Additional notes on Clonie Gowen

4. Is Clonie Gowen too nice for poker?

Clonie told me a story that I can’t recall whether I’ve used in the blog. I think it was last year, she was playing in a private game, a crazy game. It was $5-$10 or $10-$20 no-limit but the game was so wild that the guy running the game was raking $50 per hand, and no one complained. Players were buying in for huge amounts, shoveling away their chips, and rebuying for even bigger amounts. There were some players who clearly had no idea how to play and several who were drinking heavily.

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Notes about Clonie Gowen

1. The opening of the Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash is one of the most memorable in rock music. Apart from the riff by Keith Richards, the opening lyrics by Jagger/Richards are unforgettable anthem about thumbing your nose at humble beginnings and adversity:

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After writing about Clonie Gowen for three years, I find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to run to catch the bandwagon. I have only myself to blame. As much as I’ve written about her, plenty of it has focused on my own bumbling attempts at friendship rather than her poker skills and merits. Now, with two big tournament wins in 2008, a third Poker After Dark victory, and a successful World Series, I’m probably the last person on the internet to write about Clonie’s monster year. And the time I have with her on the phone is wedged between family errands and jury duty.

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This is the third and last part of the series of essay contests I’m conducting in connection with both Full Tilt’s final table trio and FTOPS X. Please check out contest 3A, Cash Game Killer, and 3B, Tournament Star.

This contest is dedicated to Kelly Kim, specifically to the his sweet arrangement, splitting his year between Whittier, California, and a gorgeous home in Las Vegas that he shares with a group of close friends, one of whom introduced himself to me as “the social director.”

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This is my third in a series of three profiles of Full Tilt’s final table trio. See also my profiles of Craig Marquis and Scott Montgomery. Also, check out the contests accompanying the Marquis profile – Cash Game Killer - and the Montgomery profile – Tournament Star - as well as the third contest, the one accompanying Kelly Kim’s profile, Enigma. That should be posted later tonight or tomorrow.

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This is my second in a series of three profiles of Full Tilt’s final table trio. See also my profile of Craig Marquis and my coming profile of Kelly Kim. Also, check out the contests accompanying the Marquis profile – Cash Game Killer - and this one – Tournament Star. Kelly Kim’s profile will also be accompanied by a third contest that could win you an entry into FTOPS X.

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I’m trying to get a few things confirmed with Scott Montgomery before I post my profile of him, but I didn’t want to delay the contest suggested by his tournament prowess. This is a slightly modified version of the “Buy the Coach” contest. It replaces that contest.

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Apologies for any inconvenience and delay resulting from my suspending/modifying the contest announced last week. But I realized that it could be even better if I replaced that contest with THREE contests, each geared toward a characteristic about one of Full Tilt’s WSOP final table trio. This contest, inspired by Craig Marquis, is titled CASH GAME KILLER.

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New Year’s Eve, 2007 – Craig Marquis, 21, attends the New Year’s Eve party of Tom Dwan and David Benefield, a pair of even younger men who recently bought a house in Forth Worth, Texas. Marquis is, like most 21 year-olds, just beginning the journey to get to where he wants to go: he was a full-time student, he also worked full-time in cell-phone sales.

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First, I am changing the contest rules to Buy the Coach.

Second, I am officially over my spiralling depression.

I had a nice talk with my dad – he’s always there when things are messed up in my life and I think I’m always there for him, though I routinely miss birthdays and anniversaries and neglect to keep in touch sometimes – and I paid my bills and my taxes. Then I came up with an idea to ROCK my coverage of the WSOP Main Event final table AND my contest.

Please read on!

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