One of the big stories over the weekend was the battle for the championship of The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Perhaps not surprisingly, many in poker were fixated on the battle that featured English golf pro Lee Westwood attempting to hold off fan favorite Phil Mickelson and the returning Tiger Woods.
“Playing tourneys today online at PokerStars,” Tweeted avid golfer Daniel Negreanu at the start of action on Sunday. “The Warm Up, the Million, Sunday 500, and the 2nd chance. Also going to watch Tiger at Masters!” While Negreanu being excited about the final round of one of golf’s four majors isn’t odd, it might surprise some people that two ladies were fans of the event. “Yep, I’m a dork – woke up this morning, giddy like it was Christmas Day because the Masters is on!,” Tiffany Michelle Tweeted prior to action on Sunday. Her “Amazing Race” teammate, Maria Ho, was also excited: “Rooting for Phil Mickelson in the Masters since my Dad is a lefty golfer.”
Poker players who were following Mickelson’s run at a third green jacket were numerous. “I still like Tiger but (wife) @MaryannPortugal does not….. weird,” Tweeted noted tournament director Matt Savage. Meanwhile, “Hollywood” Dave Stann chirped, “Rooting 4 Tiger 2 pwn Masters!” Other players had different favorites, however, with Grant Hinkle Tweeting, “Let’s go Anthony Kim please!,” and Phil Hellmuth actually putting his money where his mouth is: “I bet $500 on Westwood to win, pays $10,100; Poulter $500 win $17,675.”
Outside of the action on the immaculate grounds of the Augusta National Golf Club, poker was still the primary attraction for some players. Perhaps getting her game in shape for the upcoming World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship at the Bellagio, Betfair pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad stepped to the felt for one of the preliminary events of the Five Star World Poker Classic. The $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event that Obrestad was a part of only drew 39 players, leaving the former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champion battling for one of the five paying places.
After battling to a fourth place finish at the Bellagio, Obrestad tried her hand in the cash games at the Venetian: “Playing 10-20 at venetian. Down 2k. Learned a good lesson tho. Don’t bluff ppl with too much money.” Obrestad was able to make a comeback later in the evening, Tweeting, “Just won $7500 pot with 6c7c on 45833r board. Single raised pot lol. So now I’m like even on the day.”
As Obrestad worked the tables at the Venetian, Negreanu piped in with some advice: “First mistake: wasting time in Bellagio prelims. Second mistake: skilling NAPT Mohegan Sun tourneys. Wake up woman!” Obrestad took the advice with a smile, firing back at Negreanu, “I want a Rolex, and I like Vegas… Not all about the money for me.”
Poker players were on the road for much of the last week and none of it seemed related to poker. Rather than grind away on the tournament circuit or their local cash games, some players chose to have their families around them as they visited different areas of North America. Most notable of these travelers were Doyle Brunson and Annie Duke.
Brunson rounded up several members of his clan for a visit back to Texas. Upon his return on Sunday night, Brunson Tweeted, “Back from Texas. Good trip but my bro-in-law isn’t doing very well. (Daughter) @PamelaBrunson and (daughter-in-law) @AnjelaBrunson were with me. Great gals, I’m lucky.” Pamela seemed to enjoy the trip as much as her father, saying “Home, Home on the Range! I’m home from Texas! I had an awesome time at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. Dad, Anjela, and I were there visiting. It was soooo much fun! I have the best family ever!!! I’m truly blessed!”
Duke was traveling through Mexico with her significant other, Joe Reitman, and her children. “Back from Oaxaca,” Duke Tweeted upon her return to Los Angeles on Sunday. “Brought my laptop down there. Never turned it on. That’s the sign of a good vacation.” Reitman, however, had some issues with his enjoyment of the chocolate that is made in Oaxaca. “I’m told I’m not allowed to bring open chocolate boxes 2 the USA from Mexico,” Joe Tweeted prior to their return. “U folks have no idea how much chocolate I’ll be eating in the AM.”
Prior to the family’s return, Reitman went on a tear, eating all of the chocolate so it wouldn’t go to waste: “I scarfed down as much chocolate as I could before customs & had a ring of chocolate around my mouth.” However, he finished, “They didn’t even look in my bags.”
Finishing up the week were two noteworthy Tweets. While watching the Masters, poker professional Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin observed in his Tweet, “Tee box mics are great. Tiger dropped a Jesus Christ. Also, Anthony Kim has a cowboy sized sparkley belt buckle with his initials on it.” On another front, the always entertaining Erik Seidel watched the news about a young Russian boy being expelled from the U.S. with a thought provoking Tweet, “Boy returned to Russia bcuz he had severe psychopathic issues/behavior. Could we put Glenn Beck on an Aeroflot flight?”
While the world of poker on the tables is a source of entertainment, the players go beyond just their games with their Tweets. Poker News Daily follows these players and picks out the best for your enjoyment. We also add to the traffic on Twitter with the latest news in the industry, so be sure to add @pokernewsdaily to follow us on Twitter.
