We’ve played three of the four initial sessions of the Main Event and today’s last session could sell out. I’ve compiled some 1-A and 1-B lists, and will likely provide the same for 1-C and 1-D either after play today or, because I’m playing 2-A tomorrow, before 2-B on Wednesday.
Experienced poker players will tell you that no one really wants to be the chip leader after the first day of the Main Event. Day 1 position has little relevance to the final results and just creates a lot of extra attention and pressure. Imagine how Eric Cloutier feels right now.
[This was written as I played the Senior Championship on June 22.]
Today, Monday, June 22, is Senior Day at the WSOP. The noon event is the $1,000 Senior NLHE World Championship. And then, as some kind of sick joke, Harrah’s scheduled the $2,500 Razz event for 5 PM. That means there are a lot of people in the Convention Center referring to Mickey Appleman as “that hippy kid.” Of all the stereotypical jokes I’ve heard about today, the best by far was by Aaron Bartley. When I told Aaron several weeks ago that I had planned on playing the event for the first time, he asked, “Is that the day they have the dinner break at 5 PM?”
As I told you in the previous post, Matt Hawrilenko finished the preliminary events with a bang, winning the $5,000 NLHE 6-handed and more than a million dollars. Annie Duke and Don Cheadle ran their third WSOP Ante Up for Africa tournament, raising $362,000 for relief and education for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Today starts the Main Event. I’ll be playing today.
Congratulations to Matt Hawrilenko for his fourth cash of the 2009 WSOP, his third final table, and most important, his first gold bracelet. Matt won the last event before the Championship, the $5,000 NLHE 6-handed. I’ve never actually met Matt, but I swear that every time I reveal that to someone – and it’s come up a lot this World Series – they say, “Really? Matt’s a really nice guy.”
And because Matt’s a nice guy, apologies on the generic picture. Because of the late finish, neither the WSOP nor Full Tilt has their pictures of Matt winning the event available as of the time of this post. Just imagine this picture with a much bigger smile and way more chips.
Howard & Suzie Lederer and Steve Zolotow hosted the seventh edition of their World Series of BBQ and Karaoke last night. I attended with my wife Jo Anne and my daughters Ellie and Valerie. The highlights were (a) phenomenal fireworks; (b) Valerie spending four hours in the swimming pool and/or hot tub; (c) Ellie flirting with several men and inexplicably – at least to/by me – leaving her underpants behind; and (d) me successfully navigating Jo Anne through all the women I have fruitlessly flirted with during the previous six Lederer/Z BBQs.
A good time was had by all and the Lederers’ tournament for the benefit of Boys & Girls Clubs was a huge success (though not to me, as I had to quit after being stuck $730 in buy-ins and rebuys after an hour).
As of 9 AM Wednesday, John Hanson and David Bach were still fighting heads-up for the $50,000 HORSE World Championship. Full Tilt’s last hope, Vitaly Lunkin, busted in third, though it’s still been a pretty decent Series for the Russian.
Today kicks off a round of parties as the remaining events conclude – hopefully, including the HORSE – and we get ready for the Main Event.
Full Tilt has four pros at the final table of the $50k HORSE, including Vitaly Lunkin, Huck Seed, Chau Giang, and Erik Seidel.
