I just read the news that OJ Simpson was convicted in that robbery case that involved the Palace Station, some of his memorabilia (including, I thought I once heard, the suit he was wearing when he was acquitted in his murder case, which has to qualify as ”ironic” on some level), and a group of “friends” who raced to sell their story to TV, tabloids, and tabloid-TV. Not surprisingly, several of them “flipped” at trial.

It’s probably now safe for me to tell my side of the story. That is, the Full Tilt side of the story.

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Congratulations to John Juanda, 2008 World Series of Poker European Champion. Like nearly everyone else, I was following the marathon final table from home, thanks to outstanding daily reports from media director Nolan Dalla and superb table-reporting by Pokernews.com.

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The Ignoble End of PayLamb.com

On the Lam … from Uncle Tilty

When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow

I Fear for Uncle Tilty’s Health … and My Own

“Put on Some Damn Pants!”

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Howard busted at 3:03 AM in third place. I stuck around with Andy Bloch and Jennifer for a few awkward minutes. I couldn’t come up with anything to say to Howard but something lame, and said it anyway. I shook his hand and said, “It’s useless for me to even say, ‘you played well Howard’ because you played tremendously and it didn’t have a thing to do with the outcome.”

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IMAGE 5

Howard Lederer in profile, still sitting at the table, still leaning slightly forward, a swirl of chips spread across the table. He looks so similar to the earlier images (and really, the later ones too) that the first impression is that you can’t tell anything about how the game is going by looking at his face.

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IMAGE 4

This image is time-stamped in my notes at 12:57 AM. The communal cards in the center are 7s-Js-Td. Howard Lederer, with a chip stack of more than 600,000, leans forward in his chair, his face impassive. Ivo Donev has only a small stack of blue chips remaining and he jingles them in one hand.

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IMAGE 3

The players have vacated the table. Only their stacks - both their armor and their ammunition - mark their places.

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IMAGE 2

Howard Lederer, elegantly collecting his cards in Razz, flips them face down, and slides them, as one, to the dealer. There’s a certain look on his face - tired, resigned. Not disgusted or discouraged, but like he’s communicating, “I’ve got nothing … again,” as if that’s been the case thousands of times. And it has.

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My notes of the final taqble, 58 pages covering 4 3/4 hours and 144 hands of short-handed poker, are mostly useless gibberish to me now. But among the wreckage are several jarring images - like photographs that look innocuous, until you learn the context.

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It was a serpentine road that led me to this final table, even as an observer. as you know, I had played this event, and busted late on Monday night. I thought my effort was a valiant one, and unrewarded until I saw the coverage on Pokernews.com.

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