Odds and Ends

Having thought poker had peaked in about 1980, I just can't seem to adjust to poker being not only mainstream, but limelight, paparazzi, and red carpet, as well. There are celebrity functions, invitational tournaments for high-ranking corporate executives, charity events, and on and on. Recently, I became aware of a function in the snowy beauty of the Lake Tahoe region for Hummer executives. There was a huge amount of prize money donated by the owners, as well as a lot of money raised for charity. So many opportunities exist for people in so many walks of life to rub elbows with their own perceived greatness or larger than life character; poker in many venues has become a bit of a stargazing zone for watchers, rather than players.

This was quite evident at the recently concluded World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational hosted by Commerce Casino in Southern California. It was a night (well, day, actually) of a hundred (well, lots of) stars. Everywhere you turned there was someone you knew from the big screen or TV. There were many people you recognized from some shows you had seen, but couldn't quite put names to the faces.

Camryn Manheim and Jan Fisher

Those whom I readily recognized were Raymond from Everybody Loves Raymond fame, Macaulay Culkin from all of those great Home Alone movies, Sara Gilbert from the old Roseanne show, as well as true poker enthusiasts Jennifer Tilly, Mimi Rogers, and Camryn Manheim. Also appearing were James Woods, Gabe Kaplan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mena Suvari, Norm MacDonald, and Steven Collins, along with a host of others. While I am not a star-struck person by nature, if a show's character grabs me to the point where I genuinely care what happens to him or her each week when I tune in, the real person becomes someone of interest to me. This had been the case with Ms. Manheim. I had seen her at several of the poker functions and always wanted to approach her and get to meet her, but being the shy person I am, I had always passed on the opportunity. But the chance jumped in my face on this day (I was a railbird) when I visited the ladies room during a break. Enter Camryn. She commented to the ladies in the restroom how nice it was to be at a poker game where we (ladies) didn't have to stand in lines to use the john. How true, but she said it, I didn't. It made me smile and realize that she was a regular person like the rest of us. After all, she was in the ladies room!

So, how did my brush with greatness go? I waited outside the ladies room until she exited, and then approached her, introduced myself, and asked if it would be OK to have my photo taken with her. I apologized for the intrusion and said that I hoped I hadn't bothered her. She was as gracious as could be, and her response was that it would be a bother if people stopped asking her. She not only posed for a photo with me, but when I didn't like the first one, she suggested taking a second. Anyway, here we are together in the photo in this column. I have checked out her website, www.camrynmanheim.com, and found her theatrical credits to be totally amazing. I had not realized what a truly talented and versatile actress she is.

On another note, I recently attended the World Poker Tour Boot Camp. It was held in one of the ballrooms at The Mirage. It was a two-day poker camp of sorts, with instruction, table labs where participants played actual hands that were preset to correspond to actual play during one of the WPT shows, and more. There was a shootout tournament in which the instructors watched over everyone and then critiqued the play afterward, as well as a multitable satellite in which the winner won an entry into a satellite to play for a WPT entry. The shootout winners received WPT chip sets and other goodies. All attendees received a gift bag with books, shirts, hats, poker calculators and software, and more. A nice breakfast and lunch were served on both days, a cocktail hour and snacks were provided in the evening, and beverages were available all day. More camps are coming up in many different states, including Florida, Connecticut, New York, California, and more. Some of the instructors you can look for include Ron Rose, Clonie Gowan, Mike Sexton, Scott Fischman, Alex Outhred, and Linda Johnson. You can obtain more info by going to http://www.wpt.bootcamp.com/.

Finally, here's some personal news of which I am hugely proud. There is a new poker show that is an offshoot of the WPT, and it's called the Professional Poker Tour (PPT). It is comprised of players who became participants based on past achievements or were voted in by a selection committee of their peers. I have been invited to be the live studio audience announcer for this event. This is quite a thrill, and I look forward to seeing myself on TV once this show is picked up, most likely by a network. I will be the lady in black (like Linda Johnson is for the WPT). It will be fun being on the stage and calling the action, as well as entertaining the crowd a bit during production breaks. If you don't know me, I am seldom at a loss for words! Class dismissed.

As always, please contact me with your poker-related questions and comments, and go to www.cardplayercruises.com for poker cruise info. Also, the upcoming Oasis Open, May 5-10, will feature two ladies-only events, May 3-4.