Bellagio and 2003

The Five Diamond Poker Classic at Bellagio in Las Vegas was so packed that the poker room is being expanded for its big tournament in April. Every day, the tournaments had big prize pools and the live games had long waiting lists. At one point, I watched a live-action pot-limit Omaha game with $500-$1,000 blinds. This meant that if there was any preflop raising, one could bet the equivalent of a nice car on the flop. I am talking serious action. The tournament buy-ins ranged from $500 to $3,000 for the championship event. The fields were comprised of a mixture of pros and people who were spending a weekend in Las Vegas. The final table of the $3,000 no-limit hold'em championship had five players under the age of 35, and Carlos Mortensen was the only "famous" player; 26-year-old Erick Lindgren got heads up with his good friend Prahlad "John Q" Friedman and showed him who was boss. With the win, Erick won a $25,000 seat in the World Poker Tour championship event. Others at the final table were James Allen, Vinny Vinh, Bill Eichel, Keith Hawkins, Carlos Mortensen, Dan Alspach, and I. Congratulations, Erick! You played great, and kept the heat on the rest of the players.

The top five players in the Card Player Player of the Year race going into the month of December were T.J. Cloutier, John Juanda, Scotty Nguyen, Layne Flack, and Phil Ivey. Ivey decided that he couldn't take the pressure and didn't come to Las Vegas. Oh, that's right, he lives in Atlantic City, and there was a nice event going on there at the Taj Mahal. Regardless, Phil was scared. Men "The Master" Nguyen was able to sneak into the top five with a win, and T.J. Cloutier was able to create some separation from the field by winning the pot-limit Omaha event. More importantly, I put myself in position to break into the top 100 if I had flown to the Taj Mahal and won the last five events of its tournament. If only I wasn't so lazy and had played in a few more events during the year - or was a better player and had scored in a few more events. I guess I will try again in 2003.

2003 has a chance to be the best year yet for poker. The World Poker Tour events will appear on television and introduce the game to new players everywhere. All of the televised events will show players' holecards, which will be great. We all will be able to see how some of the great players thrive under pressure, and how some crack. Also, there will be more tournaments than ever in 2003, and more $10,000 events. Good luck, and have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.