Well, the big day has arrived for the lucky 9 who made it to the final table. Unfortunately Julian Gardner or Willie Tann were not among them….alas Team Paddy are notable by their absence at the business end of the WSOP!

Outside the Main Event, we’ve had 2 Irish bracelets - Alan Smurfit and Ciaran O’Leary. Both, I can report, are top fellas. Alan insisted on using his as a card protector for the rest of the events, and Ciaran was still partying 2 weeks after he’d won it when I ran into him watching the Main Event TV table.

Since I last typed, there have been parties, shows, magic, sunburn, all night poker sessions - a lot of fun!

I’m currently on the opposite side of Las Vegas from the Amazon Room (aka ‘The Zoo’) and I’m quite happy to keep it that way. Any longer than a weekend in Vegas is a long time and any longer at the Rio than 30 minutes can be torture. The bad beats, the bad beer, the frat boys roaring, the lines and lines of ridiculously good looking women…..it’s enough to depress an upstanding grinder like myself! In fact, you have so little idea about what time is in this town that it just adds to the daze….

Today, I’m kicking it old skool! I’m off to Binions to check out the hall of fame, maybe play a cash game…. Things picked up on that front too. I haven’t had a losing session since I last typed. If I’m honest I haven’t made a huge amount either, but enough to pay for shows and drinks and taxis and food, the odd game of Texas Holdem Bonus Poker - and from what I’ve heard that’s doing better than most.

Spent yesterday night at the Rio sweating the ‘Irish’ remaining in the main event. Julian Gardner is top of the heap and playing a blinder. He has been whole-heartedly adopted by the Irish supporters…..mainly for his connection with the godfathers of Irish poker, Padraig Parkinson and Scott Gray. The 2 boys have gone the distance before, both main event final tablists.

Frat boys scream and high-five every hand, the place sounds like a football match more than a poker tournament….but amid the chaos, Julian just stares, plays with his chips, shoves, pulls in a 2 million chip pot in silence. This is why Parky has priced him up at 7/4 to win the WSOP.
Padraig arrived from a nap, walked up to the rail just after Julian’s double up and shouted “so which one is Phil Hellmuth?”

Willie Tann, the other ‘Irish’ player remaining looked to be nodding off at 1am as play was finishing for the day. It’s a reminder of the incredible stamina required to get through this endurance contest. ‘Brain Farts’ are common. That guy in the pot with Julian got all his chips in preflop with KJos. Some people just give up the will to play and youth is definitely an advantage. Despite is demeanour and long list of results including a WSOP final table, Julian Gardner is only 27. He’s been playing since he was 14!

Off to the Rio for me for more railing. There is a lot of excitement in that room with 2 feature tables, endless free beer thanks to MILWAUKEE’S BEST LIGHT!!!!!!

Play is now hand for hand at the Rio and the real business end of the tournament is almost here. It will be a more painful exit than last year with the altered payout structure guaranteeing last place in the money $20k!

Notable Irish still in the running include Conor Tate, chip leader among the Irish with over 500k. Serial Irish Open attendee Sylvester Geoghan is hot on his heels with Irish legends Donnacha O’Dea and Scott Gray getting dangerously short.

I’ve finally shaken my dose and spent a long session yesterday losing money in Treasure Island and Paris. I ended up in both games with ‘wescht’ of Ireland player Tony Rafter who was endearing himself to the mostly American table with his own unique brand of acting the maggot.

My hand of the day was a $450 pot all in with AQ against Q4 on a Q high board…..yeah he hit a flush…..

My travel mate Ken just needed a hit of that winning feeling so decided to take some quarters of children at the games arcade at The Mirage

Oh….and I bought a giant toy Octopus at a huge Toy shop at Caesar’s Palace…

Off to Penn & Teller tonight, heading downtown in a minute to get some cheap tickets via Treasure Island where I hope to recover some of the ‘booty’ i left there yesterday.

Arrrrggghhh!

*groan* @ title!

No sign of Thomas Finneran in the Main Event area. His table was moved to the feature table and an empty seat makes it look like he’s busted. Unlucky, and great effort!

Play is due to finish at the end of the next level. The Irish are still hanging in there with Donnacha O’Dea just about in the chase, but the real story is adopted Irish player Willie Tann who is up there with the chip leaders.

Day 2B takes place tomorrow and the bubble should be broken the day after with the first out in the money getting double their buyin thanks to a new friendlier payout structure.

Tournament of Kings at Excalibur was fun. We ate a whole chicken with our bare hands, cheered on knights and maidens and howled laughing at the whole ‘Vegasness’ of it all. Almost time to hit the poker room for the night!

Las Vegas has been experiencing record temperatures and it’s not nice. It may be a blessing in disguise that i’ve been spending a lot of time shivering and sniffling in my room. You walk outside in this town, surrounded by hustle, bustle, flashing lights, the eiffel tower, a new york skyline, a giant lion…..the list goes on and you simply forget that you’re in the middle of a desert…..that’s until the heat hits you in the face like a sucker punch and the sun starts to cook your brain.

It’s difficult to spend much time outside, even by the pool which should be a pleasure. The hotel has erected signs warning people about sun-stroke and I think they’ve also put up the price of bottled water.

Today was bearable. There are some clouds in the sky which make a huge difference, so myself and travel bud took the opportunity to do some speed sightseeing while players were sitting down to Day2 at the Rio.

Poker is back on track. I put in a nice session at Paris and finished the night up $1000 which wipes out some earlier losses and puts me firmly back in profit.

Heading to Tournament of Kings for dinner. It’s like Medievel Times from Cable Guy. You eat a whole chicken, watch a jousting contest and throw the bones to the hounds

But always spinning and spinning…… Thanks to the boys over at Antesup. I can report that Thomas was motoring and up to 52k in chips but has since gone on somewhat of a rollercoaster ride. Down to 33k, down to just 15k…….then a triple up to 45k!!

Blinds are 800/1600 with a 200 ante.

Everything crossed.

Thomas Finneran has just been dealt his first hand in Day 2A of the WSOP Main Event. 900 players are in the room today to give Harrah’s some room for some side event reg fees.

He’s feeling happy, on 39k and the blinds are starting at 500/1000 with a 100 ante so he’ll need to get busy soon.

Other Irish notables speckle the room. Father and son, Donnacha and Eoghan O’Dea both with healthy stacks. George McKeever, 1999 final tablist, and 2007 omaha side event bracelet winner Alan Smurfit are looking to take down the $8.5ml first prize!
It’s slightly cloudy today for the first time since I touched down, reason enough to go outside now that it’s bearable.

A warning to all, don’t drink the tap water in Vegas. Trust me on this one.

Go Thomas Go!

Good, if delayed news from Day 1B of the WSOP Main Event. Irish Open final tablist Thomas Finneran bagged up 39,000 in chips at the end of a very long first day at the Rio. blinds will be 500/1000 on his return, with his quest for fame and fortune continuing on Tuesday. I’ll be there, unless I’m layed up with flu again…..Vegas is not a good place to have flu…

Hard luck to our other qualifers who’s efforts failed to get them through the typically massive field since I last posted.
Reggie Corrigan lastest until midnight, no mean feat in itself. He said he enjoyed the experience completely….now he’s off to Florida to recover!

Anthony Donohoe’s AK were no use against JJ with only 1 hour to go until the end of the day in the wee hours!

Noel Byrne nursed a short stack to Donnacha O’Dea’s right for most of the day before being eliminated.

Not much poker for me besides the cash game i’m sniffling myself through right now over in Paris Casino (currently back over in Bally’s after they just fixed the internet connection). The one upside of not having the internet in you room here is to catch the sight of an American cable guy. Let me just say they make the hotel corridors very very wide here for a reason.

Back to the action for me, hopefully for a couple of hours. Early sessions have been mixed and I think i’m down a few hundred overall. Plenty of time to correct that though. Another ten days of grinding should bring some results!

Night Night / Morning Morning!

Unfortunately, Nicky Power, Irish Open 2007 Main Event 6th place finisher has just busted from the main event. Hand with his AK seeing a KK4 flop. His opponent had flopped the house with pocket 4s and that’s all she wrote

Poker superstars are signing autographs, queues around the room of the Gaming Life expo just to shake hands with the stars of the WSOP and WPT.

Myself and Ken decided to follow our hearts for our photo ops….

Ross made an announcement on the conference PA system to announce the opening of the Irish Open booth.

“Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin the green corner………”

Not a patch on the ever so classy ‘Dunk The Stripper’ booth just down the hall…