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We followed David’s exploits at the 2008 World Series of Poker with the following reports from David. |
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UPDATE: As of July 1, 2008, David Spencer had won $17,400 in satellite tournaments. He will be donating all of these proceeds to ovarian cancer research. GO ORANGE HAT!!! |
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David writes:
Well I survived Day One at the World Series of Poker Main Event!
And what a day – my Day Two is tomorrow, and if it is anything like Day one I am not long for the poker tourney.
Check this out - Murderer’s Row!!!!
So if you haven’t been to the WSOP Main Event you have to do it – it is part circus, part poker tournament, and part simply amazing.
My Day One was the fourth and I played it July 6th. That’s right, the fourth Day One, and the largest. There are that many people in this tournament (I heard the total is over 8600). Just over three thousand people showed up on my day, all clamoring to get to their tables and get down to business, all right at noon. (Remember – each of them paid $10,000 for this).
So the prize pool is over $66 Million, paying 666 (ominous number) and first prize gets over $9 Million!!!
Anyway, I fight through the crowd and sit down about three minutes early and am the third at my table. A young guy sits down to my immediate left (you poker junkies will know how important the person to your immediate left is) and says “hey, how it going”. So I say “actually I’m really nervous” and he says “Don’t sweat it – you’ll be fine. Have some fun!”
Which I think is really nice.
Except as I’m thinking this, he settles in, opens a brand new copy of ALL IN magazine, and promptly announces “Hey look! I’m in the magazine!”
And sure enough there is a big feature on him. His name is Zach Hyman, and per the article he has won over $250,000 this year and is quote “one of the hottest pros on the circuit today”.
Egad!!! Definitely NOT who you want immediately to your left. So I am already puckering up like a prune -but it gets worse.
And then worse some more.
Making a short story short, and I swear I am not making this up –
To Hyman’s left sits down another pro Maria Ho. (Even I know her – she got 36th last year in the main event and is world famous in poker circles). She is literally trailing a posse of paparazzi and TV cameras, all of whom came by to take her picture or film her at least once during the day, but most of all right then at the very beginning.
Then, to her left sits down Jeff Shulman!
He is the editor of Card player Magazine and a renown pro also (along with his dad). All the pit bosses and casino big wigs were making sure to come by and say hello to him – lovely!
Then to HIS left sits down the mysterious “Cliff”, all of whom the pros know but I don’t. Turns out he is Cliff Josephy AKA “johnnybax”. He has made millions on line, and is renown as one of the most dangerous on line players in the world.!!!
So before a card is even dealt, that murderer’s row was directly to my left left left, and left - and let me tell you – I NEVER get intimidated, but I was literally shaking in my shoes and wondering what I exactly got myself into here. So scary!!!!!
Luckily, I had some orange hat entourage there to root me on and they pulled me through. They were my college buddies Rob Birkett and Scott Kirk, and my brother Paul (who also played in Day one but got knocked out). Plus we had a surprise visit from my friend Cathy Lathrop and her group of misbehaving girlfriends, grandmothers, and daughters. (They were out here for a combo high school mini reunion and daughter 21st birthday) Anyway, they didn’t know squat about poker, but Scott and Rob set them up in the orange hats and shirts I had printed up in case I go deep, and instead turned them into a big orange group to root for me in the beginning! They were passing out Ovarian Cancer pins, and making an orange show of things for the first hour or so. Nothing like 8 extra “girls behaving badly” to make a rukus!
So that was fun, and before they disappeared back to their own vegas party it was a great boost because did I mention how intimidated I was?
Oh, also my main rooting section of Scott and Rob was loving it, because they got to know “Maria’s Ho’s” – that was Maria Ho’s entourage of incredibly attractive Asian women that you can see if you google her.
They were out in force and since I was sitting two seats to her right they couldn’t miss the orange guy and then got a huge kick out of the ovarian cancer play so Scott and Rob had them enlisted to the cause as well. I know it broke there hearts teaming up with them. <grin>
So anyway – it was quite the circus right from the start. But still very intimidating and to put you in my frame of mind, I was REALLY sweating it because what started out as a fun way to try and bring some joy into my mother in laws life while I indulge my poker fantasy had quickly turned into a serious “holy s**t” moment!!!
Hee.
The good news is I did very up through the dinner break - was playing very solid (one advantage to being petrified with fear) and caught some good cards, so I had doubled up to over 40,000 in chips when we broke.
Alas, my hyperventilating adrenaline call to wife Jenny was premature. I was totally juiced because at the time had already made my goal for the whole day, and here it was only dinner time!!!
But back on the floor after dinner I went card dead for the last four hours. I literally did not see a single premium hand, played only three others and got punished on all of them.
So I ended the day at 19,975.
Drat!
But in retrospect I am glad that things didn’t occur the other way around, or I would’ve been out. And I am positioned to still have a chance tomorrow if I get real lucky and don’t make any mistakes.
And best of all – I got interviewed on ESPN!!!!
I thought maybe they were wondering what I was all about since I am dressed in neon orange and wearing the goofiest orange hat you have ever seen, but no – they had noted the murderers row of pros I was up against, and wanted to know what it was like being an amateur on such a tough table. So early on they interviewed me (I presume before I got knocked out) as one of the “amateurs”.
So you know me, I asked them if I could talk about orangeoutovarian when I got on camera and they said well they’d prefer not since their angle was “poor amateurs caught in the crosshairs”, and not human interest. But shameless me - I managed to mentioned the bejeebers out of orangeoutovarian every time they asked me something!!!
Hee. I must not have been too annoying, because afterward the interviewer told me I was very quotable and gave a great interview, with several ‘juicy’ sound bites. So I told him “well get my butt on tv then” and he said we’ll see.
It all depends on if I go deep, which remember is very unlikely, but hey it could happen!!!
One other piece of good news on the ‘getting the word out front’ is today I was down sweating my buddy Eddie in his Day two (mine is tomorrow) and I pitched the orange out story to Norman Chad and he liked it! (Norman is the announcer for the ESPN telecasts. He made the mistake of walking by me today, so I said hey I’ve got a story for you - and he liked it!) So he wrote a bunch of notes, and this time the angle was that I was an amateur but trying to win money for cancer research to honor my mother in law. So he is going to talk to the producers about it, and told me he’d come sweat me tomorrow to see how I was doing!
Won’t be much of a story if I donk out early, but again - if I go deep it could get some traction!
Anyway, I am breathless in Vegas and LOVIN’ IT!!!!
Thanks for all the calls, emails, and texts. I wanted to let all you folks know what it was like for me, and give you some details on my Don Quixote attempt to score one for the good guys.
Hey one more quick story before I sign off – I am renown in my family for being the princess and the pea when it comes to sleeping. In particular I must have absolutely NO lights in my hotel room. So when I travel I tape over all light sources, clip the shades, stuff towels under doors and draperies, unplug everything – you name it.
Well normally I have developed a sixth sense for navigating dark hotels rooms at night out of pure necessity. But this trip I haven’t been sleeping much at all (there’s a shocker) and wasn’t at my best this morning when I had to go pee. After finishing my business I was heading back to bed. After coming out of the bathroom, I passed the closet, turned right into open space and WHAM!!!! walked straight into the corner of the wall, since I oops forgot that there is a luggage vestibule there, not the opening to the bedroom I thought there was. Ouch!!!
I literally about knocked myself out, and have a beautiful gash/bruise straight up and down on my forehead to show for it. Bled like you wouldn’t believe, and has me looking like a true Vegas ragamuffin…one last indignity I am sure but not so bad that I won’t be laughing at myself for a while.
As I’m stumbling around afterward looking for some tissues to slop the bleeding – all I’m thinking is “wow I’m glad that interview was already done!!!”
Hee.
Anyway, nothing like a hard knock on the forehead to remind me that I’ve got a real life back home to soon. Because even though I am having a ball, and although this is a fantastic poker fantasy, I sure am glad I’ve got someplace solid and familiar to come home to.
Until then, though – I am orangeoutovarian all the way baby!!!
Wish me luck, I’m late posting - so by the time you read this I may already be out.
But then again, life can be lucky sometimes!!! Maybe I’ll go deep after all.
I’m sure as hell going to try!
See you,
Dave AKA “The River Dog” – in honor of Nancy Blumer |
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Update #1 |
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Update #2 |
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DAVID’S BLOG #1 |
