With plenty of action on the felt and away from the tables, the crème of the poker world’s Twitter accounts were buzzing about their activities. Poker News Daily has gleaned the best of these Tweets to let you know what is going on in many poker players’ lives.
On Friday, the poker community was gripped – much like the rest of the world – by the live statement from professional golfer Tiger Woods. After an auto accident on Thanksgiving, Woods disappeared for three months with no comments on the allegations of marital infidelity and any details on what happened on that night. Friday brought Woods’ 13 minute speech in which he earnestly apologized to many in the golf and business worlds; his act of contrition brought out comments from the poker community as to his sincerity.
Former FBI agent Joe Navarro, who has made tremendous inroads in the world of poker tells through his book with Phil Hellmuth called “Read ‘Em And Reap,” used his analytical skills in reading Woods’ body language during the speech. Navarro noted in his Tweet, “In re woods, yes he looked honest, contrite, pained, genuinely sorry. He just took too long. Should have done this weeks ago, bad advisers.” Poker pro Alex Outhred had a warning for those who backed away from Woods during this time, Tweeting, “In the golf world, there are those that had Tigers back through his ordeal, and those that didn’t. The latter are gonna get their comeuppins.” Poker2Nite’s Scott Huff brought a different look at the Woods apology when he Tweeted, “It would really be something if Tiger just came out and said, “f*** y’all.”
After the Woods press conference, attention of many poker players in the Twitterverse turned to what they do best – play poker. The L.A. Poker Classic opened the doors for the World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational and drew in 567 players, vastly outpacing last year’s 433 runners. The invitational drew in many participants from the music, movie, and television arenas and it seemed that the professional poker players in attendance were star struck by who they were playing against.
Prior to the start of the festivities on Saturday, Full Tilt Poker’s Mike Matusow indicated that he was ready for action when he Tweeted, “About to relax for a bit before I bust all these celebrity idiots in the invitational tonight.” Fellow Full Tilt pro Andy Bloch noted that he had a familiar adversary at the tables in his Tweet, saying “Playing WPT Inv with naked guy from Borat (actor Ken Davitian) who busted me at charity event at Hard Rock a few months ago.” Perhaps noted poker player/tournament director Linda Johnson was joking when she pointed out in her Tweet that she “(had) Shannon Elizabeth seated next to me. I’m probably the only one in the room who didn’t know who she was.:)”
Poker pro Yuval Bronshtein Tweeted, “Just jumped in the celeb tourney. Jenny McCarthy and Toto Leonidas at my table. Pretty fun last few days for me!” Matthew Glantz had two celebrities who he recognized by their characters on television, although he did not know their real names. Glantz opened his Tweet saying, “Dr Hunt from Grey’s Anatomy (actor Kevin McKidd) and Carlton Banks from Bel Air (actor Antonio Ribero) at the table now.”
As the play in the WPT Celebrity Invitational moved into action on Sunday, many of the top pros Tweeted about their departure from the event. Joe Reitman reported his demise by Tweeting, “Just got knocked out….clearly Teri Hatcher is a better player than me.” Perhaps poking some fun at his opponent’s television appearance, Jeff Madsen related through the Twitterscape, “Well, that was fast. All my chips belong to Tiffany Michelle now. She won an amazing race. Haha.” Michelle would drop out during play on Sunday also, Tweeting, “Out in 60th-ish of 500+ players. Ricki Lake called my all in with A7 & busted my AK. Nice. I deserve that when playing a CELEB tourney!” The final table of the WPT Celebrity Invitational will play out on March 3rd, with celebrity Trishelle Cannatella and Scandinavian poker legend Thor Hansen chasing chip leader Steve Elliott.
The top Tweets over the weekend were by female players this week. In a rarity from her, top poker player Kathy Liebert pointed out some of the idiosyncrasies in the online poker world when she Tweeted, “Who wouldn’t want a playboy model endorsing their site? Why are women chosen on sex appeal and men chosen on ability?” As she prepared to leave Las Vegas after her work on the PartyPoker Premier League IV was completed, Kara Scott happily tweeted, “After almost 2 weeks in killer heels/makeup for work, I’m off to the airport with hair scraped back and wearing my fuzzy slippers.”
The poker world continues to provide detailed reports of its activities through its Twitter posts. Poker News Daily not only continues to bring you the best of those thoughts, but is also involved in the Twitterverse. Be sure to add @pokernewsdaily for the latest on the world of poker in Twitter.
