The WSOP and ESPN decided to stop the $1,000 buy-in tournament tonight. They are going to air the final table live online tomorrow. If you want to watch go to ESPN360. Dan Heimiller, a man who looks like a career bearucrat but plays like a internet whiz kid, is one of the chip leaders. He’s constantly at the top of the leaderboard yet gets no respect. Maybe that will change if he takes it down. Steve Sung who’s also seeking some respect will get some if he can outlast Heimiller and the other eight.
Texas Dolly and Amarillo Slim had a scooter race yesterday. They had cones, a course, spectators and a wager on it. Despite the fact, Texas Dolly is twice the man Amarillo Slim is, literally and probably figuratively too. Also, Slim had the faster scooter. For video of the race go here.
Thang Luu won the 1.5k Omaha 8 or better tournament. He won the same event last year. He’s also showing improvement because two years ago he came in second (though the buy in was 2k). Not since Johnny Chan went back to back in the Main Event, and then the following year lost to Phil Hellmuth heads up, has a player had such a dominate stretch in a three year run in any event.
Apparently, the WSOP will play final tables of nine with a Phil Hellmuth exception. If he’s 10th with a short stack, they’ll take him to the TV taping of the final table and play 10 handed. They’ve done it twice for Phil, two years ago, and once again in the Champion Cup invite only Main Event Champions clash. Nobody at that table needed to learn how to play poker, but McEvoy vs. Varkoyni for the title was a suprise. It’s certainly a resume builder for both.
The WSOP is twitter central. Terrence “Not Johnny” Chan has a great post on the medium here. He sums up the opposing point of view that is lost in all the hype about the format. It discourages sharing deep thoughts and focuses on the mundane and the banal. It’s saving grace? Chan points out that it’s a perfect tool for poker reporting.