Whose Doing What For The WSOP?

Poker Verdict has the lowdown on what the UK's finest are up to in Vegas...

With the WSOP imminent, players across the country are eagerly deciding when to book their flight and what events to partake in.

Here's what they have been telling PV:

Jon Kalmar:


“I’m not going over till the 24th of June. I’ve got a friends do before I go which I can’t miss; I’m just glad it didn’t fall during the Main Event! Then my wife is going to join me on the 3rd of July. And we’ll stay until the 17th, until after the final table.”

“Obviously I'll play the Main Event and I quite fancy that $5,000 short-handed. Other than that I’m just going to see what’s on. I think there’s a $2,500 shoot-out as well which I quite fancy.”

Andy Ward

“I’m intending to play about 12 of the lead-out tournaments – the 6-handed, the shootouts, the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E, those sort of events. I’m staying at the Rio the whole time. It’s convenient and relatively cheap – I like being on site and am happy to avoid all that catching taxis everywhere malarkey.

I’m NOT going to play the Main Event. It’s a fucking joke what they’re doing with the four month delay; the opportunities for collusion, for threatening people (that’s a bit extreme maybe, but a possibility). It’s all for American TV and American companies and the hardest hit by this are the foreign players – what if they don’t let you back into the country? For Jeffery Pollack to say, “We expect the players to show ethics and respect the integrity of the game”, is ridiculous. Especially when they are charging $600 juice. There are plenty of other tournaments these days. I’m voting with my feet and staying away”

Very good point Andy. Finally, what would make it a good World Series for you?

“Making a profit, coming back with some money”

Barney Boatman

“Not sure what my plans are, Ross and I are looking at houses – chances are we’ll be out there for about a month, not sure when.”

What’s your opinion on the Final Table delay?

“Well, there are a lot of understandable objections from the players’ point of view. I dunno, TV ratings for poker are going down and they need to make it better for TV. It might revive flagging interest in the game. The real question is will whatever benefits this idea brings about reach the players?

Yeah, players are going to be able to see how the other players play now and all that, and the nature of the event is changed, but now it’s just a new part of the game. It’s almost a bit like when people were objecting to the hole cards being shown when Late Night Poker was getting off the ground. Of course the difference is that those guys in Cardiff making LNP were great and they loved us and we loved them, whereas Harrahs is the great Satan.

The thing I will say is that it should be a welcome for anyone over 40 – the break will be a good chance to get some kip!

Mike Sexton made the point that it will be hard for people to find backers. Why back somebody if it’s going to take you four or five months to get paid? Also, for the foreign players they have the issue of whether the dollar is actually going to be worth anything at all by November!

I guess I’m a sort of reluctant supporter of the idea, mainly because I don’t like the idea that I’m supporting Harrahs!”

Ben Roberts

“I don’t really have a plan, I’ll probably play about 10-15 tournaments and of course the cash games. Basically lots and lots of poker every day!”

How long have you been going to the Series and how do you think it compares to the old days downtown?

“I’ve been going about 12 years now. People do moan about the Rio and I must say they could stage it better, but compared to the Horseshoe it’s better. The cash games are about the same, only more plentiful. Although I must say the size of the games have increased to ridiculous amounts.”

What would make a good World Series for you? Winning a bracelet?

“I’m more focussed on performance. Whether I win a bracelet or not is not as important to me as whether I played well. A good performance usually means you have won money anyway”

What’s your take on the final table delay?

“I’m not sure why they have done it. I’d like to hear the reasons first before I have an opinion about it. I guess from a publicity point of view it stretches it out a long time, so maybe more people will hear about it.”

Jon Shoreman

“I’m playing the Main Event – the $10k event at the end is not the Main Event. The Main Event is the $2.5k Deuce to Seven Triple Draw tournament, obviously.

As far as cash goes, I want to play in the Mix game at the Bellagio, I don’t want to play at the Rio because it’s uncomfortable. Of course I’ll play where I think the games are best so maybe I’ll end up at the Rio anyway. I’ll mainly be playing $200-400, $300-600 and $400-800 Mix which usually tends to be Badugi, 2-7 Triple draw and O8, sometimes they chuck in 7 Hilo, Hilo Regular, Ace to Five Lowball, Holdem and Razz. I’m not going to rule out the NL Holdem and PLO games if they look good.

My take on the Final Table Delay is that it’s good. The leverage that players and sponsors have now for making deals is tremendous. Of course it could be a disaster, so we’ll see what happens.”

09/05/08