Jul
21

Quick Hits

Posted by Storms Reback

I am starting to loathe Day Ones of the (relatively) low-stakes no-limit hold’em tournaments here at the Rio. Today, the $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event started and the dreamers crawled out of the woodworks to seek fame and fortune amongst the pros. They crowd the hallways, take all the parking spaces, jam up the bathrooms, hawk loogies indoors within sight of ladies, and, worst of all, put bad beats on the pros. If you need to hear some good ones, just find Mike Matusow and he’ll give you an earfu

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Jul
21

The Ellix Powers Story

Posted by Storms Reback

There are a couple stories that capture the essence of my experience at this year’s World Series and then there’s what happened to me yesterday, which does that and a little more. After learning, chatting, and playing with the pros all day, I decided to do a little investigative reporting at a low-limit no-limit cash game.

Jul
20

And Now For Something a Little Lighter

Posted by Storms Reback

After enduring the succession of mini-controversies that have thus far plagued this year’s World Series, today I decided to concentrate on a topic with a little less bite: fashion. The way poker players dress has always shocked me. In what other field will you encounter a millionaire going to work in sweat pants and flip flops? The incongruity was never clearer for me than the moment I witnessed a $10,000 bundle of cash being handed over from one player to another and the receiver matter-of-factly tucking the wad of cash…. into the pocket of his ratty cargo shorts. Ten grand in cargo shorts. Bizarre.

Jul
20

Gambling With Gavin

Posted by Storms Reback

Gavin Smith is off to his typical hot start in today’s $5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event. He in particular seems to feed off the poor play and bad decision-making that usually springs from amateurs in the first few rounds of play in these large multi-table tournaments. A gambler’s gambler, he’ll pounce on every opportunity given him to double up or call it an early day. In one such instance he called an all-in preflop re-raise with A-K and caught an ace on the flop to take down his opponent’s jacks. “You’re not going to get me to fold those coin flips,” Gavin said as if his tournament hadn’t been at stake. “What, are you crazy?”

Jul
20

It Was Time To Do Something

Posted by Howard Lederer

We’ve tried very hard since November to negotiate a settlement of the release with the World Poker Tour. We were bargaining in good faith as best we could. There are some very important elements of that release that are completely unacceptable. There are other issues beside the release, but I’d day the release was the thing that got us here.

Jul
19

Now Let’s Move On

Posted by Storms Reback

By now we have all heard about the Daniel Negreanu controversy involving the No-Limit Hold’em Shootout event. In a nutshell, here’s what happened. Figuring that it was going to start nine- or ten-handed, Daniel caught up on some much needed sleep and arrived an hour late to the tournament, only to discover that his table had started short-handed and David Singer had wiped out all the other players at the table.

Jul
19

One Bracelet For Each Arm

Posted by Storms Reback

Scott Fischman’s record has been broken. In 2004 Fischman became the youngest player in World Series history to win two gold bracelets. He was 23 at the time. Early this morning Eric “E-Fro” Froelich erased Fischman’s name from the record books and inserted his own by winning the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha with Re-Buys event, his second bracelet in the last two years. He only turned 22 five months ago. At this rate he’ll smash the record for most bracelets won in a career. You listening, Phil Hellmuth? Those are E-Fro’s footsteps you hear coming.

Jul
19

Our Lawsuit Against the WPT

Posted by Phil Gordon

What prompted our lawsuit against the WPT was three years of intransigence from the leadership of the World Poker Tour. We’ve had issues like this for years and years. We have done our absolute best to approach them and come to a settlement for both parties. They refused. They said it was their way or the highway, and we chose the legal way. We have the best legal team in the country, and we know we’re on firm ground and we will not let it stand, what’s going on right now.