during the opening party (where Phil gave out 10K to basically skinny-dip!) to hand analysis and poker tips for the UB players to closing the casino most nights to once again making the closing party a blast, teams UB & AP were representing!!! I really felt an all for one, one for all spirit and it makes the brand that much stronger.
I also felt that having all of the UB senior mgmt there to oversee everything was important, especially to listen to the players in the focus groups. I expect you’ll see a lot of your opinions reflected on the site very soon. Seeing UB CEO Paul Leggett on a day to day basis, being a part of the event seemingly everywhere at once absorbing it all was a real treat as well. Paul’s hands on approach and attitude really made me feel a part of something strong and the excitement about the future of the brand was tangible.
Regarding poker, I finished 62nd, 17 from the money. Second year in a row I got so close to cashing. I am happy over all with how I played and I probably could’ve grinded my way past the bubble but I was playing to win it, not to just cash.
On day one I had a hand that I was stoked about. I had overheard the chip leader (who was at my table) after losing a few pots and dropping down to around 78K from over 90K say to the guy next to him that he was on a losing streak. I made a mental note and decided if I had the opportunity I was going to try and make a move on him. A few hands later I had A8 suited in the BB. Blinds were 150-300. The chip leader raised to 950 UTG and it folded to me. I popped it to 3100 and he calls. The flop comes QQ6 rainbow. I check, he checks. The turn comes a J to complete the rainbow. I bet 5100, he calls. At this point I commit to the bluff and when an 8 comes on the river I shove my final 12K. He stands up and tanks for three minutes and then he calls the clock on himself. He was really confused by my shove. He hadn’t seen me turn a hand over at all and didn’t know what to do. He asked the floor man if he could show his hand. The floor man said if he shows his hand to try and get a read he’d have to take a one round penalty. I was thinking, “go ahead and show, you’re not going to get a read off of me, I am Mt Rushmore!!” The floor man counts down the final ten seconds and he folds. Jason Gray who was on my left asked me to show the bluff. I showed the 8. Chip leader sighs and turns over pocket 10’s. Whew.
I had a lot of fun in the cash games in the casino. Especially the UB table one night where we were playing 1-2 and the first raise would come in at $35! Then my friend Enigma4U4ME would shove blind and get three callers. Basically your typical 1-2 game with an average pot of $700.
Crazy but fun.
After Aruba I was home in LA for 36 hours and then took off to play a festival with Anthrax in Japan. The show was amazing. Here’s a link to a clip from the show: http://www.twitvid.com/05F93
I’m home now for a couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to getting back on UB and playing. See you all this week at the tables.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Anthrax, AP, Aruba, japan, Los Angeles, New York, Paul Legget, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Tips, ub, UB Players, Vegas
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Saturday, August 8, 2009 - Liv Boeree
I’ve been back in the UK for about ten days now and haven’t had a chance to rest at all because last weekend was Sonisphere, a new rock and metal festival near London. It had my dream lineup of bands – Metallica, Alice in Chains, Paradise Lost and of course Anthrax, to name a few! If you don’t know by now, fellow UB pro Scott Ian is the guitarist and driving force behind Anthrax, so I was over the moon when I found out they were playing. Scott of course sorted us out with the best possible AAA passes enabling me to swan about all over the festival including the band areas where there was a plethora of free food, drink and even haircuts!
Anthrax played on the first day and absolutely blew everyone away with their performance. These guys are as hard and heavy as ever and it was a real treat to watch them play with their old singer John Bush. The rest of the weekend was of a similar ilk with more loud music and long hair than you imagine, finishing with standing on the side of the stage to watch Metallica. What more could a girl want?
The very next day the whole motley crew of bands, media et al bundled down to central London to attend the Kerrang awards (Kerrang is a famous music magazine in Europe). Scott was hosting the whole event which meant that he could invite a bunch of us to sit on his table along with his lovely lady Pearl (who played Aruba last year) which was amazing. All around were famous rock stars including The Prodigy, Skunk Anansie, Machine Head and Alice in Chains and things got pretty rowdy once the absurd amount of alcohol on each table started to be consumed. After the awards finished a group of 30 of us headed out to bar after bar, getting progressively louder until each bar moved us on. The night eventually ended around 4.30am with various members of the group getting lost or climbing into rickshaws in Soho and cycling off into the night screaming maniacally. Love it!!
- Kerrang Awards
- On stage!
Tags: alice in chains, Anthrax, Aruba, John Bush, Liv Boeree, London, Metallica, Paradise Lost, Scott Ian, ub
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Saturday, July 25, 2009 - P0ker J0
Ok so I know the song is Just Another Manic Monday – but I feel strongly that the day should have been changed to Friday – if only for this week. My day flew by and before I knew it, I was late with my blog. Bad bad P0ker J0!!
Well I just finished a new photo shoot with some of my pros so you will soon see some exciting new pictures on the site – showing their pearly whites! Phil – in typical Phil fashion – maintained his (what I like to call) the “point and grin” pose as well as the groovy “thumbs up and smile” pose. I am never ever bored when I’m dealing with Phil. He is truly one of my favourite people in the world (but just don’t tell HIM I said that 
– love ya Phil!
Did you happen to see Matt Graham play in the VIP tournament last Tuesday night at 8:00 PM EST? He almost took it down! The players really loved playing and chatting with him. This coming Tuesday look out for the whacky and crazy HollywoodDave to grace the tables with his presence – and when I ‘m talking about HD, there is ALWAYS presence!
World travellers that my pros are – many are headed to London to play the WSOPE and then jetting straight to Aruba for our 10th anniversary event. I think this will be the best year ever and I hope to see you all there! There is NOTHING more fun than Aruba for the Poker Classic. And yes – its true – I do often lose a pair of shoes or two, but this year I’m coming prepared with and extra stash! Thanks to P0ker H0 for letting THAT cat out of the back! Payback is a bitch H0
I am so excited to announce (press release coming out next week) that we have reconfirmed Micahel Binger as a Team UB member for a second year. He has been so busy playing in live events this past year – but look out for the coming year. He will be blogging, twittering, providing some strategy pieces (and he’s a smaaaaaaaart cookie!) as well as playing in a ton of tournaments on the site! He is currently in Guyana with Victor Ramdin doing some volunteer work in health clinics – identifying and treating children with heart problems.
Another exciting addition to the team (which will also be announced next week) is that migration of the lovely Liv Boeree from AP to Team UB. Liv has been with AP for a number of years, initially in a UK focused role; but as you know, she has taken the poker world by storm and proven herself to be an international force to be reckoned with. Her skills, talent and ability to just play damn good poker make her a perfect addition to the strong Team UB in existence today. We are thrilled to have her, and just like Mr. Binger – you’ll be seeing a LOT more of Liv here at her new home – UB!
I want to close this BLOG with a big shout out to my MVP Scott Ian!! After a gruelling tour in Europe with his band Anthrax, he was the first person to complete the P0ker J0 homework assignment I gave the team. He truly is my MVP – so thanks to you Scott!! Keep an eye out for Scott at both the UB tables, in Aruba and on tour. Busy busy guy – but still my MVP!! xoxoxoxo
Ok – I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy and that cannot last so I’m off to the gym to do some damage (and when I say damage – I mean I’m gonna hurt tomorrow!!)
Enjoy the weekend and see you back here next week!
P0ker J0
Tags: Anthrax, HollywoodDave, Liv Boeree, Matt Graham, Michael Binger, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Scott Ian, WSOPE
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Saturday, July 11, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
For some just playing in the World Series of Poker Main Event is the realization of a lifelong dream. For other, cashing in the Main Event is a story to be retold over and over again for decades. But for some, there’s only on reason to play in the Main Event–or any poker tournament, for that matter. And that’s to win it.
Phil Hellmuth has a legacy to think about. He’s won more WSOP bracelets than anyone else, has played at more WSOP final tables than anyone else, has more WSOP cashes than anyone else. He won the Main Event twenty years ago. But still, that’s not enough. With every deep run comes an opportunity to rewrite history, history Phil himself wrote in years past. Coming into play today Phil had a big stack, big enough to work his usual magic and position himself for another deep run in the biggest poker tournament in the world, just as he did last year.
But it wasn’t meant to be. Famous for his line “I can dodge bullets, baby!”, Phil lost a big pot to Jose Manuel Gomez Rebenaque when Rebanaque called an 80,000 bet on the river with pocket Aces, and Phil wasn’t able to rebuild and retrench after that. He had chips, just not as many as those rising to the top of the leaderboard, when he lost a huge pot to Abraham Mourshaki when Mourshaki flopped trip Jacks and Phil called a 120,000 bet on the river. The end came shortly thereafter, when Phil was dealt…pocket Aces, and when the money went in after a Jc-10d-5c flop. Phil found himself in big trouble against Kenny Hsiung’s J-10 and Kevin Jenkins’ 8h-9h, and when the 7d fell on the turn it gave Jenkins a straight that held up to take the pot.
And that’s when WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla took the microphone and announced, “Ladies and Gentleman, just eliminated from the Main Event…Phil Hellmuth”. There was a smattering of applause in the half-empty room, an ESPN film team followed Phil as he walked out the door. “Love you, Phil!” a fan called from the far rail, but Phil walked out the door and was gone.
For Scott Ian, the Main Event WAS his World Series, as he was in Europe touring with Anthrax during the rest of the Series. He returned to the States just in time to take his Main Event seat, and then after surviving to Day 2 he had to hop on a plane and fly to Tulsa, Oklahoma to play a gig at the Rocklahoma music festival. A flight at dawn back to Vegas and Scott resumed his seat on Day 3, battling all day with a shortstack to make it to Day 4. And on Day 4 he gritted it out, folding several times to big re-raises when his entire stack was in peril, and battled his way into the money. If Phil was crushed after his elimination, Scott saw the bright side. As he tweeted, “I cashed in my first main event. Outlasted 5857 players. So stoked. Post main event euphoria.”
But that’s how it is for everyone who cashes in the Main Event but doesn’t win–there’s congratulations, and condolences as well. There’s only one winner, and everyone else walks away from the table bitterly disappointed. But there’s reason to be proud of cashing in the Main Event, and both Scott Ian and Phil Hellmuth have reason to be proud of what they accomplished this week. Even if pride is an emotion that might come harder for some at this particular time.
And with that, we’re done for the night. Tournament Director Jack Effel announced a bit ago that we were ending early tonight, with 407 players still in the hunt for the World Championship. We’ll resume tomorrow at high noon, with 406 players sure to ride that roller coaster of ecstasy and despair, while one will claim the ultimate prize–the title of World Champion.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Anthrax, Phil Hellmuth, Scott Ian, world series of poker, WSOP
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Tuesday, July 7, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
What with all the furor today over who didn’t get to play, let’s pause a moment to talk about those who ARE playing today. Including one Team UB member who is making his 2009 World Series of Poker debut, Scott Ian. Scott has been touring in Europe in support of Anthrax’s new album, Worship Music, and just made it into Vegas yesterday. And already he’s won a big pot with pocket Aces to boost his stack to over 40,000.
Two other players looking to make a big, final splash at the Main Event are Adam “Roothlus” Levy and Michael Binger, who are among the 2,809 players who are shoehorned into every nook and cranny of the Rio for play today.
One player who exited the tournament much too early was Matt “Wiscomurray” Murray, who was eliminated just before the dinner break. I saw him in the Phil Hellmuth lounge during the break and when he told me he’d been eliminated I said, “Oh, I’m sorry…I did get a pic of you, though.” Then I thought about what I said and added, “I’m sure that’s a great comfort right now”. Sometimes I can be a freakin’ idiot.
One player I didn’t get a picture of today was Matt Graham, who was eliminated from the Main Event while I was attending Jeffrey Pollack’s meeting earlier today. But I did get quite a few shots of Matt earlier in the Series, like when he won his second WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event:
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, adam levy, Anthrax, Matt Graham, Michael Binger, Scott Ian, world series of poker, Worship Music, WSOP
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Sunday, June 28, 2009 - Scott Ian
I’ve been in Europe since May 31, all over the place. I spent the first two weeks doing promotion for the new record. Basically traveling from city to city doing interviews and photo shoots (UB shirts in every shoot!)12 hours a day. London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo. It was a brutal schedule but the reaction to the new songs has been amazing!!!! I have an iPod with the new mixes on it and the writers get to hear them right before they sit down to talk to me. The instant reactions are great. It really makes me excited for all of you to hear it!!! It really feels like the press/media is hearing the songs the same way I hear them. They can hear all the energy and time and blood and sweat and hard work that we put into this record. The two years we spent writing and then the six months we spent recording were some of the toughest and best times I have ever had in Anthrax and listening back to the finished songs now I can say it was well worth it. This new record is the best representation of our career that I could ever imagine and our new singer Dan Nelson sounds like he’s been with us forever.
Anyway, wait until you hear this record. Worship Music is a fucking great metal record and it will be out on October 12.
After the two weeks of promo we started our summer tour in Estonia. It was our first time in Tallinn and we had a blast!! Found a killer bar called Hell Hunt and we drank a hellish amount of beer! My friend Renee offered to take me to a poker room but I was too drunk and thought it would be a bad idea to be playing with hardcore Estonians and Russians drunk. The show in Estonia was great (even though it was raining really hard) and the new songs went over great. We’ve been playing three new ones; “Fight’em ‘Til You Can’t”, “New Noise”, and “Earth On Hell” and the reactions everywhere have been thrash-fucking-tastic.
We played the Metal Hammer Awards in London and that was great. Since then we’ve been in Paris, Luxembourg, Clisson France for Hellfest (which was amazing!!), Bilbao, Bologna and now Switzerland. Somehow amongst all of that I cashed in Sundays 200K, 41st place.
At the Hellfest in France after our show I got to watch Heaven & Hell from the side of the stage and they were incredible. Ronnie Dio is metal perfection. He really is the best singer ever. And, getting to stand so close to Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler is so surreal. I know these guys and have had conversations with them and I know they are just normal guys but they INVENTED HEAVY METAL. It’s like standing next to Gods.
That’s it for now. See you on UB and I’ll be in Vegas for the WSOP Main Event and don’t forget to WORSHIP MUSIC!!!
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Anthrax, Heavy Metal, music, ub, Vegas, Worship Music, WSOP
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Sunday, June 7, 2009 - Scott Ian
The WSOP is here! Non-stop poker and partying for six weeks! Vegas is ripe with cash for the taking!!
And I’m on a plane from Paris to Madrid.
DAMN!!
Schedules can really be an asshole!!
Last year I played a whole bunch of events in June but had to leave town the day before the main event.
This year I am missing all of June and I get to Vegas in time to play day 1D of the main event. How’s this for a schedule: I play the Sonisphere Festival with Metallica in Hockenheim Germany on July 4th, drive to Frankfurt after the show. Fly Frankfurt – Dallas – Vegas on July 5th and should be checking into the Hard Rock around 6PM. I’ll head over to the Rio that night to buy-in for day 1D and then hopefully be able to sleep (jet-lag is an asshole too) and be 100% for the tourney. After I play days one and two I have to fly to Tulsa on July 9th for a show and then right back to Vegas the morning of the 10th for day 3. I’m sure you’re probably thinking, “Jesus Christ, that’s nuts, he’ll never make day 3” by now but I look at it as a sign that I am supposed to be there. Usually my schedule is so insane I have to miss a lot of stuff that I want to do in my life so the fact that it’s worked out that I can be there makes me feel good. It’s put a fire under my ass that I’m gonna ride to the final table. Oh yeah, I fly back to Europe on July 16!! The planets are in alignment!! Now I just need my hands to hold up.
I am currently in Europe on a promo tour for the new album, on a plane flying from Paris to Madrid.
I was just in London for two days and Paris for one doing interviews (29 so far) and the reaction to the record has been massive. Everyone is loving it. It feels really good to hear this kind of response after working so hard on Worship Music. I haven’t felt this kind of anticipation around a record release in forever.
I was in the studio in NYC up until two weeks ago and now the entire recording for the new Anthrax album Worship Music is finished. We were working non-stop, late night, early morning, 24/7 to make sure this record is going to be everything we’ve wanted it to be for the last two years. Dave Fortman (Slipknot, Mudvayne, Evanesence) started mixing and there are five songs finished so far; Earth On Hell, Bleed, New Noise, Burn The Past and Crawl. It’s sounding fucking great!!
Over the last week it’s been great to finally hear these songs with all the parts done. I can finally really feel what this album is about and it’s definitively Anthrax. There are so many little things on the record that bring me back to 1987 or 1993 and somehow it all works and sounds like 2009. All I can say is I’ve been listening to the mixes over and over and it’s so fucking cool and heavy and I can’t wait for all of you to hear this. OK, enough of me talking about myself, you my friends will make up your own minds!
I did get to take a break the other day and go see the Iron maiden movie Flight 666. The theater was packed and the atmosphere was more that of a concert than a movie.
The movie is amazing. The cameras follow the band on their World Slavery tour all around the globe with band, crew and all of their gear on the plane (Ed Force One!!) and Bruce flying it!! The movie looks and sounds great and the narrative is compelling. It’s really a great window into an amazing organization that we’ve been lucky enough to work with over the years (and hope to again!). If you’re a Maiden fan you have to see this. Actually, even if you’re not a fan of Maiden or Metal or even music you will like this. Maiden will
make you love them!!!
OK, I’m out. We’re starting our descent into Madrid.
I’ve been hitting the tables ($50 – $100 SnG’s) late night here in Europe. Maybe I’ll see you there. If not, I’ll see you in Vegas!!!
Cheers,
Scott
PS Good luck to Team UB this month. Take’em down to Chinatown!!!
Tags: Anthrax, Evanesence, Hard Rock, Iron Maiden, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Team UB, ub, Vegas, World Slavery Tour, WSOP
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - Scott Ian
Hello my friends how the hell are ya?
We’ve been burning the midnight black tooth grinding away at the new Anthrax record. I’m on my way home from NYC where we just spent a week working on vocals. I’m home in LA for the weekend and then I go right back to NYC on Tuesday for more recording. We’re getting close to finishing and it’s sounding great. There is so much energy in the tracks it’s like a physical, tangible thing. We start mixing on May 6 and we should be giving birth to a really heavy baby by June 1!
A couple of weekend’s ago we took a break from recording to fly down to Bogota Columbia to play a show with Iron Maiden. When Maiden invites you to a party, you show up. Especially in Bogota. It was a long trip there from LA but when we got in Friday night the hotel bar was still open and we dove into the local brew called Club Columbia. It was good.
Saturday was show day and we got to the venue in Simon Bolivar park (it’s like their Hyde Park or Central Park) at about 3PM. Our dressing room was a huge tent fully catered and boozed out with white jacketed waiters. Strange but nice. Everything was 5 star. I guess I didn’t expect the white glove treatment in Bogota. Everyone treated us great and we really felt the vibe of how stoked people were that we were there. You could feel it in the air. Thousands of people were on line for a week waiting to get a good spot up front. Seriously dedicated these Columbians.
Our show was amazing. 45,000 strong, the Bogota metalheads went fuckin’ nuts. They sang every word. It was our first time there and it won’t be our last. I haven’t felt that kind of energy from a crowd in a while. It really felt like the whole thing could at any second just completely dissolve into chaos. And that’s a good thing.
Iron Maiden and their crew treated us as usual, fabulously. We have been playing shows together since 1988 and they have always been by far the best band we’ve ever played with. Their attitude has always been about giving the kids the best show they’ve ever seen and that includes letting the support bands shine. They’ve never had that attitude where they would sandbag an opening act to make themselves look better. Maiden and their organization, from their manager Rod Smallwood to Squid the monitor tech are all consummate professionals and it’s a fucking honor and a privilege to share a stage with them.
When Maiden hit the stage the roar from the crowd sounded like what a tsunami must sound like. It was a deafening monstrous roar that never stopped. I was in actual tears of joy watching Maiden rip into Wrathchild. I headbanged the rest of the night away. Maiden are the Kings.
We got to hang late into the night with Steve, Bruce, Nicko and Rod. I can’t wait to do it again.
Oh, and Dave Murray plays poker!!
See you at the tables.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Anthrax, Dave Murray, Iron Maiden
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Monday, March 30, 2009 - Scott Ian
GOD DAMN WOO HOO AND CAN I GET A HELL YEAH!!!
10:45PM Sunday night March 29. At least I think that’s wha time it was. I could be off by a bit as I was excited and freaking out and not paying attention to the minutiae of the moment because after over nine hours of poker (I started at 1:35 PST in the Dime tourney) I won the 200K. GOD DAMN WOO HOO AND CAN I GET A HELL YEAH!!!
Wow, after final tabling the 200K three times, I took it down. It really felt good.
I’ve been working my ass off for a year and winning this on the site that had the faith in me was extra special.
OK, more on this later. Let’s get in the time machine and take it back to Wednesday. Yeah, my time machine is pretty ghetto, it only goes back five days. Wednesday night was the first of what I hope will be a regular home game that I have started with a bunch of friends. It’s taken us forever to get it together and even Wednesday night an 8PM starting time quickly turned into 10PM start time by the time we got set up, counted chips, stopped eating, talking, etc. UB was nice enough to send us a felt so we didn’t look like a bunch of hoboes. Being that it was the first time we were playing and there were a lot of different skill levels, some beginners, some who kind of knew what they were doing, some decent players and some really good players; we decided to play a few nine handed SnG’s, $40 buy-in. I wanted $100 buy-in but the beginner’s union objected. I argued that beginner’s luck would swing in their favor but all they saw was my beard snatching their money like an octopus’ tentacle.
The games were fun, the food was great, the booze was boozy and all of a sudden it was 2AM. I was having fun playing/teaching/getting sucked out on except I was feeling weird. I had been at the studio all day working on the new Anthrax album and I just thought I was tired, but that turned into a full body ache and what felt like a fever. I didn’t want to be the party pooper so I kept playing but by 2AM I was ready to drop. Pearl and I left, and the games continued until early in the morning. When I got home I had the chills and was shivering uncontrollably. I got into bed and passed out instantly only to wake up thirty minutes later as my feet were already running to the bathroom like Fred Flintstone starting his car. I puked what seemed like more than I could’ve physically had in my body, took my temp, fever, and then passed out again. I woke up the next day less pukey but still sick. Doctor says flu. Boo. I never get sick, haven’t been in years. And the flu? Maybe when I was a kid? Anyway, I was on my ass.
I was stressed out because I was supposed to be going to Phoenix the next day (Friday) for my aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary/ family reunion. It was really important for me to be there. It’s not often that my family gets together and I was looking forward to it. I had already decided to not go to the Poker News Cup in Austria because I wanted to be at my family reunion and now I’m down with the flu and I’m not going to make it. It was really bumming me out, making being sick even worse. I woke up Friday still sick, there was no way I could fly. I spoke to my dad in Phoenix and everyone in my family sent their get-well wishes from the bar at the pool at the Phoenician. Stupid flu!!
So with my travel plans dashed, I spent my time catching up on 24, Lost, South Park, Poker After Dark and everything else in my DVR. I couldn’t even play guitar as just holding the guitar made me tired. By Saturday I was feeling better but definitely not 100%. Maybe 45%. No energy at all. Just walking outside for some air winded me. The flu is worse than a hangover. I woke up Sunday feeling the same, this thing hanging on my neck like impending danger. At least I knew I had the Sunday tourney’s to help pass the time.
I bought into The Dime and was doing OK, but I didn’t feel like I could focus. With my energy so low I wasn’t feeling like myself and I couldn’t put all my strength into my game. I figured when the 200K started I’d just take it easy and be patient and if I bust early I’ll watch some 24 and take a nap.
The best laid plans…
I’m sure there were many pivotal hands over the course of the tourney. Usually I’m good at recalling hands but with my flu brain, it’s all a bit hazy. I do remember a hand where I had QQ UTG, I think blinds were 3-600; I raised 3X, the SB called, and the BB reraised big. I thought about it for a minute and folded. The SB shoved and the BB called. SB also had QQ and the BB had AA! AA held. As my good friend Phil Hellmuth Jr would say, “I can dodge bullets baby.” Actually, I think being sick helped me make the fold there. My normal aggression was definitely tempered by all the meds and lack of energy.
The tourney rolled on and on and all of a sudden it was two tables and then I was 9 out of 11 and then it was the final table. I was on the short side of things for a while, down to 135K with blinds at 10-20K at one point, totally card dead and then I woke up with AA and QQ back to back and was breathing easier with around 350K. At that point it was five handed and I got way more aggressive, stealing blinds, knocked out a guy and I really chipped up. I was delirious. I had never done better than 7th in this tourney so it was already a personal victory for me. When it got down to 3 we looked at one deal. I was in 2nd by only a little and the deal was really good. Basically 1st and 2nd same money with a big drop off for 3rd. We all agreed and then asked to play it out only to be told the tourney would terminate.
I didn’t want that. I wanted to win it and I said I wanted to play it out. One of the other players, Quizzle1 I believe asked if we could at least play a few hands to finish it and the manager said yes. My last hand was KQ and I took it down!
I turned around to Pearl and told her I won and she was freaking out. I was too although I was so physically wrecked. It all caught up and it was hard for me to even write thank you to all the congrats that were coming in let alone jump out the window and go get reallllyyyyyy drunk like I wanted to. I did realize that if it wasn’t for the flu, I would’ve flown to Phoenix and I would’ve been on a plane on Sunday coming home and I wouldn’t have been able to play. Weird. Yay flu!!
Now it’s Monday morning and I’m still recovering. Feeling better but still weak, maybe 70%. Winning definitely helps!! That’s it for now. I gotta eat something I didn’t eat a thing yesterday.
Cheers my friends,
Scott
PS Thank you so much to Phil, Annie, Debo, Wisco,Shawn, Ho and everyone at UB for believing in me.
Tags: 24, Anthrax, Lost, Pearl, Poker After Dark, South Park
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Friday, February 27, 2009 - UB Marketing
From rock stars, WSOP and the hottest game of the year in Aruba!!!
As you may have noticed, some weeks ago CEREUS launched Step tourneys!! Steps is an easy way to win huge land events/online tourney packages through a quick an exciting sit n go structure. Pretty much for just $0.10 you can end up sitting at the most prestigious tourney, the WSOP Main Event July 3rd, 2009.
Not only that, $0.10 can end up giving you huge profits!! The first 10 players winning a WSOP package all the way from step 1 will win a 100% free $8500 package to Aruba 2009! But it doesn’t ends there… We at marketing believe that UB management have CEREUSLY lost it… it seems that any player who signs up with UB, agress to wear our gear and achieves to win the WSOP 2009 main event will take home $10.000.000 in addition to the Main Event’s prize pool. Details for this promo will be available soon, but its already confirmed.
In addition to the millions of $ UB is throwing out the window, he have a special tourney featuring UB’s own Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke plus an amazing line up of rockstars!! So check it out, on March 11th 20 players will be joining Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Slash (Guns n’ Roses/Velvet Revolver) and Kirk Hammett in a 27 seat sng with a $10.0000 prizepool… check details at http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-promotion/scott-ian-home-game
So, make sure to check out our step tourneys, because some major prizes await some lucky UB players.
The promotions team @ UB is constantly baking tons of exciting promos, so make sure to stop by the blog for updates and visit our promo page @ http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-promotion
Take it easy and see you at the tables!!
Tags: 2009 wsop, alice in chains, Annie Duke, Anthrax, aruba classic, Cereus, guns n roses, pantera, Phil Hellmuth, sit n go, STEPS tournament, ub marketing, velvet revolver
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