Bird on the Rail
ANOTHER COUPLE IN THE MAKING ON TEAM POKERSTARS PRO?
While soon-to-be married couple Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown walked down the red carpet at PokerStars’ burlesque-themed, Dita von Teese-hosted WSOP party at the Palms’ Rain nightclub, the rest of the room was buzzing about the antics of two of the Team’s other pros – Isabelle Mercier and Dario Minieri – who were engaged in a makeout session to rival the train car scene in Risky Business. Stationed dead center at the front of the bar, the two went at it for nearly thirty minutes (stopping a few times for amber-colored shots) while the jaws of a thousand party-goers dropped behind them. As they continued to lock lips, a number of guests began snapping cell phone photos of the duo, at times including themselves in the pictures while giving a thumbs-up sign. Who needed Dita von Teese when Isabelle and Dario stole the show?
PHIL LAAK PLAYS THE WSOP MAIN EVENT IN DISGUISE
In a stunning move that completely fooled his opponents, as well as most of the poker media, Phil Laak arrived for play on Day 1D of the WSOP Main Event wearing an elaborate disguise that completely concealed his appearance. Laak was scheduled to begin his day at Blue Table #33, Seat 8, but no one bearing even a close resemblance to the widely-recognized poker star was seated there all day. Toward the end of the day, reports began circulating online that Laak had in some way altered his appearance for play, and the players at Blue #33 were approached and asked about the man in Seat 8. All of them concurred that an old man with a moustache and a scar on his face who hardly said a word was the one who played in that seat, not Laak. They did recall, however that upon being asked to present a photo I.D. at the of the tournament, the man claimed not to have one on him, and walked away from the table with a floorperson. After a brief discussion the two returned to the table and the oorperson declared that he okay to play. Further sleuthing led to the discovery of Laak’s seat card in the dealer’s well, confirming that the Unabomber had indeed pulled a fast one on nearly everyone in the Amazon Room that day. Laak later confirmed in interviews that he’d hired a makeup artist to transform him into an older man with a cowboy vibe. He looked at it as a social experiment and marveled at what he could do with a completely different table image. Many, however, were angered with his antics, and questioned whether such a practice should be allowed. Tune in next summer to see if there’s a new rule prohibiting the use of latex masks!
MICHELLE AND POKERNEWS IN A “TIFF” OVER LOGOS
PokerNews’ on-camera interviewer Tiffany Michelle played in the WSOP Main Event and surprised everyone by making the money and then amassing a huge stack on Days 4 and 5 of poker’s premiere event. For a young, articulate, and attractive girl like Michelle, this of course meant quite the bidding war in terms of who would represent her and which logos she would wear under the gaze of ESPN’s cameras. Michelle elected to have her friend, fl edgling poker agent Katie Lindsay, represent her in the logo wars. Lindsay got Michelle a deal with UltimateBet, a brand endorsed by their mutual friend Annie Duke as well as Michelle’s boyfriend, professional blackjack player “Hollywood” Dave Stann. Unfortunately for Michelle and her camp, this deal went down the very day that the UltimateBet cheating scandal blew wide open with the revelation that one of the superuser accounts was registered to an address belonging to UB principal Russ Hamilton. One of Michelle’s backers, PokerNews owner Tony G, grew angered that he was not consulted on these decisions, as he would have preferred Michelle to enter into the potentially million-dollar plus sponsorship agreement he had negotiated for her in the meantime with PokerStars. Michelle elected to remain with UB and wore their logo (along with the PokerNews logo she was contracted to wear per her backing agreement) to play on what would be her fi nal day in the Main Event. She fi nished in 17th place, earning over $334,000, but that achievement was sadly dampened by a war of accusatory press releases from both camps in the following days. Now that Michelle’s future with the UB brand is locked up with her recent signing it’s probably fair to say that she won’t be stepping in front of the camera for PokerNews again anytime soon.
WHO’S GOT SPONSORSHIP NOW?
Diego Cordovez is the latest player to join Full Tilt Poker’s stable of pros. Primarily a cash game player, Cordovez has a WSOP bracelet in No Limit Hold’em from 2000 and fi nished runner-up to Phil Ivey in the 2002 $2,000 S.H.O.E. event. Over at PokerStars, Brazilian phenom Alexandre Gomes is the newest Team Pro, fresh from besting over 2,300 runners in the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP where he became the fi rst Brazilian to ever win a bracelet. Leaving sponsorship behind this month was Eric “Rizen” Lynch, who pulled out of his deal at UltimateBet less than a month after signing on. While Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy elected to remain with the site, Lynch cited the upcoming 60 Minutes story on the UB and Absolute Poker cheating scandals as one of the primary reasons he elected to leave.
INTRODUCING SWANK POKER
“Poker and sex – is there anything better to do?” ask the creators of Swank- Poker.com, a new online poker site that blends the traditional online card room experience with an atmosphere akin to Penthouse Letters. For their upcoming Grand Opening, Swank Poker is awarding a “weekend full of sex and poker,” including live poker, full body massages, and trips to gentlemen’s clubs. Go to www.swankpoker.com for more details.
SURPRISE! ONE OF THE “NOVEMBER NINE” IN LEGAL TROUBLE
Only one day after he made the fi nal table of the 2008 WSOP Main Event, David “Chino” Rheem was confronted with the news that there was an active warrant out for his arrest. The Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Rheem had a number of convictions on his record in Broward County, including “dealing in stolen property and burglary… as well as larceny and possession of marijuana.” These convictions came over eight years ago, and Rheem was sentenced to four months in prison and 30 months probation. However, a warrant remains out for his arrest in Florida, stemming from a missed court appearance on a 2003 misdemeanor trespassing charge. Rheem did not immediately comment on the story, though on PokerRoad Radio, host Joe Sebok revealed that he had run into Rheem since the news broke and that Rheem assured him that his legal troubles would all be resolved shortly by his lawyers.
