The Muck
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Bernard Lee
George Lind III
Maverick Movie
Off the Felt
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JUN 08
@AsianSpa Blogs: WSOP Drama, Brad Booth, and More
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of PokerNews.
Another week in at the WSOP and after two events, I have one cash. I cashed in the $1,500 no-limit hold'em event for $3,216.00 which makes me plus-$216 so far in the WSOP. I can’t complain it’s been enjoyable and it’s great to see and hang out with fellow players and see one that took a desk job and put on some weight (Hobbit — Dave Stann). I have to give a shout-out to #TeamSpaLoyalist Lee Childs for realizing the power of Spa! He cashed for $22,885 after requesting some #SpaRunGood™ and #GoodJuJu™ in the same $1,500.
As it is every year at the WSOP there are plenty of issues and drama. This year is no exception, first the mens-womens bathroom issue, next the Aguiar issue of verbalizing at the final table, then All American Dave for bringing in food for players (which I have to admit is excellent food), to the botched re-entry event, and the heads-up draw/first round bye. I have to say I think the WSOP staff is more willing to discuss and are doing a great job handling these issues as they arise. It’s such a huge event and I have to say for the most part they are doing a great job.
I have played cash at the Rio and Aria and played one $400 tournament at the Venetian. Cash games have been real good and the tournament was like two-and-a-half hours of being card dead and out! I plan to play the $1,500 Saturday and if I bust early I am going to fire $5k for the 5 pm limit holdem event.
The stream has been OK this year. David Tuchman is awesome in the booth and his roaming group of guest commentators are doing a great job. I have had issues with the stream being down, etc., and figured they would have had it figured out by now. I bought a new Android tablet for the ability to watch the stream, and after having a drink with PokerNews-COO Matthew Parvis he informed me of the new PokerNews Android app. They knocked it out of the park with this poker tool. Great app and free drink! What more could a #TruthSpeaker™ need?
I can’t blog this week without commenting on the Brad Booth situation. I first read about it on TwoPlusTwo and immediately fired a Twitter DM to him saying “Say it isn’t so.”
Well Wednesday Brad posted a heartfelt apology and confirmed it was in fact true. I can say I feel for him going through this and I can’t say I have ever been in this situation or even broke before. I can say it takes a big man to post that video and admit his faults. I have reached out to Brad as a life coach & a TruthSpeaker™. I offered him someone who he can talk to and not be judged. I wish him the best at the WSOP and want to see him get his life righted in the right direction.
It's ironic, if Howard Lederer would have posted a video about a year ago about Full Tilt’s issues I think poker players would have a much different opinion of him. But I have to think the WSOP will never see Ferguson or Lederer. Annie Duke on the other hand showed up after the Epic Poker failure earlier this year and played like life was good. All I wanted to ask was when is the million dollar freeroll scheduled? Seems like with everyone in town for the WSOP it would be perfect timing!
Till then I send you #SpaRunGood™ & #GoodJuJu™
Spa
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JUN 08
First Five With Bracelet Winner David Arsht
We caught up with David Arsht right after his win in Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em to get some of his first thoughts after winning his bracelet. Before today, Arsht had two World Series of Poker cashes; one in a $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event in 2011 for $14,521 and one in a $1,500 Limit Hold'em event in 2007 for $7,826.
What is the first thing you're going to do as a bracelet winner?
The first thing I'm going to do is get our lives back in order. My wife came out here to visit yesterday. She came to meet me yesterday, and my son lives in southern Utah. I got in this event, and I said, if I make it to the third day we may have to change our schedule around. We were booked in a resort in St. George, Utah. We had to call the hotel and change our reservation. So the first thing I'm going to do after the bracelet ceremony is be where I was going to go. We were going up there for four or five days of vacation to visit my kid, and then I was coming back here for another week.
What is the first thing you thought when you won?
I cannot believe that this happened to me.
Who is the first person you're going to call and tell?
Well everybody's been watching on PokerNews and wherever the live feeds are. So I'd have to say that everybody in my family, and all my friends, and all my poker friends already know that I won it.
What is the first thing you're going to buy?
The first thing I'm gonna buy? Well, I think I had in the back of my mind a plan to do a trip to South Africa in the fall with my wife. There is no question that we're going on a very fancy trip to South Africa.
Who was the first person you hugged or high fived?
I think my son ran over and hugged me and I haven't even got a chance to go over and talk to my wife yet.
Can we expect to see you in anymore tournaments this summer?
Yeah. I'm gonna be in the $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout and if I get knocked out of that I'll be playing the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. the next day.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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JUN 07
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 11 Live Blog
All Mucked Up is a live blog of all the stuff you want to know at the 2012 World Series of Poker, besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you. Check back often for polls, soundbites, celebrity sightings, and who knows what else!
The Straddle
Kristy Arnett is introducing a new video series this summer called, The Straddle. Like all of our videos, it's going to be a must-watch, but this series is going to be bringing the funny instead of your standard player interviews. Check out the video below for an introduction to the series, a sample of what's to come, and an appearance from two of your favorite Muckers.
Morning Grind
Sightings early this morning in the Rio included Phil Collins, Jerry Yang, Andreas Hoivold and Randy "Nanonoko" Lew. Seems to be the same faces every morning who arrive early and well prepared for each tournament. A lot of the more notable players tend to arrive late for the big field tournaments, but today, in Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed, late attendees will be blinded out faster than the usual full ring structure!
One person who can't be late is Brian Hastings, who is in the final four of Event #12: $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em this afternoon. Fortunately, that doesn't kick off until 1 PM, so Hastings has an extra hour in bed.
A real early riser, Chance Kornuth was seen at Starbucks at 11:20 AM this morning in a long line for coffee. Kornuth has played in all the biggest side games so far in the series, but looks to be turning out for Event #16 today — either that or he's gearing up for another 12 hour $500/$1,000 PLO session.
Isildur1 : Second Chance At A Bracelet
We saw Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom arrive at the Rio today at 12:40PM. Himself and his friend proceeded into the Poker Kitchen here at the Rio and played Rock/Paper/Scissors to decide who paid for the others smoothie. Looks like Blom lost as he was left at the smoothie stand to foot the bill.
Blom is media shy, but we approached him and managed to get it out of him that he was playing Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed, that he was excited to play and that he was going to "try his best" to win a bracelet at the second time of asking.
The below photo is the authors attempt to not annoy Blom too much. Perhaps if we stay in his good books, the next interview will be longer...
Isildur Buying A Smoothie This MorningTo The Left
We met players as the arrived late in to the Rio for Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed and asked them who they definitely don’t want to see to their left today. It turned out to be a very one dimensional interview…
First person we caught was Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald.
“I don’t want to see Phil Ivey. I know that’s an obvious answer. He hasn’t played the World Series Of Poker in a year, but I played with him a bit in Monte Carlo and he’s tough”.
Another person wandering in late was Aaron ‘AeJones’ Jones. He seemed stuck for an answer, so we told him Timex said he didn’t want to see Ivey.
“Timex! That’s definitely a guy I want to see to my right”, Laughed Aaron. “And you can print that. As for players I don’t want to see to my left, Ivey is the person who stands out”.
Finally, we met up with Scott ‘iRockhoes’ Augustine outside the brazilia room and asked him the same question.
“Ivey would suck a lot. I would like to see anyone who looks like they’re under 17, is that answer?”
We know Scott is living with Brian ‘Stinger’ Hastings this summer, so we asked him about Brian’s chances in Event #12: $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em today.
“I think he’s got a great chance. He played great yesterday and me and him took some time and went over a bunch of hands last night. If I’m not playing tonight I’m gonna go and rail him for sure”.
Finally, we saw former main event champ Joe Cada looking for the Amazon room. He was in high spirits as he told us he was playing day two of Event #14 $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout.
“I have a really tough table actually. Doc Sands is a good player, I hope he’s not seated to my left for sure” Joe told us.
Who Wore It Best : Fisherman Edition
We spotted two players at Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed today sporting fisherman hats! They look somewhat out of place in land-locked Las Vegas, but full marks for effort.
My vote is for the camo hat.
Player A and Player BGuess Whose Car?
We saw this Jaguar in the parking lot. We had a pretty good idea of who's car it was, and the Valets confirmed that it belongs to Scotty Nguyen.
Who Ya Got?
This morning we spoke to the usual suspects, Ashton 'Ashman' Griffin and Aaron 'AeJones' Jones, about how they were enjoying the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat basketball series.
"I kind of want Heat to win tonight" Ashman told us. "I hate the Heat, but I really want OKC to beat them in the final more than anything. That would be sweet".
"I think the Celtics will win it. I hate the heat too, and I think the Celtics have been good so I'm betting Celtics. A lot of my friends are from Boston so it's fun sweating them".
Both Ashman and AeJones are sweating Brian 'Stinger' Hastings at the featured table in Event #12: $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em.
Hat of the Day
It's stiff competition, but this player in the Deep Stack tournament had an outfit that was surely muck worthy, blending a mustard track jacket and mustard track bottoms with a brown bowler hat. The bowler hat an elegant feather on one side and a playing card on the other - definitely a custom made WSOP hat.
Like Father Like Son
Jason Mercier is stuck between Todd Brunsen and father Doyle Brunsen in Event #15 $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better. Todd and Doyle know each others games very well, must make for some interesting table dynamics for Jason!
Unpopular Annie Duke
Annie Duke is around the Rio again today, and making a lot of headlines.
Late last night, when she was knocked out of her tournament, Todd Brunsen tweeted this:
Daniel Negreanu and Annie's rivalry has been well publicized in the last few months, what are the chances of them landing right next to each other in Event #15 $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better.
Here is a tweet about Annie's post- tournament complaints about someone cursing at her table:
Annie Duke in the hall complaining to TD because someone cursed her out at the table. She's asking about a penalty, but it's been ~90 mins.
June 07 2012FollowAnnie is not getting much sympathy around the Rio these last few days. Here is PokerStars pro Mickey Petersen's reply to the above tweet.
lol at @AnnieDuke complaining bc someone cursed at her, you are delusional. You are a disgrace to the poker community, please just stay away
June 07 2012FollowOn The Final Table Rail
We swung by the Amazon room to check out the final table rail for Event 12: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em where Brian 'Stinger' Hastings and Jason Mo battle it out for their share of the 1.4 million prize pool. Among the on lookers, on the side of Brian, is Vanessa Selbst.
Jason Mo seems to feel quite at home, sporting sandals and yellow and blue pajamas. Presumably he will change his attire before the bracelet ceremony?
Stinger has the bigger and more active rail and people flock to watch the dregs of this exciting final table.
Spot the Difference
We've already seen Richard Iler (AJ from Sopranos) on the felt this summer. Today we spotted this colorful character in Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed, decked out in the new york gangster style green tracksuit
Gangster A, Gangster B, Gangster CDrawing Thin Day 11
For today’s Drawing Thin, we spoke to Yevgeniy Timoshenko on the dinner break of Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed . We asked him first about how he says fit during the World Series of Poker and second how he eats.
“To stay fit, I play basketball with my room-mates Galen Hall, Greg Gokey and Calvin Anderson. That’s good for the cardio”
“As far as eating goes, I do make an effort to stay healthy. I mix it up a bit, but for breakfast I might have something like Egg’s Benedict”.
We ask Yev where he’s going for dinner on his 90 minute break.
“Right now for dinner I’m not sure where I’m going to eat, somewhere on the strip maybe. I want to watch Celtics/Heat, so if there’s somewhere showing that I’d be interested in eating there”.
“I’m up for Miami. I don’t sports bet ever so I don’t have money on it, but they’re my team”.
How'd They Do?
We wandered around the Rio halls asking poker players trivia questions. Take a look at the video below to see how they did.
A Fantasy Update
We're about 1/4 of the way through the series so far, so we thought it might be time for a fantasy poker update. The draft in question we're looking at is Daniel Negreanu's $25,000 Fantasy Poker Auction Draft, where players bid on the fantasy players that they wanted.
Currently in the lead is Daniel Negreanu's team with 136 points who is thriving on the performances of Vanessa Selbst, with 70 points thanks to her 4th place finish in the $1,500 No-Limit event and her 9th place finish in the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit event. Also doing well on that team is Negreanu himself who has a 5th place finish in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em Event.
Second in points is Jason Mercier's with 115 points. Mercier seems to have lucked out by taking John Monnette who recently won the $5,000 Seven Card Stud tournament. Monnette is currently holding up the team with 88 points. Another player on Mercier's team who is bringing in just a few points is Allen Bari with 14.
Some of the players who are standing out so far in fantasy poker are Scott Seiver, with 39 points, Bryn Kenney with 32 points, Barry Greenstein with 48 points, and Michael Mizrachi with 36 points. Points are calculated as follows, 50 points going to a first place finish, 45 points for second, 40 points for third, 35 points for fourth, and so on and so forth with 1 point going for a cash. There are also multipliers for a $10k and $5k buy-ins and a field size bonus.
We'll be sure to keep updating these standings at the half-way point as well as the 3/4 point so you can see how your favorite players are doing as fantasy picks. Click here to check out Negreanu's draft board, point standings, and payouts.
Happy Birthday To You! Happy Birthday Times Two!
After turning to twitter for some brief investigative work, we found out that not just one, but two pros in the building had birthdays today.
The first was Jeff Madsen:
Madsen won his table today in Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout, so we hope he doesn't party too hard as he'll have to return for the final 12 tomorrow. We'll try to catch up with him tomorrow to see how he's feeling and if he'll give us a birthday rap verse.
The second birthday boy today was Shannon Shorr:
For his birthday, Shorr busted earlier in the day in Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed when his
could not outrun his opponents 
Oddly enough, both Shorr and Madsen turned 27 today. It's tough not to wonder if they are partying together.
Bromances of the World Series of Poker
Today in Event #15: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better friends Allen Bari and Jason Mercier were seated right next to each other. Live Reporting Global Manager Donnie Peters was able to snap a picture of them before they were split apart.
Friends Allen Bari and Jason MercierWe'll try to catch up with Mercier and Bari later to see how strong their friendship is and how it feels to be seated next to each other in a tournament.
Maria Maridu Mayrinck and Diablo III
Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck stopped by the PokerNews office tonight to chat with PokerNews Hostess Lynn Gilmartin. Topics ranged anywhere from citizenship in their respective countries, Brazil and Australia, to food, exercise, dieting, and even boyfriends.
But the topic that perked our interest was Diablo III. Mayrinck explained that for the past week since players have been in town for the World Series of Poker, Joseph Cheong, Michael 'Benvo' Benvenuti, and Mayrinck's boyfriend David Baker have done nothing but play Diablo III after their tournaments.
"They don't do anything!" Mayrinck frustratedly explained. "They just play Diablo. They don't eat. They don't sleep. They don't poop. They don't pee. I have to spoon feed David just to get him to eat. Sometimes I think they are busting tournaments just to come home and play Diablo. They are even playing Diablo during the dinner breaks. ElKy is in on it too. It's crazy."
We'll try to catch up with some of these players when we see them to see if Mayrinck is exaggerating or not. On Saturday, PokerNews Hostess Sarah Grant is slated to do an "In Bed" interview with Mayrinck, so we're sure to hear more from her soon.
That's Not What I Asked For, Durrrr
Tom 'durrrr' Dwan has been missing from action at the World Series of Poker as of late, but his latest couple tweets help to explain his disappearance. He's been getting haircuts in Macau!
Just had a weird haircut experience in macau, guy tried to give me a goofy peak in the front (I never request stuff in haircuts except
June 07 2012Follow"shorter" and "sides even"), then tried to tell me he couldn't fix it without pinning my hair up. He was nice so it eventually worked out
June 07 2012FollowMaybe Dwan is just too embarrassed about his new haircut to show up. Don't worry durrrr, it's just hair. It'll grow back.
This Should Be Interesting
We recently saw that 2007 Main Event Champion Jerry Yang had moved to the same table as young poker phenom Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom in Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed. The two present quite a contrast to each other in appearance, but both are still very aggressive players who could tangle with each other at any time.
Viktor Blom and Jerry YangNeither player is too talkative, but it's hard not to wonder what the two would talk about. We know Viktor is not to keen on interviews, but if we can we'll catch up with Yang later to see his opinions on playing with Blom.
You Want A Piece Of Me?
We recently saw Brett Richey come over to Event #15: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Split Hi-Low 8-or-Better and hand Tom Koral a fat stack of cash. We were curious, so we asked if Richey had lost some kind of prop bet to Koral.
"No," Richey said. "We all had a piece of someone in the limit hold'em event and he just finished 6th. We had 20 percent and that's Tom's share. I'd never lose a prop bet to Tom."
The 6th place finisher in Event #13 was Ben Landowski who made $34,620. Twenty percent of that would've been $6,924, quite a large sum to have sitting on the table. We caught a picture of Koral and his stack of money, who happened to be sitting right next to ESPN commentator Norman Chad.
Norman Chad and Tom KoralKoral is still alive in Event #15 with 65,000 chips. "I just got handed a bunch of money, and I'm sitting next to Norman Chad," Koral said at the table. "I must be running good." Must be nice to be Tom Koral right about now.
On Break in the Stud 8
We caught up with Allen Bari during the break in Event #15: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Split Hi-Low 8-or-Better who was describing a beat that Eli Elezra had put on him right before break started.
"He says to me, 'I know you had three sevens.'" Bari explained. "Ok so you knew, but then why are you calling me with two 9s drawing to the case 9? I don't know what he's doing. I know he has some kind of last longer bet with someone for a lot of money. I think it's John Monnette. $50k."
If that's true, Elezra could be in a world of hurt because as it stands now, Monnette has over 100,000 in chips and Eli just has 45,000. But as we all know, in the game of poker anything can happen.
Also on break, we caught Bryan Devonshire, Joe Tehan, Ben Yu, and Christopher George in a heated Achtung battle as well. We're not sure, but we think Devonshire won.
The 22 Bracelet Table
We feel bad for poor seat 1Recently, our live reporting team did the math and in Event #15: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Split Hi-Low 8-or-Better, we have 22 bracelets sitting at one table. They are split between Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, John Monnette and Todd Brunson. We wanted to see what it was like to be at a 22 bracelet table so we went and watched for a bit. Things seem to be all quiet at the table with both Ivey and Hellmuth wearing headphones. Also at the table is Bryn Kenney and Michael Binger, who has 23 World Series cashes.
John Monnette and Todd BrunsonTruly, this is one of the most stacked tables the World Series of Poker has ever seen, and might even be the most stacked one we see all year.
Phil Hellmuth and Phil IveyWe encourage everyone to get involved with "The Muck." See something you think is Muck worthy? Send it to themuck@pokernews.com. We accept all media including photos and videos.
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JUN 07
The Micros: The Good News and the Bad News
The Micros web comic is good and keeps our cravings for a look at the lives of Balls, Chase, and Tommy in check. This week's comic give us a glimmer of hope for at least one animated episode, but then smashes our dreams — kind of like that one time when we won a WSOP bracelet, only to wake up and realize we were dreaming.
Visit The Micros' Facebook fan page for more photos, including some teaser posters for the web comic.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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JUN 06
First Five With Bracelet Winner Ashkan Razavi
We caught up with Ashkan Razavi after his victory in Event #9: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry to get some of his initial thoughts after winning his first bracelet.
What's the first thing you're going to do as a bracelet winner?
First thing I'm going to do as a bracelet winner? I haven't really thought about it yet. I'm going to probably go out and get some drinks with my rail and just show them my appreciation. Have a little fun.
What's the first thing you're going to buy?
Well, me and my girlfriend just had a baby and we're desperately in need of a minivan. So I think that has to go on the top of the list.
Who's the first person you're going to call and tell?
My mom. Laughs
What's the first thought you had after winning?
Sweet.
Who's the first person you hugged, or high-fived, after winning?
I don't know... Hmmm.
Then Ashkan's girlfriend interjected
It was definitely Matt, he jumped right over the rail.
Ashkan continues
Oh yeah. Matt Jarvis jumped right over the rail and pretty much tackled me.
For his first place win, Ashkan Razavi took home $781,398. Definitely enough to buy a minivan and much much more.
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JUN 06
Interviews, Traveling, and UFC with PokerNews Hostess Sarah Grant
To get latest news on your favorite poker pros, Sarah Grant’s interviews are a must-see. We sat down with the jet-setting, PokerNews hostess and producer, to discuss interviews, traveling, and UFC.
Tell us who your favorite people to interview have been?
It has been so amazing how welcoming the poker community has been. When I first started, I would get so nervous to approach people, and honestly, sometimes I still do. But most everyone is super cool. I would say someone that I was nervous to talk, to who is so easy to interview and super chill is Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu.
Team PokerStars Pros Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Eugene Katchalov are the sweetest things. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst, and Melanie Weisner are so intelligent they can talk anyone through their thought process in any hand. Jason Mercier is always fun to interview because he has such a great sense of humor. I love dry sarcasm. Maria Mayrinck can make any video. I could call her for any crazy thing.
Who haven't you interviewed yet that you would love to interview?
In poker it would be Tom Dwan. We seem to always miss each other. I've watched him play high stakes cash a lot and would love to just chat him up. If I could interview anyone in sports it would be Tim Tebow! In music it would be Jeff Buckley (but he is dead) and in film, Robert Downey Jr., because he is crazy and skilled.
What are some of your favorite destinations when covering tournaments for PokerNews?
I love places when I can spend some time in the morning enjoying myself or even go a day or two early.
PokerStars.net EPT Vilamoura in Portugal was incredible. We were right on the ocean and the hotel was having a 'soft' opening, so PokerStars basically had it all to itself. We had two early days to play volleyball in the pool and build sandcastles.
PokerStars.net APPT Cebu was amazing. I used to live in Thailand, so I'm kind of partial to the South Pacific. The staff was so welcoming and helped me so much since it was my first APPT. And there is always a special place in my heart for Florianopolis. It was my first event. Everyone was super helpful and warm. Everyone was giving me hugs and smooches right away. And the party was so cool!
Do you play poker at all?
Yes, I love poker, but I prefer it when drinking. I like to talk trash and I think it helps me loosen up a bit. Someday I might take it more seriously. For now, it’s for fun and I don't want to have everything poker related in my life to be work.
Did you meet your boyfriend, Heath "Texas Crazy Horse" Herring, through poker?
I met Heath four years ago on a film set. I used to be an assistant director on film sets. We basically build the schedule and run the set so that the director can deal primarily with the actors. I was doing the film as a favor to a friend of mine. It featured a bunch of UFC fighters. But, Heath actually had a starring role so we got to know each other a little bit. I had written off all the fighters as dumb. (I know I'm so bad.)
One night I ended up dropping him off at his hotel. Due to LA traffic we spent a few hours together chatting and it turns out he is super smart. He speaks several languages, is a history buff, and was a computer programmer before he got into fighting.
Follow Sarah on Twitter for the scoop on videos from PokerNews, and for up-to-the-minute news, click the follow button for PokerNews on Twitter.
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JUN 06
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 10 Live Blog
Are there any celebrities playing in a World Series of Poker event? What are the crazy prop bets being made, and who's making them? We aim to answer all that and more in All Mucked Up. It's a live blog of all the stuff you want to know besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you.
Ready to Go
This morning while we were getting ready for the PokerNews Podcast, we spotted Annette Obrestad coming out of registration. She stopped by PokerNews HQ to say hi. She's ready to roll today, so if you're at her table in Event #14, then you better watch out!
Team PokerNews recording today's podcast:
Make Yourself at Home
While walking through the 10k Heads Up tournament area we saw Antonio Esfandiari making himself at home right at the table. Esfandiari had his lunch set up on the table in the middle and had slipped his sandals off to get comfy. Hopefully the match lasts long enough for him to finish his meal.
Seen on the Rail
The final table of the $1,500 Re-Entry has gotten under way here in the Amazon room. We walked by to see if there were any pros on the rail and we saw Faraz Jaka sitting in the front row.
We also saw Brent Hanks on break from the $2,500 Shootout and he gave us a little lesson about Pileated Woodpeckers, which are the largest woodpeckers in North America.
$1,500 Re-Entry Final TableHat of the Day
Today we caught Daniel Weinman in Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout wearing a Patrick Star hat from the Nickelodeon cartoon, Spongebob Squarepants.
Daniel Weinman and his Patrick Star hatWe'll be sure to keep adding more and more hats as we come across them.
Celebrity Look Alike Spotted
We caught this player in Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout as well. We weren't able to catch his name but we thought he looked a little bit like someone we knew. If you've ever seen Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, we thought this gentleman looked a bit like Scott "Big Cat" Pfaff.
Unknown player and Scott "Big Cat" PfaffYou be the judge.
Tough Table Draws
We caught two rather tough table draws today that we would not want to be a part of. The first was in Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout. The table was headlined not only by Daniel Negreanu, but also at the table was Jason Mercier and Tommy Vedes. Considering the table is a shootout, only one will survive, and we expect it to be one of those three.
The second tough table we saw today was in Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em. Sitting down at this table means sitting down with Michael Mizrachi, Matt Glantz, JC Tran, Issac Haxton, and the current chip leader, Eric Buchman. Trust us, this is not a poker table you want to be sitting at.
We'll be sure to keep you updated on any other killer table draws through the rest of the series. But to keep an eye on these tables, or any other, make sure you check out our live reporting blog.
Cutest Couples: WSOP 2012
Both Jennifer Harman and Marco Traniello are deep in Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em. There are only 135 players left and both members of one of poker's most notable couples are still alive and kicking. We'll try to catch up with the both of them later and see how they'd feel if they went heads-up for the bracelet.
The Liv Boeree v. Doyle Brunson Epic Scooter Race Is On!
We caught up with Liv Boeree today and we asked her about the tweets between her and Doyle Brunson regarding the epic scooter race we talked about the other day.
"100 percent i'm serious," Boeree said. "If I see him I genuinely will race him. I would like my ankle to get a bit better first, because there will be some dirty driving going on but I definitely will race him."
Liv told us that she thinks she will definitely win in a race against Doyle. We don't know yet if the two will put any bets on the race, but it's hard to bet against either on. Doyle has experience on his side, but Liv has youth and agression on hers. If the scooter race does go down then we'll be sure to get a video of it for you.
Star Studded Stud Game
The $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better has some big names and we’ll be hanging around to get reactions from them. Among those playing are JohnnyBax, Bryan Devonshire, PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu, and ESPN commentator Norman Chad.
Hawaiian Shirts Are All the Rage
We caught Men 'The Master' Nguyen wearing one of the most flamboyant Hawaiian shirts we've seen all series so far. We snapped a picture and moved on to Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout where we caught another player wearing a Hawaiian shirt. We didn't catch his name.
Men 'The Master' Nguyen and Shootout Player: Who Wore It Better?What we want to know is who you think wore it better!
Doyle In The Building
It was just announced that Doyle Brunson is in the building for his first event of the 2012 WSOP. His arrival was met with a round of applause from players, fans, and the Rio staff. He's playing the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better.
Prior to his arrival, we chased down Doyle as he scooted his way through the Brasilia room. He was exchanging fist bumps with Phil Ivey and Mike Matusow before making a beeline to the TV for the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, game.
Who’s Doyle rooting for in tonight’s match up?
“Oklahoma,” Doyle said emphatically.
And his pick in the Eastern Finals?
“Boston! And Oklahoma to win it all!”
Oklahoma ended up winning the game and the series and will face the winner of the Heat v. Celtic series in the NBA finals.
What Song Tilts You Most?
It's no secret that the music in the Rio is tilting. From the PokerNews office we hear the same five songs on repeat throughout the entire day, including Justin Beiber's “Boyfriend” and Gotye's “Somebody That I Used To Know.” We know that listening to the same five songs over and over can be tilting so we asked pros what song tilt's them the most.
“I don't usually listen to anything they play here,” Bryn Kenney said. “It's too tilting for me to listen to any of it. Usually I just pull out my phone and listen to something on there.”
We also talked to Ylon Schwartz who said he tries to ignore the music they play in the hallways. “I don't usually listen to it,” Schwartz said. “But I guess if they played an excess of Celine Dion that would be pretty tilting.”
Finally we caught up with Liv Boeree and asked her what song they play tilts her the most. “That one song, 'Hey I just met you!'” she sang to us. “'And this is crazy! So here's my number. So call me maybe.” Liv was talking about Carly Rae Jespen's song, “Call Me Maybe.” We'll try to catch up with some other pros and get their responses. Until then, here's hoping the Rio finds a new set list.
The Cool Kids Table
Walking through the Rio Poker Kitchen at dinner break we saw several tables filled with an assortment of poker pro cliques. It resembled a High School lunch hall, where you could tell who the “cool” kids were.
One table had Doyle and Todd Brunson along with Andy Bloch, and Matt Savage. Seated at an adjacent table were Huck Seed and Paul Volpe. A few tables away were Xian Liu, Scott Seiver, and Andrew Robl. And nestled in a corner were married couple Jennifer Harmon and Marco Traniello enjoying soup.
As we made our way around the hall, feeling like the new kid in school, we were greeted by Stud player Ivan Schertzer on break from the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better. Ivan final tabled two WSOP Stud events in 2006 and 2009.
What was Schertzer's fondest memories of his final table runs?
"Crippling Johnny Chan in the 2006 stud event."We'll be keep an eye Ivan as he hopes to make another final table and maybe the third time will the charm for the Miami lawyer.
Bombardment Of F-Bombs in the Brasilia
Courtesy of Pokerlistings.comBracelet winner Burt Boutin just busted from Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout and quickly exited the Brasilia room, but not before unleashing a profanity laden tirade.
It went a little something like this: F**k! F**k. F*****k! F**king f**k me. F**king, f*****k!
Tagged with the moniker “Red Bull Burt,” for his propensity to consume the energy drink at the tables, Boutin is known for his nervous energetic behavior.
Name the Pro
Seat 1- David Singer, Seat 2- John Racener, Seat 3-Eli Elezra, Seat 4-Johnny Bax, Seat 6- Alan Cunningham, Seat 7- Men The Master, Seat8- ?We came across this star studded table in Event #15: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better. We labeled many of the pros in the picture above, but wanted to see if you guys can guess who’s in seat-8.
Who's Drawing Thinner?
We over heard bracelet winner and Stud specialist Cory Zeidman debating with a tablemate about who's skinnier, poker legend Stu Ungar, at the time the above picture was taken, or Chino Rheem? Laughs broke out at the table but we didn’t get any definitive answers. So we figured we’d leave it up to the Muck faithful to decide.
We encourage everyone to get involved with "The Muck." See something you think is Muck worthy? Send it to themuck@pokernews.com. We accept all media including photos and videos.
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JUN 05
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 9 Live Blog
Are there any celebrities playing in a World Series of Poker event? What are the crazy prop bets being made, and who's making them? We aim to answer all that and more in All Mucked Up. It's a live blog of all the stuff you want to know besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you.
Stacked Field For Event #12: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em
Players checking out their seat drawsLooks like we're going to have a stacked field for the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em event today. So far we've seen Jason Mercier, Justin Bonomo, Issac Haxton, Betrand 'ElKy' Grospellier, Doc Sands, Eric Froehlich, Victor Ramdin, Peter Jetten and many more.
Also supposedly in the house is Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom. A face we haven't seen yet at the World Series of Poker.
Since the field is so stacked we talked to pros to see who they wouldn't want to play in the first round of heads-up matches.
Tom Marchese said he wouldn't want to play Phil Hellmuth. "It wouldn't be that fun," Marchese said. "I wouldn't be able to get my pocket 10's all-in on the first hand."
We talked to last year's $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Holdd'em Bracelet Winner Jake Cody. "I wouldn't want to play Matt Perrins," Cody said. "He knows all my tells. He just knows how I play too well."
Jason Koon was also in the field today getting ready for a match. "I wouldn't want to play someone I don't want to look at for too long," Koon said.
"Don't worry, it won't be too long," Sam Trickett joked.
"Sam Trickett," Koon replied as his answer to our question.
Andrew Robl and Peter Jetten were standing on the rail waiting to be drawn for a match.
"I wouldn't want to play Peter," Andrew said. "He's good, scary, and he knows all my tells."
"I'm going to be unoriginal and say Andrew," Peter answered. "He's a gangster and just doesn't care about money. I fear people like that."
Randy 'Nanonoko' Lew is the last player we spoke to this morning.
"I wouldn't want to play Isildur," Lew said. "He's really good at cash games. It's scary. I think this is a tournament structure that he can adjust well too."
Be sure to keep an eye out on the live reporting blog so you can see all the excitement from today's tournament.
Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom
Viktor Blom is in the Rio today for the Event #12: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em. His first opponent in the tournament is recent bracelet winner Andy Bloch. We'll be sure to keep an eye on his progress throughout the day.
World Champion Sweat
How does it feel to have an Olympic world champion swimmer sweat you? Just ask Josh Birkis and Jeff Gross. Check out these tweets from Michael Phelps:
Glgl RT @JBrikis: Big one today...small tough field... @WSOP $10k heads up at noon!
June 05 2012FollowPoll of the Day
Fashion Faux Pas
We couldn't decide what was worse, Giorgio Medici's paisley shirt or Viktor Blom's sagging pants.
Giorgio Medici's paisley shirt and Viktor Blom's sagging pants.Epic Scooter Races
We reported Saturday that Liv Boeree had broken her ankle at her party on Friday night. We'll there's been some interesting new developments, including a scooter and Doyle Brunson. Check it out:
Thank you! “@MarcoInVegas: Highlight of my evening at WSOP so far was picking up @Liv_Boeree crutch makes up for being card dead”
June 03 2012FollowTo which Doyle responded:
@Liv_Boeree ..You wanna run a "crutch race" big time party animal?:-).#wherewereyou40year sago
June 04 2012Follow@TexDolly yes!!! Or we can do the scooter race in the hallway? Extra points for most aggro driver...
June 04 2012Follow@Liv_Boeree You are drawing dead on the most aggresive driver. I get from the Bellagio to my front door in 11 minutes. Nobody can beat that!
June 04 2012FollowIf the Mario Kart style scooter match actually does take place, we'll be sure to get Liv and Doyle some banana peels, green shells, and mushrooms.
What To Do? What To Do?
With the players in Event #12: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em on break, we caught up with a couple of them to see how they are going to spend time until their next match.
"I'm would usually go home," said Eric Froehlich who just beat Ronald Crabtree to move on to the next round. "I only live three blocks away, but I really don't want to deal with two valets right now with just 40 minutes left. So instead of that i'm just gonna go watch Scott Seiver ship this tournament." Earlier in the day Froehlich came up with an interesting suggestion for the World Series of Poker on how to deals with byes and play-in matches. You can see that and all the hands and play from the day on the live reporting blog.
We also caught up with Erik Seidel earlier who had a bye in the first round and we wanted to see how he was going to spend the extra time between his matches.
"I think I'm gonna go see a movie actually," Seidel said. We thought he was kidding so we asked if he was serious. "No, I'm really gonna go see a movie."
Nanonoko: The Kobayashi of the Poker World
Apparently Randy 'Nanonoko' Lew had some kind competitive eating contest last night. We caught up with Lew on break from the $10,000 heads-up to hear more about it.
Here's the aftermath via twitter:
Good luck to @nanonoko, the only housemate playing the 10K HU today. Hope you are feeling okay after last night! #FoodChamp
June 05 2012FollowThe Late Starters
We spoke to Andrew ‘LuckyChewy’ Lichtenberger right before he began Event #12 $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em.
“I got a by in the first round which is nice. I have Markus Gonsalves right now, but I don’t care who I see at the final table. Maybe there are some players whose games I know well, but I just don’t think about that kind of stuff right before I play. Obviously I hope they’re not tough, but I’ll just play whoever I play”
We also got Chewy’s reaction to the aforementioned music in the hallway.
“Yeah I’ve heard it, it drives me nuts. I wish they wouldn’t play that type of crappy, pop music here or in restaurants or wherever I go. The songs repeat so often”.
We also bumped into Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier, arriving right on the hour for his first Heads Up match of the day to find out who he wouldn’t want to meet at the final table.
“This is the toughest tournament yet; almost every player is a great player. I think Victor Blom would be tough to come up against because he’s good heads-up. I think Isaac Haxton is strong heads-up too. There are no easy opponents”
On The Rail of Event #12
We snapped a couple photos of the rail of Event #12: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em. There's hundreds of railbirds out there right now.
Rail of the $10,000 heads-up.Jean-Robert Bellande Will Play One Drop
For the past few days we've been following Jean-Robert Bellandes tweets hinting that he would be playing in the One Drop $1 Million Buy-In event. Well today he confirmed it via twitter:
Now the only question is, how did BrokeLivingJRB get a million bucks?
Squeak and the Funny Hat
We caught our second funny hat of the series today:
SqueakWe asked the man for his name. "You'll have to figure that out for yourself," the man replied.
But Jonathan Aguiar who was also at the table kindly told us just to call the man "Squeak." We'll be sure to let you know if we see any more funny hats in the coming days.
Who Wore It Better: Spaceman Edition
These players went to drastic lengths to cut down on giving off any tells during Event #12 $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em.
Starbust Hoodie and Andrew RosskramWhere is Hellmuth?
Many people were wondering where Phil Hellmuth was for today's Event #12: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em as he wasn't registered in any other tournaments, and wasn't tweeting any reason he wouldn't have played it. Well about an hour ago via twitter we finally found out where Hellmuth was:
Bad decision to play poker all night + miss noon WSOP 10k heads up tourn. BUT maybe something good will come of it in tonights limit Holdem?
June 05 2012FollowMoral of the story, don't play poker all night the day before a tournament.
The Post-River Game
With round 3 of Event #12 $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em fast approaching, we met up with some pro’s to find out what they do in their off time during the World Series of Poker.
First pro that we met was Justin Bonomo, wandering through the Amazon room, checking out the Limit event.
“I’m trying to decide whether to double dip today and playing this Limit event. It’s going to run for a few days so I’m weighing up my options”. Justin told us.
Justin is somewhat unimpressed when the writer informs him he has 3% of a horse in the $1500 Limit event.
“That’s cool man” He say’s, politely.
Changing the subject, we ask Justin what he does on his down time during the series.
“I don’t love nightclubs, I’m not into that scene. I love to eat, I’m into restaurants and good food. My favorite place is Picassos in the Bellagio”
We asked Justin what four poker players he would bring out for dinner and why.
“I have to go with my best friends on this one. I would take out Isaac Haxton, Scott Seiver and Steve O’Dwyer. I can’t decide who else to bring, I think someone’s going to be pissed if I leave them out”.
“Last meal that I had with poker players was a home cooked meal actually, I ate with Brian Roberts, Emil Patel and some other close friends. We cooked fish.”
On his return to the Rio for his next Heads Up match, Antonio Esfandiari told us about his favorite club in Vegas, and who he would bring if he booked a table for just four people.
“My favorite club is Marquee at Cosmopolitan” Antonio began. “As for people, I would bring Phil Laak”.
No surprises there, Antonio and Phil’s friendship is well documented both at and away from the table.
“I would bring Brian Rast, Jeff Gross and… Probably John Tabatabai. You know who he is right?”.
You Always Know the First Timers
Check out this funny tweet Shaun Deeb made while playing Event #13 $1500 Limit Hold'em.
My tables been paused for a full minute while guy tried to take photo of his 1st winning hand at wsop he keep taking video
June 05 2012FollowWho wore it better?
We spotted Bryan Devonshire and two other players sporting similar hats.
Player A, Bryan Devonshire, Player BWho is Isildur1?
Ok, so we know who Isildur1 is by now. Last year, PokerStars signed young Swedish pro ‘Victor Blom’, who had long been assumed to be the No-Limit and PLO phenom that regularly beat up the biggest online games. But does anyone actually know the real Isildur1? Does anyone really know anything about him?
We tried to catch up with Victor right before he sat down for round 2 of Event #12 $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em. He was talking to some friends outside the Brazilia room when we walked up and asked him if we could have a short interview. He seemed unsteady for a moment as he planned his sentence in English before politely informing us “I don’t do interviews”.
The talk on the rail is that Victor has been refusing interviews at PokerStar’s request. They probably understand that nothing has changed since 2009, and Isildur’s biggest marketing tool is his mystery and peoples sense of awe in his presence.
After he busted out of Event #12 there was a drastic decline in railbird activity in the Rio.
Lone railbird at round 4 of the HU 10kBlom’s World Series of Poker debut made for one of the most exciting days of the series yet, and we hope he’s back sooner rather than later.
Jared Bleznick’s Heads Up Challenge updated.
For those of you who don’t know, the PLO Heads Up specialist issued a challenge to this year’s bracelet winners.
Anyone who wins a bracelet this year i will play heads up in the game that they won the bracelet in. And give 10 pct back on there losses.
May 28 2012FollowWe passed by Andy Bloch’s $1,500 Limit Hold’em table to ask if he would take up Bleznick on his challenge. Bloch is just coming off his first bracelet win in Seven Card Stud.
“I think I’d do it, Bloch said. “For how much?”
Bleznick hasn’t said what stakes he’d wants to play for, but we’ll be on the lookout for Jared to get an answer.
Just Two Tables For Nanonoko
We saw this tweet from Randy ‘Nanonoko’ Lew while he was playing Event #13 $1500 Limit Hold'em. Unsurprising, that the world’s most famous multi tabler isn’t able to stay busy playing just the one game at a time.
I have about 7000 from starting 4500 chips in $1500 limit holdem. Not paying attention though...just playing games on my iPad #wsop13
June 05 2012FollowVanessa Rousso's Full House
We’ve been reporting on the goings on in PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso’s new house here in Vegas. Maria Ho and fellow PokerStars pros Vanessa Selbst and Liv Boeree are staying there as well for the duration of the WSOP. Check out PokerNews’ own Lynn Gilmartin’s tour of the new pad (Warning: Girls in Bikinis).
Check out Tiffany Michelle's tweet of the girls spinning the wheels of steel.
Elvis Is In The Building
Elvis The DealerWe ran into Elvis in the Rio Pavilion. Elvis the dealer—that is (his name tag reads Elvis as well). We asked him what’s been the biggest cash game he’s dealt since the start of the WSOP.
“Action Jackson. He completed a 24hr session and was up around $1million.”
We didn’t recognize the name and asked for more details.
“He’s the guy with the cigar,” said Elvis. “They were playing Pot-Limit Omaha. He took them all down. He was running real good.”
The cigar description immediately made us think of the white haired “mystery man” that we be spotted playing nosebleed stakes ($500-$1000 PLO) against Patrick Antonius , Andrew Robl, and Ashton Griffin.
We can’t say for certain it’s the same person, but according to Elvis, it’s the same guy.
Monnette Ships A Bracelet
We caught up with John Monnette for a quick chat, shortly after his win in Event #10 $5,000 Seven Card Stud.
Any plans to celebrate?
I’m not sure, probably gonna take it easy tonight.
Are you aware of Jared Bleznick’s challenge?
He really tweeted that? He won’t play me heads up. We know each other from online. He’s so arrogant (said jokingly).
If you could pick one song to be played at your bracelet ceremony, what would it be?
Oh man, that’s a good question. Probably something stupid...like “Know when to fold’em." (Kenny Rogers: The Gambler)
How does it feel to win when PokerStars pro Jason Mercier has you on his Poker Fantasy Draft?
I texted Jason last night and told him as long as he’s rooting for me I know I got a good chance to win.
We encourage everyone to get involved with "The Muck." See something you think is Muck worthy? Send it to themuck@pokernews.com. We accept all media including photos and videos.
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JUN 04
World Series of Poker Acquires New Chairs: An In-depth Review
If you're sitting for long hours at a time, besides a comfortable outfit, and comfortable room temperature, there's one thing that you definitely need — a comfortable place to put your bottom. The World Series of Poker can't control what you wear, and the staff does its best to keep the temperature comfortable (it's still a little cold in there guys), but the one thing they have complete control over is what you're sitting on. On Monday, a slew of expensive, new chairs were brought into the Rio, giving players a more comfortable place to rest while they're playing for gold.
The brand new MTS/Burgess Collection has replaced the old, oval back leather chairs that have adorned the room since 2005. The new chairs are firm, but provide a good cushion for sitting. They also offer the flexibility to lean back quite a way without falling down. This was not the case for Allen Bari though. Tournament reporter Eric Ramsey told us that he enjoys the chairs very much for that reason alone. “I've seen Allen Bari almost fall down four or five times already, that was great,” Ramsey said.
According to the MTS Seating website, the chairs should provide the “perfect balance of functionality,” and an “uncommon design sensibility.” The patterned burgundy color is a nice change from the bland tan color that the chairs formerly had.
There are still no arm rests and the back is still quite stiff as most chairs are before you break them in a bit. Some players argue that they could've used a massage chair, while others complain that the dealers still get the best seat in the house.
Recent bracelet winner Andy Bloch was very happy about the new chairs though. “I love them,” Bloch said. “I've been saying for a long time that we needed new chairs and that with the rake from just one tournament we could get some. They are more comfortable, studier, that have a higher back, they are cleaner, and of course, they're new. We've been sitting on the same chairs for six or seven years now.”
Several of the older model chairs seem to have rips, tears and wobbles, the new chairs are definitely an improvement from that. Also, after sitting on the old chairs for too long, you can get a little pain in your bottom from sitting where the cushioning has worn out.
We also caught Eugene Katchalov relaxing on the new chairs, and testing them out, so we wanted to get his opinion. “I guess these are new, yeah,” Eugene said. “They seem alright. They seem to be more comfortable than last year.”
Team PokerStars Pro David Williams also seemed to like the new chairs:
As an extended bonus, the new chairs are eco friendly as marked on the bottom of the chairs that are printed with soy ink, can stack up to 14 chairs high, and they also meet all requirements for flammability.
Final grade for the new chairs: 7.9 stars out of ten. Players seem very happy about the decision for new chairs. The chairs are studier, nonflammable, and ecofriendly making them are a much welcomed sight in the Rio, but there are still improvements that could be made, including armrests, soft padding for the back, and maybe even some sort of bottom heating device.
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JUN 04
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 8 Live Blog
You want to know everything that's happening at the 2012 World Series of Poker and we're going to do our best to keep you in the know. Here we'll answer the hard-hitting questions like, "Are there any celebrities in the field?" Check back often, you never know what you'll find.
The Morning Grind, Day 9
We caught up with Matt Glantz on his way out of Starbucks too see what his morning grind is like and how he prepares for long tournament days.
"I don't usually do much," Matt said. "I usually have stuff to do in the morning, family stuff or work stuff. And today i'm doing some stuff with the media. I'm going to be on the Dennis Phillips radio show."
We asked Matt if he has anything special for breakfast before a tournament, or if he has a special workout. "I'm not really a breakfast guy," Glantz replied. "But I liked to go to the gym and hop on the treadmill if I can."
We also saw that Matt was carrying a Starbucks cup with him, so we wanted to see if he was drinking anything special. "Black iced tea," he said. Glantz will return today for Event #10: $5,000 Seven Card Stud, but told us that he was one of the shortest stacks in the field.
All Quiet on the Western Rail
We went to check out the rail for Event #6: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Mix-Maxed event only to find that there was hardly anyone there. There were only 10 seats in the Thunderdome filled up and everyone was quiet as Joseph Cheong and Aubin Cazals unbagged their chips.
Even Cheong and Cazals were even quiet as they whispered to each other across the table. No one is drinking, clapping, or cheering when someone drags a pot.
It must be a Monday.
The players are stating at 4000/8000 levels with a 1000 ante and over 3,000,000 chips each, so this is set to be a long match up. We'll be sure to catch up and see if the rail is any livelier later.
New Chairs in The House
If you are familiar with the Rio and the World Series of Poker set up, you will remember these old beat up chairs:
Yesterday over 800 new chairs were delivered to the Amazon room. We managed to get a few pictures so you could take a look at them:
We'll be sure to get a few reactions from players about the new chairs to see how they're liking them.
What's On Your Head?
We saw this hat today while wandering through the Amazon Room in the Event #9: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry restart.
The hat belongs to Kennii Nguyen. When we asked him if he was wearing the hat for any special reason, Nguyen simply replied, "I love the hat. And people can see what hands I win with."
Are These The Biggest Games You Have?
We talked with Live Game Supervisor Michael Bickford today about the giant $500/$1000 cash game that sprung up in the Rio Sunday.
"Usually on weekends the games get pretty big," Bickford said. "So far this year, that's the biggest one."
We also asked Bickford what the biggest game ever played in the Rio was. "Last year we had a $1000/$2000 Pot-Limit Omaha game. All I can really say is that every year PLO is getting bigger, there is more and more games, and more and more players."
3bet Poker Clothing Hopes to Be the New Face of Poker Clothing
With Full Tilt out of the mix and many players playing unsponsored and patchless, 3bet Poker Clothing hopes to open up a new market for poker players. We found 3bet Clothing had a table set up in the Rio today, so we went to find out what the deal was.
"We've been doing this for about 6 months," an employee told us. "We're based in Los Angeles."
The booth is not selling any products, because it would create competition for the World Series of Poker brand clothes, so they are just raising awareness about the brand.
The company also sponsors several pros such as Jonathan Little, Brian Rast and John 'The Razor' Phan, who are also co-owners.
Currently 3bet is also running several promotions linked to their mailing list and to twitter. One lucky person on their mailing list will receive $500 cash, another will receive a one hour coaching lesson from Jonathan Little. Also, anyone who has a tweet mentioning @3betclothing has a chance to win a free hat.
The 3bet table is set up just outside the Brasilia Room so if you're in the area make sure to check it out or you can check out 3bet Poker Clothing's Website.
Who Wore it Best?
Prop Bets And Bad Beats From The Dealer Break Room
We caught up with some dealers in the break room to see if there were any interesting prop bets going on.
"Yesterday I saw a guy get bet $150 dollars to get up and do the worm," one dealer said. "The guy was like 375 pounds though, so it was pretty fun to watch."
We also asked the dealers about any bad beats they've dealt.
"The worst one I've seen so far, I dealt three diamonds out on the flop and three people flopped a flush. And I deal a lot of aces vs kings, and set over sets."
What's In Your Cup?
We stopped by the Rio's only cash bar right outside the Pavilion room to see if any pro's ever stop by and what drinks are the most popular.
"Scotty Nguyen stops by sometimes," one of the bartenders said. "Beers are the most popular, but when people start getting crazy they all like to do Jäger bombs."
The bar is most popular between the hours of 8 P.M. and 2 A.M. at the late hours of the night. If we catch any pros stopping by the bar, we'll be sure to see what they're drinking.
Bad Beat Stories We Didn't Want To Hear
As we were roaming the Amazon room searching for some stories, a player approached us and asked if we were poker media. We told him we were.
"I have a good story for you," the man tells us with a mediterranean accent. "You want to hear this."
The man takes out his ID card and insists that we take down his name letter-perfect. He even pronounces it for us, incase this makes the evening news.
"Flam-inio Mal-a-guti," he enunciated for us. "Ok so I was playing and I had AK, both diamonds"
At this point the writer was confused, but dutifully scribbled down the details of the story.
"Flop comes AA2 and another player moves in on me. I call of course and he shows A7. Turn comes a Queen I believe."
At this point the master story teller pauses dramatically and gives the writer a knowing look, as if to say 'This is where it gets outrageous.'
"The river comes... a seven."
After a long pause to take it all in we breathlessly thank the man and scurry back to PokerNews HQ to write up the scoop.
"Good S**t eh?" He calls after us, through the Amazon room.
Floor!
We missed drama unfold, but we saw what might be the most interesting floor call so far at the World Series of Poker. Here's the story from Todd Brunson's twitter:
So David singer is in the 7 seat. The trash can is on the opposite side of the table. He throws his gum and it lands on a chair where.....
June 04 2012FollowA guy is eating in the 2 seat. The guy calls David a mf and says davids gonna catch a right cross after the wsop. Now David actually calls..
June 04 2012FollowThe floor and wants the other guy to have a penalty. When the floor refuses, David asks for security... Lol
June 04 2012FollowAnd now David is following the floor man around demanding he do something... If I ever throw my gum into someones food, please punch me asap
June 04 2012FollowIf I ever need to learn manners as bad as he does I would be grateful for a punch in the face
June 04 2012FollowDrawing Thin Day 8
We met up with David ‘Raptor’ Benefield in the hallway outside Event #11 $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha to discuss how he likes to stay fit during the series.
“Well exercise is important, so we played some flag football last night. Myself, Hac Dang, Jason Koon and a ton of other poker players”.
“I’m staying at Durrrr’s house so there are loads of us around. Durrrr isn’t there though, he’s in Macau still”.
“I played basketball with Jason Mercier and Aaron Jones last week too; I think we’ll do that a lot. I’ve also been to the gym a few times”
We asked Raptor what kind of food he ate as well.
“I try to eat clean all the time so nothing different. Let me think, I eat shakes in the morning, nuts and beef jerky. A lot of people get All American Dave’s food and that looks really good, I might try that. It’s so ridiculous that he’s not allowed deliver to the casino now though”
Return of the Mystery Man
While wandering through the 'poker kitchen' in the Rio we spotted the big cash player, 'Larry', from yesterdays game. The media shy PLO player was playing 500/1000 PLO with Patrik Antonius, Ashton 'Ashman' Griffin and Andrew Robl from early in the day until late in the evening before going broke.
Thought to be 'Cadillac1944' online, the mystery high staker politely refused our request of an interview, and yesterday requested that we don't take any pictures of him and post them online. With him back in the building, we may see some big cash action go down this evening in the Pavilion room. We will keep you posted as to who is playing in the games.
On Break in Event #10: $5,000 Seven Card Stud
We caught a couple players sitting and standing around the T.V. near the event watching the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs Game. Among them was Huck Seed, Mike Sexton, Nacho Barbero, Cyndy Violette, and Annie Duke.
Duke and Sexton were talking about how Duke's daughter wanted to audition for the X-Factor. Seed and Barbero were both trying to watch the game.
Then Duke and Violette began to talk about each other's daughters. Violette told Duke that her poker book is the only one that her daughter will read. Duke then offered to give her a signed copy from her car.
Violette was standing in front of the T.V. in a way that no one could see the game, and finally Seed said, "Cyndy you're pretty and everything, but you're not that pretty." Violette was confused at first, but finally realized she was standing right in front of the television and moved.
We'll be sure to see what other kind of interactions the pros have during their breaks here at the World Series of Poker.
Timex on the Jared Bleznick challenge
We spoke to Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald on dinner break from Event #11 $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha about how he was doing today.
“I’m actually doing really well; I think I’m in good shape. I just lost a big pot but everything’s going well”.
We asked Mike about Jared Bleznick’s tweeted challenge from before the World Series began, shown below, and whether he would take Jared on if he won the PLO event today.
Anyone who wins a bracelet this year i will play heads up in the game that they won the bracelet in. And give 10 pct back on there losses.
May 28 2012FollowMike Told us:
“No way. He’s one of the best in the world at Heads Up PLO cash”.
“Honestly, I’m not that good at PLO. In a tournament like today, I think I have a good edge, because I can apply tournament concepts so well and adapt them for PLO. It’s not because I’m necessarily great at PLO”.
“I think whoever wins the 10k Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em tomorrow should play him though. I think that person is likely to, and whoever wins the HORSE will be likely to”.
Timex went on to tell us about why Jared put the bet up, and what games he might take the bet in.
“Most people that win bracelets aren’t going to be that good at Heads Up cash” Mike told us. “Jared is counting on that. I think if I won the 10k Heads Up then I could play him, but I think I'd still pass”.
“I’m not that good at Heads Up Hold’em either, but I think if I had some time I could learn it. I think I could get to his level. I also think 10% juice is too much to give up when playing Heads Up Hold’em.”
“I’m probably not playing the 10k Heads Up tomorrow, but if it was and I won I most likely wouldn't play Jared. It’s a cool challenge though, and I’m going to follow it to see who takes it up”.
We’re going to be following it too, and get some other players reactions to the Jared Bleznick challenge.
Return of the Mystery Man, Part 2
Players are on dinner break, so we took a stroll through the cash games to see what was going on. Yesterday we reported a $500-$1000 Pot-Limit Omaha game that included, Patrick Antonius, Andrew Robl, and a “mystery man.”
The “mystery man," armed with his trademark cigar, was just seen sitting alone at a cash game table. Is he waiting on another big game? Stay tuned for updates.
Return of the Mystery Man, Part 3
We spoke to a big name player in one of today’s 25/50/100 PLO games in the Pavilion room. He told us he overheard ‘Larry’ talking with Ben ‘Ben86’ Tollerene about playing some Heads Up later on in the Rio. Rumour has it that Ben56 will be giving ‘Larry’ back 15% on his losses and that the game will go down this evening once ‘Larry’ picks up some money.
We’ll make sure to get you the latest scoop when we have it.
JRB Slowroll?
On Saturday, Jean-Robert Bellande tweeted that he’d be making a “sic” announcement regarding the One-Drop.
I have a sic announcement to make regarding the million dollar buy-in tourney. I will tweet it at 5p tomorrow.
June 02 2012FollowThe announcement never came, but he tweeted yesterday to expect a statement tomorrow.
Tweeps! I sincerely apologize for not making my announcement yet. A meeting got delayed. I'll announce regarding 1-drop on tues at 5pm.
June 03 2012FollowJust as the dinner break concluded we had a quick chat with Jean-Robert Bellande as he was taking his seat in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament.
When asked if we can count on an announcement tomorrow, JRB replied, “Probably.”
People have taken to twitter wanting answers.
the @BrokeLivingJRB twitter slow-roll, this is new way for him to announce being broke
June 03 2012FollowWill he be playing in the One Drop? We can't say for sure, but we'll keep you posted.
JRB and Raptor on Jared Bleznick’s Challenge
We’re getting more reactions to Bleznick’s challenge. We asked JRB if he would accept.
“That’s a good question…certainly not in PLO," said Bellande.
Jared is a heads up PLO specialist, but Bellande would consider it if concessions were made.
“Providing he coughs up five cards, said Bellande.
He’s referring to a heads-up match in 2010 when Bleznick allowed JRB five hole cards. In Pot-Limit Omaha players are dealt only four. You can view the YouTube video where JRB recall the game.
We asked David, “Raptor,” Benefield as well. He's up for the challenge.
“I’m playing the 10k No-Limit Hold’em Heads Up tomorrow and I think I would play him if I won that,” Raptor told us. “I would definitely take it with 10% back. I think Jared’s really good at PLO and really good at mixed games, but you can’t challenge people to any one of ten games giving 10% back and expect that to be a good bet.”
When asked what he thought of JRB’s chances?
“I heard about Jared spotting JRB an extra card at PLO too. I don’t think that’s as bad, I think JRB might not be very good at PLO.”
Who Ya Got?
Players were huddled by the TV in the Brasilia room, watching game five of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. Among those watching was high stakes pro, Chau Giang.
We asked him if he’s got any bets on the series.
“Not on this game. I’m a big fan of Boston. Boston is my favorite," said Giang, while wearing a ball cap with a shamrock on it.
Giang does have action on the Eastern Conference Finals.
“If Boston wins I’ll get 20k."
Let's Order Chinese Tonight
It seems we always find something interesting when cruising the Rio cash games during break. We spotted PokerStars pro Barry Greenstein and Phil Hellmuth playing Chinese Poker at a $100/point with a minimum $500 buy-in.
Hellmuth Canned
Revenge is a dish best served cold for poker pro Chris Tryba. The Boston native knocked out Phil Hellmuth from Event 11: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha. Tryba’s
beat Phil’s 
all in pre-flop after a flopped.Chris has been waiting eight years to return the favor. "The Poker Brat" knocked out Tryba in the 2004 Foxwoods Main Event, No-Limit Hold’em tournament on a bad beat.
“I was at a table with Allan Cunningham, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Jeff Schulman, and Bob Stupak. I was crushing the table," said Tryba. “I raised with kings and Hellmuth flatted from the blinds. The flop came k56 or whatever.”
According to Tryba, Hellmuth led out on all streets; Chris called him down only to lose to a rivered gut-shot. Chris said he lost all momentum after that hand.
“Phil was all pumped and excited and did this whole dance. It really affected me.”
When asked how he felt after returning the favor to Hellmuth, Tryba replied “F**k him!”
Big Names With Big Stacks
There’s 51 left in the $1,500 re-entry, No-Limit Hold'em tournament and the railbirds are chirping on one particular table. Two-time bracelet winner Brian Rast, Ari 'Bodog Ari' Engel, Bryan 'theczar19' Piccioli, and PokerStars pro Jonathan Duhamel are battling for the $781,398 first prize.
Brian Rast
Bodog Ari
Bryan Piccioli
DuhamelReturn of the “Mystery Man” part 4
Ben 'Ben86' Tollerene was spotted at 1:23 am, playing $500-$1000 Pot-Limit Omaha, heads up against ‘Larry.’ There’s no telling how long the game will go.
More Prop Bets
We’re always on the lookout for prop bets and we happened to find one. PaulGees81 took a short break in his heads up cash game to take one on.
The bet? To sink a water bottle from a distance of about 30 feet into a trash can. It only took Paul two attempts to sink one. The bet was $100 at 9-1.
Double Cash for Nick Schulman
The money bubble in the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Event broke just before 3 am. It was Freddie Ellis who fell short of the money. Ellis won a bracelet in the same event back in 2009.
Freddie Ellis after bubblingNick Schulman managed to squeak through despite being short on chips.
“I’m so excited to cash with only 1.4 big bets,” said Schulman.In addition to locking up the min cash, Nick picked up some extra money by outlasting a friend.
“I won a 20k last longer bet,” said Schulman. He declined to reveal the identity of his friend.
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