THE CELEBS …
Las Vegas is the new Hollywood. If you need proof, just come to Sin City during any future World Series of Poker. Walking down the hallways of the Rio during the series is like being on the red carpet during an awards banquet. Only during the WSOP, the movie and TV actors on hand may take second billing to the poker superstars. After all, onlookers will rush past Norm MacDonald and Toby McGuire if they see Doyle Brunson in the distance. The movie stars were indeed out in force to be part of the WSOP experience. Many of them played in the celebrity/media event on July 27th. Even though the prize money was to go to charity, the poker action was rather serious and intense.
The most feared starlet at the table, Jennifer Tilley (1 WSOP bracelet), had difficulty getting to her table as fans asked for pictures and TV reporters barked out questions. When she finally did make it there, the cards never cooperated and she went home early. “Boston” Rob Mariano of Survivor fame couldn’t outplay or outlast the players on his table, but did take some time for interviews with the press nearby. A quick-witted player received a chorus of laughs when he exclaimed, “I outlasted Ron Jeremy!” Yes, Ron Jeremy (the famous porn film star) was on hand and reportedly played some tough poker.
Vegas magicians Penn Teller and Mac King each lasted until the last few tables, but then both pulled a disappearing act. With his dark black sunglasses and oversize black cowboy hat, James Garner looked like the most imposing player of the day and garnered a huge ovation when he busted out. Announcers Lon McCaren (ESPN poker coverage) and Vince Van Patten (WPT) came onto the playing side of the table, as well. Vince’s dad, Dick Van Patten, joined the fun as well. “The Most Downloaded Woman on the Internet,” Cindy Margolis, was the last celebrity standing but did not made to the money.
If you need further proof that Vegas is taking the place of Los Angeles and Hollywood, just keep track of the TV cameras that buzz in the casinos these days. Pam Anderson was in town to promote her new poker website. She was joined at the news conference by poker legend Doyle Brunson, an odd combination to say the least. Fox Sports Net’s popular series “The Best Damn Sports Show, Period,” was filming at the new Hooters casino at the south end of the strip. Drew Barrymore and a bevy of Hollywood directors and producers hosted a press conference to hype the upcoming poker movie Lucky You, which co-stars Robert Duvall. Real life poker greats play themselves in this film (including Doyle, Barry Greenstein, Sammy Farha, Jason Lester, Chau Giang, among others) which is partially set in the “Big Game” at the Bellagio. I sat there in the third row, looking up at Doyle Brunson sitting next to Drew Barrymore thinking: “Wow, with Pamela Anderson and Drew Barrymore at his side, Doyle is doing really well for himself at 73 years old!
I GOT BOOED…
I had the pleasure to represent Full Tilt Magazine in the aforementioned media/celebrity event. Somewhere in between 250-300 players started the quest for the charity money. Down to the final three tables, the fans were packed to see the table I was playing at. No, they were not avid Full Tilt readers looking for my autograph! Instead, most of the onlookers were intently watching every move of beautiful actress Shannon Elizabeth (played Nadia in American Pie, in case you live under a rock). She was seated directly across from me, and was playing excellent poker! She was moving her chips as the blinds increased, building a nice stack while holding out hopes of wining on behalf of her beloved charity. I looked down to find J-Q of hearts, and made a move to steal the juicy blinds and antes. Shannon moved all-in over the top of me in a heartbeat. I knew I was beaten, but the pot odds dictated that I simply had to call. She turned over Big Slick as I sheepishly showed my inferior hand. I had her covered in chips, so it was her tournaments life at risk. The Flop and Turn were all blanks, and the River brought me a Queen. I had put a bad beat on the most popular player in the room, and she was out. As she ducked under the rail to make her leave, the crowd turned to shoot me dirty looks. A smattering of boos rang out in my direction as I sank low into my seat. “You can’t knock out the hottest girl here, man!” was shouted from afar. I temporarily hid my nametag that identified me as a Full Tilt writer, looking to avoid an unnecessary backlash on this fine magazine! The crowd and other players had a good laugh at my expense as I apologized. To Shannon’s credit, she took the tough beat with a gracious smile and waved to the crowd as they gave her applause and support. Before she left I promised to mention her charity (Animal Avengers) and her new affiliation with Full Tilt Poker in this article to make-up for my lucky River card.
ONLY IN VEGAS …
Only in Las Vegas can a chimpanzee hold a press conference that attracts dozens and dozens of reporters. This chimp must’ve been a high roller, too. You see, the press conference was held in the posh Real World suite at the Palms casino! It seems that some animal experts were looking to get some press via training the oversized monkey to play Texas Hold ‘Em. The party animal was slated to pony up the ten thousand bananas (I mean dollars) to play in the main event. Harrah’s representatives heard of the attention-grabbing scheme and put an end to it by disallowing the chimp to play.
DEALER ISSUES …
Until you see it for yourself, it is really tough to grasp the immensity of the poker room at the Rio convention center. It is more like a couple of airplane hangers combined together than a usual card room. Every minute of each day is filled with an endless supply of poker. At any given time there could be one tournament down to a final table, two tournaments in the middle stages, smaller satellites tournaments, and dozens of cash games at all limits and at all poker variants. Spreading that many games causes a significant problem in staffing, especially when it comes to dealers. The Rio/Harrah’s temporarily hires poker dealers from all over town to help. Of course, most of these temporary dealers are still covering their normal shifts at their home casinos. Since the poker action juices up all over Las Vegas during the WSOP (not just in the Rio), the dealers can get heavily overworked and very tired during the long stretch of the series due the increased double workload. While most of those dealers are capable and skilled, some of the dealers openly complain about being poorly treated, underpaid, and overworked. In addition, many of the dealers are not accustomed to dealing non-Hold ‘Em games such as Omaha, Razz, and Hi/Lo games. Since the WSOP is the biggest and best tournaments on the planet, poker insiders are wondering how to fix this issue. With millions of dollars at stake on any given deal, there is no place for mistakes from tired, cranky, and unknowledgeable dealers.
NAKED WOMEN SELL POKER …
Long ago some marketing genius found that attractive women tend to help sell products, especially to men. Since poker is still a male-dominated game, vendors selling everything from poker chip sets to T-shirts chose to move their products via skin! In my estimation, there were more 20 year old girls in bikinis at the Rio per capita than on Miami Beach. Girls in G-strings handed out fliers about a new poker website. Three-quarter naked girls on roller skates handed out cards with bonus codes on them. A few lovely models settled into the Bodog booth to play strip poker, with the loser ending up in bra and panties. A long line formed at a poker booth where guys could have their picture taken while getting hit with a pillow from girls in lingerie. A few enterprising beauties have caught onto this trend. Model Cindy Margolis, superstar Pam Anderson, and ex-playmate Jill Ann Spaulding all have their own poker card rooms.
SPEAKING OF WOMEN …
Where are all of the women poker players? Of the whopping 8,400-plus participants in the WSOP main event, only a handful were female (somewhere round 250). ESPN has done a great job in spotlighting women poker stars such as Kathy Leibert, Clonie Gowen, Jen Harman, and Annie Duke. Still, there is not yet the huge influx of new women poker players like we are seeing from 20-something guys.
NEW STUFF …
As more players are entering into poker, more products are coming onto the scene to sell related to poker. I’m not sure what you might do with a Scotty Nguyen or Dan Harrington bobble-head doll, but they are at the WSOP for sale if you have a need. Do you host a poker game in your basement? If so, you could easily drop a few grand here on custom poker chips, a custom table with your own logo embossed upon it, and even a programmable timer that scrolls the blind levels and payouts. Does your wall need to be finished off with a hand painted mural of Amarillo Slim or Stu Unger? Oil paintings with all of your favorite players are available, along with the classic “dogs playing poker” series. One interesting character cornered me to talk about the new game that he invented called California Hold ‘Em. It is a variation of Texas Hold ‘Em that includes 11’s, 12’s, and 13’s to the deck. These extra twelve playing cards have no suits associated with them, so the inventor claims it hurts the “fish” who always try to suck out with Rivered flushes and straights. I’m not sure there will be a bracelet awarded for California Hold ‘Em next year, but you never know!
FUN AND GAMES ...
I watched Chris “Jesus” Ferguson bluff some pimple-faced kid off of a pot. No, not in the real tournament. Jesus was one of the pro players who took a seat at the Xbox Live! stage to play video game poker. They had the systems linked online, allowing some lucky players from around the globe to log on to face their televised poker idols!
HALL OF FAME …
It was an honor to be in the audience for the induction of 2 poker greats into the Poker Hall of Fame. Billy Baxter thanked his family and friends as he accepted the honor. All 7 of his World Series Bracelets have come in Deuce to Seven Lowball. No other player in history has dominated a single event in such a manner. In fact, people used to call the 2-7 Lowball events the “Billy Baxter Benefit Tournament.” Baxter is also known for being the man who fought the IRS to get poker listed as a profession that made “earned income,” allowing poker winnings to be taxed less heavily. TJ Cloutier’s wide grin displayed his apparent pride in earning poker’s highest honor. TJ has won more major tournaments than anyone in history, but he’s yet to win the biggest one (WSOP main event). It is not that he’s done poorly in the main event though, as he has racked up four top 5 finishes in this event. He has a total 6 WSOP bracelets, and is still one of the most feared NLHE players in the world. An ex-professional football player, Cloutier’s bad knees caused him to take out his competitive nature on the poker felt. His opponents on the tables probably wish he was able to focus on football, though.
COME ON DOWN …
This is not a reference to the Price is Right. Come on down to the World Series. Every poker player and poker fan should come to at least one WSOP in their lifetime to see the spectacle that it has become. We are already less than 10 months away from the next WSOP!
In addition to being a writer for many top poker magazines, John is a certified Counselor in the state of Pennsylvania. He has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Lock Haven University. You can find out more about the psychology of poker from “the Counselor” at carlisle14@hotmail.com or at the psychology of poker forum of www.pokernews.com.
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