2 Years and Counting...
It’s been two years since we ran our fi rst column in BLUFF Magazine.
We were ambitious young Entities back then. We thought, “Yeah, writing two pages each and every month while running our various other businesses should be no problem, no problem at all."
We’ve since gotten more sensible, turning in a manageable one-pager a few weeks late every month. But looking back at our fi rst article two years ago (October 2006, with “The Mysterious Gus Hansen” on the cover), it looks like we were right about everything else.
Here’s what we talked about, and what has and hasn’t changed:
Poker as a cultural force – Maybe the trendiness of poker has died down some, but it still remains a cultural powerhouse. For the most part, ratings are still solid for poker on TV. Ben Affleck still plays poker (in fact, he just won a charity event at the Democratic National Convention). Hotter and hotter chicks are playing poker (see: Michelle, Tiffany; Ho, Maria; Jones, Lacey; Lindley, Christina). And the use of poker metaphors in the political arena is at an all-time high. Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu went to a Barack Obama fundraiser and the potential future President of the United even recognized the guys. Of course, Obama is a poker player himself, as were some of our greatest Presidents of all time. Like Richard Nixon. And Warren G. Harding. Wait, hmm. Maybe John McCain – who is so old he could’ve gone to grammar school with Doyle Brunson – isn’t that bad a pick after all.
Poker journalism isn’t about hand recounts and strategy – Well, unless you like reading Card Player, that is. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
. Facts are things that just get in the way . Who cares about the truth? We sure as hell donft. On that note, wefll be right back. Gotta go continue our orgy with Joanna Krupa and the Victoriafs Secret lingerie models.
. Jamie Gold was better for poker than Raymer and Hachem . Say what you will about Jamie Gold (and Lord knows, wefve said plenty), but we still contend that the 2006 WSOP champ was better overall for poker than the two preceding Main Event winners. Gold got people talking. He got people debating. He riled emotion. He made good TV. While Greg Raymer and gSaltyh Joe Hachem probably turned out to be better overall ambassadors for the game, wefre hoping that the November Nine. champion is a little more interesting (like Gold) and a little less vanilla than Jerry Yang.
. Jamie Goldfs PR team screwed him over . One of our favorite lines of all time was that Jamie Goldfs PR team was like ga monkey ffing a football.h Wow, did they suck. Had they done a better job of shaping Goldfs image, who knows how the masses wouldfve viewed Jamie today, although it would be hard to argue the answer wouldnft be gbetter.h
Bob Stupak running for Nevada Lieutenant Governor was a sign of the apocalypse – We have no idea if Stupak ever even made it onto the ballot, but the whole “sign of the apocalypse” gimmick is one thing we’ve been wrong about repeatedly. When Annette Obrestad, a woman, won the WSOP Europe Main Event, the world didn’t end. When Robert Varkonyi cashed at the 2007 WSOP Main Event, the world didn’t end. Maybe the Earth is a slightly more resilient place than we’re giving it credit for. Or maybe the Earth is just lulling us into a false sense of security. The only way we’ll know for sure now is if Jerry Yang wins another WSOP Main Event.
Angelina Jolie is a role model – Two years ago, reports abounded that Jolie let Brad Pitt run off and play poker with his Ocean’s Thirteen castmates, giving him a break from daddy duty. Cool chick. Since then, she’s popped out two more kids and is still one of the most smoking hot women on the planet. It’s almost like she’s not human. She’s defi nitely not like 99% of the women we’ve met (save our current/fi rst wives, of course). Most girls we know are more like…
Anna Benson – We closed our fi rst article two years ago talking about the people who most hated Wicked Chops Poker, and Anna Benson topped that list. We were going to challenge her to a heads-up poker match, but we kind of forgot to and then she dropped off the poker landscape. Anna, where’d you go? Poker needs more trashy, hot loudmouths like you. You were like an attractive female version of Mike Matusow. Actually, that doesn’t sound very hot at all.
And with that, it’s two years in the books. Hope the next two are just as fun.
