JC Tran wins his second career World Series of Poker bracelet. Tran took down the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha field. Tran over the last couple of years has catapulted himself to the upper echelon of poker players and it was only a matter of time before he won his second bracelet. Tran got his start when he learned to play online texas holdem.
Johnny Chan got close to passing Doyle Brunson and tying Phil Hellmuth (whose bracelets indicate he can only win one if he can play texas hold’em) with career bracelet number 11, but got beat in the semi-finals of the Heads Up Championship. With Phil Ivey seemingly finding the correct carrot to chase (wait donkeys chase carrots, what do sharks chase? chum) the old guard better start stockpiling bracelets now.
Chan missed a golden opportunity but also sent out a reminder to the poker world that he’s still around. This deep run far surpasses his sporadic Poker After Dark victories which is the only TV time he garnes playing texas hold’em poker anymore.
The NHL (The National Hockey League) came to the World Series. It’s been reported that the commissioner of the WSOP and the commissioner of the NHL are half brothers. It’s also been suggested this pairing does nothing for either. Sure the photo ops of the Stanley Cup and WSOP bracelets is somewhat interesting to fans of poker or fans of hockey but to fans of neither it’s a nonevent.
There was also a charity free texas hold’em poker tournament with the room rigged to look like an NHL rink. Icey white colored felt replacing the traditional green felt. The players looking at a rink surrounding them and a makeshift penalty box. Would be great if they actually had that for one of Hellmuth’s tables. Course these days players would probably welcome the respite as an opportunity to twitter their latest texas holdem poker mishaps to their followers. If Hockey players can get their gloves off it’s probably only a matter of time before they start twittering from the box.
Former hockey player Greg “FBT (Full Blown Tilt)” Mueller won his bracelet on the day the NHL came knocking in Texas holdem. He said their presence inspired him. After two second place finishes in the past this win had to be incredibly sweet for him, and a surreal convergence of dreams realized as the Stanley Cup, so long a lifelong dream of his, was there when he won his bracelet a more recent goal created by his love of texas holdem.