Jennifer Newell

Another WPT champion - a Legend no less - has been crowned, and it is Dan Harrington. Fitting, wouldn't you say?

I attended the taping of the final table as a spectator instead of a reporter, and I was so glad that I did. The members of the media were sitting around before play began wondering where they were allowed to go, what their access was going to be, and how they were going to provide sufficient coverage. Honestly, I don't know how it turned out because I went into spectator-mode.

I met up with Tom Schneider's wife, Julie, and a group of their friends and family members. We had an absolutely great time watching the final table. Tom has a fabulous group of supporters in his corner, and I felt lucky to be in their company last night.

A few hours into play, we discovered (okay, he was hard to ignore) a drunk spectator behind us who kept yelling instructions to Dan Harrington. "Raise, Dan..... Harrington!" Obviously, he didn't know Dan, and we were highly amused by the antics. A little while later, said drunk guy was actually being taken from the casino in a wheelchair with vomit on his shirt and in a nearly catatonic state. Lovely.

Tom ended up finishing fourth though he came in as the chip leader. He just couldn't get that usual momentum going, and he was definitely disappointed. My take on it, however, was that this was an incredible showing. After winning two bracelets out of three final tables at the WSOP, capturing the WSOP Player of the Year honors, he makes the WPT final table in the first event he plays since the WSOP. And this was his second WPT final table in less than two years. Ummm, if the entire poker world doesn't take notice of this guy, I don't know what game they're paying attention to.

We left the final table after Tom's elimination and went across the street for dinner. It was a good time - fun conversation and even a short tutorial on Chinese poker. Robert Goldfarb (15th place finisher in the Legends main event) taught me the basics, and though our food came and disrupted the game, I'm anxious to play more in the future. I finally see the attraction to the game, and with a little practice, I'll be ready to lose money to any and all challengers.

When I returned home late last night, I saw that Dan Harrington won the event. The heads-up match between David Pham and Dan lasted quite a few hours; both of them truly wanted to win that title. I know that David has made numerous WPT final tables and wanted to win one more than most people I've talked to in poker, but it wasn't meant to be last night. At the same time, it's difficult not to be happy for Dan - so respected in the poker community and so deserving of a WPT title.

I don't think I'll be returning to the Bike for the WPT Ladies Night event tonight, as I have a ton of work on my plate, and traffic to get over there is just a complete bitch. I don't think I have the energy for it, and my car is begging me not to do it. So, no more craziness from the Bike for the time being...

Have a great holiday weekend, everyone!