During the dinner break of Monday’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Champions Invitational, poker legends Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim squared off armed with scooters in the halls of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
Rumors had been swirling around the Rio during the day that Slim, who is making his return to the WSOP this year, had been testing scooters the night before. However, industry insiders knew that while Brunson’s scooter was allegedly faster, “Texas Dolly” also weighed more than Slim, which might slow him down. Therefore, a $20,000 bet surfaced between the two poker gods to determine who could navigate through the halls of the Rio in the shortest amount of time. WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla told Poker News Daily how the bet originated: “Slim and Brunson were joking around about how fast their scooters were. Slim’s agent was standing there and asked if I could pitch a scooter race to ESPN.”
The cable network took the bait and the Great Scooter Race of 2009 was on. The festivities occurred during the dinner break of the final day of play in the WSOP Champions Invitational, which featured Brunson finishing in eighth place. Brunson, of course, won the 1976 and 1977 Main Events to stamp his entry into the tournament, which is one of four that will air on ESPN this year.
A long hallway that runs from the main entrance to PokerPalooza (formerly the Gaming Life Expo) to the Amazon Room was roped off for the event. PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Rich Ryan, who was in the media room at the time, told Poker News Daily, “There was definitely a buzz, especially in the media room. The race had been a rumor for the whole day and Amarillo was apparently testing out scooters the night before. Someone saw a Rio staff member carrying cones and people fled to see the action unfold.”
Each contestant ran separately, with Slim going first and recording a time of 50 seconds. Dalla estimated that the length of the course was about the same as two football fields. Slim motored down the hallway, lapped around the cones, and then circled back in just under one minute. Brunson then went and logged a time of 55 seconds. On his way back up the course, the face of online poker site Doyle’s Room took his hat off for the crowd, which went wild. Dalla explained, “Slim won the bet, but Doyle was furious because he was carrying an extra 100 pounds.”
Brunson is tied with Johnny Chan for the second most number of bracelets in WSOP history with 10. Both trail Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth, who owns 11. Slim won the 1972 Main Event, defeating an eight-man field and winning $80,000. Heads-up, he defeated Bill Boyd for one of his four bracelets. According to a press release distributed last week, Slim has won $300,000 from Willie Nelson in Dominos and defeated Minnesota Fats at pool using only a broom. He’s competed on the poker felts with everyone from drug lords to Presidents and even witnessed Larry Flint drop nearly $2 million in one sitting.
In other news, the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special will play down to a winner today. Dalla estimated that a champion will likely be crowned around 3:00am or 4:00am after 50 players began the day. The WSOP Media Guide stated that play would end on Wednesday. However, Dalla explained that the guide is incorrect and Tournament Director Jack Effel feels play can conclude tonight. He remarked, “If there were more than 70 or 80 players remaining, we could go to the next day, but Jack Effel thinks it’s doable today.”
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest nuggets from the 2009 WSOP.
