Jun
15
by Chad Holloway
Congratulations to Phil Laak for demolishing the poker endurance world record. I actually had the opportunity to stop in and see the record-breaking attempt at around Hour 40. Laak looked strong and sociable, with no sign of slowing down. The set up was also pretty cool. There were cameras broadcasting everything live. The whole poker room at the Bellagio had a strange vibe, like everyone was there rooting for Phil; in fact, I heard there were a number of players in the cash game who tried staying up right alongside Phil. What he accomplished is simply amazing and I can only imagine how well he slept once he hit his bed. Now that it’s done, I look forward to seeing Phil in action at the World Series of Poker.
Speaking of the WSOP, it has been hectic. As you know, I am working as a blogger/field reporter for PokerNews. This means incredibly long hours, but it is a blast. Tom “Durrrr” Dwan made a final table last week and the buzz around the Rio was electric. Dwan had so many bracelet bets with some of poker’s biggest names (I.e. Negreanu, Matusow, Brunson, etc.) and stood to win millions if he took down a bracelet. Players were eliminated one by one from the final table, yet Dwan remained. He got heads-up against Jason Dewitt, but he couldn’t seal the deal. Many in the poker community breathed a collective sigh of relief when Dwan was eliminated. It wasn’t that they didn’t want him to win a bracelet, they just didn’t want him to win one this year. Regardless, the atmosphere in the Rio that night was awesome.
In other WSOP news, a number of notables have won bracelets thus far. For example, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi captured the $50,000 Player’s Championship; Praz Bansi won a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event; Men “The Master” Nguyen won his seventh bracelet by taking down the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship; and Matt Matros won his first bracelet by winning the $1,500 Limit Hold’em event. Numerous big name pros have been making final tables, so it’ll be interesting to see who ends up with a bracelet in the coming weeks.
In Fantasy Poker news, I am currently in sixth place in the 2010 ESPN Fantasy League. For those of you who don’t know about this league, check out Andrew Feldman’s ESPN article at http://espn.go.com/sports/fantasy/blog/_/name/poker/id/5215225/espn-fifth-annual-fantasy-poker-draft. Not too shabby considering it’s my first year, but a few in the pack seem to be pulling away. I’m going to need a strong showing from my team if I’m going to compete. Here are the standings after the first 20 events:
Lederer: 257
Bradley: 176
Seif: 164
Negreanu: 149
Smith: 103
Holloway: 95
Wise: 76
Feldman: 66
Lee: 36
Phillips: 20
Baldwin : 15
Chops: 7
That’s it for now. I have to get back to covering the $1,000 Event. I plan on blogging as often as possible from the series, so check back soon. Also, if you’re interested in hearing about a specific event, player, etc. at the WSOP, let me know by leaving a comment and I will try to mention something about it in the next blog.