Joy Miller

I'm wanna believe I'm a pioneer in the "Forums are Detesible" movement...

Anyway, GREAT charity golf tourney next weekend with my friend Jonathan Ogden to benefit his foundation. Maybe we can raise some funds to get Gary, Mason, Newhouse, and Sklansky to play in it as a foursome!

Seriously, if you want to support a good cause email me for registration...Mister Belding from Saved By The Bell comes every year!
joyjoy712003@yahoo.com

The Jonathan Ogden Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament for Charity

WHEN: Kick-Off Party-Sunday,April 27, at The Palms Pearl Concert Theatre
Golf -Monday, April 28,at SouthShore Golf Club; Henderson, NV 89011

PRICE: Party is $500 per Couple,$300 per Individual
Golf is $2,000 per player,$7,500 per foursome-(Includes entry to the party with a guest)

Celebrities invited to attend: Rod Woodson, Marshall Faulk, LaDanian Tomlinson, Rodney Peete, Terrell Davis, Terry Donahue, Jim McMahon, Randall Cunningham, Julius Erving, Michael Irvin, Ted Hendricks, Kellen Winslow, Lincoln Kennedy, Tony Dorsett, Eric Dickerson, Richard Dent, Shannon Sharpe, Warren Moon, Kyle Turley, Rick Mirer, Marcus Allen, Amani Toomer, Joe Thomas, Donald Driver, Larry Fitzgerald, Drew Bennett, Ki-Jana Carter, Charles O’Bannon, Cade McNown, Todd Lyght, James Lesure, Steve Jackson, Charlie Joiner, Dennis Haskins, Shaun King, Champ Bailey, Larry Allen, Todd Heap, Jim Brown, Richard Dent, Sterling Sharpe, Bret Saberhagen, Trent Dilfer, Jeff Blake, Darrell Green, Derrick Anderson, Reggie Wayne, Chris Samuels, Chris Doleman, Eric Dickerson, Chester McGlockton, Rick Neuheisel, Chris McAllister, Anthony Montgomery, Mike Sherrard, Leslie O’Neal, Marty Barrett, Junior Seau, Willie Gault and Brian Kelly.

DETAILS: The Jonathan Ogden Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament kicks off on Sunday, April 27 with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, silent and live auctions and live entertainment at the Palms. The golf tournament is followed by a reception and an awards ceremony. Proceeds from the tournament will go to the Jonathan Ogden Foundation and the Las Vegas Founders Foundation, which benefit at-risk children in Baltimore and Las Vegas

In 1968, in his last Sunday sermon at Washington National Cathedral, Dr. King retold the parable of the rich man, Dives, and the poor man, Lazarus, and reminded us that, "a man went to hell because he didn't see the poor."

"And this could happen to America, the richest nation in the world," he warned.

"There is nothing new about poverty," he said. "What is new is that we now have the means and the know-how to lift every child out of poverty. The real question is whether we have the will!"

So as we mark another anniversary of Dr. King's death, we should also remember how fortunate each and everyone of us is.

2008 marks the 40th anniversary of his Poor People's Campaign.

The Poor People's Campaign challenged our nation to end the poverty afflicting millions of Americans of all races and confront the entrenched triple evils of racism, excessive materialism (poverty) and militarism that threaten our nation and world.

In this rich nation of ours, in 2008, there are 36.5 million Americans still living in poverty, including nearly 13 million children. There are 47 million people in America who have no health coverage, and 9.4 million of those are children.

I was fortunate enough to make a trip with the Image Masters crew to Biloxi, MS to document how this amazing community outreach program has made such an impact in post-Katrina Mississippi.

They help low-income and homeless families with ANYTHING they need, often employees were using their personal monies. I saw a woman come by to see if they could help her pay her $34 electic bill because she didn't have the means to pay it, a deaf man that stops by to pick up newly donated clothes because people keep breaking in to his FEMA trailer and stealing things at night since they know he's deaf, a woman so grateful to have her own dishes again in an apartment that they found for her.

So if you have a roof over your head, peel a few off the bankroll and donate to this worthy cause.

Even better, if you find yourself playing one of the Biloxi Casino's events, call and ask if they need a volunteer for a day - very humbling to see what these people do every day.

www.backbaymission.com
Email: backbay@datasync.com

Back Bay Mission is located at
1012 Division St
Biloxi, MS 39530

And for this week's installment of "Joy Miller's Friends Are Great Poker Players And She Can't Figure Out Why She Is Not"....
Good Luck to DEVO a.k.a Bryan Devonshire a.k.a our Fantasy Football League Winner that I owe $250 to still a.k.a The Chip Leader at the World Poker Challenge in Reno right now.

He's an astonishingly great player whose MySpace mathematical percentage fights with Rick Fuller make for great reading material when I want to fall asleep.

I'm hopin' for heads-up against Ivey so we can all fly out and be the loud, proud friends again! GOOD LUCK, DEVO!

(secretly excited that my friend's Michael and P.I. are doing well, too!)

But GOOOOOooooo Deeevoooooooo!

Wonder if he'll tip? Guess I'll have to read some forums to find out ;-) Ouch, that wasn't nice of me.

So....my article on forums here on Wise Hand from last month seems to apply to my friend Brandon Cantu right now. (Why Forums are my Arch-Enemy)

Not only did a writer incorrectly put in an article that Cantu dated Brandi Hawbaker (he's never even MET her), but now the 2+2 forums have had a 36 page field day on a subject that probably 97% of them will never encounter - correct tipping after winning a major tournament.

It's a shame that after playing so well, being so gracious in his win, and having fun with his family and friends that came out to see him...the thing everyone will remember is that someone made a public deal about something that wasn't anyone's business.

And we wonder why people think poker doesn't take "skill"

(and I am fully aware that everyone in the poker media has already used this pun, but i like it anyway!)

Instead of my weekly Top Ten list, I'm going to drop The Good and The Bad from Brandon Cantu's historical WPT Bay 101 win.

Good: At 4pm, I successfully convinced my homie Jeffrey Madsen (aka "The Kid", aka My Child, aka MC JMad) to drop everything he was doing in Los Angeles to get on an airplane with me and fly to San Jose to watch Brandon at his Final Table.

Bad: By the time we navigated LA traffic and got to the airport, we were informed that the 7pm flight only had one seat available and the stand-by line was "extremely long" Boo.

Good: My unwaivering determination that we were both getting on that flight. I managed to convince a supervisor to put Madsen 2nd on the standby list.

Bad: All the unfortunate people who had been waiting for hours on the standby list that were relegated to waiting even longer for another flight since Madsen cut the line. Those death stares gave us the willies.

Good: We also convinced our friend Jim Shipley to fly in from Vegas last minute

Bad: We forgot to get him a room, therefore accidentally setting him up for sleeping on the floor of Ali Najad's suite at 3am.

Good: When we arrived in the WPT Final Table tent, all of Cantu's friends and family that flew in were sitting together and having a great time. E-Tay, Hudy, Fuller, Angela, Jake, Palmer, Ali, Grandma & Grandpa, and Mom.

Bad: Layne Flack stole my seat so he could sit next to Madsen and heckle people.

Good: He made up for it by asking TD Matt Savage why he was wearing Jim Carrey’s suit from "The Mask" (hilarious evidence here http://www.pokerlistings.com/blog/wpt/season6/bop-brandon-cantu-wins-bay-101-shooting-star )

Bad: We were THAT group of loud friends at the Final Table

Good: We were THAT group of loud (supportive, amazingly proud) friends at the Final Table

Bad: Cantu had his back to us for the heads-up

Good: Heads up was only 2 hands, Cantu sprinted in to the crowd to watch his winning hand, and we all got to jump around and celebrate it right with him. Yeeeaaaah!

Bad: I cried a little (in joy, but still).

Good: My college boyfriend, who knows NOTHING about poker, came to watch the last hour with us. He was so excited by the end that he called someone and said, "I just watched a dude win a million dollars!" Also, Matt from PokerListings, the CardPlayers guys, and photog Joe did a marvelous job of providing covering the entire event.

Bad: Final Table finished at 12:30am, therefore ruining any chances of us being able to go out and celebrate since bars in the Bay Area close at 2am. So we made do with The Dolphin Lounge in the middle of Bay 101. Cantu runs so good that he got off without having to buy bottles at a big Vegas club - he probably spent $300 max on drinks for the whole bar.

Good: Cantu had the genius idea of sending me and the ex to 7-eleven to get beers so we could continue to party in our suite later.

Bad: I went a little overboard and got 9 cases of beer for 12 people. We had to donate about 5 of those to the Front Desk the next day.

Good: 2nd place finisher Steve Sung - and his clever bending of the rules that allowed him to sport an Obama shirt (YES WE CAN!) - came over and played cards and hung out with us in the suite after. What a guy!

Bad: The food at Bay 101. Suck isn't even a strong enough word to describe it. EVERY meal was a monstrosity.

Good: Cantu paid for it.

Bad: Esther (E-tay) and I thought it would be funny to switch passports and see if the airport security would notice. Esther is Korean with straight black hair, I am African-American with an afro of brown hair. And we successfully made it through with EACH OTHER'S passports and tickets without ONE word from anyone checking our tickets. But all 5 of the boys were searched and frisked. Sad proof of my theory that having airport screening is a waste of money and time, and was probably solely invented to make me constantly late for flights.

Good: There was no one on our flight so all eight of us got to fly together.

Bad: When Shipley went to drive me and Palmer home, he had left in such a hurry (see GOOD thing #3) that he couldn’t remember where in the Las Vegas
Airport he had left his car. I had to bat my eyes at some bike security to ride around and look for it. (Bonus BAD: The guy checking us in at the San Jose airport spelled his name SHITley. Wait, change that to a GOOD thing because it provided us with giggles for hours!)

Good: One of my dearest, favorite friends whose an amazing poker player overcame a poor showing at the WSOP last summer to play dominant poker for the last few months. Finally winning another major title and showing the poker community that his bracelet wasn't a fluke and that he’s a viable threat at the table.

Bad: I didnt take a piece of him. So I'm as poor as ever - but rich in memories of his incredible win! Photo Proof!...
http://www.pokerlistings.com/blog/wpt/season6/bop-brandon-cantu-wins-bay-101-shooting-star

Just wanted to say GOOD LUCK to one of my Besty friends, Brandon Cantu. He's just DOMINATED the WPT Bay 101, all three days...he claimed FIVE bounties for $25,000, plus was chip leader on day one earning him another $10,000 bonus. He went on an amazing run yesterday at one point winning SEVENTEEN hands in a row, and now goes in today as chip leader with 3,323,000. Mama needs a new pair of shoes, Cantu! So happy to see him doing well again - he won a WSOP bracelet in 2006 - here's to a WPT win to add to your collection!

P.S. John Phan and Jen Harman are at the table too - a secret good luck to my other two friends as well ;-)

http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/live_updates/14167

Hey All,

Happy Hump Day (Man, was I an unhappy person when I learned that only means Wednesday).

So, in continuing with my promise to feature a charity that I feel is noteworthy - I present to you one that is near and dear to my heart, as I work with the founder personally, volunteer directly with them in South Carolina, and have attended and photographed events for it.

I truly believe everyone should have an organization that they are passionate about helping - poker players especially. Just as often as I see selfishness and greed, there are those successful players that are generous and humble (Thank you Gavin Smith!).

Limos for Learning is a revolutionary non-profit program that rewards students for outstanding improvement in reading skills - without using standardized testing to show their improvement.

I have witnessed first hand how poor some of these schools are, in rural areas that could be described as desolate and despondent. Limos for Learning goes in to these schools and gives the kids an opportunity to increase their effectiveness, while encouraging parents to get involved.

To read about the experience - click here http://www.limosforlearning.com/experience.html

To make a donation - click here -http://www.limosforlearning.com/donate.html

If you want to personally get involved - feel free to email me at joyjoy712003@yahoo.com

L4L is a 501C3 non-profit so your donation is tax-deductible.

A famous quote by Nelson Mandela - but worthy of repeat -
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? you are a child of god. YOUR PLAYING SMALL DOES NOT SERVE THE WORLD."

I had lunch with my ex-boyfriend today who inspired this list. He managed to make it one year with me - but made it clear that he would never punish himself like that again. I give you...

Top Ten Reasons NOT to have a Boyfriend during the World Series of Poker when you work in the media:

10. Because EVERY girl needs a poker sugar daddy to buy all those Starbucks, Red Bulls, and massages to get you through 58 straight days. And sugar daddies don't like boyfriends.

9. You won't have to sign up for unlimited text messaging on your phone in order to communicate with your guy because sometimes you can't be on the phone for 15-hours straight and your man can't fathom that.

8. Its hard to hook up with Patrick Antonius if you've already got a boyfriend. (Thanks Hollywood Dave!)

7. It may be the only job where you go to work at noon, stay until 5am, and then go back at noon. You won’t have to worry that the boyfriend will drop by and you’re stuck in a BLUFF sequestered tent, wherein he’ll just assume you’re cheating.

6. You’ll never have to hear, "Can you ask Daniel Negreanu a question for me? What would he do if at his home game, he’s under the gun with pocket sixes. The two seat fires out..."

5. You won't have to worry about getting caught months later when a Final Table episode airs on ESPN and you're on camera in the background kissing the guy you are cheating on him with. (Yes, this really happened to me)

4. You won’t have to constantly hear things like, "Is Nenad Medic REALLY that good-looking?" "Does Erick Lindgren seriously have that great of skin?", "Why do you girls think Phil Ivey is sooooo great, a lot of people have won bracelets." And in turn, you won't have to lie and say "No, of course not, honey. Ooooh, have you been working out?"

3. If you make a celibacy bet (like I ignorantly did last summer) it will be easier to pull off if you're already not sleeping with anyone (Thanks Hot Chips!).

2. You won't look like a whore when you DO sleep with Patrick Antonius.

1. You might miss that extraordinary chance to hook up with the elusive Gus Hansen.

So my Mom has cancer. Don't feel bad for me - I'm actually not nervous...the universe will NOT punish me by taking her away. Partly because I have good karma, and partly because it doesn't want to risk making me the ABW (for those of you that don't know me, I've been known to morph in to the Angry Black Woman). At first it was scary, but lately...it's gotten FUN! Yes, FUN! You know why? Because Patrick Swayze is a patient at the same hospital she's at! YES, Mr. Dirty Dancing is being treated at Stanford Cancer Center along with Mrs. Christine Miller.

Now, I have this recurring fantasy that I go to walk in to my Mom's room with a DVD of "Road House", a copy of the book "To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar", while simultaniously singing "Shess Like the Wind" - only I accidentally walk in to Patrick Swayze's room. Quelle Surprise! And he gives me the face that he gave Demi Moore in "Ghost" when she gets to see him one last time - and I say, "Oh, excuse me." And he says, "No, no, no don't go...stay awhile!" and we chat about everything, just everything - and become best friends.

Then when he and my Mom are both better - we have a big dinner party for them at some sort of summer resort in the Catskill Mountains of New York, he invites Whoppi Goldberg (my lone celebrity friend invite is Charlie Steiner), and everyone dances in celebration while I repeatedly yell "Nobody puts SWAYZE in the corner!"

So, in honor of Patrick's and my impeding friendship - I present

The Top Ten Things I would LOVE to ask Patrick Swayze:

(Please note that these all reference my favorite Swayze movies, if you don't love The Swayze, I'm not sure what's wrong with you - and you probably won't get them)

10. Do you go around calling people "spaghetti arms"? and when they look at you in distain, say, "I DID call Jennifer Grey that in a liiii-ttle film called 'Dirty Dancing'!"

9. Have you ever considered making a shirt that says "I was Chosen as People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive [1991]"?

8. Can you record yourself on to my iPod saying "Is that all the gusta you can musta?" so when I get tired on the treadmill, I can play it on repeat?

7. Can you call and ask former co-star C. Thomas Howell (and current radio show poker commentator) to teach you to play poker so I can run in to you guys together at poker events, therefore making my 3rd grade dream come true?

6. Were you jealous that it was Keanu Reeves, not you, that got to say "Vaya con Dios, Brah!"?

5. Can you really survive a Soviet invasion by hunting deer and urinating in a jeep's radiator to keep it running when there's no water around?

4. Do you have a sign over the urinal at your house that says, "Don't eat the big white mint"?

3. Do you ever wake up sweating after having a nightmare containing Keanu Reeves screaming, "I AM AN F... B... I AGENT!"? No? Ummmmm...me neither.

2. When someone calls you a cocksucker, do you always respond, "It's just two nouns combined to elicit a response."? Because I do, James Dalton.

1. Do you have Obama-Mania? Because that's a WAY better disease than this cancer thing! But while Obama-mania can't be defeated...I have faith that you and Mom are gonna overcome cancer.