Catching up...Vegas songs for your iPod

Got a backload of posts to make (including POW for last week) so let's get started...

Made a top 10 list of songs to get you in the mood for Vegas to put on your iPod. Gave this one to Al for FTP, but not sure he wants this one. Here it is at Poker Nation if it is of any use to you:


Vegas playlist for your iPod

By "Tuscaloosa" Johnny Kampis

The World Series of Poker is only days away. You’re beginning to pack your bags (don’t forget the sunscreen) and have printed your boarding passes at home. Before you hop on that plane remember to load up your iPod with all of your favorite tunes. In fact, to get you in the mood for your stay in the glitz and glamour of Sin City I’ve compiled my top ten list of Vegas themed tunes you may want to add to your playlist. Some of these have become unofficial Vegas anthems more due to the singer (Elvis, Sinatra, et al.) or the big band aspect than the subject matter, but all should get you pumped for the trip at 40,000 feet.


10. Big Spender – Peggy Lee

Lee recorded this song in 1966, after it had already become a hit on the musical “Sweet Charity.” Imagine yourself walking through the Rio with your fat bankroll and women dripping off your arm as you listen to this one. Another interesting tidbit about this tune is that it was the song the character Ellen Griswold dances to naked in the bathroom in “European Vacation” that later causes her grief when the videotape recorded by her husband, Clark Griswold, is accidentally lost and later shown to audiences in Europe.

9. Burning Love – Elvis Presley

Released in 1972, in the thick of the fat Elvis Vegas years, this was one of the few rock songs in the later part of his career and his last Top 40 hit. Receiving much play in the Las Vegas Hilton showroom during his performances there, “Burning Love” is another Sin City regular.

8. I Get a Kick Out of You – Frank Sinatra

An example of a song on the list that is more about the man than the message. The song itself does not have any Vegas or gambling references, but Ol’ Blue Eyes was a staple on the Strip for years as part of the Rat Pack. You could fill this slot with many Sinatra songs, and I listed a couple of them in the honorable mention selections below.

7. Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley

Appealing to the romantic side, this one is a staple of many a romantic movie set in Vegas. I think of all the little wedding chapels between the Strip and Downtown when I hear this one, not to mention that I fell in love with my own future wife long distance while here in the summer of 2006.

6. A Little Less Conversation – Elvis Presley

It seems since the television show “Las Vegas” used this as its intro music that this song often pops up in Vegas themed productions. In a town that’s all about action this song fits. Elvis could be saying just shut up and roll the dice.

5. A Game of Poker – Nelson Riddle

Riddle worked extensively with the Rat Pack over the years, including conducting the scores of their motion pictures “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Robin and the 7 Hoods”. He wrote arrangements for numerous Sinatra songs, as well. Listen to this full orchestral arrangement tune and imagine sitting at the poker table in the 60s with Sammy Davis Jr. on your right and Joey Bishop on your left.

4. Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley

Finally, we have a song that actually mentions Vegas – in the title! Written and performed for the 1964 film of the same name, this catchy song says “the bright lights are going to set my soul on fire. Gotta whole lotta money that’s ready to burn so get those stakes up higher.”

3. Danke Schoen – Wayne Newton

No Vegas list would be complete without Wayne Newton, and this is his most famous work. Meaning “thank you” in German, “Danke Schoen” is a staple of Mr. Vegas. Listen to it and imagine how many times he has sung this one in the various Vegas showrooms over the last several decades since he first recorded it in 1963.

2. Ain’t That a Kick in the Head – Dean Martin

You almost never watch a movie set in Vegas without hearing this one, from another Rat Pack member. Again, it doesn’t reference Vegas yet it has become another unofficial Vegas anthem. Martin sang it in the original “Ocean’s Eleven” and Nelson Riddle (see number five) conducted the background orchestra.

1. Luck Be a Lady – Frank Sinatra

A great gambler’s lament. Sinatra sings about how both luck at the tables and luck with the ladies is a fickle thing. How true it is. Backed up by a full orchestra, this song is the quintessential Vegas song. Sammy Davis Jr. also recorded a faster version, but this one is best.


Honorable Mention – Wear My Ring Around Your Neck and Good Luck Charm by Elvis, The Lady is a Tramp and I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Sinatra, Who’s Got the Action by Dean Martin and I’m Shooting High by Nat King Cole.

Let's talk Vegas meetups Part 3

So on the 25th...CK can use her insider IP connections to get a mixed game rolling there followed later by bowling at the Gold Coast. Anyone up for a little dinner before the mixed game?

Maybe dinner at 5 p.m., mixed game around 6-6:30, bowling 10-11? Thoughts? Who is in? Is this too much packed into one night? My thoughts are that it is harder to get several folks together on multiple occasions than on one night, but maybe it would be better to spread it out?

Dream Team Poker, meet the World Series of Poker

Media release from the Harrah's brass today:

DREAM TEAM POKER TO HOLD EVENT AT THE 2009 WORLD SERIES OF POKER

Team-Based Event to be played during final days of 40TH Annual WSOP

BEVERLY HILLS & LAS VEGAS, MAY 19, 2009: Dream Team PokerTM has taken the industry by storm in the few short months since their inaugural event. Giving team-based poker validation with their successful structure, Dream Team Poker will host a tournament at the 2009 World Series of Poker®. The event will be held at the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino from July 12-13, 2009 with the buy-in of $500 + $60 per player ($1,680 per team). The first 300 teams that pre-register on www.dreamteampoker.com will receive personalized jerseys for the tournament.

“After seeing the terrific response to the recent Dream Team Poker tournaments in Las Vegas, we thought a team-based event would be a fun addition to the end of the WSOP,” said Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP Commissioner. “The Dream Team Poker event is one of the many new elements added in 2009 that will help make this summer a memorable one for all WSOP players and fans.”

Dream Team Poker has quickly gained traction and saw significant growth in the past six months alone. The speed of progression that Dream Team Poker experienced can be attributed to the two successful events held in November 2008 and March 2009. The invitation-only opening event was sold-out within weeks and was attended by top pros and celebrities. The most recent event at Caesars Palace garnered record attention from the media, professionals and average players, who turned out by the dozens to play. The tournament sold out the Caesars poker room with 148 teams and 444 players.

“The WSOP and the Rio have really shown their commitment to the players in continuing to innovate and try new concepts,” said Daniel Delshad, CEO of Dream Team Gaming. “Bringing our brand to the Rio during the WSOP and onto the most hollowed ground in the sport is a powerful way to introduce Dream Team Poker to the world.”

Dream Team Poker has added a new dimension to the poker industry with their patent-pending team-based tournament structure. It brings a new layer of competition and strategy to the game of poker while providing team-based and individual prize pools for the players.

Dream Team Poker will have a booth outside of the Amazon Room throughout the World Series of Poker. Staff will also be on hand to answer questions about the tournament and to explain the rules and structure.

Let's talk Vegas meetups Part 2

I think we have a motion the floor from QueensUp for bowling at the Gold Coast the night of the 25th. I tentatively have penciled in that day to play the $150 LHE event at Binion's as there is little going on the 25th I can afford to play in, and am not concerned if I play it or not. I'd probably be at the final table or out by late night anyway I figure...

So who is up for bowling the night of the 25th? Mixed games at the Venetian either earlier in the evening or on the 26th? Maybe BWoP, whose SSN is 123-45-6789, can get us a table with her connections.

Congrats, by the way, to HighOnPoker for yet another win last night. Three wins in seven events played in May? Inconceivable! I was at the Coldplay concert in Birmingham last night. It was awesome! They played for a couple of hours, about 25 to 30 songs, most all the big hits and practically all songs off Viva La Vida. They also covered "I'm a Believer" and we all got a free live CD on the way out that included a couple of previously unrecorded Coldplay songs.

Let's talk Vegas meetups

It's too bad that all of us who might like to meet each other aren't going to be in Vegas at the same time, but with a seven-week WSOP and people having J-O-B-S that's just the way it is going to be. So this being my blog all I can worry about are those people who are going to be in Vegas the same time as myself, which is June 22-July 3.

I would like to propose a gathering around June 25 or June 26. Obviously, any blogger who is working the Series will be around then, and QueensUp and SmBoatDrinks are a couple of bloggers who plan to be there around this time (perhaps lightning too?). We could meet one of those nights (or both!) for bowling at the Gold Coast, mixed silly game at Venetian/Caesars/MGM/etc., electronic action at the Excalibur, drinks at the hooker bar at the Rio, whatever...

Share your thoughts, please, or alternative dates if you wish...

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

Really, I did not create the Player of the Week award so I could vigorously pat myself on the back, but, well, here we go again.

For the week I made the points three times, with two final tables -- a third in Brit Blogger and fifth in Skillz. The 17th place finish in the Mookie was just enough to squeak into the points and take a slight lead over qrs1 for the May leaderboard at the halfway point of the month. I was actually as proud of that finish as just about any final table I've had. It seemed nothing was going right for me in that thing early (including getting one outted on the river), but then I pushed in with A2 after several limpers and was called by AQ and sucked out. The sucking out I'm not proud of, but I was able to maintain my stack with no good hands and somehow make the top 25 percent. By all accounts I had no business being there.

TJ's BBT Player of the Week for Week 11? TJ!

Planning your summer Vegas trip

Thanks to the kind comments regarding the BBT. I am on quite the heater the last three weeks. May it please continue!

Here is an updated guide to Vegas planning for 2009. You can't beat the deals this year. The following can also be read at FTP's Blogger from the Rail.

Whether you are a Vegas virgin considering your first trip to Sin City or a grizzled WSOP veteran preparing for yet another six to seven-week slough at the Rio you should find some useful information in my guide to planning your trip to Vegas and the WSOP.

Below are some helpful hints that I hope will enable you to save time and/or money as you make your Vegas planning for June and July. This is the best year since I’ve been regularly traveling in the summer for the WSOP for vacation discounts in Vegas.

Keep checking back here at Full Tilt Poker’s Bloggers from the Rail in the coming weeks in the run-up to the granddaddy of poker tournaments as I bring you a series of articles highlighting the ins and outs of summer in Vegas, from WSOP orientation, to the must see sights, and the other tournaments in town you may want to consider during your stay.


Flights

Step one is deciding on how to get there. For most of us that means airlines. Reports are that average airfares are down 10 to 20 percent from last summer, thanks to the slumping economy and dropping gas prices. A quick look through the various online travel sites proves that theory out as many cross country flights can be had on many summer days for as low as $200-$250 round trip to Vegas.

There are ways to save even more on airfare. First, go to Southwest.com and download its Ding program. This will allow you to view Southwest’s daily specials for the departure cities of your choosing. For example, from my home airport of Birmingham, Southwest’s roundtrip fares to Vegas generally run $250-$300 with fees included, but occasionally on Ding those same fares drop to around $200 for the same flights.

The other recommendation I have is to bookmark the site AirfareWatchdog.com. You can search a city and find some really good daily or weekly deals that pop up from time to time, or view the top 50 cheap fares on any given day. Sign up with your email and get daily alerts from the site. In recent months, users got wind of a ridiculous $14 fare on Jet Blue from New York to San Francisco so this site could be well worth your time.


Rooms

Never have I seen room rates in Vegas this cheap. It truly is a bonanza on lodging there this summer as rates are down 30 percent or more at many properties. I found a ridiculous deal through Orbitz in which I paid less than $300 to stay on three and four-star Harrah’s owned mid-Strip properties for 11 nights in June and July.

Here is that deal: You can use the promo code 4ODWR75 to get $75 off a four-night weekday stay (Sunday through Thursday or Monday through Friday). This is some collaboration between Orbitz and Office Depot. In addition, on Orbitz there is a separate promotion at Harrah’s properties that allows you to receive a fourth night free with a three-night stay. I booked the Flamingo June 22-June 26 for $57 and Bally’s June 29-July 3 for $88 using the combined promotions. I sandwiched the Imperial Palace in between with no weekend discount for $152 for three nights. Total: $297.

Deals like this can be found by scouring popular travel discussion forums. I found this deal while looking at the popular 2 + 2 poker forums. (The poster had used the Office Depot promo to book the El Cortez for $12 for four nights.) Try these sites to find deals that may pop up over the next couple of months: LasVegasAdvisor.com, CheapoVegas.com, FatWallet.com and SlickDeals.net.

Another thing to consider before booking your room is the hotel’s location and your transportation situation. If you plan to rent a car then location within a few miles of Rio and the Strip is fine. If you plan to taxi it, then staying any farther than mid-Strip can be cost prohibitive. If you stay at the Rio you are obviously set for travel to the WSOP. The same is true for the Gold Coast, which is next door, and the Palms, which is about a quarter mile west of the Rio on Flamingo.

Cheaper rates for rooms can be found Downtown, but other than the Golden Nugget most properties are of the two-star variety. Also, aside from the Nugget and Binion’s (both of which are running nice summer poker tournament series – more about that in a future article), there are no other good poker rooms Downtown so you will often be traveling to the Rio or the Strip for the juicy poker action. If you rent a car this isn’t much of an issue, but is a major consideration if you are not.


Transportation

You have several options for getting around: taxis, rental cars, buses and hoofing it (NOT recommended, unless in moderation). Let’s look at each in turn.

If you come into town with a fat roll then you can probably afford cabs around town. From much of the Strip to the Rio will cost you around $10-$12 one way. From Downtown to the Rio is about $15-$20. If you plan a lengthy stay the fares will certainly add up.

Alternatively, you can rent a car. Rates are rather reasonable in Las Vegas, as an economy car will only set you back about $25-$30 a day, and having a car will give you a ton of freedom in exploring all parts of the city and beyond. I highly recommend this option.

A third choice is taking the city buses. Fares on the Deuce, the double decker buses that run up and down the Strip and to Downtown are $3 for one ride. A daily pass is available for $7, as is a three-day pass for $15. You can also use these buses to ride from the Strip to the Rio. There are two major negatives to bus travel: one, you have to hoof it to the bus stops, which might be a fair hike, and two, travel by bus is very slow. It can take more than an hour to get from Downtown to the Rio by riding a bus to Caesars Palace, getting off and walking around the corner to the Flamingo stop to get on a second bus to the Rio, for example.

I should also note that there is a free shuttle bus that Harrah’s runs from its namesake Harrah’s casino on the Strip to the Rio and back, which is a viable and obviously very cheap option to travel between the Strip and the Rio. At Harrah’s you board the bus at the bottom of the parking garage and at the Rio you board just outside the buffet entrance, which is to the left from the front of the casino.

Lastly, we have hoofing it. Vegas in the summer is not a pleasant time to spend walking around in the sun as the thermostat pretty well stays above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime and above 90 degrees at night. Granted, the lack of humidity makes conditions more comfortable than they would be at the same temperatures in my neck of the woods in Alabama, but you still feel like your ears and nose are baking in an oven. The distance from Caesars Palace to the Rio may look deceptively shorter than it is – it’s about a mile in reality. I’ve walked it a couple of times during the day and night and I wouldn’t recommend either. At day you bake as the sun shines off the sidewalk and asphalt and at night you worry you’re likely to get robbed as the walk is pretty isolated (because people have enough sense not to try it!) If you plan to do some casino hopping on foot pace yourself by frequently stopping into the highly air conditioned properties on the Strip and hydrate yourself often.

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week(s) and Mookie win

I realized I did not give out an award for last week as I prepared to decide who would get it this week (an easy decision it turns out). There were no clear dominant players in Week 9, the last seven-day stretch of April. Unless I am overlooking names on my results sheet I am the only player to make two final tables, finishing eighth in Skills and fourth in the Mookie. Given that I was trying to protect my monthly points lead also yields extra brownie points, like it did Queens Up the last week of March. Therefore, I once again give the award to myself for Week 9, going back to back.

It was not a three-peat, however, as a new dominant force emerged in May. Qrs1 (who apparently is CK's ringer. By the way, CK's real name is Xxxxxx Yyyyyy) finished in the top 10 three times in Week 10, winning the Riverchasers on Monday and almost repeating in the Mookie last night. For this fiery start to May, qrs1 is TJ's BBT Player of the Week for Week 10.



My week turned out almost as good. I managed a third in the Brit Blogger and somehow pulled out the win in the Mookie last night. I won at least two key races, one a sick one with A-K versus Q-Q on a board of 2s-Q-4s-9-Ts when we got it all-in preflop. Qrs1 was domainating the final table before jimdniacc doubled through him and then I gathered most of the chips (my short-term memory does not enable me to remember the hands). When jim and I got HU I had about a 2-to-1 chip lead. On the final hand, he raised and I called with A-6. After a flop of 8-A-8 I check-raised all-in. He thought and called with A-2 and I thought a chop was imminent. When the turn and river came 5-4 I was wondering why I got the whole pot and noticed that by some miracle my kicker played.

If qrs1 had won last night it wouldn't even be a race for May so thank me for keeping it competitive. ;) I figure when the standings are updated qrs1 will have a little shy of 300 points, with me about 50 points behind. I'll have to make every tourney count if I am going to go back to back as I should miss at least three events this month.

Calling all Vegas bloggers Part 2

Instead of adding to the existing post that will continue to sink further to the bottom of the blog I will just keep making a new one as we discuss summer travel plans. Here are travel schedules as I know them:

CEMfromMD 6/11-6/14
Shabazz Jenkins 6/17-6/22
lightning36 6/18-6/24 (tentative)
Me 6/22-7/3
QueensUp 6/25-7/1

And among those in Vegas for the duration of the WSOP include: LJ, Al, Otis, Pauly, Dan M., CK, F-Train, Change100...

The third week of June appears to be a sweet spot for meetups. Thoughts? Places? Dates?

Be sure to take advantage of the deal listed below here and extend your stay if you can.

If you're going to Vegas you absolutely NEED to read this

Now there are deals and then there are DEALS. I was wandering the 2 + 2 forums Sunday afternoon during the Brit Blogger tournament and ran across a post on cheap WSOP accommodations. But boy I did not realize how cheap.

The guy who wrote the post booked a room during the week at the El Cortez for four nights, paying a grand total of $12. Of course, not everyone enjoys a hotel the caliber of that downtown clunker so I did a little research. It turns out the $75 off your stay promotional code the guy listed can be applied to most Vegas properties. In addition, it seems that all Harrah's properties have a deal on Orbitz where you can book three nights during the week and get a fourth for free.

Here is what I booked:
Flamingo: Monday, June 22-Friday, June 26 -- COST $57
Imperial Palace: Friday, June 26-Monday, June 29 -- COST $152 (no discounts for the weekend, but still a heck of a price for a mid-Strip property)
Bally's: Monday, 29-Friday, July 3 -- COST $88

In total that's 11 nights on mid-Strip properties of three and four-star quality for a grand total of $297!

The promo code is 4ODWR75 and is some deal with Orbitz and Office Depot. It's good from June through part of August so is valid during the week for the duration of the WSOP. If you haven't made your WSOP travel plans or have the ability to change them I would certainly recommend you take advantage of this one as it could be the best discounts in Vegas you will ever see.

Calling all Vegas traveling bloggers!

Please use the comments under this post to post your travel dates and plans. Let's discuss our schedules so we can plan a get-together during our time in Vegas this summer...

I still haven't set my exact plan, but I'm looking in the time frame of the last week of June and first of July, probably going and coming sometime between Father's Day and Indpendence Day.

To Vegas or not to Vegas? (P.S. Give Al some love)

Thanks again to all last night with the kind comments on my April POTM win, which brings me to the point of this post...

For most of this year I have been thinking that this would be the first WSOP I would miss since I started going in 2004. Of course, I've said that the last two years, but in 2007 I got last minute work for PokerWorks and last summer was a combination of winning blogger prizes, getting work for that slave driver Dan Michalski over at Pokerati and also winning the FullTilt Poker writing contest. But this was going to be the year I did not go.

Then while on my California vacation (of which I STILL haven't posted pics or a trip report) I got an email from a major poker media website that will remain nameless that made it sound like I had a high-paying job waiting for me in Vegas at the WSOP if I wanted it. Well I jumped at that and when I got back to Alabama I called the guy. Turns out I was only in the running for the job. Well long story short I did not get it.

So Vegas was out. I had mixed feelings about the deal because it would have required me to be there during the entire seven-week Series, which is a heck of a long time to be away from your wife and your home. Granted with the money I would have made I could have flown Amy out there a couple of times maybe, but it's not the same. It also would have required me to back out of a planned mission trip with our church to Nicaragua, where we are going to help build a house for a poor family. I was feeling kind of guilty about possibly backing out of this trip. The combination of those factors made me fairly indifferent about not getting the WSOP gig.

But as I resigned myself to missing the bright lights of Sin City, I still secretly hoped to go out for a week or two to experience the standard poker euphoria that takes place at the Rio each and every summer, as well as hang with friends at the hooker bar and the Gold Coast bowling center. Thanks to Full Tilt Poker and Al Can't Hang it looks like that's going to happen. I still have to decide when to go, and for now I'm looking at late June-early July for that.

This brings me to the second point of the post. If you haven't been over to Al's site in the last few days go have a read and show him some love. The lovable lug of a man spends countless hours tabluating point totals and arranging these prizes with Full Tilt, and we bloggers in general don't show him nearly enough support for his efforts. The slumping attendance in the last month doesn't exactly put on a good face for us either.

I think Al was right on the money with this comment:

I suggest everyone come out to enjoy the time and free stuff while you have the chance, you know the money train is going to stop sooner or later.

So go thank Al for putting all this stuff together every chance you get, and please come out in May and play some blogger events before FTP decides they are no longer worth their time...

WSOP Conference Call

It’s now less than four weeks away.

The 40th annual World Series of Poker will begin on May 26, with 57 bracelets events on the schedule this year. In preparation for the granddaddy of poker tournaments, WSOP officials held their annual conference call with members of the poker media on Tuesday afternoon. Here are some of the highlights of that session:

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack mentioned three events that are either new or revamped in honor of the 40th anniversary. Most of you may already be aware of the $40,000 No-Limit Hold’em event planned for May 28. This four-day event “will bring out the best players in the world and produce a final table for the ages,” Pollack said. What you may not have heard about is the Champions Invitational to be held on May 31. This event will bring together past main event champions “who will play for bragging rights as the champion of champions.” The winner will receive two sweet prizes – a restored 1970 Chevrolet Corvette and a newly created commemorative trophy called the Binion Cup in honor of the family that started the WSOP. Jack Binion will be on hand to present the trophy to the winner. The third thing Pollack mentioned was the revamped Gaming Life Expo, which will now be known as PokerPalooza and will feature more interactive games and exhibits. This is “our version of NBA’s Jam Session or the NFL Experience,” Pollack said.

The “November Nine” will be back. This year’s championship weekend will be expanded – play from nine players in the main event down to two will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, and heads-up play for the championship will be on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The final will again receive same day primetime ESPN coverage.

He also said that the Poker Hall of Fame selection process has been tweaked on this its 30th anniversary. The public will be able to submit nominations online at worldseriesofpoker.com from May 28 to July 2. During the main event the top 10 list of nominees will be announced. This list will be sent to the HOF committee, who will review the list and determine if any additions or deletions are needed. In September, the final ballot will be sent to 16 living hall of famers (out of 37 so enshrined) and select media representatives. Anyone who receives at least 75 percent of the vote will be inducted into the Hall at the main event final table in November, a process similar to the Baseball Hall of Fame. “The selection process is not only sensible, but open in a way it has never been before,” Pollack said.

Another aspect receiving a tweak is the bracelet presentation ceremonies. Pollack said that many players receive their bracelets “under the cover of darkness” after winning an event in the wee hours of the morning. Now there will be a bracelet presentation ceremony every day at 2 p.m. in the Amazon ballroom. “The World Series of Poker gold bracelet is poker’s crown jewel and for some time I’ve felt that every bracelet, not just the main event bracelet, deserves a special ceremony,” he said.




The code of player conduct will now be conducted into the official rules and WSOP staff will now maintain a written log of all penalties issued to a player during the WSOP and will use that log to better enforce the rules. “The intent here is simple – work to better ensure that the tournament floor is a civil, comfortable and courteous environment for all players, better manage those players who break the rules of engagement or fail to conduct themselves appropriately and further protect the competitive integrity of the WSOP,” Pollack said. This log will not be available for the public or the media to view, much as police investigations are not public record, said Tournament Director Jack Effel.

Effel said that the opening weekend $1,000 NLHE “Economic Stimulus” event as WSOP officials are dubbing it is expected to be the largest non-main event tournament in the WSOP’s history. The four-day event will have two starting days and pre-registration is already creeping into the four digits, he said. “We’re expecting a sellout weekend.”

He also highlighted the $2,500 Deuce to Seven No-Limit Triple Draw event, which has traditionally only been offered at a $10,000 buy in. “We felt that this was a very important game to the tradition of the World Series of Poker. We want to continue that tradition so we’re offering an entry level event at $2,500,” Effel said. There will also be a $2,500 eight-game Mixed Event in the same vein.

While there are no rebuy events this year, many tournaments will have add-on chips, including all Pot-Limit Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo Split events. Players can add-on their chips between hands during the add-on period and will receive any unused add-on chips after the add-on period is over. Can I write the word add-on one more time? Yes I can.

Effel talked vaguely about an overhaul of the payouts for tournaments, without giving many specifics. He said a professor at Washington & Lee University, as well as poker pros Barry Greenstein and Howard Lederer were involved in the discussion. He said more information will be forthcoming as the payouts are worked out.

This year also brings the addition of a one-hand penalty for some offenses. Levels of discipline now include: verbal warning, one-hand penalty, one round, two rounds, three rounds, four rounds and disqualification.

The 2009 WSOP has a high retention rate of dealers despite a tougher audition process. “We had a very extensive audition process. If they weren’t able to deal Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split, Pot-Limit Omaha and Deuce to Seven Triple Draw they didn’t get in this year. What we’re looking for are the diverse dealers, the experienced dealers who can deal all the games, not just No-Limit Hold’em, which will provide a better experience for the players and in turn we will have a better tournament because of that,” Effel said. Along those lines, he said that the floor staff will go through a rigorous four-day training session prior to the start of the WSOP in which they will go over al the rules and will act out possible scenarios that could occur on the tables.

Table capacity has been expanded to 306, with some shuffling around. The Amazon ballroom will continue to be the main gaming floor and will now have two final table areas, Effel said. Brasilia will be used again, but this time the full room is available so there will be 95 tables in here in 2009, up from 65 in 2008. The Miranda room will have 56 tables. The single-table satellites are now located in Brasilia. “Last year we had 23 tables allotted for satellites. This year we’re going to have 48 and possibly more if the demand is there. The cage will be bigger. There will be more offerings,” Effel said. Single-table satellite schedules are available online at worldseriesofpoker.com.

Doug White form ESPN said the network will focus on the main event this year. ESPN plans to air six hours of bracelet events and increase main event coverage up to 24 hours, with 2 to 2.5 hours of the final table in November planned. “We feel that the main event is what viewers are looking for for poker programming. It helps us cover the unfolding drama of the World Series of Poker,” he said. Bracelet coverage is expected to include the $50,000 HORSE event, as well as the Champions Invitational (technically cup coverage, but who worries about such semantics?)




Future champion!

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

It should come as no surprise that I had to give the award to myself for last week. I won the Big Game and finished third in both Riverchaers and Skillz razz to give myself a nice points lead going into the final week of the month.

That lead has evaporated some since then. In last week's Mookie I cruelly lost a race against top competitor ElSnarfGrande with 9-9 versus A-Q when the board ran out J-T-8-7-9. ElSnarfGrande went on to make the final seven when the lights went out later in the evening. He was back at it this Monday, finishing fifth in the Riverchasers event. In this one I was at one time the chipleader, but self-destructed to a degree (I think this is the third event in BBT4 that at one time I was the chipleader yet failed to make even the points).

CracknKK, with a stack of about 15K, raised to 720. I decided to flat call in the SB with A-K. Schaubs popped it to about 2,100 of his 11K stack and cracknKK folded. Thinking this could be a squeeze I re-raised all-in for about 6K total. Schaubs insta-called with A-A. If I had re-raised preflop I could have folded to an all-in push by Schaubs behind me. Oh well. This was a spot (with 19 players left and 13 making the points) where I definitely should not have gambled as my overall equity for the month greatly increases by just making the points. Despite my advocacy of consistent point gathering I have definitely been willing to gamble it up more in BBT4, if my two times directly on the points bubble is any indication.

After Monday my points lead over the now second-place ElSnarfGrande was now down to 80, but fortunes turned Tuesday night. Other than winning the thing, I couldn't have asked for a better result in the Skillz stud/8 event. I finished eighth while only Shabazz Jenkins made the points among my closest competitors for the monthly points race, finishing in 12th. If my math is correct, and believe me it's often wrong, only SJ and ESG are capable of overtaking me in tonight's final event of the month, The Mookie. A first or second by either would be required (and I'm not sure if second place would provide enought points for victory) as I figure to have a 130 point lead or so. Good luck to my honorable foes tonight. If one of you sneaks up and beat me I will only be getting my just desserts as I beat both twoblackaces and JDSchellnut last year on the last or next-to-last event of the months I won.

Crisis of confidence is over!

I have to admit after struggling in March I wasn't feeling too good about my BBT game. I fired up the laptop each Sunday through Wednesday night not really feeling like I was going to have success in that day's BBT event. I ran a little bad and I played a little bad. I called turn all-in check raises with one overpair in hold'em, chased bad draws in stud and then got sucked out on when I was actually on my game.

But hope springs eternal, especially as a new month begins and the leaderboard slate is wiped clean for the next BBT prize. The month started OK for me, but the last two weeks have been better than I could have expected. In the eight BBT events of the last two weeks I have one win, one second, and after last night's Skillz razz tournament, three thirds. The sick run has boosted me to about 588 points to give me a nearly 200 point lead over Shabazz Jenkins on the monthly leaderboard and leaves me about 35 points shy of QueensUp in the now tight race for the overall leaderboard.

I should also note that Amy has been incredibly supportive of my efforts in the BBT. I did not mean to imply in my last post that she was not, only that I may not have been the best husband I could be while focusing on BBT3 last year. In fact, last night before nodding off, she prediced a top five finish for me. She told me this morning after I revealed my result that she really thought I would finish third, but didn't want to say so for fear of possibly offending me by implying that I would not win!

Last night I didn't get involved in a lot of big hands. It seemed like most of the time when I raised on third street and was called my opponent caught a brick on fourth and folded. Three notable hands I remember was once when I started with A236 against Champ Sampson and caught TTT. That hand cripped me. I more than tripled up in one spot against NewinNov and two other opponents (one of whom was shortstacked) when I started with A27, got it all-in and made a 6542A. My bad luck against Champ was made up for against tilt away when he started with something like A235 and caught 333. That built my stack up to around 45K, but then I had no luck when we got down to four players. And the bring ins...oh the bring ins. I don't think I have had nearly this many in any stud game I've played. I think Champ and I pretty much got to open 75% of the pots at our table between us.

So now we have five more events to go in April and I'm feeling good about my game. Bring on The Mookie.

Where have all the cowboys gone?

BBT4 started with all the excitement and anticipation you would expect, with dozens of poker players/bloggers eager to battle in competition against one another for fantastic bonus prizes. Now, slightly more than halfway through, attendance numbers have dwindled...dramatically. The Mookie is still getting close to 70 players (although down from 100 or more before) while the other three weekly events generally get less than 50 and often less than 40.

I'm perplexed, if not really complaining. You would think with the freebies one could win for a small investment (weekly buy-ins in non-Big Game weeks total less than $55) folks would be flocking to BBT events. Instead they are disappearing. Of course, that just makes the going easier for us vying for the prizes. Your chances of winning a monthly leaderboard $2,000 bonus dramatically increases if there are 30 regulars rather than 60.

Granted, not everyone has the free time I've got so I can understand the time constraints. This can be especially stressful on a marriage. I know Amy felt I didn't focus enough on her last year, but a combination of me trying better time allocation in the evenings and the realization of the potential pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (remember I scooped up $3,750 in bonuses in BBT3) is making BBT4 easier for us as a couple.

There have also been a lot of people who have captured their TOC seat and gone into hibernation until June. Again, if you don't have the time to dedicate to 60 events over three months I can understand your position.

But I would think more people would be competing for the monthly prizes. Thoughts on why they are not? Where have the cowboys gone?

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

Better late than never, right? As tempting as it was to give the award to myself:

Tuscaloosa Johnny: "Here's the award for the Player of the Week for Week 7."
Tuscaloosa Johnny: "Why thank you. I knew I would get it."
Tuscaloosa Johnny: "It was well deserved. You are the best BBT player...ever."
Tuscaloosa Johnny: "I know."

After some reflection I gave hoyazo his second Player of the Week award for BBT4. The linchpin was winning The Mookie, which has the largest fields each week. For the week, hoyazo final tabled two events, with a ninth in Riverchasers included. I had a second and a third, but personally docked myself for not pulling out a win and imploding in the Mookie after leading with about 50 players left and managing to finish about 35th. Congrats on a nice week hoyazo.

After not pulling out a win in Week 7, I made up for it with an absolute luckbox victory in the Blogger Big Game yesterday. Never before have I won a tournament in which I so deserved to lose. To wit:

My flopped two pair > Closer's turned flush
Heads Up my K7 > QueensUp's KQ
Heads Up my A9 > QueensUp's AJ

There were another one or two wins as a 3 to 1 dog mixed in there. Any complaints I had about running bad in BBT4 were more than made up for with the good fortune I had on Sunday. QueensUp and I split the money so the victory was about a +$630 uptick. If you're going to run good in the BBT4, aside from the TOC the Blogger Big Game is the best event in which to do it.

Also notable is the win puts me slightly ahead of Shabazz Jenkins for the monthly leaderboard $2K bonus. The race remains very tight with seven events remaining so another handful of final tables will be on my wish list for the next two weeks.

Big news for the Kampises

I'll try to post the Player of the Week this afternoon, but first comes the bigger news.

A week ago Amy came home and took a certain kind of test. On Monday we went to the doctor and it was further confirmed. Yes, we're having a baby!

The due date is December 15 and we've got a lot to do to get ready for him or her. I am excited/scared/elated beyond words.

SCOOP action

By the way I'm spending this Monday afternoon live blogging the smallish $109 SCOOP main event for PS. The action has been fast and furious in the first hour of Day 2 play, with already half of the 26 starters eliminated. Follow in here.

Close one

Just missed in the Sunday Brit Blogger tournament Easter afternoon. Prior to yesterday I had had no luck in this event, but I hung around for awhile, making the final table as the short stack and caught some hands. I misread a bet by Julkeus four-handed as being weak when it was strong, doubling him up and crippling myself. After that I managed to win an all-in or two and won the blinds uncontested to get back in contention. In the end it was Julkeus versus myself in a back-and-forth battle that lasted close to an hour. The short stack kept doubling up until I finally succumbed. Julkeus got his TOC seat so congrats to my very worthy heads-up adversary.

It's amazing to me that after 26 events there has been no repeat winner yet because there honestly aren't that many people who play day in and day out. I sure could have used the extra 70 or so points I would have received for first yesterday in the April points race. Maybe this month I can be in contention instead of a dead duck in the last week.

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

I was a little slow with the BBT this time. I've been busy working on the PokerStars SCOOP events for their blog and then this was Easter weekend, of course. So as we go into Week 7 of the BBT4 here is the award for Week 6.

It was a pretty each choice to pick Shabazz Jenkins. He finished runner-up in the Brit Blogger tournament and third in the Mookie to grab a nice early lead in the Player of the Month contest. For his efforts, Shabazz Jenkins is the Week 6 Player of the Week.

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

Well, doing the player of the week graphic was easy enough this week. All I had to do was change the week number from 4 to 5.

1QueensUp1 knew what he needed to do to win the points race for March and he came in and did it. He didn't quite get there after finishing eighth in the Brit Blogger game, but did pull to a small lead after finishing fourth in Riverchasers. He topped that off by pulling away with an 11th-place finish in the Skillz stud, making Wednesday night's Mookie relatively sweat free, as only a few opponents could catch him. In many ways, 1QueensUp1's run reminds me of my own March run last year with the late come from behind victory. For his efforts, 1QueensUp1 is the first two-time winner of TJ's Player of the Week award in BBT4 and as we all know that is worth much more then $1,500.

Congrats to 1QueensUp1 and some bad news

A well-deserved $1,500 seat is headed to him for the month of March. He tore through the field with eight final tables (and almost another last night in Sutd) and made the points 11 times in 18 tries. What a finish.

I didn't come close to replicating the magic of last March. Last night was a dandy. I caught the deck early and rocketed to the top of the leaderboard and then proceeded to start with fantastic draws only to miss. For example, I started four to a flush three times toward the end of my night and missed all three, two of those times with either gutshot or open-ended straight draws to go with the flush draws. I went from tournament leader to 36th in a heartbeat.

You may have seen how deeply Harrah's was discounting its rooms this summer for the WSOP. Visitation to Vegas is down drastically this year with the weak economy. Now the unbelievable has happened -- Harrah's has announced it is canceling the WSOP. Officials said they can't expect to recoup the cost of hosting the event because of the expected downturn in poker players coming to town. You can read more details of the sad news here.

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

No easy choice this week, but I decided to go with 1QueensUp1 because of his third-place finish in Monday's Riverchasers and his sixth-place showing in Tuesday's Skillz. Those high finishes give him some crucial points going into the final three tournaments of the month. Although the standings weren't updated Wednesday, I believe 1QueensUp1's finish in the Skillz temporarily boosted him to the top of the leaderboard before 125Will's 11th place finish last night in the Mookie. 1QueensUp1 just finished out of the points in the Mookie himself. For his strong showing in Week 4, 1QueensUp1 is TJ's BBT Player of the Week.

New Web Poll

Check the lower part of the sidebar for a new poll regarding summer tournaments in Las Vegas. Tell me which ones you like the best.

Player of the Week award coming soon. Tough decision this week.

BBT3 POW...Will I get to award it to myself for Week 4?

I was gone to California all last week. We flew into San Francisco on Monday, drove a car down the Pacific Coast Highway to Los Angeles and flew home Saturday. (Trip report coming soon.) Therefore, I didn't have a chance to record all of the results for Week 3 of the BBT. However, after looking at the leaderboard and talking with bloggers, it's obvious the Player of the Week has to be 125Will. He managed a win and a runner-up finish to rocket to the top of the leaderboard with 615.2 points. Congrats on an awesome week 125Will.

As for me I was pretty much ready to pack it in for the month of March in the BBT, but I decided to play this week because 1) I might as well try to take as many chances as possible to win my TOC seat, 2) there is still the overall leaderboard for the series to consider, and 3) the competition is always fun. Good decision me:



Donk_TuckFard and I had a protracted heads-up battle lasting more than half an hour. Twice I had him all-in with two overs against two unders and twice he hit his hands. He finally caught up almost to even, but I grinded him back down and finally won when my A-9 held up against his A-6. It feels good to lock up the TOC seat and main event freeroll (which I may be playing in Vegas...more to come when I know for sure) and this win should boost me into the Top 10 on the monthly leaderboard. My chance at the top is still very remote, but with five more events in the month I still have a shot. Both months I won last year were come from behind victories, although not from as far behind as this year.

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

It was a tough call this week, but after studying the leaderboards for each event this week I decided to go with smokkee. He made the points (and at least the final two tables) in three out of the four events with a runner-up finish in the Brit Blogger Game to just miss out on locking up a TOC seat. The week's performance should put him in the top 10 on the monthly leaderboard, with a decent shot at winning the $1,500 package.




I had a pretty rough week myself. Sunday was a non-starter. I both played pretty bad and ran into bad play myself. There was one hand where I called a raise with 3-3 for 3x the blind (I think we were playing 60-180). The flop was 7-2-7 and the preflop raiser checked. I bet 270 and he called. The turn was a 2 (or maybe the flop was 2-7-2 and the turn was a 7, I can't remember). We both checked. The river was a queen, he bet 470 and I made a crying call. He showed Q-K. Who can count the ways the hand was played poorly by both of us? His check-call on the flop? My check on the turn? My call on the river? (And possibly his bet on the river?). So nothing happened for me in Riverchasers.

In Skillz, I at least made the points, but it could have been a more productive evening for me. I was confident in my PLO skillz, but my A-A-8-4 couldn't out run K-K-9-2 all-in preflop (you can't do much better than getting it in as a 2-to-1 favorite in PLO) and I finished 12th. I have yet to make a final table in BBT4. In the Mookie I bubbled the points, finishing in 29th.

I was just happy I got to play all of the events this week since I had planned to be in Tunica for most of the week. However, I got some freelance work dropped in my lap and had to head home Tuesday to start cranking it out because it's due at the end of the month and vacation pleasures await starting Monday...

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

The first week's winner should be no surprise although midweek I would have picked a different player. I had my eye on lightning36 at first after his hot start, but in the end hoyazo dominated the first week of BBT4.



Hoy played four events this week and managed to make the points in all of them. He final tabled the Big Game on Sunday, earning $690, or as he noted paying for the rest of his BBT4 entries. Hoy led the field with 250.8 points going into Wednesday and finished 25th out of 105 runners in The Mookie, which should put him over 300 for the first week and extend his early lead for the month of March $1,500 seat. Congratulations hoyazo on a great Week 1.

I was semi-happy with my 13th place finish last night. When consistency is key I always feel good about making both the points and the money in a BBT event. Nothing particularly interesting happened for most of the event for me. After we got down in the 20-25 players left range Bone Daddy shoved into me with 9-10 from the SB and I insta called with A-K. The flop brought a pair of 9s and he doubled through (and eventually won the event, so congrats to Bone Daddy). Two hands later I shoved Kc-4c into the aces of OMGItsPokerFool and managed to make both a straight and a flush to double back up. "Instant rebate," Bone Daddy called it.

My demise came a short while later on an insane hand. I had about 16K with blinds at 500-1K and raised to 3K from mid-position with Q-Q. I got called in four spots! First, the big stack behind called, then the 2,700 short stack on the button went all-in. Both the blinds followed into the pot. After a flop of 8-9-J rainbow the prudent move seemed to be to shove, which was followed by two all-in shoves behind me. I was up against 8-8 and 9-9. Why couldn't the flop have been 8-9-Q? I still had six outs, but the turn and river came 5-5. I don't remember who the beneficiary of the hand was, but they won a 80K+ pot, which had to be the biggest of the night up to that point.

Overall, it was a good first week for me as I made the points 3 out of 5 tournaments and should be in the neighborhood of the top 10 after the first week. I so far have avoided the curse that seems to have befallen my closest competition in the March and overall leaderboard standings last year -- namely lucko and TBA -- who have had no luck in the first week of March 2009. I suspect next week will be a different story.

I hope to play 3 of the 4 events next week. I will definitely miss the Brit game on Sunday because I am working stats for the SIAC conference tournament finals in Birmingham and then driving to Tunica to play some in the Spring Poker Classic. I should be able to play Monday-Wednesday unless I go deep in the Omaha 8 tournament I plan to play on Tuesday afternoon. Otherwise, you don't suppose they'd let me bring my laptop to the poker table, would you?

Bukisa

I recently joined this content and networking site called Bukisa where I have begun posting a lot of the articles I've written over the years dealing with strategy (be sure to check those out and harangue me for those!), WSOP and Vegas planning and more. I'll be posting additional links to articles as I upload them, but if you are bored and want to check any out follow the link above. If you are interested in joining Bukisa follow this link.

Quote of the Day for Lostday and a little revisionist history

That's right, this day of the week is no longer called Wednesday. I have redubbed it Lostday as it is the day that features the best television program ever. If you are a fan, you should be reading this site. I admit I haven't been keeping up with the posts on this fan site this year, but Amy is hooked on it...and you will be too if you check it out.

Last month for the March issue of Rounder I interviewed Gavin Smith, Tom McEvoy and Chad Brown. The latest of the three had an interesting quote comparing poker to acting, which as you probably know is in his background.

“In acting you look at Mickey Rourke, for instance. Here’s a guy who was forgotten about, had some drug problems, whatever, and a director really wants him for the role, gives him a script. He didn’t win Best Actor, but everyone thought he should have won Best Actor. That one role, that one body of work, has changed his life. For the next at least two years, his everyday life is going to be changed because of that one role. In poker it’s the same thing. Whoever wins the NBC Heads-Up Championship their life won’t be exactly the same as it was prior to that. That’s how winning one major event can change your life in a good way. That’s an exciting thing for every poker player when they go into a major event with the dream of knowing that it’s realistic to see themselves in first place.”

So much for my theory that I would fare better in the non-NLHE events of the BBT. Last night was my worst finish so far, something like 58th out of however many there were...72 or 73? There were a share of players who were catching who had no clue what they were doing -- in one hand I raised with (3)AA and was called by (K)TJ and managed to brick off completely, not improving my high and missing a low, while he caught two pair, kings and tens. Pretty rotten luck there in Stud Hi/Lo. I also made some sketchy plays myself so I can't complain too vocally.

Not sure if you have heard, but supposedly Sports Illustrated is re-releasing the Sportsman of the Year cover featuring Michael Phelps. Here is a sneak peak:

BBT4 leaderboard up

Al has set up the BBT4 leaderboard page here. I've yet to cash, but have made the points twice (an unfortunate trend that happened a lot last year). I now lurk in 14th place, with an eye on moving up the ladder. I think I will look forward to the Skillz game each Tuesday as I probably have more experience in the non-NLHE games than most of the competition...or at least I have been busted by Matusow in WSOP HORSE for whatever that may be worth.

I will try to refrain from any shooting bloggers in a barrel comments this spring, although that little controversy certainly drew some traffic over here. So far in the first week I would have to say that the competition has been strong in the BBT. I haven't noticed many of the players I targeted as particularly week during BBT3 (and no, I will not name any names).

By the way, I think for fun I will give out a BBT Player of the Week award each week after the events are complete on Wednesday, just because I can -- and want your eyes on my blog each week. I will try not to give any to myself unless I just so wonderfully deserve it, lol, but if I do it definitely won't be on Week 1. I have a certain player in mind already unless someone does something special the last two days of BBT4 Week 1. Tune back Thursday to see who BBT Player of the Week for Week 1 is.

Meanwhile, see you kids in Stud 8 tonight...

Best college newspaper movie review

I just happened to pick up a copy of The Crimson White, the campus newspaper at UA, last week and read a review of the new and revamped Friday the 13th. The columnist, Ryan Mazer, wrote his review of the flick in haiku. Here's part of it:

Friday the 13th
Its most inspired idea
Was its release date

Most of the film's cast
Is dead by the end credits
We're not so lucky

It's a chore to watch
The only task more grueling --
Writing its review

And we're off...

Three months of marriage straining tournament action has begun with the start of BBT4. The two events Sunday were a donkfest for me, getting unlucky on a standard play in the Brit blogger game, catching a miracle when I played bad against Waffles and then getting crippled by a donk call late in the Big Game.

I pushed with about 1K from UTG with A-K in the Brit game and was called by A-J. Obviously the river brought a jack and I was out about 43rd or so.

Early in the Big Game I donked out on Waffles, who is now playing under the alias Maniac57. Someone raised from MP and I called with T-T on the button. Waffles called in the SB. The flop brought 7-9-3 (I think), raiser checked and I bet 300. Waffles check raises to 900 and I call with a slight inclination to fold the turn. The turn was the 6, and did not complete any flushes. He led out for something like 2K. Not sure why, but I called. River brought an 8, also putting three diamonds on the board. Waffles pushed for his last 1,500 and I called with my straight. He showed K-K and I won the donk out of the night award.

Of course, I did not hear the end of it, but Waffles wasn't too bad. Even apologized for calling me an idiot (or whatever he called me, not sure what it was). I explained to him that calling him on the turn was actually a sign of respect. If I thought he was a standard player I would have never called the turn, but since I thought he could be making a play I went with my hand. A bad decision turned good, as it turned out.

I rarely sustain my luck, however. After not having many hands or being involved in any big pots the rest of the way I was blinded and anted down to 6,500 when I pushed from UTG with A-K. Sound familiar? Hoy called in the small blind with T-J and random unknown player called in the big blind for all 6K of his chips with....K-3? The board ran out 5-8-Q-K-3 and I was crippled. Busted shortly afterwards in 14th.

If I won that pot I would have been up to 20K in chips and near the top 5 with a chance to win. I never had much luck in the Big Game last year, either. I made the points once or twice, but never cashed -- and this is the one you definitely want to go deep in.

However, making the points on the first day is at least a decent start. Consistency in these events will give you a chance at the monthly and overall crowns. I pointed about half the events I played last year, and I figure as long as you are still in it with three quarters of the field gone you can catch a hand or two and be in a position to win it.

Interestingly enough poker for me in 2009 has started similarly to last year. I fared well in Mississippi in January both years, including a good cash in a tournament (althought last year's was a lot better -- $4,000 to $1,200) followed by a month in the red in February. If the BBT continues that trend I'll be happy with the results.

Battle of the Bloggers 4 is coming soon

If you haven't been to Al's site head over RIGHT NOW to get the skinny on BBT4. I don't know about you guys, but I've been highly anticipating this event. If I could come even remotely close to duplicating my success in BBT3 I will be very happy. Looks like the fields may be bigger this time and the schedule now runs Sunday-Wednesday each week. I was hoping it might be less time intensive this year, but one the flip side the more events we get to play the less the variance on the monthly leaderboards. My only gripe is that the overall points leader for the three months will not receive a main event seat, which I had hoped would change this time. Minor gripe, though, and kudos to Al for setting up another fantastic event for us.

Otherwise it's been a mediocre month of poker for in February. I had no luck in FTOPS and have played little since. When I have a few weeks in the red I tend to take a break from the game to lick my wounds, so to speak. I agree with those who say it doesn't do you any good to put in a lot of hours at poker if they are "bad" hours where you are not playing at your best.

WSOP Schedule released

Well, I lied. Harrah's released the 2009 WSOP sched today, a week before it was anticipated. Here are the details:

Schedule Announced for 40th Annual World Series of Poker® at the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino

World’s Longest-Running, Largest and Most Prestigious Poker Tournament Set to Run From May 26 - July 15, 2009

LAS VEGAS (January 26, 2009) – The 40th annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP®) -- a set of poker tournaments open to anyone 21 years of age or older -- will commence Wednesday, May 27 with the first of 57 gold bracelet events, and the next day a special $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament will commemorate the gaming industry’s most illustrious event.

The annual poker extravaganza, which dates back to 1970, is televised exclusively on ESPN from the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and consists of a comprehensive slate of the game’s most popular variations.

The 40th annual WSOP will conclude with the $10,000 buy-in World Championship No-Limit Hold‘em Main Event which begins play Friday, July 3, 2009 and reaches its final table (nine players) on July 15, 2009, at which time play will be halted. The famed tournament’s culmination will be held with the “November Nine” from November 7-10, 2009, before a live audience with special primetime coverage from ESPN.

The landmark WSOP comes on the heels of a record year in 2008, when the WSOP generated the most entries ever (58,720) from the most countries ever (124) that competed for the largest prize pool ever ($180,774,427) while awarding 55 championship gold bracelets, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize.

Among the highlights of the 2009 schedule:
• 57 gold bracelet events over 50 days.

• A “stimulus special” $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament on the opening weekend, May 30-31, 2009, which is anticipated to draw the largest-ever live tournament field outside the Main Event and offer a prize pool approaching $5,000,000.

• 10 “World Championship” $10,000 buy-in events (“World Championship” refers to tournaments with a buy-in of $10,000 in each of the various disciplines of poker).

• The third annual $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament, with an enhanced gold bracelet and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy awarded to the winner.

• A one-time commemorative gold bracelet event, a $40,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament to help mark the 40th annual WSOP on Thursday, May 28, 2009.

• Seven open $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournaments, the most popular events in poker.

• The 3rd annual Ante Up For Africa $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em celebrity and charity tournament on Thursday, July 2, 2009, (the day before the Main Event begins) featuring the opportunity for anyone age 21 or older to enter and be seated at the same table as A-list celebrities and top poker pros.

• The Ladies Only No-Limit Hold’em World Championship on Sunday, June 7, 2009, featuring a $1,000 buy-in and helping to raise awareness for the Nevada Cancer Institute, the official community relations partner of the World Series of Poker.

• The Seniors Only No-Limit Hold’em World Championship on Monday, June 22, 2009 for all poker enthusiasts 50 years of age or older.

• The return of the “November Nine” where the nine finalists of the Main Event (July 3-15) return to the Rio on November 7-10, 2009 to vie for the multi-million dollar prize and the title of 2009 World Champion of Poker in front of a live audience with special primetime coverage on ESPN.

"Whether you play poker around the kitchen table or consider yourself a professional, you will find a comfortable seat at the 2009 World Series of Poker," said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the World Series of Poker. "This year's schedule offers more variety than ever before and we look forward to welcoming players from around the world to the Rio for our 40th annual extravaganza this summer."

The famed Amazon Room in the Rio Convention Center once again will serve as the center of the poker universe this summer, featuring the same highly popular blueprint as last year.

Gold bracelet tournaments will begin at 12 noon or 5 PM Pacific Time each day, with a maximum of 10-one hour levels being played for the noon starts, while the 5 PM events will play a maximum of 8 one-hour levels. For those fortunate enough to advance past the first day, re-starts for noon bracelet events will begin at 2 PM, and 5 PM tournaments will restart at 3 PM with a maximum of 10 levels being played each day until a champion is crowned.

Pre-registration for the 2009 WSOP will begin in late February on-site at the Main Cage of the Rio in Las Vegas and online through www.worldseriesofpoker.com. Players will be encouraged to register through a streamlined online process in advance of coming to Las Vegas to avoid being shutout of their favorite events. Any foreign entrants who wire transfer monies will receive the exchange rate into U.S. dollars at the time of the wire transfer, thus locking in their exchange rate in advance.



Wed, May 27th
12:00 PM
2-Day Event Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em (Event 1)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $500

Thu, May 28th
12:00 PM
4-Day Event 40th Annual No-Limit Holdem (Event 2)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $40,000

Fri, May 29th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (Event 3)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Sat, May 30th
12:00 PM
4-Day Event No-Limit Hold'em (Event 4)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Mon, Jun 1st
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Pot-Limit Omaha (Event 5)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Mon, Jun 1st
5:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship Seven Card Stud (Event 6)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Tue, Jun 2nd
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 7)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Tue, Jun 2nd
5:00 PM
3-Day Event 2-7 Draw Lowbal (Event 8)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Wed, Jun 3rd
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed (Event 9)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wed, Jun 3rd
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Pot-Limit Holdem/Omaha (Event 10)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Thu, Jun 4th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 11)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,000

Thu, Jun 4th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship Mixed Event (Event 12)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Fri, Jun 5th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 13)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Fri, Jun 5th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (Event 14)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Sat, Jun 6th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 15)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000


Sat, Jun 6th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Seven Card Stud (Event 16)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Sun, Jun 7th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Ladies No-Limit Hold’em World Championship (Event 17)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Sun, Jun 7th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (Event 18)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Mon, Jun 8th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (Event 19)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tue, Jun 9th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Pot-Limit Hold'em (Event 20)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Tue, Jun 9th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event H.O.R.S.E. (Event 21)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $3,000

Wed, Jun 10th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (1,000 player max) (Event 22)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wed, Jun 10th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship 2-7 Draw Lowball (Event 23)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Thu, Jun 11th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 24)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thu, Jun 11th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better (Event 25)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Fri, Jun 12th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Limit Hold’em (Event 26)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Fri, Jun 12th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better (Event 27)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Sat, Jun 13th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 28)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Sat, Jun 13th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em (Event 29)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Sun, Jun 14th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Pot-Limit Omaha (Event 30)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Sun, Jun 14th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event H.O.R.S.E. (Event 31)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Mon, Jun 15th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 32)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,000

Mon, Jun 15th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship Limit Hold'em (Event 33)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Tue, Jun 16th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 34)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wed, Jun 17th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Pot-Limit Omaha (Event 35)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Thu, Jun 18th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 36)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,000

Thu, Jun 18th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (Event 37)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Fri, Jun 19th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Limit Hold’em (Event 38)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,000

Sat, Jun 20th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 39)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Sat, Jun 20th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha (Event 40)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Sun, Jun 21st
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (1,000 player max) (Event 41)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Sun, Jun 21st
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Mixed Event (Event 42)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Mon, Jun 22nd
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Seniors No-Limit Hold’em World Championship (Event 43)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Mon, Jun 22nd
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Seven Card Razz (Event 44)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tue, Jun 23rd
12:00 PM
3-Day Event World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em (Event 45)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Tue, Jun 23rd
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (Event 46)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Wed, Jun 24th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No-Limit) (Event 47)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Thu, Jun 25th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better (Event 48)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Fri, Jun 26th
12:00 PM
5-Day Event World Championship H.O.R.S.E. (Event 49)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $50,000

Fri, Jun 26th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Limit Hold’em Shootout (1,000 player max) (Event 50)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Sat, Jun 27th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 51)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Sun, Jun 28th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em (Event 52)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $3,000

Sun, Jun 28th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better (Event 53)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Mon, Jun 29th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold’em (Event 54)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Mon, Jun 29th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit) (Event 55)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tue, Jun 30th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (Event 56)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Thu, Jul 2nd
2:00 PM
1-Day Event Ante Up For Africa Charity
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Fri, Jul 3rd
12:00 PM
13-Day Event World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold'em (Event 57)
No Rebuy/Add-ons
July 3,2009 12:00 PM Day 1A (3,000 players)
July 4,2009 12:00 PM Day 1B (3,000 players)
July 5,2009 12:00 PM Day 1C (3,000 players)
July 6,2009 12:00 PM Day 1D (3,000 players)
July 7,2009 12:00 PM Day 2A
July 8,2009 12:00 PM Day 2B
July 9,2009 12:00 PM Media Event
July 10,2009 12:00 PM Day 3
July 11,2009 12:00 PM Day 4
July 12,2009 12:00 PM Day 5
July 13,2009 12:00 PM Day 6
July 14,2009 12:00 PM Day 7
November 7-10,2009 TBD FINAL TABLE

$10,000



Satellites Schedule


All of our Mega and Single-Table Satellites will begin on May 26th, 2009
Mega Satellite Schedule:
$330 Mega Satellites Sunday - Thursday at 3 PM.
$550 Mega Satellites Friday - Sunday at 3 PM.
$550 Mega Satellites Sunday - Thursday at 8 PM.
$1060 Mega Satellites Friday & Saturday at 8 PM.

Mega Satellite Days July 1 - 5:
$550 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 10 AM and 4 PM.
$1060 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 1 PM and 8 PM.

Turbo Mega Satellite July 6:
$1060 Turbo Mega Satellite at 8AM

$40k No-Limit Hold'em Mega Satellite Days May 26-27:
$1570 Mega Satellites at 6 PM.

$50k H.O.R.S.E. Mega Satellite Days June 22-25:
$2250 Mega Satellites at 6 PM.

Nightly Tournaments From May 26 - July 14:
$340 Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em tournaments nightly at 7 PM.
$200 Buy-In No-Limit Holdem tournaments nightly at 11pm

World Series of Poker news

I had typed most of a recap for the last of the Biloxi trip before my internet went dead in the Beau's media room so I haven't gotten it up yet. Overall, it was a good trip, both from a poker playing and poker writing standpoint. I'll share the stories in the next couple of days.

But for now let me share some juicy WSOP gossip. Here are some bullet points of info from an inside source about the scheduling for this summer:

* The schedule is likely to be released on Feb. 1.

* The dates will be about the same as in 2008, so from June through mid to late July again.

* Rebuy events are not completely dead. There had been discussion of cutting them out of the WSOP completely, but at least the $1K with rebuys NLHE event will remain. That event continues to have strong support to stay.

* Badugi is not on the schedule, BUT there was strong support for it. My inside source expects it to be on the schedule in 2010.

If any of these statement are proven incorrect in a couple of weeks, I will kill my Deep Throat and find a better one.

At the Beau

As Amy keeps reminding me, I have been lax in my blog postings of late so I will try to do better in 2009. I've spent the better part of two weeks at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi for the newly named Southern Poker Championship. They've had a WPT tournament event down here before in 2006, but then it was called the Gulf Coast Poker Championship.

As you probably know, the big January tournament in Mississippi used to be the World Poker Open in Tunica. A brief history of that event for the unenlightened (and if I get any of this wrong pleae write to correct me)-- it was started as the Jack Binion World Poker Open close to a decade ago back when the Binions still owned all of the Horseshoe casinos. Since it was discovered that the convention area of the Horseshoe was not over water (and thus illegal for gaming activities according to Mississippi law) the Horseshoe partnered with the Gold Strike to jointly hold the WPO. So you would see players in tournaments split between the Gold Strike ballroom and poker room and the Horseshoe poker room and gaming area in the back of the casino and shuffling back and forth as fields were condensed. At some point a few years ago the rights to the WPO were obtained by the Gold Strike and the entire tournament moved over there.

After Harrah's purchased the Grand Casino and started holding its World Series of Poker Circuit events there in January (in effect piggybacking on the popularity of the WPO), MGM-Mirage (the current owners of both the Gold Strike and the Beau Rivage) decided to move its signature WPT event to Biloxi and name it the Southern Poker Championship. The WPO is now relegated to second-tier status in October with a $5,000 main event, which is interesting because when it was begun the WPO was one of the must attend events in the country in a time when there weren't a lot of big tournaments.

The move seems to have drawn more poker's A-listers to the scene. The fact that the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure just took place in the Bahamas and Biloxi is an easy plane ride from there has probably helped the cause too. Some of the notables here include Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest, Layne Flack, Vanessa Rousso, Chad Brown, Scott Clements, Robert Williamson, Clonie Gowen, Hoyt Corkins, Tiffany Michelle, Brandon Cantu, David Pham...you get the idea. Tougher field than one might have expected.

I've been running around the last few days trying to get some work done for the next issue. I have interviewed Hevad Khan and Matt Graham (winner of a LHE Shootout WSOP bracelet in 2008 and a $5K event at the Five Diamond last month) for profiles, did the Ask Hoyt with you know who and gotten numbers for future interviews with Brown, Gavin Smith, Clements and Ted Lawson. I did, however, find time to get some poker playing in and took third in the nightly $200 second chance tournament on Tuesday for a $1,040 or so profit. That tournament was won by Ut Nguyen, younger brother of Men. I may have busted him earlier in the final table, but didn't want to gamble. As I like to say, you love to be the one putting in the third bet, but you sure hate to be the one calling it for most of your chips.

I broke this trip into two parts, the first one being last Tuesday through Saturday to mostly play poker before coming home to see Amy for a couple of days and then the second leg being this Tuesday through Sunday to mostly work on the magazine. The first leg was also profitable, with a profit of nearly $400. I stuck to satellites and 10-20 Omaha Hi-Lo for the most part. I did OK on sats this trip, going 2 for 8 (remember that these are two winner affairs so 1 out of 5 would be average), and did better in O8, winning $830 in one lengthy session, before giving up $500 the next day. I didn't play much NLHE because as I think I've mentioned before I hate playing games with the time charge instead of the standard rake structure because I feel I am penalized for playing TAG poker. Case in point, the one session of $1-$2 NLHE I did play I took two small pots, but paid $24 in rake for two hours of time. So that likely cost me $15-$20 in extra rake.

Saying goodbye to 2008 and a good morning to 2009

I am back from being MIA. Over the past month I was first busy putting together articles for The Season, a special pub by Crimson Tide Sports Marketing documenting 'Bama's 12-0 regular season (they certainly fell flat at the end there, didn't they?). After finishing that I spent the next week getting all of my stuff done for the January issue of Rounder. And by then it was Christmas time.

Hope you kids got everything you wanted from Santa.



If you're like me, you're eager to get the new year off to a good start. I am still in that gray area between full-time job hunting and seeking more freelance work/playing better, winning more at poker (all options that seem more difficult than they should be). Jobs are tough to come by these days...good ones, anyway. But so is freelance work.

I recently tallied my poker earnings for 2008 and I came out a little better than I thought, but they were still in the low five figures. You may recall that earlier in the year I had a goal of winning in the neighborhood of $25K to $30K from poker, but I ended up about half of that. It's funny how poker comes in streaks and spurts. Last year, I was up close to $5K after the first WEEK of 2008 after winning my share of satellites my first day in Tunica for the World Poker Open and then taking down a big daily tournament at the next-door Horseshoe the following day. Although most of the rest of the year was slow I did finish well by winning a small $11+R PLO tournament on PokerStars in mid-December for nearly $1K.

Now I'm off again, headed to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi this afternoon for the Southern Poker Championship, which is now the January World Poker Tour event in Mississippi. I'm going down for a few days, mainly to play, and then headed back to Tuscaloosa for the weekend. Then it's back down there for a week mostly to cover things for Rounder.

Roll Tide!

What a season it's been for my beloved Crimson Tide, but can it continue against Florida in the SEC Championship on Saturday? This is Bama's toughest game of the season by far (including a possible national championship game if they beat Florida) so it may take some magic for it to happen. Of course, I recall a certain unbeatable Miami team taking on Bama in the 1993 Sugar Bowl as a two touchdown favorite. Remember how that turned out? Alabama 34 Miami 13.

Someone put together a nice season highlight compilation video on You Tube. Here it is if you care to watch:




I have slowed down my poker playing here at the end of the year for a number of reasons. For one, I had a bad month of November and when I run bad I just kind of chill out and take a break from the game. I haven't played in town in two weeks and have played little online, as well. I have been jumping back into those little $1-$2 NL CAP games on FTP a bit this week, but my luck has continued to be terrible.

I'm also focusing more on building up my freelance writing, including expanding beyond poker. I got a fortuitous phone call from an old boss last week who recently moved back to Tuscaloosa to start a new media company. Check out Yellow Hammer Media here. I'm doing four articles for a special publication we're working on to come out in a couple of weeks.

After that I'll be busy cranking out articles for the January issue of Rounder. Hoping to interview Peter Eastgate, Kenna James and Jonathan Little for the next round of profiles.

The week after that is Christmas so serious poker playing may have to wait until January when I head down to Biloxi for a week or two for the Southern Poker Championship at the Beau Rivage.

Poker miscellany

This has been a slow month for me poker playing wise. It started out cold and hasn't gotten any better so I've taken it easy and have played very little poker this month. I look forward to the holidays and then will gear up for the first Southern Poker Championship at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi where I will be in January with Rounder both writing and playing (and hitting those satellites hard I assure you!)

I may make a quick trip to New Orleans during their Winter Bayou whatchmacallit in a couple of weeks, but it will be only to sightsee with my wife and not to play.

We've got a pretty good issue of Rounder coming out in December. I profiled Tiffany Michelle, Victor Ramdin and Gavin Griffin this month. I've always liked Victor the few times I've met him. Just seems like a super nice guy. I met and got Gavin's number at the media meet and greet at the Palms this summer. Actually, I met his girlfriend Kristen first and she took me over to him. Both are good folks. She seems very sweet and the work both of them did (especially Gavin with the pink hair dye job) to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research was exemplary. I haven't met Tiffany Michelle in person; just talked to her after being given her number by my editor Evert to contact her for a profile. Here is one interesting Tiffany tidbit you may not know: she considers her most interesting role as a dead patient on an episode of ER when she was 18.

Here is what she had to say: “It was pretty awesome to have Noah Wyle on top of me trying to revive me and have blood come pouring out of my mouth. Those are the things about acting that are so outside of everyday life that make it a lot of fun.”

You meet too many bad people in the world of poker so it's good to see the success of these three, all of whom seem deserving of good fortune in the game (despite a certain UB controversy we've all read and heard about).

Over at Al Can Hang's Full Tilt Poker Blogger from the Rail blog you can see a post I sent him around the time of the WSOP final table looking at other WSOP promotions/gimmicks over the years and how well they worked. I had fun putting that one together.

B.J. McBrayer

I definitely need to give a shout out to B.J. McBrayer. He's a local guy in Tuscaloosa who's about 25 or 26 who I've played a lot of poker with over the last few years. Everyone always knew B.J. was a good player and lately he's finally truly broken through on the tournament circuit. He finished runner-up to Clonie Gowen in the main event of the World Poker Open and followed that by chopping the main event of the IP Poker Classic in Biloxi three ways. His cashes over the last month total about $120,000. B.J.'s a good guy. I can't say anything bad about him (aside from that stupid Yankees cap he wears) so I certainly root for his success. I suspect you will see his name in tournament reports many times in the years to come.