Shuffling Tables
by Court on 09.27.08, 6:16 pm
The setup here at the Empire Casino is a little different than most major poker tournaments, or most U.S. based poker tournaments at least. Instead of being located inside one large, conference / ballroom type area with all the poker tables pretty much in the same place, the Empire has had to work around their space limitations and put poker tables about anywhere they can find space.
To start the day there were a couple tables in an upstairs hallway area with steps coming up on both sides, a handful of tables under the steps putting the players between a bar and a couple banks of slot machines. Those two areas of tables have been broken now and players have been consolidated into what I call the main area and the dungeon.
The main area is where the feature tables are along with three other tables just off to the side of the featured ones. This is the area where preliminary event final tables were hosted and has a slew of onlookers crowded around. Whether they are there for the poker or to partake in libations from the bar that they are also up against is a toss up, though I imagine if the bar were to close the crowd would go away a lot quicker than if the poker players left.
To get to the dungeon there is a low ceilinged hallway that leads by another, hidden bar and then opens into a very claustrophobic feeling room with 6 more poker tables. There have been film crews back there as well, along with a large group of fans clogging the small walkway.
So, the players are spread out around the casino - no problem. The other unique feature of the World Series of Poker Europe, presented by Betfair (hey, it’s the title what can I do) is that whole tables keep getting moved around to get different faces time on the featured and secondary tables. The table hosting Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar (right) and Isaac Haxton started off at table 3 in the main area and after a couple of levels was moved to the area under the stairs. After dinner the whole tables was moved again into the dungeon. Most, if not all, of the tables that have not yet broken have moved at least once today.
The tables are also numbered in a fairly sporadic fashion. For example the six tables in the main area are numbered 1-3 while the 3 adjoining tables were numbered in the teens. To add to the confusion, some table numbers have been taken with them when the whole table is moved while other times the physical table retains the number while the group of players are all moved to a new table.
With all this the staff has done a great job of moving people around and it seems that there should be ample television coverage for a majority of the players in the tournament instead of only for the few that happened to be seated at a table with a big name pro. There has been some confusion during table breaks. Recently I spotted Isaac “mr. menlo” Baron (right) wandering around with a rack of chips and a seat card looking for table 13. I told him I thought it was in the main area and sent him over there, only to see him moments later being pointed toward the dungeon where table 13 had been relocated to.
While the tables have been shuffled around, the dealers keep shuffling cards and dealing them out. With the antes kicking in after dinner and the blinds increasing larger and larger pots are emerging and more players are finding themselves in short stack situations looking to make a move.
Peter “#1Pen” Neff and his table mates, including Freddy Deeb and Erica Schoenberg, were recently moved to the main feature table. Not only is Neff under the bright lights and cameras, he is also there with more than twice as many chips as he had earlier thanks to a double up with his pocket kings against pocket nines. Neff now has around 25k.
Just behind Neff is Tim “Tmay420″ West (right). After mentioning Peter’s recent double up, West said he was “looking into that,” referring to a possible double up for himself. West is in ok shape with 13k, but would like to get something going before the blinds force him into action.
Over in the dungeon, Ben Grundy and Josh Arieh have been chatting for most of the day, but during their talks they are not afraid to play pots with each other. In a 3 way pot Grundy bet 1k on a A
J
2 flop. Scott “R_A_Y” Montgomery, a recent addition to the table, folded but Arieh made the call. The K on the turn brought another check from Arieh and a 3k bet from Grundy. Josh called after taking a peek over at Ben’s stack. The K on the river made the board a dangerous one for a lot of hands and after Arieh checked Grundy immediately tossed over his Q
T, implying he was checking behind. Arieh mucked his hand and Grundy picked up the pot with a smile on his face, but a little disappointed in missing out on possible action on the river because of the board pairing flush card hitting.
With all the shuffling of tables, Amit “Amak316″ Makhija (left) seems to have been lost in the mix. Maybe he is just out walking around the Empire Casino looking for his table, but if that’s not the case it means there is either a hidden table somewhere I don’t know about (possible), or that he has been eliminated (sad, but probable).
As the last few levels continue on players will keep dropping out and the consolidation of the field will continue. Stay tuned to see who comes out of day 1A with hopes of a bracelet still alive and to find out who finds their last chance of an 08 bracelet left in the London night in Leicester Square.
