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.
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
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Monday, June 1, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
A nightly rite here at the World Series of Poker is the bagging of the chips. After a long day battling on the green felt, seeing the floor staff bringing armfulls of heavy plastic sleeves to the tables is a welcome sight. Those bags mean that the day has come to an end…and you still have chips. When a tournament plays down to a final table those bags are usually full to bursting with brightly-colored checks, you’ll see the floorpersons using two hands to hoist them onto sturdy metal trolleys. It must be extremely satisfying to bag your chips and then have to lift the groaning sack with your legs so you don’t throw your back out. I wouldn’t know.
Dealing with an overstuffed chip bag is a problem Phil Hellmuth has dealt with more than any player in WSOP history. He has the most cashes, the most final tables, the most bracelets. The final table of today’s Champions Invitational won’t count toward Phil’s total, and chances are the chip bag Phil brought to the table was his lightest ever:
That’s three chips, a 1,000, a 100, and a 25. I’ll leave you to do the math. So Phil wasn’t exactly in a good spot as the ten remaining World Champions made their way to the ESPN Feature Table stage, especially as he’d be in the big blind on the first hand. The players started unbagging their chips…and Phil wasn’t there yet. While the camera crews got zeroed in I snuck up to the podium where the Binion Cup, the trophy that will be awarded to the Invitational winner, was displayed:
Just then Phil tore around the corner and squeezed past the ropes and entered the feature table area. Turns out his tardiness wasn’t his fault–ESPN was interviewing him and they ran long. So the producers grabbed him (almost literally) and got him miked up for the final table:
The remaining players were introduced according to the year the won the Main Event, with Peter Eastgate going first, Robert Varkonyi next, and before too long it was time for the 1989 World Champion to make his entrance:
World Series of Poker Commissioner said to the crowd that this was the greatest final table assembled in WSOP history, and with every player a world champion and scores of bracelets among them it’s hard to argue against it (perhaps the only table that could compare would be the 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. final, won by the late Chip Reese). The ten men gathered at today’s final table were a tableau of poker’s past, present, and future:
And then came the somewhat anticlimactic act of…playing poker. Phil tore open his bag, dumped his trio of chips on the felt, and said “One…two…three…deal me in!” With Phil having to pony the big blind on the first hand he was pretty much committed before the cards were even dealt. Chip leader Carlos Mortensen raised and Phil looked across the felt at “The Matador”, knowing that he would have to best the 2001 World Champion to stay alive.
It turned out Phi was in better shape than he might’ve hoped–Mortensen held two red deuces to Phil’s 10s-5s. Two overcards vs. a pocket pair, the ‘ol coin flip situation. The 4h-Qd-Jc flop didn’t help much at all, but the Ad on the turn gave Phil a draw to Broadway. But the river brought the 8d and, just like that, Phil Hellmuth’s afternoon came to an end.
Just before the cards went into the air Phil went around the table and shook everyone’s hand, as he always does at a new table. Now he stood and again shook everyone’s hand, this time to say goodbye. He got to Doyle Brunson and said, ‘I’ve never done that before–I shook everyone’s hand, played one hand, and then shook everyone’s hand again.” And there was no tirade, no rant–just lots of handshakes and smiles all around:
Sadly this means that Phil won’t be driving off in the 1970 Corvette Stingray that goes to the Champions Invitational’s winner, and that means I won’t have an excuse to camp out next to it shooting pics. Not that I should need an excuse to take pictures of such a beautiful machine. I’ll post more pics of the ‘Vette (and of the Invitational’s final table) later in the evening.
Tags: 1970 corvette stingray, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, carlos mortensen, champions invitational, Phil Hellmuth, phil hellmuth champions invitational, ub, ultimatebet, ultimatebet world series of poker, ultimatebet wsop, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop champions invitational
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Monday, June 1, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
One of my favorite movies of all time is The Matrix, that dystopian cyberpunk kung-fu masterpiece. There are rumors that there were two Matrix sequels but I prefer to believe those alleged horrible movies NEVER HAPPENED. Just like those alleged Star Wars “prequels” that George Lucas supposedely filmed a few years back. They NEVER HAPPENED. You got that? Jar Jar Binks is just an urban myth, not a character in the Star Wars universe. GOT THAT????
Anyway, one of the coolest scenes in The Matrix comes when Neo, the hero, finds himself pitted against one of the dreaded Agents. Neo pulls out two pistols and empties the clips at the Agent, who twists and turns and dodges every shot. Then the Agent pulls out his pistol and fires at Neo, who, starting to realize the awesome powers he possesses, dodges the bullets as well. It’s just so frickin’ cool. The whole flick is that cool, and it stars Lawrence Fishburne as well. Sick.
There’s actually a point to all this rambling, and here it is–one of Phil Hellmuth’s most famous quotes came a few years ago at the World Series, when he managed to get away from a dangerous situation when his opponent held pocket Aces. After Phil folded his opponent revealed his cards and Phil leapt to his feet. Crowing to his wife along the rail, Phil said, “I can dodge bullets, baby!!”
On that day Phil proved that he could dodge two bullets. Last night, alas, he wasn’t able to dodge FOUR of them. Phil and Jim Bechtel tangled in a big pot and with the board reading 10h-As-Qc-Ah-6d the two champions exchanged a series of raises on the river. Phil turned over pocket Queens for the flopped set and turned boat. Bechtel turned over…pocket Aces. He flopped a bigger set, turned quads (QUADS) and left Phil with just a handful of chips.
But Phil managed to stay alive and make today’s televised final table. He doubled up through Johnny Chan by once again proving that his bullet-dodging skills haven’t totally abandoned him. Chan had pocket Aces, Phil pocket fours, but Phil flopped a set and got himself off life-support. Alas, when play resumes at 3pm Phil will have by far the shortest stack, with a meager 1,125 (compared to Carlos Mortensen’s 42,375). But the fans will get a chance to see Phil at the final table, he’ll get himself a little air time, and maybe, if he can avoid running into quads, he might double up a time or two and get back into contention. It should be a fun final table, for the fans and the players.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, 2009 wsop champions invitational, Phil Hellmuth, phil hellmuth champions invitational, phil hellmuth invitational, phil hellmuth world series of poker, phil hellmuth wsop, world series of poker, WSOP
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