This week’s episode of the UB.com sponsored poker news program “Poker2Nite” featured Prahlad Friedman breaking Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash’s free throw record. “Poker2Nite” airs on Wednesdays on Versus at 11:00pm ET.
The episode began with a recap of Carlos Mortensen’s victory in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Hollywood Poker Open. The win gave him a record-tying three WPT titles and pushed him to the top of the WPT’s all-time money leader list. Nevertheless, Mortensen, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ, has maintained a low profile in the industry. “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok explained, “We’re talking about Carlos Mortensen, a guy who has taken down a WSOP Main Event title, he won three WPT titles, and someone who averages $100,000 for every WPT event he enters. This guy is incredibly impressive.”
Attention then turned to the European Poker Tour (EPT) Snowfest event in Austria. A total of 546 players turned out, with Allan Baekke defeating Russell “rdcrsn” Carson when the smoke cleared. On whether enough money exists in the poker economy to support the barrage of tours that circle the globe, Sebok assessed, “The money is there. The money is going to continue to be there. Our game continues to grow across the world. It’s here to stay.”
PartyPoker pro Tony G joined “Poker2Nite” via Skype to discuss the identity of Isildur1. Although no name was tossed out, the veteran admitted that Isildur1 is under 21 years of age: “I’ll confirm that he’s under 21 and he’s from Sweden.” Tony G also gave his take on whether Isildur1 is really Viktor “Blom30” Blom, as many in the industry have speculated: “First, I guessed it was him. That was a guess. Once I found out who it is, I couldn’t talk about it anymore because I promised that person.” A variety of April Fools Day articles have popped up claiming Isildur1 to be Mats Sundin and Niklas Power.
The now-weekly P2N Online segment, hosted by Dana Workman, featured a video blog posted by Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh in which she announced her comeback to poker. The diva is barely clothed in the video, fitting given her past appearances in FHM and Playboy. Also shown was Jeff Madsen’s take on al-Qaeda. The dual bracelet winner claimed that the term referred to a database of terrorist names, not an actual group.
Friedman won the WPT Legends of Poker last August for over $1 million and has cashed in two other events on the roving tournament series since then. On his success, Friedman told “Poker2Nite” hosts Sebok and Scott Huff, “I’ve changed my style a little bit over the years because I’ve had a reputation for being pretty wild.” Friedman owns one WSOP bracelet, which he earned in 2003. He hasn’t been back to a final table at the WSOP since.
After throwing down a short rap that poked fun at Madsen with the memorable lines “He ain’t a dope emcee” and “You look younger than my grandson,” Friedman took to the basketball courts to break Nash’s record of 21 free throws in one minute using one ball and one rebounder. What seemed like an insurmountable task was anything but for Friedman, who sank his first 15 attempts and 23 overall during the course of one minute. Moreover, he missed just one shot. His pace was good for one made free throw every 2.6 seconds.
Catch next week’s installment of the UB.com poker news show “Poker2Nite” on Wednesday at 11:00pm ET on Versus.
