Rating the 2009 World Series of Poker November Nine
Gambling911.com's Jenny Woo is lining up the 2009 World Series of Poker November Nine for interviews faster than you can yell "Bad Beat!".
The boys at Wicked Chops Poker were in the midst of analyzing each of the nine finalists, providing their readers with a "Good for PokerTM, Bad for PokerTM, Meh for PokerTM" list. Did they really trademark this????
Anyway, WCP makes a great point.
"Had Phil Ivey not N9′d it, this would be a turd of a final table on par with 2007. Probably even worse. Just like Cush would've saved all for Jerry, Ivey saved all for this final table from a marketing and general mass public interest perspective."
First we have the MEH:
Steve Begleiter - Wicked Chops Poker asks if we are really excited about an ex-Bear Sterns executive in his 50's winning the WSOP Main Event? What WCP failed to express is that we have a "real villain" as part of the Main Table, someone we can all really hate and cuss at and cheer should he bust out with over a million dollars. That said, we're sure Begleiter's probably not a bad guy.
"Let's not be haters!" Woo ejaculated. "This isn't Bernie Madoff we're talking about here."
Kevin Schaffel - WCP describes him as "another average-looking 50-something white guy".
Jenny Woo, on the other hand, describes Schaffel as a "stunningly handsome articulate 30-something white male who's about to take home at least a million dollars."
James Akenhead - WCP says: "The guy looks British". Jenny Woo says: "Love the accent. Sexy as Hell. Already uber rich."
Bad for poker, according to WCP is Antoine Saout. "Eff France!" WCP exclaimed. "I would f*** him!" Woo said.
Eric Buchman - "He's only in it for the money," WCP claims. "Does he have a girlfriend?" asks Woo.
Darvin Moon - WCP: "We say Moon, a ginger, is a ginger." Jenny Woo: "Darvin could have my cookie any day."
Jeff Shulman - We at Gambling911.com like Wicked Chops Poker love the fact that Jeff made it to the final table since he is already stirring the pot, not to mention he's a member of the industry media. He believes the WSOP has treated his family's publication, Card Player Magazine, badly in recent years and intends to throw away the bracelet should he win. Ouch. Shulman, we should add, enjoyed more search queries than Phil Ivey after making it to the final table.
Good for poker is Joe Cada and, of course, Phil Ivey, according to WCP:
"Joe Cada: The 21 year-old online whiz has a good attitude, could become the youngest ME winner ever, and doesn't seem averse to doing the media tour. Works for us.
"Phil Ivey: Across the board, the only person on this list that everyone agrees is unequivocally Good for Poker. Great mainstream story here that the press will push about Ivey being the Tiger Woods of Poker. Big boost for the game if the best player wins its most prestigious (and televised) tournament. If Ivey wins and does the talk show circuit that Peter Eastgate turned down last year, maybe we see another Moneymaker-esque effect."
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
