Jan
4
by Chad Holloway
On December 18, 2010 I had the opportunity to attend Phil Hellmuth’s Hold’em with HospiceCare Poker Charity Event in Madison, Wisconsin. I live about 45 minutes north of the venue so it was a perfect fit. I was really excited to attend a poker event that was designed to raise money for a great cause in HospiceCare:
As the flyer states: “Since 1978, HospiceCare Inc. has worked to bring exceptional end-of-life care to patients and their families. We serve more than 650 patients each day throughout south central Wisconsin. HospiceCare’s goals, such as enhancing the quality of our services and expanding our reach to all those who need us, are supported by Phil Hellmuth’s Hold’em with HospiceCare.”
I arrived early and grabbed my media pass (I was officially working for PokerNews.com). I headed up to the penthouse area and was immediately impressed with the set up. There were about three dozen poker tables, a silent auction, a VIP area, full bars, a buffet, and plenty of room to move around and socialize. As I made my way into the room, 2009 Player of the Year Eric Baldwin said hello to me. He is from Wisconsin and it was great to see him out supporting a great cause. Other notable poker names in attendance, many of whom hail from Wisconsin, included: Mark “PokerHo” Kroon and Gary “Debo34” Debanardi, Shawn Rice, David Plastik, Dixon Ruecker, Jon Green, Morgan Machina, and 1998 WSOP Main Event fourth-place finisher Dewey Weum.
Aside from poker personalities, the event drew a plethora of celebrities, both national and local. They included Olympic gold medalist speed skater Casey Fitzrandolph, PGA professional Jerry Kelly, NASCAR professional Matt Kenseth, radio personalities Johnny Danger & Van Edwards, NBC-15 News Anchors Leigh Mills & Charlie Shortino, former UW Badgers football head coach Barry Alvarez, and former Madison mayor Paul Soglin (he actually announced his candidacy—officially—for the office yet again, meaning he was going to run for the office in the next election). In addition to all the poker pros and celebs, a few hundred poker players and aficionados bought a ticket to play in the event.
I had the chance to play but didn’t do too well. In the first hand, I looked down at two black nines, the same hand Hellmuth won the 1989 World Series of Poker Main Event with, and ended up losing a decent-sized pot. Too bad, I thought doubling up with Hellmuth’s hand in his tournament would have been somehow ironic. Speaking of Hellmuth, I got to play with Phil Hellmuth Sr., who sat to my immediate right for much of the tournament. He went on to make the final table while I busted about two hours in.
The eventual tournament winner was actually Mark “P0ker H0" Kroon! Pretty amazing that an established pro cleared the minefield of amateurs. In addition, Darren Berg won a custom-made autographed poker table; Art Luetke won a 2-year lease on a Zimbrick Honda Accord LX; and Joe Anderson won a seat to the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event. While the official number hasn’t been release, approximately $140,000 was raised for the patients and families served by HospiceCare Inc. Clearly this was a fun and successful event.
In other news, I will be heading to the PCA tournament in the Bahamas January 7-17th, 2010. I wish I was playing but instead will be reporting for PokerNews. Oh well, getting the chance to leave Wisconsin in the winter for the Bahamas is a dream come true, no matter the capacity! I’ll be staying at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau and that place looks simply amazing. I’m really looking forward to seeing some big poker names down there and hanging out in the Caribbean. I’m not sure if the Unabomber will be there, but if so I’ll be sure to grab some pictures. In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway . . . I’ll be updating live from the Caribbean! In the meantime, have a Happy New Year!
Dec
15
by Jake
Looks like Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho are returning to the Amazing Race.
Previews for the upcoming 18th season of the CBS reality TV series, “Amazing Race” showed couples who had competed and lost in previous seasons returning for another shot. Among the contestants seen in the season dubbed, “Unfinished Business” were poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho.
The two must be happy to be included in this next season as it’s composed of “favourite teams” from the past, so it’s a nice compliment to go along with the $1 million freeroll.
Ho and Michelle compete on Season 15 where they were ultimately eliminated in sixth place after being unable to complete a challenge on a makeshift golf course with high winds. The ladies simply didn’t have the strength to complete the challenge and were eliminated on the spot.
When asked by Poker News Daily whether she and Ho would consider returning to the “Amazing Race”, Michelle said, “The ‘Amazing Race’ was the adventure of a lifetime. Clearly with how we were eliminated from our season, we’ll always feel like we have some unfinished business and would jump at the chance to do it again.”
Oh she even used the name of the season in her quote so you know it’s got to be true, right? Well not necessarily. While a number of sites are reporting that Michelle and Ho are indeed part of the next season, some sites have reported seeing the teams racing around Oceanworld in Australia at the same time that Maria Ho was tweeting from the Heartland Poker Tour in the US.
You can find out for sure whether Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho are on or not by tuning into the first episode which airs Sunday, February 20th. If you're like me you might prefer your reality TV mixed with some online poker. Grab your laptop and grind it up while you watch Ho and Michelle gunning for the $1 million.
Nov
23
by Katrina Lim
I've been running cold but at least my buddy Boosted J made a nice cash.
It’s been way too long. I went to Singapore, ate a lot, and enjoyed hanging with the family. I have decided to become a professional traveler. I leave for the Caribbean in 3 weeks, Italy in February, and Alaska in May. In between, I’ve been trying to qualify for Bahamas in January like an idiot. Why do I set myself up for dumb ass failure? And how do I do this? I will tell you how. I understand now why women get a bad rap in poker. I’ve seen firsthand that poker is more 90% luck, and 10% skill…when it comes to ladies’ tournaments. I am a glutton for punishment. I am running so bad right now, probably the worst ever. However, running badly in ladies’ tourneys is very consistent. All losses are bad beats. I am ALWAYS leading at showdown and end up getting raped on the river. Amazing. The cure? Stop playing ladies’ tournaments. But I am such a dumb ass that I can’t stop. A true degen. Terrible. And to console myself from these ridiculous beats? Book flights around the world. Rent villas in Tuscany and hire a private chef to teach me how to cook. Take weeklong cruises.
Now I am seriously debating whether or not I should play the NAPT at the Bike this weekend. I don’t know if I can handle another 1 or 2 outer. My patience has torn. Thank God I don’t allow poker to affect my personal life. I still see it as a part-time job. But lately, it’s become a cancer eating away at me.
So I even decided to try something new. I dabbled at the limit tables for a couple of weeks. Tried my bad luck at $5/$10 and $10/$20 tables. Shockingly, I was doing well. Then it came crumbling down. Thank God I have no bills to worry about. No credit cards. No debt. Just a disease. The degen disease. How do I stop it? Do I really want it to go away? Uh, no. That would make life too boring for me. I need to get angry at something once in a while. If I was happy all the time, people would think I was a freak. No balance. Surely one cannot be happy all the time? So I need an anger outlet and poker is the perfect scapegoat.
I am waiting for Season 9 of WPT to premiere. I wanna see how fat I look on tv again. I was cheering for Justin Smith at the final table of the Bellagio Cup where he took out Phil Ivey, but only took 2nd. We were sitting with Matusow and Forrest in the stands cheering for Justin. Nice cash for Boosted J. We were hoping for Justin and Phil to go heads up, but Justin busted out Phil. Oh well. I chatted with Phil last weekend too and he remembered my “soft hands”. Just ask me out already. I won’t turn you down. Geez! Who knew the greatest poker player in the world is shy? I thought I was the shy one.
I am planning a surprise birthday party for BFF and it’s in 2 weeks!! Gonna be the biggest party of the year! Everything’s all set! Been so busy with poker and oh yeah, the 9-5. Thank God for a real job. A nice paycheck every 2 weeks is amazing. It allows me to still shop well, eat well, and play well, especially when poker is killing me.
A big CONGRATS to Unabomber for winning his first WSOP bracelet. Just the first of many to come, Boss Man! You rule.
Now, a promise to all of you. I will blog a lot more again. Cuz I am going to focus on playing live more now. Will be hitting the LA casinos again to grind some supplemental income. With the holidays fast approaching, my time will only get busier, but I want to keep y’all in the loop. I love Turkey Day cuz I love food. Then with Christmas around the corner, I love even more food. I can’t wait for 2011. Supposedly, 2011 is going to be a very profitable year for me. Please Chinese zodiac, be right!!!
In the meantime, I must make Unabomber proud and continue my degen ways. So see y’all at NAPT this weekend. I’m the playa with the Unabomber gear on, yo!
Nov
18
by Chad Holloway
I arrived in Los Angeles last week for the North American Poker Tour Main Event at the Bicycle Casino. This was actually my first trip to L.A. so I was quite excited. PokerNews had us staying at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel downtown and the place was simply awesome. Actually, historic is more like it. In fact, eight Oscar ceremonies were held there during the Academy's early years of 1931, 1935–39, and 1941-42, and Bob Hope hosted the Academy's 50th Anniversary banquet there in 1977. The hotel has also been used in a number of films including Chinatown, A Star is Born, Splash, Bachelor Party, Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, True Lies, Independence Day, Blow, Ocean's 11, The Nutty Professor, Bugsy, Blue Streak, In the Line of Fire, Wedding Crashers, The Italian Job, Daredevil, National Treasure, Spider-Man, Alien Nation, Prom Night, and Iron Man. Even more impressive, the hotel’s swimming pool was the same one used in the 1999 film Cruel Intentions.
To top it off, in 1960 John F. Kennedy gave his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination was given at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel and even set up his campaign headquarters in the Music Room (now the Lobby), with running mate Lyndon B. Johnson in the Emerald Room. Now the hotel was being overrun by poker players. Go figure.
The NAPT itself was being held at the Bicycle Casino, AKA the Bike, about 20 minutes from the hotel. I was really impressed with the place as a whole. The room was huge and they had games of every variety and limit. Unfortunately my schedule didn’t allow me time to play, but I imagine the action was good. The Main Event was held in a hall off the gaming floor and it attracted some of the biggest names in poker including Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, Vanessa Rousso, and many more.
The player I was most excited to see was the man himself, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak. I’ve been writing this blog for a little over a year and had never had the opportunity to meet Phil in person. I introduced myself and Phil was genuinely excited to meet me. He praised my work with the blog and asked how the fantasy poker stuff was going. He even said come WSOP time he’ll give me some inside information on what events he’ll be playing (essential to know in fantasy poker leagues). One of the photographers managed to grab a photo that shows me reporting the action right behind Phil, which I’ve included in this blog.
Phil also took the time to introduce me to his girlfriend, Jennifer Tilly, and she was as nice as can be. I always enjoyed both on TV but like them even more now that I’ve met them in person. Hopefully I’ll have the chance to spend some more time with them in Vegas come WSOP time.
As far as the tournament, Laak actually had an impressive performance and made a deep run. The field started with 701 players and Phil was still there when the money bubble was cracked at 104 players. Laak made it all the way to Day 3 when the following hand came up. As I wrote in my live update on PokerNews:
“With about 50,000 in the pot and a board reading Kc-Kd-2d, Joseph Melancon checked from the big blind to Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, who bet 20,000. Melancon then grabbed two stacks of blue chips, totaling 200,000, and pushed them forward. Laak wasted little time in calling all in for 190,000.
Melancon: {Jd}{8d}
Laak: {9d}{9c}
Laak was ahead but up against a flush draw. Unfortunately for him, the turn was the {4d} and he was in trouble. He would need either a nine of king on the river. The dealer burned and put up the {7d}. Laak was eliminated from the tournament while Melancon increased his stack to 600,000.”
Laak ultimately finishing in 59th place and added a NAPT cash to his résumé. I wish he could have made the final table, and I believe if he could have won that hand he would have had a great chance. He was playing well and seemed in great form. If his bracelet at the WSOP-Europe is any indication, we can expect big things from Laak in the future.
The final table of the NAPT L.A. saw some big names in Jason Mercier (seventh), Michael Binger (sixth), and Anh Van Nguyen (fourth). In the end it was poker pro Joe Tehan who outlasted them all, in fact he knocked out all the players at the final table, and took down the $725,000 first-place prize. Congrats to Joe Tehan on a well-fought victory in the NAPT Los Angeles.