#077 - Heads-Up Championship Part XIII - Shannon Elizabeth Kicks Me Off the Stage

It’s 11:15 AM as I am writing this. The broadcasters are doing their taped opening for the first two quarterfinal matches - Shannon Elizabeth v. Humberto Brenes and Paul Wasicka v. Nam Le. Shannon Elizabeth has kicked me out of my front row seat to make room for Antonio Esfandiari’s father, banishing me to the back row of the bleachers.

All part of the plan.

I barely know Shannon Elizabeth but we’re foxhole buddies now, which is the best kind of buddies to be. I ran into her a couple times at the World Series last year, managing to catch her at the worst possible times. Once, I tried foisting a copy of my book off on her moments after she busted from the Main Event. Of course, I didn’t KNOW she had just busted out.

But it all worked out well in the end when, looking for something to write for my Pokerworks.com blog, I saw her on a break in the Full Tilt suite on the second-to-last day of the Main Event. There was a $1,500 buy-in bracelet event also going on and it turned out they were on the bubble. She was the low person in chips and wanted to cash for the third time in the Series. I asked to tag along. She consented, asking only “Why?”

You can find the blog entry, and I also wrote a version for my column for BLUFF. I’m pretty sure it’s on their web site, too. “Shannon Elizabeth Has a Cold” is one of my favorite articles and I think it demonstrates some of my best writing. There was no fanfare. No one was on the rail. I wasn’t writing about one of my best friends in poker. It was just a night at the World Series and the drama that clings to everyone who plays.

I never heard from Shannon after sending her a copy of the articles, so I had no idea what she thought of them, if anything. Clonie Gowen re-introduced me to Shannon this weekend and I found out that she really enjoyed them. The fact that I caught that successful moment (Shannon survived by being forced all-in in the blind and making a flush on the turn and, for an instant, losing to a higher flush on the river until everyone discovered that she had made a straight flush) and Shannon’s winning ways has made me part of the in-crowd.

Shannon is a very spiritual person, which means she is very superstitious. I’ve written about some of her superstitions. She told me she meditated in her room yesterday with sage and all the aces and paints from a deck of cards. (”I wanted to picture myself getting those cards.”) She beat Barry Greenstein yesterday wearing Clonie Gowen’s pants. [Humberto, by the way, is wearing a Hall of Fame watch and his World Series bracelet, which I think is very cool.]

Shannon: “Thanks for being here.”

Mike: “Hey, it’s my pleasure. You’re good business for me.”

Shannon: “You’re good business for me.” She mentions that she won her only poker tournament in this very room. We don’t say much about it but I got kicked out of a primo seat right behind her in both her wins yesterday, so I set up in the same spot. With Clonie, some of Clonie’s friends, and Antonio Esfandiari and some of Antonio’s friends and family, I know we’ll be able to continue the tradition.

Antonio’s dad showed up a couple minutes ago and had to be convinced to take a front row seat. I practically had to beg to get myself kicked out. Thank goodness Shannon told him, “It’s okay, Michael always gets kicked out of my matches.”

Another hug from Shannon Elizabeth and I’m rooting her on to beat Humberto Brenes. Humberto is supposed to be a nice man and a gentleman, but I have some problems with his TV act, enough that I’d hug Daniel Negreanu if it would end Humberto’s run.

I overheard a member of the crew on a cell phone saying, “We’ll be here until 2 AM” so I better get going.

It’s 11:41 AM. Shannon has kept her pants on. Humberto has stayed in his seat. And Nam Le and Paul Wasicka look like really, really young guys (the crew put the over/under on their combined ages at 50), though there’s no doubt they both belong and are right at home.