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ElkY Talks About Having Passport Stolen, Missing First Two Weeks At The World Series Of Poker

Poker Pro Arrived On June 7, After Fiasco With Missing Bag

by Brian Pempus  |  Published: Jun 10, 2014  |  E-mail Author

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Poker superstar Betrand Grospellier had to arrive late to the 2014 WSOP thanks to his passport being stolen. Fortunately for the French pro, he was able to obtain a new one relatively quickly, just in time to be in town to register for the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship in June 8.

Card Player had the chance to speak to the 2011 bracelet winner on Tuesday afternoon during a break in play in the $5,000 six-max no-limit hold’em, shortly after Grospellier busted in 16th in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. for a score of $21,958.

Brian Pempus: Can you tell me about the passport mishap?

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Bertrand Grospellier: I got my bag stolen in Toronto, with my passport in it. I had to go to a consulate to get some papers to go back to France. But I had no passport, so I couldn’t get to Las Vegas. It kind of sucked. I got a new one faster than I expected, so that was good. I was really eager to get here and play, especially for the $25,000 mix-max event and the deuce-to-seven single draw. But now I’m here. I just tried to use that time stuck in Paris to relax and not worry to much—it’s going to be a long summer—because it was out of my control.

BP: Did you feel pretty fresh when you got here?

BT: For sure. I was only going to rest [from poker] for a few days, but it ended up being two weeks.

BP: Can you talk about the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E you just finished 16th in?

BP: Yeah, that was a really good event. I was chip leader at the dinner break yesterday, but then I lost a lot of pots today. That’s just how the game goes. I ran pretty well to get there. It was only my second event of the Series. I had a lot of fun playing those mixed games because I don’t get a chance to play them very much [live]. It was really nice.

BP: Do you think mixed-game tournaments here are getting tougher as time goes on?

BT: For sure. People are getting better, but it’s still fine. Not everyone gets to play online. I don’t think players in the mixed games are improving as much as they are in no-limit.

BP: Do you plan on playing the $1 million buy-in event this summer?

BT: (Laughs) For now, no, but we’ll see. I don’t want to play a tournament in which I only have five to 10 percent of myself. It doesn’t make any sense. If I win something before it, then maybe, or if I win a satellite, then I might play it.

BP: Can you talk about busting out of a tournament and jumping right into another one that same day? Is it sometimes tough mentally to do this?

BT: Sometimes. Today wasn’t the easiest time, because the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E is a big tournament. But if I bust out of a $1,000 turbo it isn’t as painful (laughs). Also, this $5,000 six-max is a great tournament, so that helped. If you do it all the time, you might burn yourself out, but I just got here so I’m fresh. If I don’t feel like playing, I am not going to register another one, even if I probably should. I try to conserve my energy.

 
 
Tags: Poker Tournaments,   2014 WSOP,   World Series of Poker,   Betrand Grospellier
 
 
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