Greg Raymer, seated at a table with Tom Schneider, has been discussing how the policy regarding logos and .coms, etc. has changed over the past few years. Incidentally, we believe that their table is the only one currently featuring two people who have their own gigantic banners around the room, Schneider for his 2007 POY title and Raymer for his bracelet win. Fame and fortune doesn't seem to have changed Raymer at least, though - he was overheard asking whether the plastic bracelets that were being handed out were good at the bar...
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Also some gossip from the break...
There is a strong British contingent here today, among them young Stuart "The Nutter" Rutter who is steaming ahead on around 15,000. More modestly still on their starting stacks are Rob Sherwood, as well as Irish Open champion Neil Channing. "I've had Aces twice," he grumbles. "Both times everyone folds. Then the one time I make a move, a guy check-raises all in and I couldn't call."
Scott Clements is OUT, in most unfortunate circumstances - all in preflop against an unknown's A-J, Clements' A-Q was looking dominatingly good, until the board came down an inclement J-T-5-7-3.
With K-Q versus Q-T on a queen high board, cowgirl Jennifer Tilly eliminates yet another victim to continue her hot, sizzling form. Tilly now up to 13,500 and proving to be one of the early pace setters. One could say she is 'bound' to win, if one was indeed looking to finish his post with a terrible joke.
A short-stacked Sklansky has doubled up with A-K in the big blind against the 7-10 of his small blind neighbour. He's back up to a still fairly short but still-in 2100.
For those of you who watch the ESPN WSOP shows as fanatically as I, you may recall a chap called Jim Pittman who, according to Phil Hellmuth, "can't even spell poker". Well, I checked with Jim earlier (who, incidentally, is a thoroughly nice fellow), and can confirm that his spelling is top notch, even belting out spellings for other words of the poker glossary including 'all in', 'raise' and 'short-stacked'.
Unfortunately for Jim, it was the latter of those that befell him in his most recent encounter, Kevin O'Donnell raising Pittman's 6,400 bet all in on the turn of a board and forcing his opponent to fold. Whilst this left Jim with 4,000, Kevin leapt up to a sky-high 20,000.
On a sidenote, Jim is now a highly successful business man after inventing a cushioning system for pick-up trucks so people can camp in their vehicle overnight (bizarre, I know), so who needs to spell poker when you can spell 'god damn filthy rich?'