Poker Main Event Videos!Nadia
I was walking down the corridor to the Amazon Room on my way to cover some more final table action when a member of the opposite sex caught my attention. I did the obligatory double take and thought to myself "not bad." Of course it wasn't bad. It was Shannon Elizabeth of American Pie fame. I immediately felt like an idiot for not recognizing one of the most famous faces in the 2006 Tournament. She's still playing well in Event #44 by the way, making her way towards her third cash this year.
Battle of the Coolest 2006 Names
ESPN couldn't have scripted it any better. Rob Rose went all in against Leif Force in the "should be in a WWE pay-per-view telecast hand." The affable Rose had A-J versus the Force's A-A and didn't improve. If Force wins this thing, how many endorsement deals is he going to get? And speaking of names, are you kidding me with Rhett Butler?
Phil and Barry
I don't know what's more interesting to watch at the Event #44 tables, Phil Hellmuth's insistence on leaving after every hand for prolonged periods of time, or the look of "Please God will this WSOP End" on Barry Greenstein's face. Both players are doing well as of 4 p.m. PST, but there is still plenty of play left in this event that won't end until tomorrow evening. Of course, when he's actually in his seat, Hellmuth looks pretty determined to grab that 11th bracelet.
The Agony of Poker
While searching out things of interest at the less crowded Event #44 tables, I witnessed two bad-beats that would make me quit poker.
1.) The first bad-beat was a gentleman who flopped a set of Tens on an A-K-10 flop, only to watch his opponent flip over A-K and catch an ace on the river. To make matters worse, a player at the table told him it was obvious from the start that the opponent had A-K. The distraught player, who was now eliminated, said "No kidding, which is why I bet the set, ass."
2.) The second bad-beat was an all-diamond flop that came A-7-3. Three players went all-in on the turn and the river produced an Ace. Of course, two gentlemen flopped a flush and the winner believed his A-3 two-pair was still good after several re-raises. Nonetheless his miracle full-house was rewarded handsomely.