Jennifer Newell

Lots of little tidbits to pass on from Day 1A of the Legends main event at the Bike...

First, there is a bit of tension between various media outlets. Though most of us get along, there is a definite line drawn between the Card Player/WPT teams and everyone else. Card Player and WPT media members are seated in or just outside the tournament room with obvious access to everything going on. People from PokerWire, PokerPages, PocketFives, and PokerListings are set up in the sushi bar down the hall. When those reporters want to get into the tournament room, they need permission. While the PR representatives are being very accommodating and attentive to everyone now, it remains to be seen how things will look when there are only a few tables left.

I was there as a writer for Poker Pro Media, as was Katie Lindsay. We were given quite open access, though we only walked through the room a handful of times, then stayed in the hallway until players went on break. But we were only trying to obtain interviews, not blog about the tournament. I really felt for those trying to do tournament updates.

PokerWire was hit especially hard with this situation. About an hour into the tournament, they posted a letter on the front page of their website announcing that they are dismantling the team. They will post a little information from the Legends event, as Heather, Jeremiah, and a few others are already there, but the media restrictions imposed by the WPT and WSOP have severely limited their ability to report on major tournaments, so they were left with little choice. This is sad but illustrates that deals made by WSOP with Bluff and WPT with Card Player cost people jobs in this industry. It's becoming glaringly clear who really cares about the game and who is in it for the money. Enough said.

Second, there was an all-star cast of pro players in today's field, but the total of entrants was only 219. There are more expected tomorrow, but it was an obvious disappointment to the WPT employees registering the players. By 1:30, there were less than 150 players a half hour before start time, and they were a little anxious. I'm sure they were pleased to have 219 when all was said and done.

Within the first few hours, a number of well-known players were already leaving Bell Gardens, California with tails between legs - Jeff Madsen, Vanessa Rousso, Kathy Liebert, Max Pescatori, and Billy Baxter. Many names still remain, though...

I chatted a little with Dutch Boyd before the tournament. He hasn't played anywhere since the WSOP - no cash games, no online tournaments, nothing. He's just been chillin' in Missouri with his family but felt very strongly that he could do well here. His personality these days is such a stark contrast to that of previous years; he's so pleasant to talk to and so focused on the task at hand. I hope things pan out for him in the long run.

Eskimo Clark was wandering the halls at the Bike before the start of the event. Reportedly, yesterday, he was asking everyone - even some media folks - if they would buy him into a satellite. He looked a little lost today, obviously not playing the main event, but he wasn't having seizures and looked relatively healthy.

Vinnie Vinh didn't show up to play today, but David "Dragon" Pham insists he will be playing tomorrow in Day 1B.

Frankie O'Dell agreed to do an interview with me in the coming days but angrily shooed away Card Player reporters requesting interviews. Card Player is unaware of anything they might have done to annoy him, but he told them in no uncertain terms that he was angry with them. Hmmm.

Irv Gotti is in the crowd. Who dat? He's one of the most important and influential producers in hip-hop music; he started the record label Murder Inc. (now called The Inc.), he launched the careers of such stars as Ja Rule and Ashanti, and he has worked with artists like Nelly, DMX, and so many others. Of course, I've been a hip-hop fan since the Sugarhill Gang started rapping, so I was the only one who recognized him. I chatted with him at the first break, and evidently, he's buddies with Amnon Filippi. When he's in L.A., they hang, and he decided to play this tournament today. He played the main event of the WSOP this year and made it to the second day, so he has some skills. I told him that hip-hop needs to represent more in poker, and he's going to try to make the final table to do that. We'll see! I'm rooting for Irv...

Okay, that's all for now. I'll be heading back to the Bike tomorrow for Day 1B, so hopefully, I'll have more interesting things to blog about then.

I just returned from a day at the Bicycle Casino here in L.A. where two events took place today.

The media tournament is an annual event in which members of the media as well as past Legends winners. Obviously, I played as a member of the media. I did relatively well at my first table, grabbing a few pots when the opportunities arose. Then, I got moved to another table. This was unfortunate. I wasn't getting many playable cards, and I had a guy to my left who came over the top of me every time I attempted a move. Finally, with blinds at 100/200, I looked down at pocket 7's. With no bets in front of me, I moved all-in for my last 700. No callers allowed me to chip up a bit. The very next hand, the only person betting before me was Barbara Enright who made it 400 to go. I had a very pretty K-Q of spades, and I reraised all-in. Everyone else folded, and she called. With what? Pocket Aces. Of course. The flop gave her another Ace, and just to twist the knife a little, the turn brought one more, and I was beat by Barbara's quad Aces. Can't argue with those cards!

I watched bits and pieces of the remainder of the event. Big names like Miami John Cernuto, Joe Pelton, Dennis Waterman, and Scott Clements - to name a few - were eliminated, as was Barbara Enright when someone else's pocket Aces came back to bite her. Sorry, B, you didn't deserve that! In the end, the last pro standing was James Hoeppner who won a seat into the $10k buy-in Legends main event that begins on Saturday. The last two players were members of the media - Kasey Thompson who owns All In magazine finally beat Brian Hepinstall of PokerPages to win the $2500 cash prize and $2500 donated to the Lakers youth charity. Kasey ended up giving $500 to Brian then donating the other $2000 to his own personal charity. Nice work, guys!

The Jerry Buss/Frank Mariani Charity Poker Open began at 5:30 with a cocktail and buffet reception, which was just yummy all the way around. Several ex-Lakers showed up to sign autographs and support the cause, and a number of pros joined the crowd, i.e. Amir Vahedi, Marsha Waggoner, Jared Hamby, Men the Master, and David "Dragon" Pham. The turnout was great with 155 players ponying up the $1000 to enter the tournament that started at 7pm. I left before it was over, but Marsha Waggoner was one of the chip leaders when I departed. Go Marsha!

An interesting note: One of the players at the Buss/Mariani event was... wait for it... Vinnie Vinh. He was sitting in his chair and everything. I chatted with him, and after comments from him like, "You're pretty," I may have secured an interview with him for the weekend. I've got his phone number, so we'll see how far that gets me. C'mon, Vinnie, talk to me!

I was glad to have met some new people today, enjoyed a long conversation with Katie Lindsay, had lots of drinky/chatty time with Miri, and enjoyed the buffet with Miami John, Dennis Waterman, Tuna Lund, and Kasey Thompson. After the second drink from the open bar, I think I winked and pointed at Johnny Chan - only embarrassing moment of the evening, but he just laughed. Ahhh, good times.

I'll be down at the Legends main event for Day 1A and 1B this weekend, so I'll blog about what I see/hear/smell when I return to my trusty computer each night.

As was the case last Monday, I have no one topic in particular for this week's blog, so you're going to get a mish mash (I'm sure that's proper English) of topics here.

The Legends of Poker is still going on here in L.A. at the Bicycle Casino. The WPT main event will begin this Saturday the 25th. Lots of pros are already here in town trying to gobble up the L.A. fish in the cash games, and the main event always attracts a good crowd. The problem this year will be getting media reports. As many of you know, and as Gary discussed with Lance from PokerBiz on last week's show on Rounders Radio, the WPT has declared Card Player the official provider of live updates for WPT tournaments. What this means is that no other media outlet is allowed to be there for chip counts, on-the-spot interviews, hand analysis, or final table coverage. I've been told that I'll be able to get inside the ropes for a short period of time every once in awhile (ahhh, WSOP memories flooding back), but I'll basically be relegated to the rail. WPT isn't even handing out official media badges anymore, except to themselves and Card Player. While it's true that I'm only going to be there to get the gist of things and write a tournament report for a magazine after it's all said and done, I truly feel for the crews of PokerWire, PocketFives, PokerListings, and the other media who depend on tournament reporting for income. I'll be curious to see who shows up to cover it from the rail.

Dan from Pokerati and others have made a good point about this situation. When Card Player posts their live updates on the internet, they are being given to the public as fact. Is it not true that the rest of us reporters can sit in our living rooms, hit refresh on the screen, take notes from what is posted, and write our own reports based on the facts? Do we even need to give credit to Card Player for the information? It's an interesting debate and one that is sure to ruffle the feathers of WPT officials during Legends. I'm going to be making a few trips down to the Bike since it's here in L.A., so I'll have more to report as soon as things get going on Saturday. Should be interesting!

In other Legends news, the ladies event just wrapped up last night. They only had 125 entries, probably because they raised the price of the tournament from $125 to $1,000. Pam Brunson emerged as the winner, taking home a nice bit of change ($34,435), a seat into the $10k main event, and a spot at the WPT Ladies Night final table to be held on August 31st. Congrats, Pam!

Something else to mention is the new season of High Stakes Poker set to premier on GSN next Monday the 27th. There will be 17 episodes (the most of any season thus far) airing every Monday night at 9pm EST/8pm CST. Set those TIVO's and DVR's. Personally, I have to call my cable company and see how outrageous the price will be to add GSN to my cable lineup. If it's too much, I may be coming to your house to watch it. Please answer the phone when I call.

Enough for today. Have a good week, everyone!