Mar
14
by Chad Holloway
My latest adventure for PokerNews.com was a jaunt back out to Los Angeles for The Big Event at the Bicycle Casino. I wasn’t particularly excited considering I was just in L.A. back in November for the NAPT stop, but the trip ended up being one of my favorites thus far. I stayed at the Millennium Biltmore, the same place as last time, and was joined by members of Team PokerNews Donnie Peters, Eric Ramsey, Kristy Arnett, and Will Thomas, as well as Garry Gates of the NAPT. They’re some great people and it is hard not to have a good time when they’re around.
The Big Event was held at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens and they treated us great. Their tournament structure was the best I’ve covered as far as getting the media out at a decent hour. I managed to have some free time which is a rarity on these trips. In addition, Kelley O’Hara, the Director of Marketing, treated us like VIPs, comping our food (which is fantastic by the way . . . try the chicken kabob) and often arranging for transportation back to our hotel.
The Big Event Main Event was a trip in and of itself. It drew 417-players including some pretty big names. Jennifer Tilly was there, although she busted on Day 1, but unfortunately Phil “The Unabomber” Laak couldn’t attend due to prior commitments in Chicago. Others in attendance included Tom McEvoy, Kathy Liebert, Matt Affleck, Nacho Barbero, Barry Greenstein, Jerry Yang, just to name a few. What was really special was that two poker superstars managed to make it all the way to the final table in former World Poker Tour winner Victor Ramdin and 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Joe Hachem.
The final table was broadcast live on the Bicycle Casino’s popular Live at the Bike webcast. The program allowed viewers to see the player’s hole cards, which is quite revolutionary for a live broadcast. In actuality, it aired with a slight delay in order to ensure the security of the game. Nonetheless, the program, which was the brainchild of O’Hara and her crew, was a big success and highly entertaining. Live at the Bike also airs live cash games throughout the week, which you can watch at LiveattheBike.com.
The final table was one of the best I’ve seen and ended with Ramdin defeating Hachem in heads-up play. Here are the results of that final table:
|
Finish
|
Player
|
Winnings
|
|
1st
|
Victor Ramdin
|
$500,000
|
|
2nd
|
Joe Hachem
|
$300,000
|
|
3rd
|
Jeremy Ausmas
|
$190,000
|
|
4th
|
Taylor von Kriegenbergh
|
$140,000
|
|
5th
|
Bryan Leskowitz
|
$100,000
|
|
6th
|
Govert Metaal
|
$75,000
|
|
7th
|
Jose De Noronha
|
$55,000
|
|
8th
|
Santiago Nadal
|
$35,327
|
It is also worth noting that during the final table we were all informed of the earthquake that struck Japan as well as the subsequent tsunami. It is rare to see a poker room to grow quiet and come to a halt, but that is exactly what happened. Disbelief, empathy, and shock are words that can be used to describe the atmosphere as all eyes were glued to the television. Ramdin and Hachem even stopped their heads-up match during this time and even discussed breaking until the following day. I thought that even contemplating such a move was an amazingly generous gesture.
On a lighter note, I actually had the opportunity to do some tourist stuff on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 when our tournament ended in the early evening. I really wanted to go down to Hollywood Boulevard and was fortunate enough to have Will volunteer to go with me. He lives in L.A. and it was nice to have a sort of guide show me around. I took my first subway ride ever, saw the Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the Walk of Fame, and all kinds of movie-related things. From there we went to Little Tokyo were I enjoyed my first Mochi balls, which were awesome. If you don’t know what they are, look them up and try them the first chance you get. I was really glad I got the chance to see some of L.A., however limited it turned out to be, and it ended up being one of my favorite days of the trip.
In my next blog, I will talk about the Bounty Shootout event as well as some other fun things that happened in Los Angeles, so be sure to check back in the near future. In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway.
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.