The Daily Rewind: Media grind, Chenny8888, Calvin Ayre, Jason Mercier
Today we find out what it's like to work at the WSOP. We have news on a deep run from a Pokerstrategist in Melbourne and we talk about Bodog's Calvin Ayre. We discuss how Jason Mercier never loses and meet Australian beauty Annette Melton.
The Daily Rewind is your one-stop-shop for a sharp review of the day in poker. Join us here for a mix of the latest news and a more irreverent insight into the poker world. Today we discovered the following topics for you:
A different kind of grind
The World Series of Poker is a punishing stint for anyone involved. It can be a lonely, monotonous place where each and every day blurs into the next.
By the final week leading up to the main event, many poker players are burnt out and ready to go home. Pokerstrategy reporter elhh82 was at the WSOP this year on the other side of the rail and shares an insight into his world as a reporter at the WSOP in his blog.
He explains “‘if you think playing the entire 50 days of the WSOP is a sick grind, well, being a reporter for the full 50 days is as much of, if not more of a grind”. It’s a great read and an interesting perspective on one of the guys behind the scenes in Vegas.
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| The WSOP Media room |
IPT and APPT update
Pokerstrategy coach Jackson chenny8888 Zheng is making a huge run in the APPT in Melbourne. He currently sits in 3rd place with just two tables left on a stack of 1,016,000 chips (blinds 6,000/12,000/1,000a). Chip leader is currently Phillip Willcocks with 2,200,000. Good luck Jackson!
Over at the IPT in San Remo just 29 players remain and Italian favourite Luca Pagano leads the way with 1,034,500 (blinds 3,000/6,000/500a). Play restarts today and will play down to a finish with the winner collecting €210,000.
Calvin Ayre interview
In today’s Guardian we meet the jetsetting playboy and founder of Bodog. Calvin Ayre is a fascinating character; once valued by Forbes magazine at over $1 billion, he is renowned for living life to the full.
Ayre likes the company of women, and certainly knows how to party. He recalls his recent 50th birthday celebrations in Dublin where he invited 50 girls to his birthday party, “one for each year”.
Ayre reveals it hasn’t all been fun though; he was recently mugged in Krakow, Poland. The muggers can’t have been familiar with him however, as they only made off with 1,000 Zlotys (about £220).
He goes on to talk about the US gaming market, claiming “the United States is gearing itself up to enter this industry” and speaks about focusing his intentions on Asia where the “real market” is.
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| Playboy Calvin Ayre |
Mercier wins at all forms of poker, even fantasy poker
Pokernews yesterday announced the results of the 2011 WSOP fantasy draft. Dennis Phillips was the winner of the ESPN fantasy league, coming up tops thanks to picking Phil Hellmuth and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier in his teams.
When an extremely talented poker player plays well and runs well, you’d better watch out. One man who plays well and runs well is Jason Mercier. The run-good even extends to picking fantasy poker teams. Daniel Negreanu ran a high roller $25,000 fantasy draft this year, with 15 teams competing for the $225,000 first prize.
Mercier and his friend Jason Somerville won by a huge margin, mainly thanks to drafting Ben Lamb who won half the team’s points after an outstanding 2011 WSOP. Here are the full standings for the high roller draft:
| $25k Fantasy Draft | ||
| Position | Team | Points |
| 1 | Jason Mercier/Jason Somerville | 871 |
| 2 | Erick Lindgren/David Oppenhiem | 480 |
| 3 | Todd Brunson | 468 |
| 4 | James Bord/Toby Lewis | 445 |
| 5 | Scott Seiver/Justin Bonomo/Eric Froelich | 418 |
| 6 | Joe Cassidy/Huck Seed | 379 |
| 7 | Eugene Katchalov/Daniel Alaei | 378 |
| 8 | Casey Katz | 325 |
| 9 | Daniel Negreanu | 324 |
| 10 | Justin Smith/Ashton Griffin | 253 |
| 11 | Robert Mizrachi/Greg Mueller/Jared Bleznick | 220 |
| 12 | Barry Greenstein | 208 |
| 13 | Mori Eskandani | 139 |
| 14 | Frank Kassela/Shaun Deeb | 99 |
| 15 | Vladimir Shchemelev | 89 |
Hot shot of the day
Today’s hot shot features APPT presenter and Aussie model Annette Melton. G'day Annette!
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| Annette Melton |
