#749 – WSOP 2009 #7 – Seen & Heard #2 – When Uncle Tilty Says “Meet Me at the Pizza Hut”

During the first day of the $40,000 NLHE, I was introduced to what I can only describe as the Undisclosed Location. I had heard rumors that there was such a place on site but, even though I was told I could work there, no one would give me more information. Especially elusive was the important question of WHERE?

A half hour into the $40K, after I had exhausted the patience of everyone who might possibly have known, I received a text message from Uncle Tilty: “Meet me at the Pizza Hut.”

Pizza Hut? I didn’t even know there was a Pizza Hut on the property. I made inquiries – discrete, of course, which probably had everyone around me thinking I was nuts – and went to the place I thought Uncle Tilty was talking about.

After ten minutes, I was met not by Uncle Tilty but by one of his administrative assistants, the seductive H.

“Follow me,” she purred.

H led me down a series of hallways to an unmarked door. Inside was the Undisclosed Location.

You would expect at the end of this build-up that the Undisclosed Location would be pretty cool, right? Well, it exceeded even my imagination. I’m probably not allowed to give specific details, but picture a cross between Pure and the Batcave. Everything was sleek and, for some reason, low. The lighting was low. The seating – red leather banquettes and long red sofas – was low. The tables were low.

Granted, the motif was pretty jazzy, but have you seen a cross-section of Full Tilt’s pros. Phil Gordon is 6′9″. Howard Lederer and Erik Seidel are both about 6′6″. Ferguson, Juanda, Lindgren, Bloch, Hansen, Cunningham, and Antonius are all over 6′ and Mike Matusow is close. Marco Traniello and Jennifer Harman were by with their adorable twin boys, now about two-and-a-half years old. They were having a grand time running around but I think they didn’t sit on the furniture because it was so low.

But very stylish.

Several pros were lounged in front of a monitor displaying the time clock in the $40K, deciding whether and when to enter. Stamina during the World Series of Poker is a major consideration and it was clear everyone was taking it seriously from the start. Two well-known pros both admitted to being treated for sleep disorders after the end of the 2008 Series.

“I think that could have played a role in Chip Reese’s death,” another pro said. “With those crazy bracelet bets, everyone was playing two events a day, long into the night, every day. That had to weaken his constitution.”

Another player, laying across a sofa as if he couldn’t rise on his own power, added, “Did you see Barry Greenstein at the end of last year’s Series? He looked like he had about fifteen minutes to live.”

Activity in the Location picked up at the first break. Full Tilt’s pros were just learning about the place and were streaming in, joining those considering entering at the last moment. Greg “FBT” Mueller noticed that entries had stalled at 200, and there was a question about whether registration had closed.

“I bet someone on the size of the field with the over/under being 200. We didn’t even talk about who wins if the number is 200 exactly.”

I told him there was still a little time to enter. “I know what you can do, Greg. Put me in the event. Then you’ll win the bet.”

He declined. “The bet’s not for that much.”

“That’s your problem, buddy.” Thus ended my best – and last, and probably only – chance of getting into the field.

How about this as something strange to overhear in a conversation?

“Your brain’s always looking for the best information to create your visual reality.”

That was a quote from Howard Lederer to Chris Ferguson, in the first seconds of a conversation they were having about, of all things, contact lenses. Howard had just gotten a new set based on some revolutionary technology and Chris was saying he should get his eyes checked ” … but I probably won’t.”

Steve Zolotow, sitting next to me on one of the couches, told Ferguson, “If you’re ever in New York, there’s an eye doctor that owes us a lot of money. You can get anything you want from him. He’s a great guy, loves to gamble.”

Once the break ended and everyone returned to the $40K, I had the Undisclosed Location to myself. It was a great place to make contact with the pros, but, with most of the furniture just eighteen inches from the floor, not an ideal work environment. I could do worse, though, as I took a solitary tour of the room.

On one of the chairs, I found a nickel. It’s just Day 2 of the Series and I’m already money-good.

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