And the Award Goes to …

A year ago, world-renowned party-throwers Bodog.com came to us with an offer to sponsor Card Player's Player of the Year award and the awards show. The show would take poker's top award and elevate it into a gala party, a la the "Oscars for poker," minus Joan Rivers ragging on everyone's clothes.



Fast-forward nine months: We had a few conference calls with Bodog and it was clear that this bash was going to live up to the hype. The Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre in downtown Hollywood was to be the venue, invitations went out to poker's top players, and all cylinders were on "go" to make this the biggest event poker has ever experienced.

Fast-forward to the afternoon of the award show. We booked 10 rooms for the Card Player crew at some cheap hotel in Hollywood. It wasn't quite the Ritz, but we had an entire floor for Card Player. It was like fraternity days all over again. Team Card Player trolled around Hollywood, bought a few cheesy plastic Oscar awards (we knew no awards were coming our way!), and prowled around looking for celebrities. We didn't see any famous faces. I guess they were getting ready for the party.



Our night got off to a rocky start when, in our cab to the theater, one of L.A.'s finest drivers injured our crew after a near car accident. (My wife got a tiny bruise on her back, and I'll hear about that forever). We arrived and limped our way to the red carpet. The paparazzi were there, ready to shoot our entrance. We were, after all, Card Player's own A-Team – Dominik Karelus, VP of international business development; Trey Aldridge, VP of sales; Rich Belsky, editor of Card Player College; and me, the very important head-boss guy. We walked on the red carpet and the photographers immediately put their cameras down and went on a break. As soon as Phil Ivey got out of a stretch limo, they were back clicking. How's that for the ego?



With an open bar and a plethora of Bodog girls, the party started right. The awards ceremony was absolutely hilarious, as Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond roasted all of the famous poker players. The crowd was rolling and Brad kept up the razor-sharp humor all the way till the end, and didn't spare anyone.



In all, awards were given in 14 different categories. Chip Reese accepted the first award of the night (Best Cash-Game Player), and gave a great speech that set the bar for the evening. After that, it became the Phil Ivey show, as he took home three awards (Best No-Limit Player, Best Heads-Up Player and Most Feared Player). The crowd was touched when Doyle Brunson won his lifetime achievement award, and everyone laughed when Daniel Negreanu accepted Allen Cunningham's Most Underrated Player award on his behalf (of course, crediting himself with being Allen's master tutor), and followed up by winning the People's Choice Award for Favorite Player. Daniel, thanks for the great Scotty Nguyen impression, baby! The awards ended with Phil Hellmuth presenting Men "The Master" Nguyen with Card Player's Player of the Year award.



Thanks to Bodog's hard work, the event was executed perfectly, and Card Player was able to be part of the greatest party in poker to date. Afterward, the party moved to the Geisha House for sushi, drinks, and a little poker with the boys. What an evening!