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Beware of idle talk, because walls have ears, especially
when the Bird on the Rail’s in town. Here’s
all the best babble from the poker world…
Dropping the F Bomb:
While I’m all for penalizing players for poor
behavior and sportsmanship, as it stands, the ‘f
bomb’ penalty does little for me. In the end,
zero tolerance has zero meaning. During the WSOP, zero
tolerance of the word, and not the usage or intent,
was almost Monty Pythonesque. If it slipped out of your
mouth, like the wrong answer on the Bridge of Death,
you were whisked away.
Jen Creason, Andy Bloch’s fianceé and
empress of decorum, sighed an ‘f’ when she
got it all-in with the worst of it in the late going
of the Razz tournament. She prevailed on seventh-street
only to do time in the box. Anna Benson proved that
it was the ‘f’ and only the ‘f’
when she tested out every other naughty word she could
think of (and she has a well developed vocabulary).
I met a man in the hallway doing hard time. He said,
“I can’t believe they gave me an f-ing penalty
for saying the f-ing f-word. I mean what the f?”
This man wasn’t abusive; he had a speech impediment...
lol.
And as we also saw, ten-minute penalties are not created
equal. At the first level, it’s almost meaningless.
Matusow racked up forty minutes of penalties at the
start of the Main Event and still made the final table.
But later in a tournament, it can be a death knoll.
Heads-up in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha event, chip
leader Rafi Amit apparently let one slip and had to
sit out ten minutes. Although he eventually triumphed,
the penalty cost him more than 200K of his stack at
a crucial moment. Do we want the word to dictate the
winner? Should it be a bracelet losing offense?
I realize rules are rules. But maybe we could find
one with a little more meaning.
The Sassy Factor:
The WSOP was forty-five days long. Many events were
multiple-day affairs, lasting twelve plus hours each
day. Stamina and clarity of mind mattered. With record
fields and crowded restaurants, many players missed
meals or settled for overpriced fast food. But some
of the pros planned ahead. They had a secret weapon
and it was sassy… or more accurately, she was
Sassy. Sassy Fioriglio is a chef who specializes in
macrobiotic cooking. And every day she brought in deliciously
healthy meals (or ‘Sassy Snacks’ as the
WSOP tournament staff started calling them) to her charges.
And how did her bevy of players do? Seidel cashed in
five WSOP events, four of them final tables, and snagged
his sixth WSOP bracelet. Cyndy Violette also cashed
in five WSOP events, making three final tables, and
just missing a bracelet by coming in second to Seidel.
John Juanda cashed in six WSOP events, including a $274,000
payday in the Main Event. It’s definitely food
for thought. Savvy and healthy players will keep an
eye open for Sassy’s pending cookbook and planned
Vegas café.
Shana Goes to the Dogs:
When Shana Hiatt left the World Poker Tour, rumors had
her pursuing an acting career. Well the rumors hit their
mark, as Shana scored a bit part in the new movie Must
Love Dogs. The comedy, starring John Cusack, is about
love found through the personal ads, someplace I’m
guessing Shana never had to tap for admirers.
Ooops. Over and Out
I want to clarify something. In the June/July issue
of Bluff, I mentioned that internet phenom Jennifer
‘Jennicide’ Leigh was dating John D’Agostino.
Well, this little liaison with John didn’t last
long. In fact, I bet the ink was still wet on the issue
before it was terminado. John quickly moved on, and
I was pleased to learn he has found the real deal. John
is currently seeing a great gal, who is a pretty fine
poker player in her own right. This appears to be a
relationship built on friendship and mutual respect,
which sounds a bit more substantial than a relationship
built on the ether of the internet. I won’t even
give the new girlfriend’s name, because she is
not into the whole ‘15 minutes of fame’
gig. And all I have to say is ‘how refreshing’.
Wisdom of the Ages:
And speaking of ‘15 minutes of fame’, it
looks like Jennicide lobbied for extra time. In GSN’s
Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages special, she will be
joined by Michael Gracz, Kasey Thompson, Evelyn Ng,
Erin Ness and Dutch Boyd in an effort to take on the
older generation. It looks like the ‘youngsters’
will have their work cut out for them, as they will
battle TJ Cloutier, Gabe Kaplan, Dan Harrington, Barbara
Enright, Maureen Feduniak, and Wendeen Eolis. And yes,
the affable Robert Williamson III will be the color
commentator.
Poker Pileup at GSN:
Apparently Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth are also piling
on the GSN bandwagon. Annie is selfproducing a pilot
called ‘Annie Duke Takes on the World’,
where four amateurs vie for an opportunity to play her
heads up while she taunts them. And Phil Hellmuth is
working with producer R.J. Culter to create a series
that teaches beginner’s poker skills.
Ungar Resurrected:
If you were disappointed with A.W. Vidmer’s virgin
film effort, ‘High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story’,
you may be pleased to learn that the poker legend may
be getting a second chance, on celluloid
at least. According to Variety, Warner Bros. has acquired
the film rights to the book, One of a Kind: The Rise
and Fall of Stuey ‘The Kid’Ungar, brilliantly
written by Nolan Dalla and Peter Alson. It’s reported
that Graham King will produce the project. King who
recently produced The Aviator saw a parallel between
Howard Hughes and Stu Ungar that intrigued him: the
uneasy coexistence of dysfunction and genius.
Ungar’s Legacy:
I was fortunate to meet Stu Ungar’s charming (and
poised beyond her years) daughter Stefanie
during an art show and book signing in Las Vegas’
developing Art District. In the Bluff interview
with her mom (see page 62) she confessed that she is
very much her father’s daughter. On the paternal
genetic inheritance front, she said the greatest gift
she received was her father’s uncanny ability
to read people. And although poker is not in her future,
apparently this skill will not go to waste. Stefanie
will be heading off to college to channel her talents
into a degree in Psychology. I commend her for the constructive
path she’s chosen and wish her the very best.
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