While Don Cheadle’s victory over Phil Ivey was obviously the first stunning celebrity development of NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship, it was eventually overshadowed by another. Cheadle quickly lost his second round match, boarded a plane and made his way to the WPT’s Celebrity Invitational in Los Angeles; that left the headlines all to Shannon Elizabeth.
Best-known for her sexy portrayal of foreign exchange student Nadia in the American Pie films, Elizabeth started playing poker semi-seriously about a year ago. After numerous appearances at the World Series this year, hers became a common image in poker circles.
When Shannon was chosen to participate in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, she wasn’t considered a real threat. Her first round pairing was a generous one, with the starlet facing fellow celebrity player Rene Angelil. When she beat the music producer, it was no big deal; after all, someone had to win.
Far more surprising was her defeat of WSOP golden boy Jeff Madsen. That put her in the round of sixteen, where she would obviously be felled by Barry Greenstein, but a funny thing happened on the way to the loser’s circle: She won. Toppling one of the titans of the game was exactly the kind of notch in the belt she’d been searching for her entire poker career.
With board reading J-J-6 K Q and the chips all-in, Elizabeth quickly showed J-6. She had flopped a full house and slow played it, allowing Greenstein the draw into a runner-runner straight. Barry mucked his hand, defeated and Elizabeth moved on to face Humberto Brenes in the quarter-finals.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
