It’s 11:08am at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The gates to the spacious Penn and Teller Theater open, admitting a throng of screaming fans. The Rio is bustling, as the nine remaining World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event participants play down to two.
Among the first in the lobby were Steve Begleiter and Jeff Shulman, the latter escorted through the melee by WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla. Meanwhile, supporters of Michigan poker player Joe Cada have donned neon yellow shirts and hats, which will surely create a memorable scene for fans and media in the audience alike. Cada’s agent told Poker News Daily that 150 friends and family are expected, while Eric Buchman will see 100 troops rally around him this afternoon.
Rock memorabilia lines the hallway of the Rio from its casino to the theater and, among those chatting with fans is ESPN announcer Lon McEachern, who will flank Norman Chad on an elevated platform set up to the right of the stage. Media inside are seated on couches with tables usually reserved for VIP guests of Penn and Teller and other acts inside the auditorium and two massive television screens relay the action from the green felt. ESPN “Inside Deal” hosts Bernard Lee and Laura Lane are also perusing the crowd, the latter taking a bundle of pictures on her iPhone.
The Poker Players Alliance’s (PPA) Bryan Spadaro is armed with patches for the one million member strong lobbying organization, soliciting each player to wear one during the broadcast, which will officially air on Tuesday night on ESPN. Cada, Kevin Schaffel, and Buchman are confirmed to be wearing them, while James Akenhead, a Brit, also walked away from Spadaro with one in his hand. The PPA is holding a function at 2:00pm down the hallway to spread goodwill about Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) internet gambling legislation.
Upon arrival, Cada had online poker star Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy in tow, as ESPN cameras roved the hallway catching any memorable moments, including a group shot of Cada’s supporters. We headed to the front of the general admittance line, which stretches from the Penn and Teller Theater towards the Amazon Room, where Jack Watkins from Bozeman, Montana was the first to be found. He arrived at 6:00am and was quickly approached by Antoine Saout supporters, who offered him guaranteed tickets for the start of play in exchange for wearing shirts and hats touting the French poker player. Watkins and company happily obliged.
In the yellow wristband line, which was for friends and family, was David Prochik, who hails from Orlando, Florida. One of the fans supporting Cada, Prochik told Poker News Daily, “He’s a good online player. He’s good friends with my friend, Brad, and I hope he wins.” Across the hallway, Ylon Schwartz is seated at the Rio’s Starbucks in a scene reminiscent of his experience in 2008 as a member of the November Nine.
Poker pro David Singer will be rooting on Phil Ivey this afternoon. On his show of support, Singer explained, “I’ve been friends with him for a long time and he’s a good guy. I’d like to see him win; he deserves it.” Ivey holds the seventh largest chip stack entering play today and despite being on the short stack, Singer was confident: “If anyone will know what to do in that situation, Ivey will know what to do. He’s the best player at the table and I have a lot of faith in him.” If Ivey failed to emerge victorious on Monday night when play concludes, Singer commented that he’d pull for Jeff Shulman.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table.
Good luck trying to get support for Congressman Frank’s legisation! The setup in the US is just so hypocritical.
On the other side of the Atlantic, right2bet – http://www.right2bet.net – is trying to emulate the success of the PPA by lobbying for freedom of choice for EU users of online gambling. You can sign their petition to help break down the unfair gambling laws that restrict choice and competition in Europe by visiting their website. EU governments are very eager to cream off the profits from state-controlled gambling enterprises but still want to be seen as taking a tough line in “regulating” the industry (read: unfairly discriminating against). This base hypocrisy can’t go on!
Darvin Moon is not a world class poker representative, never mind a personal representative for life. The guy is a typical hermit who want to be left alone after the WSOP is over to chop lots of wood. He keeps claiming he doesn’t know this and he doesn’t know that….that he is a good ol country boy….please….if it wasn’t for luck, that idiot would been back chopping wood on day 1. Guys who share the Gold mentality and all the other flash in the pan borderline trainable make poker a sport of luck, not skill. That’s why it will never be legal online. These guys prove poker is luck and not a skill of the mind
TV coverage of the Final Table is an absolute disgrace!!!! This prestigious event has been reduced to third rate coverage by a fifth rate medium, namely ESPN!!