Random Thoughts

It's a great time to be a poker player. As I travel around to World Poker Tour events, it's obvious that players are very appreciative of the opportunities that poker now provides them. In addition to the whopping prize pools of WPT events and freerolls in Professional Poker Tour (PPT) tournaments, many players now enjoy the business opportunities coming their way. Just about the only complaint I hear is from the "old-school" players, who say, "I wish I were 25 years younger."

I recently participated in the World Poker Players Conference, hosted by Card Player Cruises (Linda Johnson, Mark Tenner, and Jan Fisher) at Bellagio. This was a one-day seminar in which attendees could improve their games. A stellar group of speakers – including Mike Caro, Daniel Negreanu, Mark Gregorich, Barry Tanenbaum, Lee Jones, Linda Johnson, Mark Tenner, Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Roy Cooke, George Epstein, and I – shared their knowledge and poker expertise. Around 400 people attended this prestigious event. I'm certain they were glad they did so, as it was a very entertaining and educational day.

Mike Caro served as the master of ceremonies for the conference. I have tremendous respect for Mike. He is one of a kind. He was doing poker research long before computers or educational tools on poker ever came into being. Over the last 25 years, he has done more to educate the public about poker than anyone else. On behalf of everyone in the poker industry, I'd like to say, "Thanks, Mike!"

Doyle Brunson is a living legend in the poker world. He was one of the speakers on the last panel of the day, the question-and-answer panel. When Doyle was introduced, he received a tremendous standing ovation. It was a chilling moment. To me, it was the highlight of the conference. It's great to see the appreciation that players have for all that Doyle has done for poker throughout his career.

It seems that every venue on the World Poker Tour sets a new record. The recent event at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods, with 674 players, was the largest event in the history of the World Poker Tour. And that number didn't come about by accident. The Foxwoods staff ran satellites for months for the $10,000 buy-in championship event. Their Act I, Act II, and Act III satellite system allows players to buy into the level they can afford. They enable everyone to "go for the gusto." In all, more than 6,000 satellites were run at Foxwoods for the WPT championship event. Hats off to Director of Poker Operations Kathy Raymond and Tournament Director Mike Ward for doing such an outstanding job.

Ken Flaton

On a sad note, we recently lost a valued member of the poker community, longtime poker pro Ken Flaton. I don't know anyone who didn't have the utmost respect for Ken, both at and away from the table. Ken didn't chitchat at the table. He always paid attention to what was going on. He was the most focused player at the table I've ever seen.

I once asked Ken how he remained so focused all the time. He said, "Mike, I know I don't have the talent that most of the top players do. It takes me longer to figure things out, so I have to work harder. To survive, I must focus on the game at hand. That's what I do." I'm not so sure about his lack of talent, as he survived in the Las Vegas poker world for 30 years.

Everyone admired the work ethic and professionalism of Ken Flaton. He never whined about a bad beat or criticized an opponent for how he played a hand. He was gracious in victory and defeat. He was the consummate professional and will be missed by all of us who had the privilege of knowing him. All the best to his wife, Crystal, and son, Aaron.

Take care.

Mike Sexton is the host of PartyPoker.com (the "World's Largest Poker Room") and a commentator on the World Poker Tour (which can be seen every Wednesday on the Travel Channel).