Tyson Marks Interview - WCOOP winner Tyson Marks , Journey of a grinder!

Winning the PokerStars WCOOP Main Event is something that I don't think you can really prepare yourself for... at least for me it was an experience that I will never ever forget. To be honest I hadn't really thought of exactly how big of a deal this was until after I had won.... like I didn't realise I was playing in the biggest online tournament ever, "officially" anyway.
Obviously a $5k buy-in with 2,400 runners is going to be something to write about, but it hadn't occurred to me for some reason that I had just made history, at least in some way. Being able to say: "I'm online poker world champion" is something that still doesn't feel real to say.
I was super short pretty much until 27 players were left, just kinda looking for spots trying to get it in good and maybe get a stack going. It was seriously the best structure of any online tournament I've ever played. It was definitely key in me being able to short-stack ninja and just stay alive for so long.
When we got down to around 15 players my stack was starting to look very good and I was running like GOD, which is when I realised: "Wow, I'm really doing this," which, to be honest, made me very anxious/nervous. I'm very fortunate to have good friends like my friends at home that were watching and my poker buddies constant IM's keeping me focused. When I reached the final table it was weird because I felt so much more comfortable than when I was chip leader with like 13 left... there's just something about final tables where I feel at home, like "it's go time now" and all the butterflies were gone and the only thing on my mind was $2.2million!
I sort of always had a knack for card games and poker in general, my grandmother taught me how to play 5 draw when i was probably 6 years old and I'm going to go ahead and give her credit for starting me on the right path :)
Anyway, I graduated from Great Falls High School in 2002, after which I decided to move to Missoula to go to UoM.....which ended up being very short-lived seeing as I only attended two semesters before deciding I wasn't ready to go back to school. So I had a lot of odd jobs for a while...construction, delivering pizzas, etc....basically just getting by. This is about when Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP. Everyone was getting into poker and I wasn't any different, I went to a freeroll with some friends and I think won or got second the first time i played hold'em... obviously I was hooked!
Some of the guys that ran the local games noticed my interest in poker and natural talent, and asked me if I wanted to deal poker. This was when I think I was 19 or 20. I soon was dealing poker full time but was such an avid player that a lot of time I would end up losing all the money I made dealing (which is pretty good in MT compared to other places at the time, by the way) back in the game I had just dealt in. I was at this spot for a few years, living week-by-week and pretty much just being broke all the time even though I made enough to get buy dealing cards at a local bar.
I played online a small amount in my spare time and loved it, but I was having problems. There were definitely mistakes I was making and everyone seemed to be so much better than me. I was close to being to the point where I would have to just make myself stop playing poker and get a grip and start actually saving money and doing something with my life.
It was about three-four years ago when a kid who had been playing in the game I dealt regularly came to me and basically said: "We should play online and talk about some hands and stuff, I bet I can help you with your game." Eric Pratt, an eventually very good friend and brief room-mate....completely changed how I thought about poker. So extreme that I felt like: "Wow I've been such a donk." Soon after I had my first big score for $7,777...first place in a $26 tourney (I think it was the nightly $30k on stars, actually). That was like so huge for me back then. That's when I quit my job and decided this was what I was going to do!
It wasn't easy. I struggled and struggled. The scores came....and they went....came and went. On and on playing exclusively MTTs (I don't play as well at cash).I was playing so much better but still wasn't managing my bankroll properly at all. It was OK, I was still getting by, and better than I had been when I was dealing poker then donating back! Over the last few years things have gotten better. A lot better. I won two preliminary events in LA '09, a $300 limit hold'em for $20k and a $500 NL Hold'em for around $50k....no chops in either. I also made a deep run in the main event the same year and cashed for $27k.
Last fall i started talking a lot with a buddy I had met through some mutual friends at the WSOP....PAULGEES (Paul Volpe for all the dolts!), a nasty heads-up sit and go player who had just recently started playing a lot of tournaments. It still amazes me how he would ask me about a lot of hands, and seriously within a month I was asking Paul about hands!
Paul definitely had the most influence on my game hands down, everyone has a #1 buddy that they go to when they're in a tough spot and Paul is that guy! He might be the best tourney player I've ever met, and for those who don't know him in real life he's a very good dude! Gotta say good poker buddy of mine Josh(JBT449) has also had a big impact on my game. I've admired his poker style since the first time I watched him play, usually in awe, and have on many occasions tried to duplicate it. He also has an uncanny way of making a seven-hour online session very entertaining, if nothing else memorable. YIKIK... and the whole tattersall gang... Glenn, Jon, Max, Melnick... you guys are the best! Basically just talking with other players about hands is how I've gotten better.
I really love spending most of my free time just enjoying Missoula. I go fishing and play a lot of disc golf tournaments in the summer/fall and snowboard in the winter. All of this can be found about 20 minutes away from here, by the way. There is definitely a reason MT has been called "the last best place on earth".
As far as big purchases go after my win, I dunno really. Most likely a trip for some of my close friends and girlfriend, somewhere cool for some sort of big party. I would really like to do something for my mom, too. She is so supportive, you have no idea. I guess I would like to buy a house somewhere, and perhaps invest a bunch? I'm not like running out tomorrow and getting a new car and wardrobe, I don't feel like it's going to change who i am at all. I have an amazing girl and friends and family who are amazing....this money is really just gravy.
I've considered myself a very fortunate person for longer than I've been playing poker, that's for sure!

WCOOP Main Event Result 2010

$2,278,097.50. The biggest prize in online poker history. Starting to edge toward the $2.5 million a certain player named Moneymaker claimed for winning the WSOP Main Event not so long ago.

That's what awaited the winner of the 2010 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event, the $5,200 buy-in no-limit hold'em tourney that capped off this year's record-breaking series.

Of the starting field of 2,443 -- who together created a total prize pool of $12,215,000 -- just 271 made it through yesterday's Day 1. Click here to read a recap of Day 1 and learn how those who survived to Monday negotiated their way through the first 22 half-hour levels.

The top 306 places paid, so that meant they money bubble had already burst when the first hands of Day 2 were dealt. Take a look at the Day 2 live blog detailing all of the action as the field shrunk from 271 down to the final nine.

There were six members of Team PokerStars still alive when play began. Jason Mercier was the first of that group to hit the rail in 181st, followed by Johannes Strassmann (169th), Bachir "Chiren80" Boumaaza (Team Online) (146th), and Chad Brown (71st). The other two -- Vadim Markushevski and Alexey "LuckyGump" Makarov (Team Online) -- fought their way within shouting distance of the final table, but both fell short, with Markushevski ending in 32nd and Makarov in 22nd.

Among the other notable eliminations during the almost ten hours it took to reach the final table were squee451 (256th), DHUSTLER15 (226th), Altrum Altus (224th), la_gâchette (201st), TheCronic420 (196th), Matt "Hoss_TBF" Hawrilenko (174th), Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis (172nd), floes (152nd), NYC P.I.M.P. (150th), James "Andy McLEOD" Obst (130th), Kevin "iacog4" Iacofano (119th), RaiseOnce (117th), SHIPP ITT (104th), Sorel "zangbezan24" Mizzi (72nd), THE__D__RY (69th), aaaaaaaa (67th), toweliestar (46th), Mike "Timex" McDonald (30th), Jason "JP OSU" Potter (21st), and Bryn "BrynKenney" Kenney (17th).

Finally, jackellwood eliminated m8675309a in 10th place, and the final table was set.

Seat 1: gray31 -- 2,960,430
Seat 2: carryhero -- 416,280
Seat 3: Russian_nuts -- 5,058,334
Seat 4: ROMDOM -- 5,783,488
Seat 5: dazzy2004 -- 4,206,950
Seat 6: darrenelias -- 2,216,424
Seat 7: jackellwood -- 4,955,862
Seat 8: POTTERPOKER -- 15,879,027
Seat 9: joeysweetp -- 3,636,682

With nine players left, there was still a whopping $6,883,152.50 remaining to be awarded in this one. All would be receiving at least six-figure paydays by this point. Finishing third or better would make one a millionaire. And that $2.27 million-plus prize awaited the one ending with all the chips.

POTTERPOKER brought a large chip lead to the final table, and immediately began to increase that lead, continuing to ride a rush that had begun with 20 players left, and was helped further by POTTERPOKER's aggressive play on the final table bubble.

With the blinds 60,000/120,000, POTTERPOKER opened with a raise to 250,500 from the cutoff, and it folded to carryhero who reraised to 552,522 from the big blind. POTTERPOKER then made it 925,050, carryhero shoved over the top for 4,072,803 total, and POTTERPOKER insta-called.

carryhero showed A♥Q♣, and would need help against POTTERPOKER's K♣K♠. None arrived, however, as the board ran out T♥7♣7♥8♣7♠, sending carryhero out in ninth.

That hand pushed POTTERPOKER up close to 20 million chips -- with the nearest foe at less than 6 million! The players took their 10-hour break, then POTTERPOKER was at it again.

This time it was gray31 opening with a raise to 248,875 from UTG. It folded to POTTERPOKER in the small blind who made it 547,500. The big blind folded, then gray31 reraised all in for nearly 3 million more. POTTERPOKER called, showing another big pair -- J♠J♥ -- and was again in a good spot versus his opponent's hand, in this case A♠T♠.

The community cards came 3♦6♦8♦5♦7♥, and POTTERPOKER had claimed another victim, as gray31 was out in eighth.

Next to go would be ROMDOM, who had actually begun the final table second in chips, though all were so far behind POTTERPOKER it was a bit like a multi-way fight for second. In ROMDOM's final hand, joeysweetp started things with a raise to 260,000 from the cutoff seat, then ROMDOM reraised to 577,500 from the small blind. dazzy2004 folded in the BB, then joeysweetp pushed all in for 6,376,414 total.

ROMDOM thought a bit, then made the call with the 4,346,188 he had left. ROMDOM showed A♦K♠, but was in a bad spot against joeysweetp's K♣K♦. The board came 4♣J♣8♣3♦Q♦, and ROMDOM was done in seventh.

On the very next hand, joeysweetp had raised preflop once again -- this time to 295,000 -- and saw darrenelias reraise all in from the small blind for 2,108,924. It folded to joeysweetp who called with T♦T♣, well in front of darrenelias' 6♥6♦. Five cards later -- 2♦2♣8♠9♣4♠ -- darrenelias was out in sixth.

With five players left POTTERPOKER was still the overwhelming chip leader with more than 21 million, but now joeysweetp had moved up past 13 million, well within range to compete.

It was going to take a special effort, though, to stem the tide of POTTERPOKER's seemingly unceasing run-good.

Case in point...

jackellwood opened with a raise to 315,000, and POTTERPOKER reraised to 688,050 behind him. It folded back to jackellwood who put in the four-bet to 1,280,500. POTTERPOKER responded with an all-in push, and jackellwood didn't hesitate to call with his remaining 3.78 million. jackellwood had A♥A♣, while POTTERPOKER had gone to battle armed with just K♣9♦.

Then flop was J♥Q♠9♥, which put a POTTERPOKER win within the realm of possibility. The turn was the 5♠, and jackellwood was still safe. But the T♥ river gave the chip leader the straight, and jackellwood was out in fifth place.

The remaining four players then reached the 11-hour break, at which point POTTERPOKER had extended his lead once more, building a stack of 30,807,995. joeysweetp was closest with 11,070,831, followed by Russian_nuts with 3,525,932 and dazzy2004 with 3,455,242.

The final quartet battled for the next 20 minutes without much change in the counts, other than dazzy2004 slipping further to just 1,234,917. Then came a hand in which Russian_nuts open-raised all in from the small blind, and dazzy2004 made the call from the big blind, putting his tourney life at risk.

dazzy2004 had K♣Q♦ and Russian_nuts A♣7♥. The flop came 3♥J♥T♦, giving dazzy2004 some more outs. The turn then brought the Q♥, putting dazzy2004 in the lead. But the 2♥ fell on the river, giving Russian_nuts the heart flush and sending dazzy2004 out in fourth place.

The remaining three players were all now guaranteed at least $1,019,952.50 -- third-place prize money. POTTERPOKER continued to enjoy a huge advantage with more than 37 million to joeysweetp's 4.94 million and Russian_nuts' 4.27 million. There'd been no deal-making talk at the final table, nor was there any happening now -- not that POTTERPOKER would've been interested.

Soon Russian_nuts was open-shoving all in from the button his stack of 3,147,898. POTTERPOKER folded, but joeysweetp called in the big blind, turning over Q♣Q♦. Russian_nuts had A♦K♥, and the race was on.

The board came nine-high -- 6♥9♥2♠7♠2♥ -- and Russian_nuts was out in third place. Just two players left, with a greater than $850,000 difference between first and second.

As heads-up play began, POTTERPOKER sat with 41,958,606 and joeysweetp 6,901,394 -- about a 6-to-1 chip advantage. joeysweetp charitably offered his especially well-positioned opponent a sportsmanlike word:

joeysweetp: gg...gl..not that you need it
POTTERPOKER: ty gl man

POTTERPOKER immediately began whittling at joeysweetp's stack, and soon had him down in the 4 million chip-range. Then came a double-up for joeysweetp, in a hand in which he'd move all in on a flop of 4♥J♦T♥ over the top of POTTERPOKER's raise, holding J♥2♣ for a pair of jacks against POTTERPOKER's A♥Q♦. joeysweetp's hand held, and he was back up over 9.6 million.

A short while later POTTERPOKER would have 40,720,372 to joeysweetp's 8,139,628 when the following hand took place.

joeysweetp began with a raise to 440,000 from the small blind/button, and POTTERPOKER called. The flop came J♥8♣2♥. POTTERPOKER took the initiative, betting 480,250, and joeysweetp called. The turn brought the K♥ and a bet of 1,025,005 from POTTERPOKER. joeysweetp raised all in for 7,194,378, and POTTERPOKER snap-called.

joeysweetp had but T♠7♦ -- a bit of a move, there. And badly-timed, too, as POTTERPOKER had the nut flush with A♥4♥, making the river T♦ no matter.

James Dempsey signed up by Full Tilt

One of this summer’s top performers has been rewarded with a new sponsorship deal at Full Tilt Poker.

James “Flushy” Dempsey tore up the 2010 World Series of Poker, cashing four times for just over $511,000. In the process, Dempsey picked up his first career bracelet by winning event no. 9 ($1,500 pot-limit hold’em) and then followed that up with a runner up finish to Sam Farha in event no. 25 ($10,000 Omaha eight-or-better).

The 27-year-old was a big part of the “Year of the Brit,” joining Praz Bansi, Richard Ashby and Steve Jelinek in the winner’s circle. Dempsey will now join Bansi and Ashby as fellow red pros on Full Tilt.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” Dempsey said. “This is such a dream of mine. I’ve worked very hard for this over the years and to have won a bracelet and now this. It’s just fantastic.”

You can play alongside Dempsey and the rest of the team on Full Tilt Poker. Readers are eligible for a deposit bonus of up to $600. Click on the banner to the right for additional information.

Lamborghini Freeroll plus $1m USD in other prizes

Freerolls start July 25th through to Sept 25th 2010

It’s the ride of choice for rock gods, sports stars and fashion royalty, and now you can own one too. Play the PokerStars Lamborghini Freeroll and you can win your very own $200,000 supercar. Tournaments are running now and there’s more than $1,000,000 in cash up for grabs along the way. The Lamborghini Gallardo is one of the most famous and iconic cars in the world - win yours now!

Tournament	Date	Time	Prize
Freeroll	Daily, July 25-September 25	Every two hours	Top 18 win Weekly Final seats
$1.10 satellite	Daily, July 25-September 25	Every two hours	Top 27 win Weekly Final seats + regular prize pool
$11 satellite	Daily, July 25-September 25	Every two hours	Top 27 win Weekly Final seats + regular prize pool
Weekly Final	Saturdays, July 25-September 25	14:30 ET	Top 2,000 win Grand Final seats + $100,000 paid to top 4,000 finishers
Grand Final	Sunday, October 3	14:30 ET	1 Lamborghini Gallardo + $250,000 paid to top 5,000 finishers

The November Nine in more detail

Image via Wikipedia

SEAT 1:  Jason Senti
Hometown:  St. Louis Park, MN (USA)
Age:  28
Profession:  Poker Pro
Note:  This is Senti's first time to ever cash in a WSOP event.  He picked the right tournament and the right year to achieve a poker breakout, since he's now guaranteed more than $800,000 in prize money.
Chip Count:  7,625,000

SEAT 2:  Joseph Cheong
Hometown:  La Mirada, (USA)
Age:  24
Profession:  Poker Pro
Note:  Cheong earned a degree in psychology from UC-San Diego last year.  He also won a WSOP Circuit gold ring at Harrah's Rincon four months ago.  When Cheong won his victory, he promised himself he would play in the Main Event.  Here he is now, competing on poker's grandest stage.
Chip Count:  23,525,000

SEAT 3:  John Dolan
Hometown:  Bonita Springs, FL (USA)
Age:  24
Profession:  Poker Pro
Note:  Dolan has six WSOP cashes, including three in-the-money finishes at this year's series.  He has been one of the more consistent performers on this tournament, hanging around the leader board much of the way. 
Chip Count:  46,250,000

SEAT 4:  Jonathan Duhamel
Hometown:  Boucherville, Quebec (Canada)
Age:  22
Profession:  Poker Pro
Note:  This is Duhamel's third time to cash at this year's WSOP.  This has been a huge year for Canadian players so far, with five gold bracelet winners.  Duhamel hopes to become number six.   
Chip Count:  65,975,000

SEAT 5:  Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi
Hometown:  Miami, FL (USA)
Age:  29
Profession:  Poker Pro
Note:  "The Grinder" is among the most successful tournament performers since the poker boom began.  He won his first WSOP gold bracelet and $1,559,046 in this year's Poker Players Championship, which took place during the opening week of the series. 
Chip Count:  14,450,000

SEAT 6:  Matthew Jarvis
Hometown:  Surrey, BC (Canada)
Age:  25 
Profession:  Poker Pro/Student
Note:  Jarvis is primarily an online player.  This marks his first time to cash in a WSOP tournament.  Jarvis would become the first Canadian world champion in history should he win the Main Event.
Chip Count:  16,700,000

SEAT 7:  John Racener
Hometown:  Port Richey, FL (USA)
Age:  24
Profession:  Poker Pro 
Note:  Racener is one of the stars of the national WSOP Circuit, with more than $500,000 in earnings, including the 2007 Main Event championship victory at Harrah's Atlantic City.
Chip Count:  19,050,000

SEAT 8:  Filippo Candio
Hometown:  Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy)
Age:  26
Profession:  Poker Pro
Note:  Candio is the first Italian player ever to make it to the Main Event final table.  He has a number of cashes at major tournaments held in Europe.
Chip Count:  16,400,000

SEAT 9:  Cuong "Soi" Nguyen
Hometown:  Santa Ana, (USA)
Age:  38 
Profession:  Sales (Medical Supplies)
Note:  Nguyen is the senior player at this final table, at the advanced age of 36.  He's also the only two amateur sitting among the final nine.  Nguyen has been near the chip lead during the past three days of competition.  He cashed in the 2008 Main Event (614th place). 
Chip Count:  9,650,000

The unfortunate N9 "bubble" finisher was Brandon Steven, from Wichita, KS

November Nine set

The most anticipated final table of the year is set! The final nine players have emerged from the initial field of 7,319 at the 2010 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event, which began all the way back on July 5.


Jonathan Duhamel ended the night/morning with the chip lead after eliminating the November Nine bubble boy Brandon Steven in 10th place just before 6 a.m. Duhamel holds 65,975,000, much of which he accumulated during the nearly six-hour period of play on the November Nine bubble that put an exclamation point on a 17-hour day of poker.

Michael Mizrachi has now provided drama and story lines at both ends of the 41st WSOP. He won the $50,000 Players Championship during the first week of June and now he has finished the summer by making the November Nine in seventh chip-position with 14,450,000.

It’s just an exciting feeling, wherever I finish I’m happy I made the November Nine, it’s an accomplishment. I can’t say it won’t happen for me again, but you’re a long shot to pass through this field. You have to get lucky and survive in this large of a field," said Mizrachi after the final table. “I just wanted to get to the final nine and take the pressure off of me, so now I can play some poker when we get back. It’s going to be a long way through and I’m going to make Frank Kassela sweat a little bit more [grins].”
The inclusion of the Grinder at the final table leaves the winner of the WSOP Player of the Year award in question for a few months. Mizrachi can steal the title from 2010 double-bracelet winner Frank Kassela, but only if he becomes the first professional in the November Nine era to claim the main event victory.
Joining Mizrachi as a headliner at the final table in November will be John Racener, who holds 19,050,000.
In addition to the title of world champion there is also the $8,944,138 top prize to chase after, and that will be the ultimate goal for every man listed below. We will learn the stories for each of these contenders that have stormed into the poker spotlight in the months ahead.

November Nine Seating Chart with Chip Counts:
Seat 1: Jason Senti — 7,625,000
Seat 2: Joseph Cheong — 23,525,000
Seat 3: John Dolan — 46,250,000
Seat 4: Jonathan Duhamel — 65,975,000
Seat 5: Michael Mizrachi — 14,450,000
Seat 6: Matthew Jarvis — 16,700,000
Seat 7: John Racener — 19,050,000
Seat 8: Filippo Candio — 16,400,000
Seat 9: Soi Nguyen — 9,650,000

Main Event Final-Table Payout:
1: $8,944,138
2: $5,545,855
3: $4,129,979
4: $3,092,497
5: $2,332,960
6: $1,772,939
7: $1,356,708
8: $1,045,738
9: $811,823

What it means to get so close ...

At a conservative estimation, more than two million poker hands have been dealt in this World Series Main Event. But if any single hand is likely to be remembered long into the future of poker, it is the one that has just eliminated Matt Affleck in 15th place.


It wasn't necessarily what happened with the cards - the outdraw was no less horrific than thousands that occur every hour. But the reaction from Affleck, both the very minute an 8♦ rivered a straight for Johnathan Duhamel, and then for the next 20 minutes as Affleck attempted to begin the rest of his life, was without comparison in modern poker memory.


Here's what happened, from the very start:


At the table


Affleck and Duhamel were involved in a pot worth 42 million tournament chips, an amount large enough to carry to November's final table with serious expectations of becoming World Champion. Affleck, 23, had pocket aces. Duhamel, 22, had pocket jacks. They had seen a flop of T♦9♣7♥, and then a turn of Q♦. And then all of Affleck's chips found their way into the middle.


Duhamel took five minutes before calling the bet. Affleck was leading but Duhamel could hit any king, any jack or any eight to win, eliminating Affleck. He hit the 8♦.


As the eight-deep crowd gasped and roared, Affleck leant forward, slid his hat forward over his eyes, and rested his head on the arm-rest around the table. His body started to shake like a man beginning to weep. He held his head there for longer than any player I've ever seen. When he lifted it, he held his cap over his reddened cheeks. He wanted no one to see the tears in his eyes, but no one could look anywhere else.


He shook hands with his opponents, he took his off his microphone, he didn't pause to watch his chip stacks, meticulously arranged and scrupulously earned through eight days, slid in the direction of Duhamel.


As play resumed - it always does that - there was still the nervous chattering that follows any kind of monumental happening in any sporting pursuit. Folks discussed the hand, adding their own inexpert views to what they had seen, then discussed what they expected to happen in the future. "They sure take their time to make a decision these guys," said one man on the rail. "I mean, man, either do it or don't. Come on."


Affleck was not around to hear it. In the long corridor outside the Amazon Room, he stood beside three friends, all of them silent and frozen. He was in the very middle of the hall, like a statue. A few strays from the MMA fight in the neighbouring Pavilion Room ambled past. A janitor swept a plastic cup into his trash-can.


One poker spectator had pursued Affleck all the way out into the hall and he sheepishly approached him with a baseball cap and a marker pen, proffering it nervously. Affleck took the pen, scribbled on the white baseball cap, and sent the man on his way. No words were exchanged.


Affleck then blew out his cheeks, still red and still moist, and wandered along the hall towards the main Rio Casino. He stopped when he caught sight of one of the monitors that showed the chip counts to spectators. It still had his name on it, fifth in chips, and heading to the November Nine. It was wrong, plain wrong. Affleck pulled his cap over his eyes again.


Off he went once more. He walked slowly, feet splayed outward, his "Griffey 24" Seattle Mariners jersey disappearing into the distance. He was still crying. His friends followed, but they gave him a five yard start. Affleck was alone; there was nothing a fist pump or a handshake could do.


When he reached the end of the corridor, Affleck left the building and stood by the stairs leading to the taxi rank. He walked through a few smokers to a railing and lent over it, two elbows propping him there, as though he was about to be sick. He stood for two minutes before one of his friends walked over and patted him twice on the shoulder. They said nothing.


Affleck moved away and propped on another stretch of railing. His friend removed his jacket but stayed where he was. A group of four MMA fans smoked and talked about a car wreck one of them had recently been in. The petty minutiae of their impending court case, peppered by expletives, was out of earshot. Affleck instead stared into the shrubbery beneath the suites of the Palazzo Towers. That's usually where the November Nine stay when they return to Vegas to play the final table.


A plane flew into McCarran airport and Affleck watched it briefly. Then his friend moved over again and patted his back once more. Aflleck turned around and this time the buddies talked. Then they walked together back into the hall.




As he held the door open for a lady to leave the corridor, the woman recognised Affleck and wanted to talk. "Congratulations," she said. "Congratulations on getting that far. We've been watching you for days."


Affleck thanked her but wandered away. She shouted after him: "Congratulations on getting that far."


He wandered back in the direction of the Amazon Room, pausing again to sign another baseball cap with a Sharpie and accepting congratulations. Three other poker supporters approached him, including Greg Mueller. They exchanged handshakes, but Affleck did not tarry. He seemed to be heading to the payouts room, but once again got only as far as the rotunda, and turned 180 degrees again.


Once more, with his silent three-man entourage lagging five paces behind, Affleck headed away. It was now the third time he had walked this corridor in as many minutes, like a polar bear in a zoo, having lost all sense of purpose. This time he turned past the shuttered merchandise stand and past the photos of previous Main Event champions. Six cabinets displayed World Series bracelets. Affleck did not look.


He then drifted into the corridor that led to the bedlam of the main casino. About a week ago, a banner hanged there that read "Thank You For Visiting the World Series of Poker. Don't Forget the Main Event."


Matt Affleck will never forget the 2010 Main Event. And the Main Event should never forget Matt Affleck.