Archive for February 2006

Cardplayer Awards

February 15, 2006

Poker needs an industry awards show if we want to keep the flow of popularity rising. Cardplayer and Bodog teamed up to creat an awesome event at the Music Box Theatre in Hollywood. Brad Garrett was the host and was truly hilarious and no player was safe. He cracked on Amir Vahedi, Men the Master, Daniel, Phil Ivey, Matasow, and not even Doyle escaped the heat. I was there to present two awards for best No-Limit player and Best Mixed Game Player. I started off my presentation with a joke directed at Steve Lipscomb that went something like this "Even though Steve Lipscomb thinks he created poker four years ago poker has been around for over one hundred years and No-Limit Hold'em has revolutionized the game, here are the nominees for Best No-Limit Player". It was met with some laughs and a few gasps. Look, I feel that Steve Lipscomb is one of the main players in the explosion of poker and think he deserves a ton of credit for where we are today. Apparently the "joke" was not funny to the WPT staff on hand at the awards ceremony and I even apoligized to some of them. The people that work on the WPT also deserve a lot of credit which they have not received. Audrey Kania, Robyn Moder, Kristen Cranford, Kat Kowal, Melissa Feldman, Cindy Fraser, Joe Grimm, Kevin King, and Paul Hannum are all a big part of the WPT and I consider them friends. In business relationships are often strained due to conflicts and unfortunately moving forward I fear even more conflicts. I have been very lucky to keep in touch with many great people in the industry and hope that continues. Anyway, Phil Ivey won the award for best No-Limit Player......Duh and Chip Reese won the award for best Mixed Game player.
I then continued to stress while I had an active audience that we all need to work together in poker to actively promote the game so we do not just fade away into a fad, but I think those comment were lost in the shuffle. Greed and ego have become a big part of our industry and I think a few people need to take a step back and appreciate how lucky we all are, I know I am.

A funny side note is that I called Phil Ivey at 6:00pm to make sure he was coming to the awards and he told me he forgot and would NOT be there. I pleaded with him and he still said no but then he called me back and asked where the show was at so I knew I had to lean on him if I was going to get him to show. Phil said he would come on one condition "If I win and award do I have to give a speech?" he asked, I bluffed and said no and figured he could just gracefully say thank you. When Chip Reese won the first award of the night and gave a five minute speech and I knew Ivey was destined to be looking for me. Phil ended up winning three awards and gave great acceptance speeches but he still says I owe him. Hopefully the $16,500,000 he beat Andy Beal out of will make him forget his grudge but I doubt it. BTW, Phil also won the award for best heads up player!

Las Vegas/ Los Angeles/ London

February 14, 2006

After going home to Las Vegas for one night I flew to Los Angeles for the UB.net show and then to London to discuss Monte Carlo Millions for 2006. Obviously dates are at a premium in 2006 and scheduling is becoming tougher and tougher. London is truly a great city and I always enjoy my time there. I hooked up with a frind that I met during the London Open last year and had dinner with Gary Garcia and Sean Mc Creary who just happened to be in town. Gary Garcia is the executive at Fox Sports Net that has put more poker shows on television than anyone and I am lucky to have him as a friend. Sean is the Tables games manager at Crown Casino in Australia and a really goog mate. I flew home on Virgin Air first class and if you ever have the chance to do that I highly recommend it, it was incredible service!

UltimateBet.net Poker Challenge

February 04, 2006

I flew from New York to LA to meet with the players in Saturdays televised table. I really enjoy this show in thet I am able to meet people in poker that I have never met before and yet they still have the passion for the game that we all love. This week was a little different in that we had a pro at the table named Shawn Rice from Texas. Shawn was an unfortunate victim of the high blinds and finished 4 out of 6. After the tournament we did a scout of Hollywood Park which will be another venue for the upcoming North American Poker Tour.