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#692 – NBC Heads-Up Championship #13 – Round 2 – Hearts & Diamonds – After Forty Minutes of Brad Garrett, Everything Else is Slow Motion
From my corner seat in the bleachers, I have a great view of Brad Garrett and Glen Chorny, which also means I can’t see anything of the other matches. So I’ll follow this one – mostly, I’m sure, listening to Brad Garrett’s running commentary – and insert what I learn of the other matches as I learn it.
The round starts with each player having 20,000 chips. Blinds begin at 300-600. Levels are 15 minutes. At 1:28, cards are in the air.
Garrett stands up – he’s about 6′8″ – and digs into his pocket. “As a lucky charm, I’m using two teeth from my ex-wife.” On the first hand, Chorny bets 1,100 on the river. “You’re from Canada, right? So what’s that, about 850?” Brad calls with second pair and Glen shows him a straight.
I notice Glen, just 23, has a gold Rolex and a flashy gold ring. Brad Garrett notices it too. “Where did you get jewelry? What’s a white kid like you doing with jewelry like that? Did Scotty Nguyen have a garage sale?”
Garrett is folding hand after hand. “This kid is a tiger. He doesn’t want to go back to that paper route. Does your mom know you’re in Vegas?”
Tournament announcer Jordan, wearing a tuxedo, walks by. “When are you due back at the bar mitzvah?” Brad spies David Williams, like yesterday sporting the bling-toothpick and a bandana. “What’s with the Q-tip in your mouth?”
But David is ready. “Michael Richards? What are you doing out of LA?”
It’s 1:37. They’ve been going nearly ten minutes and Garrett still hasn’t won a hand, but with his constrant stream of banter, his table is getting in fewer hands than the others. Brad raises on his button, is called by Chorny, but takes his first pot when he bets 2,000 on the flop and Glen folds.
1:39 PM – “Huck’s all-in,” I hear Jordan announce. From the overhead monitor, I see all five cards are out. Gus lays it down. “And Huck takes a monster pot.”
Brad Garrett has come back by betting Glen out of several hands. At 1:43 PM, the clock sounds and blinds raise, as they soon will at all the other tables, to 400-800. Jordan announces that Kenny Tran has a 50k-30k lead over Jennifer Harman, Phil Laak has a slight lead over David Oppenheimer, and Erick Lindgren has a slight lead over Eli Elezra.
1:47 PM – “All-in and a call on Table 7.” Oppenheim and Laak get it all-in before the flop. Oppie apparently got it in so good that Laak has put on his backpack. While waiting for the cameras to get in place, Garrett yells to David Williams. “Hey Toothpick! My labrador called. He wants his bandana back.”
Phil Laak and David Oppenheim turn the cards over for the cameras and David has K-K to Phil’s 9-9. The kings hold and he takes a huge lead.
1:58 PM – Gus and Huck leave the feature table to chat with Brad. Blinds go up to 600-1,200.
2 PM – “All-in and call on Table 1.” That’s John Phan and Jerry Yang. It’s all-in preflop. Yang has As-Qs but Razor has K-K. And when a king comes on the turn, Jerry is drawing dead and John Phan becomes the first to make the round of 16.
At 2:04 PM, Huckleberry Seed becomes the first to cash all five years in the Heads-Up Championship, eliminating Gus Hansen at the feature table. Huck had A-Q, Gus J-J. Seed hit a queen on the flop and it was over.
A few minutes after that, David Oppenheim calls Phil Laak’s short-stacked all-in. Laak has K-K against Oppie’s A-J, but David got an ace on the flop and busts Phil.
Mori, the producer, comes over to our corner and tells Brad and Glen that they are moving tables. Brad: “I’m not moving. I want to see my host.” But they are gone to the TV table, and our corner has suddenly become a lot more quiet and a lot less interesting.
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