I’m back after an hour at my least favorite restaurant with some of my favorite people. Until the last few minutes of my absence, it doesn’t appear I missed too much, but then Darus Suharto busted in 6th place. Let me try to catch you up with as much stuff as I can … until something takes me in another direction.
The Stacks, The Game
We’re now five-handed and getting ready, I think for a pretty long road before us. At 9:15 PM, there were 25 minutes left in the level (250k-500k/50k). This can change in a hurry but there are no short stacks. Peter Eastgate has the lead with 37 million. Scott Montgomery has made a run and has 32.5 million. Ivan Demidov has 27 million. And Dennis Phillips and Ylon Schwartz each have about 20 million. The smallest stack has 40 BB and the largest has fewer than 80. The game is fluid, and control is available to whoever wants to try and seize it.
Buy This Bloch, or, Allen Don’t Come Cheap
At dinner, I told Allen Cunningham that he was a popular choice among entrants to my essay contest about who they would hire as their coach for the final table. Allen said he wasn’t sure how much he could do. “They were good enough to get this far.”
But he has a price. He said he’d have seriously considered an offer - no one approached him - of 10% of winnings, not including the $900,000 everyone already received. And he made it clear that, though he didn’t know what he’d do - or didn’t want to share it with me - he’d work hard for that money.
But what about a short consultation, an hour or two of the best Allen Cunningham has to offer? I’m sure I was putting him on the spot - I mean, how do you answer that? - but he pulled out a number. $10,000.
When Andy Bloch arrived a few minutes later, I asked Cunningham if Andy would be more expensive or less. Without hesitation, Allen said “less.”
I think Andy Bloch would be jazzed by the opportunity. Not the self-promotion but just the opportunity to see what he could do to help someone in that unique situation. He said he’d consider coaching someone at the Main Event final table for 1%. For an hour or two, he’d do it for $1,000.