Pixies - Ed Is Dead Built to Spill - Big Dipper Creedence Clearwater Revival - Run Through the Jungle Modest Mouse - Doin’ the Cockroach David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World The Beatles - Dig a Pony Okkervil River - A Girl in Port My Morning Jacket - Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1 Yo La Tengo - Stockholm Syndrome Silver Jews - Blue Arrangements The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Anemone Sublime - KRS-One
It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been busy the last week enjoying time with Rachel here in Vegas. Unfortunately she left for the airport a little while ago, so that period of my 2008 WSOP is over.
The good news is that the rest of the WSOP is going to be a breeze. The Main Event isn’t very far away, and that’s by far the easiest tournament of the entire summer to cover. Why? Because we’ll have three people covering one tournament on every shift, as opposed to three people covering six tournaments at once. Math might be hard, but splitting up one tournament with your co-workers is easy.
The WSOP has never gone this quickly for me. I’ve had to take a few moments every now and then to just soak it in and remind myself that I’m lucky to be here. Pretty amazing, considering last month I wasn’t looking forward to the trip at all.
I had the chance to see George Carlin about a week ago when he was playing at the Orleans. I got too busy and forgot to get tickets, and all I could think was, “Oh well, I’ll see him next time.”
Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.
I feel really, really stupid for missing the chance to see one of the greatest minds in the history of American comedy.
Today is the happiest day of the WSOP for me by a long shot - and that’s saying something, because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my work this summer.
So why am I so enthused about today? When I get off work tonight I’ll head back to my room, finish up a quick blog or interview (depends on my source material), and then take my beautiful wife out to dinner.
Rachel and I have spent a lot of time together in Las Vegas over the last four years. Quite a bit of that time was before I worked in the crazy business of poker, too; she still loves this place and says the magic hasn’t worn off for her. I can’t claim the same, even though I find ways to enjoy my time in the desert. Having her here ought to bring a little of the fun back. The best part is that she’ll be here for a week.
I have to admit that when we planned the trip we chose this particular time because it was squarely in the middle of the WSOP schedule. We both figured the time apart would be difficult enough that putting our time together in the exact middle of the schedule would help to ease the difficulty of being apart for so long. The last two summers apart weren’t easy. But this has been such a pleasant work experience compared to years past that the time has flown by; it barely feels like two weeks even though it’s already been more than three.
So I think that this next week is going to be the best week I’ve ever spent in Las Vegas. I’m surrounded by friends all day, and when I’m done with work I get to spend the rest of my time with the best one I’ve ever had. Best of all, I get to introduce her to all the great new people I’ve met this year. We should have a lot of fun.
There are some days when I think I’m the only person in this industry who’s optimistic about the future of poker. I really think we’re a year and a half away from legalized online poker in America - two years, tops. And why, you ask, am I so optimistic?
First, as a nation, we’re currently drowning in debt thanks to the total mismanagement by our leaders of both our economy and our unique place in global culture. Second, the bill that created the current fuzzy online poker environment (but didn’t make the game illegal) never had any popular support at all and is, in fact, derided and despised by a fairly wide portion of the voting population. Put those two things together with the insane amounts of cash the government could get its hands on through taxing poker and there’s plenty of reason for the incoming gang in Washington - whoever they might be - to reverse the curse.
The biggest thing in poker’s favor, though, is the absolutely disastrous job George W. Bush has done as president. Because he has pushed his religious conservative agenda so hard since the beginning of the decade, there are a lot of people out there who will be willing to go along with anything that flips the “Jesus hates you and your bad habits” mentality on its head. Legalizing online poker in America, then, dovetails quite nicely for these folks, who just happen to be the current targets of a focused voter registration drive by the Poker Players Alliance.
Last night while I was covering the final table of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event at the Rio, I saw WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky walking around with an old guy in a sport coat. Ed Sevillano, who’s been working with me this summer, asked if he was a news guy. I didn’t think so at first, but then I realized he was right. The man was none other than journalist Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes fame.
Kroft and his crew from the show were here to do some filming and research for their piece about the Absolute Poker scandal, which Nolan Dalla wrote about back in March on PokerListings. Nolan was afraid of a hatchet job, and rightfully so, given the show’s past actions regarding poker.
But a lot has changed in a few months, and it seems pretty clear that whoever our next president is, he won’t be continuing Bush’s failed social policies. (He’ll probably have plenty of social policies of his own just waiting to fail, but that’s another matter altogether.) Can we really expect 60 Minutes to attack a game that millions of people clearly love, one which has been demonized by opportunistic social conservatives in an effort to gain political advantage over their rivals? I don’t think so.
I think 60 Minutes is going to tell the public that there’s no stopping this behemoth. I think Kroft is going to make it clear to Middle America that the only way to keep online poker from becoming a hotbed of scandal is by legalizing and regulating it. And I think that the public will respond and demand of the new regime in Washington that the game they love be made perfectly, explicitly legal.
I’m rarely an optimist, but in this case I think my rare switch of sides is entirely justified. Of course, we’ll have to wait until November to see what really happens.
I’d hoped to be a bit more productive in this space while staying in Vegas, but best laid plans and all that…
I did get to go bowling at Gold Coast the other night with some of the PL.com boys, as well as Benjo and his French friends from the Winamax team (Nicolas Levi, Ludovic Lacay, Alexia Portal, Almira Skripchenko, Guillaume de la Gorce et Anthony Roux) . I rolled a 180 in the first game (big stuff for me these days) but fell to a 101 in Game 2. I blame the Heinekens. We then all went to the cafe on property for a giant breakfast. Good times!
I’ve played a tiny bit of poker but it’s all been online outside of that Sahara tournament really early on in the trip. I can’t afford to donk it up at the live tables, so I go to PokerStars or Full Tilt instead. The night before last I got aces cracked by underpairs twice in my first 13 hands in a cash game….so much for that! I’ve gone deep in a few tourneys without cashing, including being chip leader in a Razz cheapie on Stars the other night at the first break.
I get my next day off day after tomorrow, which I will probably eat up with the evil necessity of doing laundry. Maybe I’ll get a little poker in too, who knows? If anyone’s going to be in town that day (I am so not keeping up with the rest of the world right now), please do get in touch with me. I’d love to hang out with anyone who hasn’t been eating-breathing-sleeping poker since the beginning of the month.
Every year about two weeks into the WSOP a thought hits me: I have no idea what’s going on in the rest of the world right now. I didn’t know that Hillary Clinton had finally dropped out of the presidential race until Rachel told me on the phone today.
Being removed from the 24-hour news cycle actually feels like a good thing to me. I’m so immersed in my work that I don’t have the time to pay attention to what the talking heads are saying, or what the bloggers are saying about what the talking heads are saying, or what the other bloggers are saying about what the bloggers are saying about what the talking heads are saying. It’s nice to avoid noticing that the mirror reflects the mirror which reflects the mirror. At the end of the day, of course, avoidance is all it is. The world goes on whether or not the ostrich has his head in the sand.
It makes me think about Las Vegas on the whole, and how much it leeches resources from the lands around it without considering that those resources are highly limited. It’s all about today, here and now, forget the future. Take a look at the shorelines of Lake Mead the next time you fly into Vegas and ask yourself why there’s all that white rock above the water line.
When I look out my window here at the Rio, I see a pretty fantastic view of the Strip and the rest of the southern end of Las Vegas. I also see brown mountains, sand, and scrub on the surrounding edges of the valley, proof that this place has no business even existing because THERE IS NO WATER HERE. Someday that’s going to come back to bite Vegas in the ass - or more likely, hundreds of thousands of people in the areas surrounding Vegas who don’t have the same political clout as the leaders of Sin City have with Washington. Vegas has the straw, and the rest of the West has the milkshake.
For now, though, I’m here surreptitiously downing the milkshake and acting like I’m a dairy teetotaler, just like everyone else in Las Vegas. And why do I do such a thing? Because this is where the work is. Even if I save the world today, the bill collectors will still come around tomorrow, and they don’t give credit for good deeds.
Both for players and for media, burnout is always an issue at the Rio. The Series lasts, well, about six minutes shy of forever, and you see the same locations and people day in, day out. One of the big reasons I accepted the offer from PokerListings to come to Vegas for this WSOP was the fact that they promised to have our team working in shifts and keep us on a three days on, one day off schedule the whole time. That decision has meant a relatively easy WSOP compared to what I’ve been used to in the past. The work is still demanding, but I’m not battling burnout in any form.
Working with a solid international team of smart, funny people is just as key to enjoying the WSOP as the time off. There are always two of them off when I am, and there’s always $2 Heinekens at the Gold Coast to at least get started before wandering into some other craziness. I haven’t indulged in Pai Gow yet, though, because I think that’s something that is best experienced when Otis is around.
One of the other nice parts of not having to work from the time I wake up until I go to bed is the opportunity to eat somewhere other than the overpriced Rio. Seriously, everything here is inflated beyond what I’d expect from a casino of the Rio’s quality (two and a half stars out of five at best). Gaylord, the Indian restaurant, is good but every dish on the menu costs $10 more than it should; the Chinese food at Mahjongg is on the decent side of passable, but it’s ordered and served fast-food-style and it costs as much as sit-down joint Ping Pang Pong next door at the Gold Coast. And the Poker Kitchen - $6 for romaine lettuce, chicken, croutons and caesar dressing? $7 for a chicken caesar wrap with very little lettuce in it at all? The Rio fails on the food front in all regards.
Luckily for me I’ve gone elsewhere a handful of times. I ate at Noodles at Bellagio last night with Chris Hall and Arthur Crowson from the team, sharing an a la carte selection of dishes. I had Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak at MGM Grand with Michele Lewis’ husband, Terry, two nights ago and it was one of the best steakhouse meals I’ve ever had (thanks in part to the wild mushroom risotto). I managed to grab a double double, animal style, at In and Out Burger on my last day off. And Frank Kassela’s grilled hot dogs and hamburgers beat just about anything the Rio ever considered serving.
Today, though, it’s all snacky stuff from the package Rachel sent the other day, because I’ve been too lazy to go anywhere after sleeping in to be ready for the late shift tonight. I might also take the late shift tomorrow night if Chris goes deep in the PLO event and I need to pick up his shift. The time-switching can throw me off a little bit, but it’s so much better than working 14-16 hours a day that I wouldn’t ever dream of complaining about it.
When I got up today the message light on my phone was flashing. No voicemails, but there was an update from the business center telling me I had a package. What could that possibly be?
I got there and the handwriting on the package was familiar. I opened it up to find a wealth of goodies - salami, cheese, crackers, shortbread cookies, plastic forks, paper plates, the kind of toothpaste I like, Dryel to clean my jackets, and Haribo Happy Cola gummy candy.
Just like I used to eat when I was a kid, except the writing on the package isn’t Deutsch.
There was also custom-made artwork which should set my grandchildren up quite comfortably once Sotheby’s get a hold of it.
The artist has truly captured the spirit of both these fine canines.
Gotta love little touches of home, away from home.
Fantastic post yesterday from Pauly about some of the darker edges of life during the WSOP. I know exactly what he means about being “jovial” during this WSOP - I’ve been in a great mood 95% of the time I’ve been out here, something to which I’m not necessarily accustomed.
I got some much needed sleep last night and drank more water during the day than I had yesterday, so I felt pretty good when I got off work tonight. Went and had a good sag gosht at Gaylord, the Indian restaurant at the Rio. Joining me was Chris Hall, also known as Homer, a Brit on the PokerListings.com team this year at the WSOP. We talked a little poker (he won the Turbo Hundo on Full Tilt the previous night), a little work, and a little food before parting to finish up a little post-shift writing duty.
Upstairs I banged out a quick blog post about how much more relaxed things are at the WSOP this year despite the numbers either holding steady or going up. I also knocked out an interview with Seth Palansky, the new communications director for the WSOP who used to work with the NFL, which I’ll be posting in the near future.
During this WSOP I’ve been busy but I haven’t felt overwhelmed at any point, even with my one-third share of covering the six tournaments running at once earlier today. I’ve also had the chance to catch up with a lot of friends and talk with them at least briefly. Suffice to say things are a lot different in 2008 than they have been in the past.
Pauly’s Jim James/me bit has me on a My Morning Jacket kick right now. I find myself walking around on the floor singing or humming Bermuda Highway under the drone of chip counts, PA announcements, and player conversations.
Things are finally completely underway at the Rio, following a soft start that eased everyone - players, staff, and media - into the schedule. Two of the first days that I worked were very easy because there weren’t six tournaments running every day. I liked the soft start and I hope they’ll continue to use it in future years.
Now, of course, there are six tournaments a day, almost every day through the rest of the Series. Yesterday we had five going and it’s a challenge to keep an update going up once an hour for all of them. Still, the whole WSOP feels a lot more manageable than in past years when I wasn’t even on the floor doing the reporting thing.
I actually sat down to play online poker last night for the first time since I’ve been here. I loaded up one of those turbo 90-man multitable SnGs on Full Tilt, and also a freeroll for a Main Event satellite. I final tabled the freeroll before getting my shortish stack in with 9-7 against 2-2, catching a 9 on the turn, and having my opponent spike a deuce to end the run. The 90-man saw me finish about six spots outside the money or so when my button-limper opponent decided to be a hero with J-T against the tightest player at the table.
If I hadn’t been so tired I might’ve played more, but I needed to catch up on sleep from the last week or so of steadily up late. I’ve had a great time hanging out with a lot of great folks, both from the PokerListings.com team and the media/player communities, and my body had been telling me all through the day yesterday that it was time to slow down for a day or two. I’m definitely not 21 anymore. :-)
Speaking of online poker, before I left home the folks at Poker Academy were nice enough to hook me up with a copy of their software. I’d actually bought a copy three or four years ago, but couldn’t find the CD for it even though I did find the box. (Isn’t that usually how it goes?) At any rate, I decided that with the help of the software I’d make a plan to use it for strengthening my game.
My original plan was to do a giant batch of SnGs on PokerStars or Full Tilt, preparing for them with the help of Poker Academy Pro. However, both Bodog and Full Tilt announced their “Mini Series of Poker” and I’m thinking about mixing some of those events in with some of the 90-man turbos and a smaller batch of the SnGs. I’ve got a relatively small online bankroll, so I figure that doing some practice runs in PA Pro will be one of the most useful things I can do to minimize the cost of any leaks in my game. It has definitely focused me in on some weak situations already, and I love the fact that I can put any tournament structure into the software and have it simulate any tournament I want.
It’s almost time for another six tournaments of work - I’m glad I’ve got the early shift, when they are all starting up at various times. More later.
For the first time in my three WSOPs, I’m living at the Rio while the event is in full swing. Here are a few notes from the demon’s belly.
The Tilted Kilt is no more, as many of you probably know. It was easily the best place in the Rio to grab a bite or a pint. It’s been replaced by McFadden’s, which bills itself as the “Wildest Irish Pub On Earth!” on the billboard down by the railroad tracks outside the Rio. I ate there tonight and the only thing wild about it is one of the dueling pianist’s complete inability to hit the notes for which he was shooting. The worst of all was when he murdered Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” - really, it was just atrocious stuff. If I end up going back it’ll only be because the place is right next to the elevator leading to my room.
The crowds this year are really not nearly as bad as I expected after the last two years. I’m giving Harrah’s full marks on this front, because they’ve taken a lot of steps to reduce the headaches caused by poor planning in the past. Kudos to them.
The rooms here aren’t so bad. Not the best I’ve ever stayed in, sure, but they’re spacious and have a refrigerator and television and a nice view of the Strip.
It’s impossible to go 100 feet in this place without seeing people you know. That gives it the feeling of a small town, albeit one with a godawful “Show In The Sky” and really loud music blaring at inopportune locations. Tom Schneider told me a couple of months ago that the WSOP is like a high school reunion that goes on way too long and I think there’s a lot of truth in that.
Required Reading
The second half of my interview with Nolan Dalla is up at PokerListings - you can get to it here.
I’ve had a fair number of my friends linking up this little blog lately, and I just want to say thanks. It’s good to know in this business that people are aware of your work. So, to all my friends below, thanks - and if you linked to me and I’m not mentioning you, please let me know because I’m trusting Technorati to help me out here…
I got the chance to interview Nolan Dalla yesterday. We talked about the old days of the WSOP, what Stu Ungar might think of the modern WSOP, and where things are headed. The first part is up here and the second will be posted today, so stop by and keep your eyes peeled for it. Nolan is one of the coolest customers in this business and it was an honor to get 15 minutes out of his busy schedule.
But Spaceman arrived and is looking like Jim James from My Morning Jacket. Holy shit, talk about a mountain man!
Yeah - I’ve gone Grizzly Adams on these unsuspecting poker media types. Last night as we walked toward the Palms, one of the Canucks from the PokerListings team asked if I was growing my playoff beard, which I affirmed.
“Guy, this is only Day 1 of the regular season,” said one of the guys (I think it was Owen). “It’s not even the playoffs yet.”
My reply?
“Life’s a playoff, buddy.”
Yeah, it’s true, they’ve got me talking like a Canuck already. I blame my penchant for unconsciously picking up others’ dialects on my army brat upbringing. By the time the WSOP is done I’ll have a flappy head and beady little eyes and be apologizing to my neighbors at home for Bryan Adams.
Yikes. It’s a cold, dark future ahead of me…eh?
Thanks for all the links from the folks I don’t have enough time to link to right now - I’ll get you guys some link love soon.
June 28, 2008 
Posted in Music 
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Last night while I was covering the final table of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event at the Rio, I saw WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky walking around with an old guy in a sport coat. Ed Sevillano, who’s been working with me this summer, asked if he was a news guy. I didn’t think so at first, but then I realized he was right. The man was none other than journalist Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes fame.
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