World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack
Photo credit: Flipchip at LasVegasVegas.com

You really really know it’s getting close to go time at the Rio when it’s time for the annual conference call / new conference with WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. It involves a handful of the top poker media personnel and a boatload of main stream media looking to ask the most insane inane questions. Some people bogart the question session (showing my hip side. Do the kids still say ‘bogart”. Or “hip”?). I considered putting myself through the misery because there is actually some good information to come out of the process.

Fortunately for me regular guest poster “Tuscaloosa” John planned to attend saving me the good times. Even more fortunate for you the reader since he’s 100 times the writer as me. Below are his notes and views of what was presented.

2009 World Series of Poker Media Conference Call
by Johnny Kampis

It’s now less than four weeks away.

The 40th annual World Series of Poker will begin on May 26, with 57 bracelets events on the schedule this year. In preparation for the granddaddy of poker tournaments, WSOP officials held their annual conference call with members of the poker media on Tuesday afternoon. Here are some of the highlights of that session:

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack mentioned three events that are either new or revamped in honor of the 40th anniversary. Most of you may already be aware of the $40,000 No-Limit Hold’em event planned for May 28. This four-day event “will bring out the best players in the world and produce a final table for the ages,” Pollack said. What you may not have heard about is the Champions Invitational to be held on May 31. This event will bring together past main event champions “who will play for bragging rights as the champion of champions.” The winner will receive two sweet prizes – a restored 1970 Chevrolet Corvette and a newly created commemorative trophy called the Binion Cup in honor of the family that started the WSOP. Jack Binion will be on hand to present the trophy to the winner. The third thing Pollack mentioned was the revamped Gaming Life Expo, which will now be known as PokerPalooza and will feature more interactive games and exhibits. This is “our version of NBA’s Jam Session or the NFL Experience,” Pollack said.

The “November Nine” will be back. This year’s championship weekend will be expanded – play from nine players in the main event down to two will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, and heads-up play for the championship will be on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The final will again receive same day primetime ESPN coverage.

He also said that the Poker Hall of Fame selection process has been tweaked on this its 30th anniversary. The public will be able to submit nominations online at worldseriesofpoker.com from May 28 to July 2. During the main event the top 10 list of nominees will be announced. This list will be sent to the HOF committee, who will review the list and determine if any additions or deletions are needed. In September, the final ballot will be sent to 16 living hall of famers (out of 37 so enshrined) and select media representatives. Anyone who receives at least 75 percent of the vote will be inducted into the Hall at the main event final table in November, a process similar to the Baseball Hall of Fame. “The selection process is not only sensible, but open in a way it has never been before,” Pollack said.

Another aspect receiving a tweak is the bracelet presentation ceremonies. Pollack said that many players receive their bracelets “under the cover of darkness” after winning an event in the wee hours of the morning. Now there will be a bracelet presentation ceremony every day at 2 p.m. in the Amazon ballroom. “The World Series of Poker gold bracelet is poker’s crown jewel and for some time I’ve felt that every bracelet, not just the main event bracelet, deserves a special ceremony,” he said.

The code of player conduct will now be conducted into the official rules and WSOP staff will now maintain a written log of all penalties issued to a player during the WSOP and will use that log to better enforce the rules. “The intent here is simple – work to better ensure that the tournament floor is a civil, comfortable and courteous environment for all players, better manage those players who break the rules of engagement or fail to conduct themselves appropriately and further protect the competitive integrity of the WSOP,” Pollack said. This log will not be available for the public or the media to view, much as police investigations are not public record, said Tournament Director Jack Effel.

Effel said that the opening weekend $1,000 NLHE “Economic Stimulus” event as WSOP officials are dubbing it is expected to be the largest non-main event tournament in the WSOP’s history. The four-day event will have two starting days and pre-registration is already creeping into the four digits, he said. “We’re expecting a sellout weekend.”

He also highlighted the $2,500 Deuce to Seven No-Limit Triple Draw event, which has traditionally only been offered at a $10,000 buy in. “We felt that this was a very important game to the tradition of the World Series of Poker. We want to continue that tradition so we’re offering an entry level event at $2,500,” Effel said. There will also be a $2,500 eight-game Mixed Event in the same vein.

While there are no rebuy events this year, many tournaments will have add-on chips, including all Pot-Limit Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo Split events. Players can add-on their chips between hands during the add-on period and will receive any unused add-on chips after the add-on period is over. Can I write the word add-on one more time? Yes I can.

Effel talked vaguely about an overhaul of the payouts for tournaments, without giving many specifics. He said a professor at Washington & Lee University, as well as poker pros Barry Greenstein and Howard Lederer were involved in the discussion. He said more information will be forthcoming as the payouts are worked out.

This year also brings the addition of a one-hand penalty for some offenses. Levels of discipline now include: verbal warning, one-hand penalty, one round, two rounds, three rounds, four rounds and disqualification.

The 2009 WSOP has a high retention rate of dealers despite a tougher audition process. “We had a very extensive audition process. If they weren’t able to deal Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split, Pot-Limit Omaha and Deuce to Seven Triple Draw they didn’t get in this year. What we’re looking for are the diverse dealers, the experienced dealers who can deal all the games, not just No-Limit Hold’em, which will provide a better experience for the players and in turn we will have a better tournament because of that,” Effel said. Along those lines, he said that the floor staff will go through a rigorous four-day training session prior to the start of the WSOP in which they will go over al the rules and will act out possible scenarios that could occur on the tables.

Table capacity has been expanded to 306, with some shuffling around. The Amazon ballroom will continue to be the main gaming floor and will now have two final table areas, Effel said. Brasilia will be used again, but this time the full room is available so there will be 95 tables in here in 2009, up from 65 in 2008. The Miranda room will have 56 tables. The single-table satellites are now located in Brasilia. “Last year we had 23 tables allotted for satellites. This year we’re going to have 48 and possibly more if the demand is there. The cage will be bigger. There will be more offerings,” Effel said. Single-table satellite schedules are available online at worldseriesofpoker.com.

Doug White form ESPN said the network will focus on the main event this year. ESPN plans to air six hours of bracelet events and increase main event coverage up to 24 hours, with 2 to 2.5 hours of the final table in November planned. “We feel that the main event is what viewers are looking for for poker programming. It helps us cover the unfolding drama of the World Series of Poker,” he said. Bracelet coverage is expected to include the $50,000 HORSE event, as well as the Champions Invitational (technically cup coverage, but who worries about such semantics?)

Post from: Poker From The Rail

2009 World Series of Poker preview – Jeffrey Pollack Conference Call

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As we quickly approach the series, we will start running some profiles of various Full Tilt pros as they attempt to put their stamp on poker history.

Gavin Smith is our first profile from Tuscaloosa Johnny.  I’m very familiar with Gavin from his exploits around the poker world as well as the skill he shows at the table and the generosity away from it.  Back in the fall of 2006 I was running a little charity function for Cystic Fibrosis and Gavin offered his time and services.  In no time flat we had ourselves a little $1,000 charity SnG with all the proceeds going to charity and the prizepool coming from the man himself.

Then he stuck around and the rest was Gavin Smith lore.

Gavin Smith is one of a kind

By Johnny Kampis

Known for both his prodigious talent and ability to have a good time, Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith is a fan favorite among poker connoisseurs.

It was actually another casino game that got Smith hooked on poker about 15 years ago. He traveled with some friends to a charity casino in Ontario to play blackjack. A $5-$10 limit Hold’em game broke out and Smith took a seat and won. He kept playing the game for fun and side money until 1998 when he went with a friend to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut for the World Poker Finals. Smith made two final tables and was hooked. He went home and sold out his interest in an underground poker game he helped run and hit the tournament trail.

“It was impossible. It was so hard,” Smith said of his start into the poker life.

Life on the trail was full of SNG play for Smith at first. He estimates he spent up to 14 hours a day grinding at these one-table tournaments. He sold the tournament buy-in chips after winning them then so he could play more SNGs and build up his roll.

“I had a very small bankroll. I was playing satellites into $500 and $1,000 tournaments, grinding away trying to make $300 or $400 a day.”

Because of the expenses involved in the travel, profits were tough. Smith recommended a different course for current up and coming players on the circuit. “I think players with similar skills would be better off playing live no-limit games,” he said.

The now 40-year-old Smith caught his big break in 2004 and 2005. At first, he wasn’t sure he would be able to attend the World Series of Poker when his mother was stricken with cancer. She was treated and her condition improved. Smith’s friend and now fellow Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren staked him in the main event. Smith made his way through the majority of the field to finish 52nd and earn $45,000.

Then Smith heard about a new event in downtown Las Vegas called Championship Poker at the Plaza. Again, Lindgren and Smith worked out a staking arrangement, which proved fruitful as Smith made the final table, collecting $30,000 for fifth. After this flurry of success, Smith was staked by Lindgren for the next year.

The first part of the staking deal did not go smoothly for the pair, as Smith had no major cashes for the rest of 2004 and first part of 2005. Then things turned around. He finished 30th at the Five Star World Poker Classic for $56,000, then got his first six-figure cash for $156,000 by winning a $2,000 NLHE event at the Mirage Poker Showdown. A week later Smith was a poker millionaire when he won the main event of the MPS, a World Poker Tour event, and earned $1.1 million for himself and Lindgren.

“It was pretty cool because I was starting to get pretty dejected. Eric and I had been together for a year and I hadn’t done that much. I cashed here and there along the way. My makeup was getting up there around $100,000. When I won the 2K I finally proved I could win something. And then it all aligned for me over the next 10 days.”

After winning a WPT event Smith felt he got more respect, as well as a boost of confidence. “When you win a major event like that then all of a sudden you get recognition. Before people who knew me knew I could play, but no one else really did. It gives you a lot of confidence too, and poker is a game where when you are confident you can make a lot more positive decisions and when you are not confident you might play more scared. Confidence has a little bit of a snowball effect.”

He was on a heater after his monstrous May, cashing four times at the 2005 WSOP, then final tabling two more WPT events at the Doyle Brunson North American Championship at the Bellagio and the World Poker Open at the Gold Strike.

The one thing missing from his resume is a WSOP win. Smith came close by finishing second in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em event in 2007, but wasn’t been able to finish the deal after dominating the final table and then getting cold decked heads up.

“It bothers me a little bit because I definitely want to win a bracelet, but I don’t measure my success as a poker player strictly on whether or not I win a bracelet. The fact that I have never had a losing year as a tournament player is probably a better accomplishment,” he said.

Smith is known as much for his heart as he is for his poker prowess. He helped organize a charity tournament for the family of WPT cameraman Paul Hannum, a friend who died suddenly in 2006, and is often participating in other charity events.

“We’ve been pretty lucky as poker players along the way that we can make a living, and a damn good living, doing what we do. It’s not really hard to help out people or change their lives. You don’t have to do much to make a big difference. A lot of times you do these things too and you meet really cool people and have a really good time.”

Many people also know Smith as co-host of the very popular PokerRoad radio podcast, which can be found at PokerRoad.com or on iTunes. Smith has been involved in the program since it was born as The Circuit years ago. He and Joe Sebok have co-hosted the program for several years, and Smith agreed to continue that work after the program moved to PokerRoad.

“It’s sometimes a whole lot of fun and sometimes a big pain in the ass. Especially during the World Series when you are grinding for six weeks straight, instead of coming in at noon you have to come in at 11 a.m. We do the show live during the World Series.”

As for the future, Smith may one day entertain the idea of going into business, such as owning a bar, but for now he plans to stick at what he excels at – a little game called poker.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do for dinner tonight,” he said with a laugh when asked about future plans. “I will continue to play poker. Poker is what I do for a living.”

Post from: Poker From The Rail

2009 World Series of Poker preview – Gavin Smith profile

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Hand for hand play lasted an eternity Thursday at the Rio. I’m sure it seemed that way for the short-stacked participants, at least. The most amazing story was that of Argentinean Fernando Gordo, or more accurately his stack. Gordo did not show up Thursday to play his 140,000 stack and was blinded off as the day progressed. When the money bubble burst his stack was still alive, but down to 1,500. That stack earned him $21,230.

The three guys I was tracking had mixed results. My Toronto pal Stephen Ladowsky nursed a short stack most of the day and finally went out around 480^th when he pushed with A-Q and ran into aces. Iggy managed to maintain and build his stack with some blind steals and re-steals and finished Day 3 with 177,000. Hoyt Corkins fared even better, using his aggressive style to build his stack up to nearly 480,000. It was funny watching him pace the aisles before play began this afternoon. Hoyt seemed more nervous today than he did before the final table of the World Poker Open in Tunica in January (he finished second there). I guess that shows you the importance of the World Series of Poker to people.

Iggy seemed very relaxed and drew fellow poker writer Jeremiah Smith two seats to his right. I talked with Jeremiah (who enters the day second in chip count with about $1.3 million) quite a bit last year, so it’s good to see the former PokerWire reporter doing so well in this event. Plus, Jeremiah was dressed in Full Tilt Poker gear so of course we love him here on Poker From The Rail.

Phil Hellmuth and Jean Robert-Bellande are at the ESPN featured table today. There’s a dynamic duo for you – that should make for good television.

I probably won’t stick around the Rio long here on Day 4 because if I want to make my fortune before I leave Vegas, I need to try to satellite into the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza Main Event on Sunday. If I can win a mint, it will give me a good bankroll for the upcoming FTOPS events.

The World Series of Poker is winding down to a conclusion. I always have mixed feelings on the event’s conclusion. Most of the tables no longer in use have been cleared from the Amazon room. No cash games are running here anymore. You can sense the excitement of the WSOP when it begins, when bankrolls are still fat and hope abounds. By the time the lights are turned off, most dreams have been dashed and a lucky few have earned a king’s ransom.

It’s nearly time to turn out the lights.

As I write this, we have reached double digits in main event participants. Long gone are Iggy, who busted in 403^rd on Day 4 to earn $28,950, and Hoyt Corkins, who was gone in 162^nd place for $41,816. That hiking trip may be on, after all, if he’s up for it. I know how disappointed poker players can be after busting in a major event; and after all, this is the biggest event in poker.

Play will continue here through Tuesday night, when the November Nine prepare for their place in history in, er, November. I can only imagine the feeling those nine players will have after receiving their checks for $900,000 and having the opportunity to return to Vegas four months later to play for more than $8 million more. I don’t believe we’ll see them on The Late Show with David Letterman reading a Top 10 list, but I think the move by Harrah’s to delay the final table until November will create a lot of additional interest and coverage for the WSOP among the mainstream media. Even though I think Harrah’s tries a little too hard to make a buck sometimes ($2.50 for a 12-ounce can of soda in the WSOP Poker Kitchen, really?), I do believe they have the best interest of poker at heart.

I have no grand illusions of personally making a mint during my last few days in Vegas. I have, however, reached the second round of a major blackjack tournament at the Golden Nugget where the winner will received $25,000. Hey, I never said I wasn’t a degenerate! I’ll be taking my remaining bankroll back home to Tuscaloosa with an eye on the upcoming FTOPS events. For now, I’m off to the Bellagio for some cash games. 

Nearly driven mad in the land of poker, I had the opportunity to get out of town on Sunday. Since Hoyt Corkins busted out of the main event on Saturday, he had time to go for a hike.

I went to his house and we hopped in his jeep, fully equipped with four-wheel drive, roll bars, and a five-ton winch that would surely get us out of any sticky situations. Starting too late to tackle Mt. Charleston, we headed to Red Rock Canyon to take the jeep trails into the Rainbow Wilderness area.

It wasn’t easy going up the rocky trails and I was surprised to see a few Grand Cherokee drivers try the climb. Although it was a relatively short distance, it took nearly an hour to reach the North Peak trail from the point where we exited the main scenic drive.

The hike was 1.3 miles from the jeep and I lugged a backpack full of bottled water and trail mix. As the young one of the duo, I got to be the mule. Although the trail was labeled as difficult on the guide sign, we found the going fairly easy at first. Still, those uphill trails can get an out of shape fellow winded pretty quickly, so we took frequent breaks.

The view from the top was worth the hour hike. From the North Peak we could see all of Vegas below, as well as Lake Mead, which was 50 or 60 miles in the distance. I’ve done a lot of hiking in my day, from the Appalachians to the Rockies, but this was the best view from the top with the absence of trees blocking the panoramic view. We stayed for a while to enjoy the view, but departed when we saw rain clouds coming up on us.

“You don’t mess with those flash floods,” Hoyt said. “If it starts raining very hard, we’ll be stuck here for the night.”

I certainly perished that thought so we hustled back, although we had to take it easy in spots due to the loose shale along the trail. It started sprinkling on the way down, and with a cool breeze in our faces it sure beat the heat of walking down the Strip. By the time we made it back to the jeep, the rain had stopped and we headed back down.

Meanwhile, the WSOP Main Event had played on. They’re down to 34 as I write this and will play to 27 tonight. On Monday, they’ll play down to 9 and then everyone will go home for four months. I sense that Tiffany Michelle will be the star of ESPN’s coverage. As an attractive young woman who is currently in the top 10 in chips you can expect to see a lot of her during Main Event television coverage. If she plays here cards right, she could make a mint from the exposure. 

A bleary-eyed and yawning press still awaits the November Nine. As I write this, it’s 12:45 AM in Las Vegas and 10 players remain in the World Series of Poker Main Event.

They’ve finally condensed to one table, after playing on two tables for much of the evening. The bigger names have fallen – first, former World Poker Tour winner Brandon Cantu, then Tiffany Michelle, the last woman standing. Michelle’s 17^th place finish is the best in this event by a woman since Annie Duke went out in 10^th back in 2000.

I think most of us are ready to get the heck out of Sin City. Many have been here for at least six weeks covering the 54 events. After less than four, I’m done with this place. It’s been a frustrating trip for me as I could never get anything going at the tables. Hopefully, the trip will pay off for me in the form of the time I’ve spent networking for more writing opportunities.

Tenth place will get just under $600,000 while the other nine will come back to the Rio Tuesday afternoon for a few hours to get their checks for $900,670 and receive details on what exactly is going to happen over the next four months. ESPN will document how their lives change for a special to air before the plausibly live final table. It will be interesting to see what becomes of these nine.

My favorite at this point is Dennis Phillips, a 53-year-old from St. Louis who wears many hats (including his favorite Cardinals hat). He sells various vehicles and equipment, and is a commercial account manager for a trucking company. He’s played well toward the end, with aggressive raises and re-raises that have caused many opponents to lay down hands. At present, he’s the chip leader with almost 22 million. I had a chance to meet him during the break and he gave me his card so I can call him for a profile for Rounder magazine in the coming months.

Another potential winner is Scott Montgomery, a 26-year-old professional player from Canada, who has a WPT final table from this year on his poker resumé.

It’s now 2 AM and I have to get some sleep before my flights tomorr….er, later today. I’m off to my hotel.  

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Tuscaloosa John – WSOP Blogger On The Rail – Post 2

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As of the beginning of the Main Event, he’s been keeping tabs on the action as he’s experienced it first-hand – and here it is:

Greetings from the World Series.

I’ve been here for more than two weeks now, but am just now officially posting as the Blogger on the Rail. (Doesn’t it sound like a title of such importance?) If any of you reading this have never been to the WSOP or even Las Vegas, you need to plan a trip. If you love poker you have to come experience it.

This is actually my fifth year at poker’s grandest event. The first time, in 2004, the tournament was still held at Binion’s Horseshoe. It’s really hard to think of the size of the WSOP then with the size of it now. Today, for Day 2B of the Main Event, they’ve got players spread all over the Rio, from the main play area of the Amazon ballroom to the Rio poker room, which is a good third of a mile away. I hear it’s in the neighborhood of 2,700 players playing today. Insane. I remember in 2004 when they were trying to find space for the nearly 2,600 players at Binion’s. Here in 2006, before the UIGEA was passed, there were nearly 9,000 runners. There were still nearly 7,000 this year. I think this poker fad has legs.

Let me share a quick history of my WSOP play. During that first trip in 2004, I took a shot at an event. It was the $1,000 with rebuys and I was attempting it on one buy in (Dumb move, I know. But as a novice what did I know?) At my table at various times were players with names like Vahedi, Tomko, Plastik, Longson, Rodman, Shoten and this guy they call Hellmuth. You may not be surprised to learn I didn’t fare so well.

I played one $1,500 NLHE event in 2005 with no luck and another in 2006 with similar fortunes. I won a Main Event seat in 2006 through another online poker site and was a card rack on Day 1, catching Aces five times and flopping quad deuces against Patrik Antonius. I managed to take half his stack in another hand in which I turned a set of nines. My good fortune continued until I ran Kings into Aces shortly after making the money in Day 3. The 770^th-place finish was good enough for $16,500.

Last year I played no WSOP events, but thanks to Full Tilt Poker and its Battle of the Bloggers tournaments, I was able to play the $1,500 HORSE event. I sat with Mike Matusow, himself a FTP pro. As seems to be usual in the $1,500 events I play here, I didn’t last long. In fact, Matusow and another player busted me in the third level during Stud/8 when I missed both my low and flush draws.

I’ve used my Vegas bankroll I earned through the blogger tournaments to play other tournaments around town, but haven’t had much luck. I finally cashed last night in a $340 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza event, but only got $740 for the effort.

I’ll be bringing you more from the Rio in the coming days. Thanks for your patronage.

I have to admit I’ve watched the Main Event the last two years with great envy. After taking part in 2006 and experiencing the highs and lows of playing in poker’s biggest tournament, I am jealous every year I have to watch and not participate.

I felt a little thrill in railing Iggy, one of our most famous poker bloggers. He has been called the “Blogfather” because he was one of the first and best. This year, he won his first Main Event seat and I could sense the joy he had in getting to play the thing. It was like when a little kid opens his presents on Christmas. I remember that feeling. Well, then I asked him how it felt to play in it on Day 2 and he looked uninterested. “It beats work,” he said as he continued to fold his rag hands.

Players were eliminated briskly on Day 2. More than 63 percent of the field survived Day 1, but many hit the door quickly as the blinds and antes grew. At the end of the day, less than 1,300 survived and prop bets were made among poker writers on whether or not enough players will be eliminated on Day 3 to reach the money line of 666.

By the end of the day you could sense palpable excitement in Iggy as he held nearly 87,000 chips (close to the average) entering Thursday’s Day 3 play. As we walked from the Rio to the Palms in search of beer, he threatened to let out a primordial scream. Finally, as the afternoon had grown long he caught some hands.

Day 3 is the most treacherous day of the Series. It provides great disappointment for half the remaining field and great joy for most of the rest who survive into the cash. After all, $20,000+ is big money for most people, especially since many of them got into the Main Event for much less than $10,000.

I personally have a rooting interest in a few people today. There is Iggy, of course. There’s also Stephen L. from Toronto, a guy I met in Reno a couple of years ago and have been friends with since. And there’s Hoyt Corkins, my fellow Alabamian who I’ve gotten to know over the last few years, especially since I’ve been working with Rounder magazine where we feature a monthly Q & A segment with him. Hoyt and I are supposed to go hiking on Mt. Charleston when he busts out of the Main Event, but honestly I hope the trip can wait until next year. I’d be just as happy to see him make the final table.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Tuscaloosa John – WSOP Blogger On The Rail – Post 1

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