The View From Here

Day four is history. For the historical record, here's the tournament floor at the close of business today.



We'll be at it again tomorrow at noon... 44 last men -- and one woman -- standing. Once the antistatic wears off, it'll be "once more into the breach, dear friends" for this semi-random sampling of the remaining 45.

ARNOLD SPEE -- 800
DAVID WILLIAMS -- 338
JOHN SMITH -- 1.65M
TUAN LE -- 1.48M
CHRIS FERGUSON -- 490
DAVID SKLANSKY -- 360
JOHN PHAN -- 550
GREG RAYMER -- 334
ISABELLE MERCIER -- 334
PHIL IVEY -- 1.1M
REZA PAYVAR -- 1.64M
PETER COSTA -- 366
PAUL TESTUD -- 409
JOE BEEVERS -- 365

The start of play on Friday will feature antes of 2000, blinds of 6000 and 12,000. Something to think about between now and noon.

More later, -jv

Not a Bad Week's Work, but Still...

Here's Johan Storakers, mere moments after being eliminated in 49th place, for a payday of $37,740.



You have to admire the man's ability to keep a smile on his face in his moment of maximum despair, but this tough young Swede has made himself a fixture on the tournament trail in the past year or two -- he hasn't touched home soil in nearly six months -- so we can expect him to take his bittersweet finish in stride.

The beginning of the end came when he took a suited A-Q up against pocket jacks and could draw no joy from the board. A few hands later, down to just 90K in chips, he pushed all-in under the gun with K-J, a move he described as, "maybe too gutsy." It probably would've worked just the same... when everyone folded around to the big blind, it looked like it would... but the big blind, Joe Beevers, woke up with pocket queens, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I don't know if it's confirmation bias or what (since I seem to have been hurt so much by the damn hand myself) but I have become convinced that A-Q is the hand of death in no-limit tournament hold'em. I have seen so many A-Q v. A-K confrontations this week, and we know what a longshot A-Q is in that instance. I mean, think about it: If you bet big with A-Q, what hands are likeliest to call you? Big pocket pairs, and A-K. Big pocket pairs are rare; big slick much less so.

Now look, I'd be the last person on the planet to second-guess Johan's (or anyone's) move. You don't get this far in this tournament without knowing exactly what you want to do with A-Q and every other hand you hold. I'm just saying that for me, if I could curb the atavistic urge to play A-Q, I'd probably be lots better off.

Speaking of atavistic urges (and the luxury of having a big stack) John Smith just called Alex Todd's all-in bet with A-3 suited, while Todd held suited big slick. The board brought an ace, but no threee, and Todd doubled through. It's not that remarkable a hand, except... it's a bit surprising to see anyone turn over ace-little at this stage in the tournament. We've talked about the luxury of a big stack, but we've also talked about the need for stamina and focus. If Smith is losing a bit of his, he may have just gotten a big break...

We were supposed to play five levels today, but the field has shrunk so far so fast (we're down to just 45 now) that Jack McClelland has decreed that play will halt when this round ends, in just under five minutes. This means that Smith (and, well, everyone) doesn't have to run that last 90-minute lap when the tanks are dry. A good night's sleep and a fresh start tomorrow will put everyone back on the track of making the quality decisions that have brought them all so far.

Back in mere moments with some end-of-day digits for you. -jv

A Big Stack Forgives a Multitude of Sins

Here's why you like to have lots more chips than anyone in a tournament:

Surinder Sunar, holding something on the order of 300K in chips, got heads up in a raised pot with chip leader John Smith just now. A-A for Sunar, and a much more modest 9-9 for Smith. But one of those nines was a diamond, and when the flop came 2-3-7, all diamonds, and Sunar went all-in with his last 229K, Smith had the freedom to consider a call, knowing that his tournament life was nowhere near on the line. Eventually he did call, and a fourth diamond on the turn sealed Sunar's fate.

Some players pride themselves on being short-stack specialists (I myself have lamentably too much experience with that situation) but a big honking stack creates a luxury of opportunity that the small stacks just don't have. And so the rich get richer. And so the beat goes on.

But there's riches and there's riches. Consider the case of Annand Victor Ramdin, shown here:



Today's a red letter day for Victor, who, apart from being busy trying to win this tournament is a newly-minted US citizen. He could bust out now and still be having a better day than most of us ever have. (And by the way, a tip of the blog-chapeau to Cowboy Wil Wheaton for the 411 on Victor's get. Thanks Wil, and way to go Victor). More later, -jv

A Break in the Action

We're down to 53 players now, and that means it's time to redraw for new seats -- six final tables of nine players each. While that's happening, let's take a moment to gaze upon the visage of your chip leader John Smith, and his wife, Marjorie.



John is a highway contractor from La Habra Heights, California, and yes that's his real name, or so he insists. A 50-year veteran of recreational poker, he decided just a year ago to start getting serious about tournament poker.

Serious as a heart attack, I'd say.

Unlike so many satellite winners or backed players, John paid the full freight -- $25,000 + $500 -- out of his own pocket to enter this tournament. I guess a $30,000 payday is not exactly what he has in mind, and if anyone in the field is currently positioned to finish high up in the pay table, it's a certain Mr. Smith -- if, in fact, that is his real name.

The redraw is over. Let the games begin again.

Chris, Among Others

Here's a happy shining Chris Ferguson, one of 57 happy campers who have survived 14 rounds of tournament play, and now sally forth into round 15, with antes of 1,000 and blinds of 5,000 and 10,000. Price of poker, folks, price of poker...



The price of poker's not so pricey for John Smith, sitting on the chip lead with 1.43 million. He's being chased by the likes of Tuan Le, 1.1M, and Mike Mizrachi, 914K.

Others yet in the hunt:

PAUL TESTUD -- 450
HASAN HABIB -- 340
DAVID SKLANSKY -- 220
DAVID WILLIAMS -- 750
ALAN BOSTON -- 570
JUHA HELPPI -- 345
PETER COSTA -- 300
ISABELLE MERCIER -- 455
GREG RAYMER -- 540
JEFF SHULMAN 250
CHRIS FERGUSON -- 503
PHIL IVEY -- 745

Sunlight fades in Las Vegas. Out on the strip, they're giving away brochures and cards for "escorts, live to your room." Tourists pause to gawk at the Fountains of Bellagio, blissfully unaware of the real show going on just behind the fountains in the Fontana Lounge. Round 15 is underway. If this were a 15-round prize fight, we'd be wrapping up right now. But we're not. Oh, no. In fact, we're just getting started. -jv

Last Woman Standing

With the elimination of Jennifer Harmon in 66th place, Montreal's Isabelle Mercier remains the last woman standing in this tournament.

Jennifer's end came at the hands of George Miller, when she pushed all-in with A-T. In a move that some would regard as unsportsmanlike, Miller, the only other player in the pot, asked for a chip count, enjoyed an extended Hollywood moment, then finally called... with pocket aces. The moral equivalent of slow-rolling, it put a particularly bitter spin on the end of Jennifer's tournament trip.

With the likes of Todd Brunson and one-time chip leader Eric Weiner also having been eliminated, we're now down to 62 players, and Jack McClelland's prediction that we'd be down to 60 players by the end of today looks to be fulfilled, and then some, well before his projected deadline. At the rate we're going, they may have to put the brakes on play just to make sure there are six left for the final table.

The fourteenth round of play is winding down. Fourteen rounds. That's 21 hours of poker, spread over three days. Fourteen hours of tough decisions, difficult laydowns, tricky deductions, and heart-stopping bluffs... plus all those jackthree, jackthree, jackthrees you pitch away without a thought, but that wear down your stamina and concentration just the same. Here we come to another serious truth of tournament poker: Just when you need your focus most, that's when you're in danger of having it least.

Stamina is the name of the game around here. We think it's about starting requirements or reads or world-class moves, but really it's just keeping your wits about you and hoping that they're still sharp enough to serve you in the moment of truth. Win or lose, you have to admire anyone who can go this deep into a tournament without surrendering to that one critical brain fart that puts them on the rail.

You might could even forgive a little Hollywood grandstanding: Tournament time takes its toll on everything, perhaps even rectitude. More later, -jv

Of Bad Beats and Airborne Bottles

It's hard to keep your cool when your tournament day ends, even if you're in the money when it happens. Just ask David Chiu, who just displayed his disgust at busting out by hurling an empty beer bottle that very nearly hit my baby computer. Wouldn't that be the icing on the cake? To survive Bloggageddon only to fall prey to an airborne empty MGD?

In the event, David held Q-Q and found himself up against Alan Goehring's 8-8 and Isabelle Mercier's A-Q of diamonds. Mercier, dominated and all-in, reverted to prayer mode (we've seen it before but it bears repeating).



Prayers answered: The flop brought one diamond, and the turn and river two more, including an eight, giving Isabelle the main pot and Goehring the side.

That's when Chiu was knocked out in 75th place, and his bottle went airborne.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The truth is revealed under pressure. I guess sometimes the best way to express the truth is to send it flying.

Meanwhile, at the next table over, in a Clash of Authors, David Sklansky sent Tom McEvoy packing when his A-K held up against (the short-stacked and desperate) McEvoy's A-Q. I'm sure David could tell you to the decimal point what the odds were of his hand holding up. Though the evidence indicates that just because it should happen doesn't mean it will happen.

Just ask David Chiu.

More later, -jv

PS: RIP Steve Brecher, 73rd place, and Peter Moore, 72nd place.

Bloggageddon!

Ain't that a bite in the butt?

Just as we got down within shouting distance of the bubble, my fricking blogging software, blogger.com (may its support techs burn in hell) went down for "scheduled maintenance." Scheduled maintenance my Aunt Fanny. Someone spilled Coke down the back of the mainframe, I bet.

Time: 4:00 PM

And the down-for-maintenance clock began ticking.

Assuming (well hoping) that at some point Blogger would return to life, I started keeping this ad-hoc diary, titled the Bubble Years, in honor of what turned out to be a lengthy struggle to determine who would be the Bubble King.

Scotty Nguyen set the stage for the Bubble Years by busting out in 102^nd place when his A-K couldn't get past Reza Payvar's A-A, making Reza the current chip leader.

From that point forward we had 12 tables going hand-for-hand as we waited to see which unfortunate would win the Bubble Crown. The bubble watch lasted forever -- almost as long as stupid Blogger was closed for scheduled drive-JV-fricking-crazy maintenance. During the Bubble Years, players look for any excuse to fold a hand. Pocket aces? Not good enough! And then as soon as you're out of the hand (especially if you're short-stacked) you scamper around the room to see if anyone else had been forced in on that hand.

After all 12 tables have played their hands (with no one busting out over and over and over again) Jack McClelland announces, "Shuffle up and make 'em squeal" and the fun begins again.

In case you're not clear on the concept, here's the deal. The next player eliminated finishes the tournament in 101^st place, and gets zero dollars for his three days' effort and $25,000 entry fee (or satellite equivalent). The player who busts out after that, in 100^th place, gets $30,000 and a shit-eating grin. Since play would normally proceed at different paces at different tables, the hand-for-hand convention is invoked to make sure that every short stack gets a fair shake. You shouldn't have to get blinded out before someone else, say, just because the dealer at your table had far too much coffee today.

And in case you're wondering, if two or more players bust out on the same hand-for-hand hand, the player who started the hand with the least money will be declared the 101^st finisher. Department of insult-to-injury.

While we're waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the Bubble Years to end, I would ask you to pause and consider how often in your life you've sat in the midst of a moment where forces (some within and some beyond your control) are at work to determine whether you win $30,000 or came away empty? I've seen it happen in movies: In the opening moments of Rounders, Matt Damon loses thirty grand -- three stacks of High Society -- to Teddy KGB. But in real life? Not so much.

At times like these -- thinking about the ulcers I'm not having -- I'm rather happy to be sitting on the sideline.

Some members of the 800 club (players above or near 800,000 in chips) during the seemingly endless Bubble Years:

Reza Payvar (who started the day with 41K)
Tuan Le
Michael Mizrachi
John Smith

It's the hand-for-hand that makes the Bubble Years last so long. Yes, the blinds are high and yes, the short stacks are imperiled, but when everyone has to wait for twelve tables to finish each hand, then time… just… stops. Were we not going hand-for-hand, we'd have crowned a Bubble King long ago, but that would not be fair to every short stack in the room.

Finally… after almost an hour of Bubble Years, Danny Dang's J-J went up against Tam Nguyen's J-Q. A queen came on the flop, no jack materialized, and Danny was crowned the Bubble King at 4:58 pm.

And when that happened, the collective sigh of relief could be heard halfway across the casino floor. In the ensuing giddiness, small stacks started going all-in with reckless abandon, and why not? The money for the next fifty places is exactly the same, $30,000, and then it only goes up to $37,740 for 41^st to 50^th place. If you're low on chips, you'll need luck in large doses to move up even a little bit in the pay table, so you might as well take the shots that present themselves. From this point forward, the tournament will probably play fast and loose through the rest of the day. Unless you're sitting on a mountain of chips already, there's virtually no downside to taking major shots.

If I had a nickel for every time I hear the words "All in" between now and the end of the day, well, I'd have a lot of nickels, but still not enough to buy a cup of overpriced Bellagio coffee. And definitely not enough to replace fricking Blogger with software that works. Thanks for your patience during the downtime, campers.

Well, the Bubble Years ended, but Bloggageddon went into its second hour, during which time we rolled over from level 13 to level 14, the antes kicked up to 1000 and the blinds moved to 4000 and 8000.

Some numbers of note at this juncture:

ISABELLE MERCIER -- 150

CHRIS FERGUSON -- 488,500

SPENCER SUN -- 286

JENNIFER HARMON -- 260

DAVID WILLIAMS -- 255

GREG RAYMER -- 750

TUAN LE -- 710

HASAN HABIB -- 110

JOHAN STORAKERS -- 336

DAVID SKLANSKY -- 110

MIKE MIZRACHI -- 900

Of course, these numbers will have been swiftly overtaken by events -- hell, each and every one of these players might have gone boom and bust before Blogger re-rears its incompetent head.

Do I sound testy? I get that way when I can't DO MY FRICKING JOB!!!!!

Somewhere along in through here, Eddy Kleid busted out in 98^th place and collected $30,000. Eddy publishes Bluff Magazine, and I imagine he'll be even more enthusiastic about poker than ever after this.

Alex Brenes, out in 91^st.

Jay Heimowitz, out in 84^th.

And stupid fricking Blogger back online at 5:55pm! Our long national nightmare is over!

It's good to be back among you. More later (but hopefully not much later) -jv

The 12th Round is History

We've played 12. Players are busting out all over. Tables are breaking like wind. 105 combantants remain, and those who are still around at the end of round 13 will be taking home cash for sure.

Here are some approximate numbers:

TUAN LE -- 800K
DAVID SKLANSKY -- 95
PETER COSTA -- 300
ISABELLE MERCIER -- 161
TOM McEVOY -- 100
JOHAN STORAKERS -- 348
ALAN BOSTON -- 420
PHIL IVEY -- 200
SPENCER SUN -- 560
PAUL TESTUD -- 500
JENNIFER HARMAN -- 235
GREG RAYMER -- 650
MIKE MIZRACHI -- 811
DAVID WILLIAMS -- 260
HASAN HABIB -- 95

...And Chris Ferguson at 235,500 exactly. (I lament the prospect of having to report it if Chris busts out. His number would be 0.000,000, and that would be sad).

When the action resumes, we'll be at lucky level 13, with antes of 500 and blinds of 3K and 6K. If you're Spencer Sun or Tuan Le or Mike Mizrachi, you're looking to consolidate your gains and start making your push through the money finishes toward the top spot. If you're under 50,000 in chips, you're looking to push and pray.

In small local tournaments like those at the Bike in Southern California or elsewhere, it's customary for the players to make a "save" so that the player who busts out on the bubble gets at least his buy-in back. It's a friendly little convention, and it makes the small time tournament players happy. Naturally there will be no such deal made here. Someone is destined to be the bubble boy or girl.

And it won't be long before we know who. More later, -jv

May the Worst Hand Win

Phil Hellmuth is out of the Bellagio 5Star, defeated by a hand he had well dominated -- but so what else is new? -- held by chip leader or near chip leader Tuan Le.

A-K offsuit for Phil. Kd-Jc for Le. Le raised preflop -- something he's been known to do, to say the least -- and Phil came over the top for his last 40K. You could see the fatalism painted on Phil's face. He's been here so many times before, with his money in the middle against a hand that has no business being in the pot, much less winning. And when the flop came T-9-2, you could almost feel the queen coming. The turn brought that queen, the river brought a brick, and Phil was phinished.

Allan Cunningham is also finished. He took A-K suited up against Paul Testud's two red kings. The flop brought an ace... but also a king... and Cunningham followed Phil from the room.

We're now down to 111 players. With the money line at 100, you can bet that people are starting to consider their moves with even more care. Well, wouldn't you, when the right choice could spell the difference between a zero dollar finish and a five-figure payday?

Fasten your seatbelts, kids. Things are going to get bumpy (well, bumpier) from here. -jv

Mercier Me

Here's Isabelle Mercier, praying for divine guidance.



A flurry of hits, and a near miss:

- Barney Boatman left the shore with Q-Q versus Peter Costa's K-K. The best hand held up and the Boatman was sunk.

- Alan Boston, who had lost about half his stack got most of it back when he his A-A went up against K-K and, again, the best hand won.

- Alex Brenes stayed alive with help from runner-runner diamonds. He pushed all-in with Ad-T against Ron Faltinsky's Ac-Kc. The board came 6s-4d-Kd... then 9d and Ad, and Brenes was staying alive.

More almost immediately. -jv

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Another one of poker's genuinely nice guys has been eliminated from play. Barry Greenstein, who donates all of his tournament winnings to charity, will unfortunately have no tithe to offer this time. He pushed in his last 40K with A-7 and ran into Brad Wyatt's Q-Q. The board brought a ray of hope -- T-9-8 -- leaving Barry live to a six for a straight (though not a jack, for that would have given Brad a higher straight. But the turn and the river came clang-clang, and Barry was done.

Now we are down to 127 players, and those with decent-sized stacks are starting to think long green. More later, -jv

Antonio -- Oh, No!

One of our two remaining UB warriors just hit the mat.

Antonio Esfandiari got all-in with A-K against Anthony Hartmann holding pocket nines. When the board brought no joy, Antonio was done.

Here's a shot of our UB stalwart. There's no doubt he'll be back in the winner's circle soon.



(Department of shameless self-promotion: Antonio will be teaching a Poker Camp seminar on May 5 and 6 in Lake Tahoe, California, with none other than yours most humbly truly sharing the teaching tasks. For more info, check out www.thepokercamp.com)

Now it's only Phil Hellmuth left in the field to represent Team UB. He's been playing solid, conservative (by Phil standards) poker for days now -- plus he's coming off a win at the world heads-up challenge -- so we have reason to hope for the best.

More later, -jv

Round 11 Roundup

This chip report brought to you by Kathy Liebert...



...such a nice person that she even took off her Party Poker hat for this picture, out of courtesy to UltimateBet readers. That's okay, Kathy; Ultimately, we're all in this Party together.

Level 11 is history. So are the $100 chips, which are being raced off even as we speak. 26 players are history, too, already out by the pool or staring at the ceiling in their hotel rooms wondering where they went wrong and what they might have done differently.

Level 12 will feature 500 antes and blinds of 2000 and 4000. Nine-handed as we currently are, a round of play will cost everyone 10,500. If you had a medium stack before, you have a small stack now.

Among those with the big stacks:

MIKE MIZRACHI -- 720K
TUAN LE -- 700K
DAVID WILLIAMS -- 410K
TOM PNIAK -- 430K
SPENCER SUN -- 450K

Other numbers of names of note:

PHIL IVEY -- 87K
ANTONIO ESFANDIARI -- 135K
SCOTTY NGUYEN -- 320K
CHRIS FERGUSON -- 159K
PHIL HELLMUTH -- 79K
JENNIFER HARMON -- 220K
ALLEN CUNNINGHAM -- 100K
JUHA HELPPI -- 253K
PETER COSTA -- 125K
BARRY GREENSTEIN -- 75K

And someone named John Smith -- obviously an alias -- 325K.

More later, -jv

Just in Case He Wins

Here's a picture of Spencer Sun, who hails from, as Jack McClelland puts it, "The foreing country of California." Spencer is among the current chip leaders and playing some terrific poker: disciplined, focused and strong. Figured I'd better get his picture up here, just in case he wins.



No danger of that now for Card Player mogul Barry Shulman, who bet into Spencer's made straight enough times to get himself pot-committed when Spencer finally pulled the trigger and came over the top. You might say thit it's lucky to flop a straight, and certainly there's luck in it (poker = chess + luck, remember?) But when you catch your opponent in a betting mood, you still need skill to get him to bring all his chips to you. To put it another way, it's lucky to be where the fish are biting, but it takes skill to get the big ones landed.
Back with 11th round numbers before you know it. -jv

Broken Heart-ed

Russ Rosenblum's tournament just ended, in typical tournament tragedy fashion. After getting involved in a raised pot with Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi, Russ, holding K-T of hearts, flopped a flush. He bet a tiny 800. The grinder raised to 10K, Russ made it 25K and then all the money went in. Mizrachi, holding the ace of hearts, got the card of his heart's desire, a heart on the turn. And Rosenbloom was done for the day. After his final table finish in this event last year, Russ was no doubt looking to repeat. He played his heart out all week, but in the end it was a heart that broke him.

Meanwhile, for no particular reason, here's a totally gratuitous picture of Jennifer Harmon (who, in this reporter's opinion) deserves all the gratuitous pictures in the world).

The Game within the Game

Keep your eye on Bernie Collins, currently sitting on a chip stack of about 12oK. He got into this tournament for a grand total of eight bucks -- the typical internet Cinderella satellite story. According to his son, Kelly Collins, and his best friend Bob Anderson, he's "playing for 100th." $30,000 would certainly not be a bad parlay from an eight dollar buy-in. "But while we're here," says Kelly, "we might as well win it all."

Here's Bernie, in all the glory of his bald and shining pate.



What we see here (apart from the bald and shining pate) is the emerging game-within-the-game of big time tournament poker. The advent of deep satellite parlays -- small investments leading to big buy ins -- means that any money finish is the biggest money finish ever for a significant portion of the field. This will certainly affect strategy and decison-making as the money closes in. Look for the big names, those pros who are "in it to win it," to try to apply the screws to the short stacks. And look for the Bernie Collinses of this world to do everything in their power to hold on. After all, eight into 30,000 goes many satisfied times. -jv

Annie Overboard

Annie Duke has been eliminated from the 5Star. She held pocket kings and went all in against David Williams -- who had pocket aces.

Flop came ten, jack, queen. The turn was classic hold'em good news/bad news card: a king giving Annie trips but, unfortunately, the nut straight to David. No board-pair saved her on the river and it was Annie overboard way too soon and way too suddenly here in the early going on day four.

Maureen Feduniak has also just been eliminated, victim of a flush held by Michael Comer. Bad times for ladies. I hope Jennifer Harmon and Kathy Liebert are watching their backs.

Boston Massacre

Here's a photo of your chip leader, Alan Boston (r) alongside Scotty Nguyen.



A couple of hands ago, Alan Boston put in a sizeable raise preflop. His opponent jokingly asked, "How much ya got left?" With disarming honesty, Boston answered, "More than I expected." Disarming honesty may not go far at the poker table, but it goes a long way toward charming the press. -jv

Day Four -- Cards are in the Air

Greetings from the tournament floor, campers, where cards are in the air on day four of the 5Star World Poker Classic. From a starting field of 452 players, 164 remain, vying for a total prize pool of over 10 million smackereenies (that's the technical term) and a first place prize of 2, 856,150 (including a seat in this event next year). Cash starts flowing at the 100th place spot, and tournament director Jack McClelland tells us that we should be down to 60 or 70 players today, so even the bustouts will start having something to show for their troubles today, sometime before sunset.

We're doing things a little differently here at the WorldWide BlogQuarters. With the help of my able assistants Tommy and Alejandro, and through the miracle of wireless internet technology, I hope to bring you the highlights, lowlights and sidelights almost as they happen -- in very nearly real time, if time, that old illusionist, can be said in any sense to be real.

Alan Boston is, of course, the man to watch, since he leads the field by more than 100,000 in chips. And since he's the man to watch, I'm gonna go watch him now.

More (sooner rather than) later, -jv

What's All This Crap in my Pockets?

Good golly, Miss Molly, what a dream I had last night! I dreamt I fell in with evil companions, you know, those hard living denizens of the poker world who can party all night, play poker all day, and still put you on a hand at the drop of a tell. Good thing it was only I dream. I'm way too old for that sh--

Wait a minute. What's this here in my pocket? A pawn ticket? When did I pawn my Blackberry? That doesn't make sense. My sainted grandmother gave me that blackberry. No way in heck do I pawn my Blackberry. It must be a joke. Those joking jokers I run with must have --

Hang on. What else is this in my pocket? It looks like some girl's digits, scrawled on the back of a napkin from some place called the Boiler Room. Apparently "Mandi -- 555-6262" thinks I have "eyes to die for" and can't wait to show me that thing we talked about. What thing we talked about? What does she mean she hopes I'm limber?

Look at all this crap in my pockets! Poker chips. Dice. Playing cards. Here's the label peeled off a bottle of 180 proof absinthe. Absinthe? Isn't that stuff illegal?

Now what? A religious tract? Before you burn in hell, know this! Someone has hand-written on the cover, "Sinner, it's not too late." Too late for what?

Where did this picture come from? What are those things on my eyes?

A bottle of Tabasco sauce? An oyster shell? Somebody's safe deposit box key? Somebody's underwear? Good God, a Troj-- I can't even say it.

Oh, look, here's an advertisement torn from a tourist magazine. The headline reads, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," and someone has scrawled underneath, "Damn good thing, huh?"

That looks like my handwriting!

I must have been doped. Roofies, that's it. I couldn't have possibly gotten into all this mayhem of my own volition, could I? Could I?

I guess I'll find out. I'm coming back to Las Vegas in July to cover the World Series of Poker. That turns out to be a lucky thing.

Because according to this crumpled citation here in my pocket, apparently I'm due in court.

I wonder what I did.

More later, -jv

Late Night Notes (on the Fly)

As long as I'm up this late (having fallen in with evil companions) (as usual) (through no fault of my own, I assure you) (though they're kind enough to let me post) (but impatient so I have to post quickly) I thought I'd give you the official official top ten finishers for today...

ALAN BOSTON -- 493,300
DAVE COLCLOUGH -- 381,100
PAUL TESTUD -- 369,400
JUHA HELPPI -- 334,600
RON FALTINSKY -- 334,200
SPENCER SUN -- 328,500
SCOTT WILSON -- 319,600
TUAN LE -- 315,700
SCOTTY NGUYEN -- 312,100
MICHAEL MIZRACHI -- 307,800

... plus a sneak peek at the new Bellagio poker room. It ain't open yet, but when it does, it's gonna be gorgeous.



Okay, I have to go now. My evil companions are starting to get testy. If I'm not back by dawn, send out the National Guard.

More later (I hope), -jv