'A Drop in the Ocean'

All eyes in the UK face west during the World Series of Poker. Burgeoning home-grown tournament scene or not,

the bright lights of Las Vegas hold an undeniable fascination for the poker players (and generally gambling-curious) of the British Isles. This year, more British players than ever took the intercontinental plunge and headed to the desert. Well, more players than ever in general did so; with more than 2,000 runners per starting day of the main event (8,773 in total), the increased European showing didn't result in the high player-recognition quotient I was hoping for in my ambling between the 200 tables.



A small percentage of the fields or not, the WSOP held rewards for the Brits. The man previously referred to as "WPT Champion John Gale" is henceforth "Bracelet Winner John Gale" after his victory in the $2,500 pot-limit hold'em tournament, while fi nal-table appearances were made elsewhere by Julian Gardner, Stuart 'Foxy' Fox, Nottingham Nick Gibson and Paul 'badpab' Foltyn, among others. Despite never seeing fields at home even approaching the size of those in Vegas, quite a few dollars were taken back to the UK overall.



It is, however, an understandable fact that the U.S. media, including most live reporters, concentrate on American players. The majority of the audience is American, so too the field, and aren't the best, most well-known players also American, necessarily? The truly legendary figures like Doyle Brunson came from places like Texas, to be sure, but the explosion of the game named for the region, Texas hold'em, and its proliferation on the Net, has brought Europeans up to scratch pretty quickly. The game is being played at a high level, for currencies stronger than the dollar, all over the place now. So, why are online big names and consistent European winners like Johnny Lodden and Iwan Jones, Bengt Sonnert and Jani Sointula being all but ignored?



Purely from a British perspective, at the end of day 1c, a list materialised in the pressroom with a fairly hefty number of players and chip counts on it. While not entirely sure of its origin, I would have wagered quite a chunk on its coming from a U.S. news source; they'd omitted the chip leader, UK-based Richard Gryko, from the top of the list. Similarly, the buzz around the final three players in the $1,500 no-limit hold'em event in which Padraig Parkinson finished third was decidedly softer than that around, say, the seven-card stud event running simultaneously. Despite their prize pool being almost $3 million and the great entertainment potential that players like Irishman Padraig possess, they were just not given the attention of their U.S. counterparts (all top-three finishers were of the European persuasion).



While newly initiated British FullTilters The Hendon Mob and Roland de Wolfe were nicely visible in their trademark sportswear (with their names helpfully stencilled on their backs), even bracelet-owning British players like Lawrence Gosney and Willie Tann went unrecognised by the spectating hordes, and it now seems sensible for sponsors to label their guys and gals if they want accurate name spelling and even coverage at all for players who are well-known "back home," whether that be the UK, Australia, or Scandinavia.



I am in no way suggesting that total coverage of all non-American WSOP players is practical, necessary, or even possible. I am as daunted by the size of the Rio's sprawling Amazon Room as the next person, and as biased in coverage toward players I already know; every country that sends its top pros to Vegas unavoidably sends a host of random Internet qualifiers, too. But big names in the U.S. are big names everywhere, while only a few foreigners qualify. For example, I routinely asked players and watchers if they knew any British runners, and at least half of them said as

their one guess, "Tony G?"



Sometimes Dave Colclough's name got mentioned, and if being televised makes one recognisable, the interesting sideline to El Blondie's Vegas trip can't hurt. This is the documentary filmed in the "House of Cards," an extraordinarily opulent mansion filled with assorted poker pros and camera crew, who between them were aiming to document a month in the lives of those who live the WSOP dream – or nightmare: A brutally honest World Series diary kept by Dave documents just how pricey a month of four- and five-figure tournaments can be when one's multitable tournament form is elusive, even if the pot-limit Omaha cash games treat one well.



While all of this was occurring, an American who'd lived in London for years (and therefore counts as British) was staying awake, attempting to break the world record for heads-up play. He cracked it – 74 hours in the end, taking on all challengers with five-minute breaks for more than three days, with the Gutshot's hardworking dealers on hand to facilitate the action, 24 hours a day. Ron "MadYank" Fanelli wasn't making that much sense at the end of the challenge, but then again, talk to him when he hasn't been up that long.



And finally, here's an aside from the Series: A young German player I know (George Danzer) found himself referred to on one site as the WSOP main event's "fashion violator of the day." Not sure how to take this accolade, I suggested that he might be comforted to know that pot-limit bracelet holder (2005) Brian Wilson and John McGrane win the prize hands down. This is what happens when you don't have a dress code.



Jen Mason is part of www.blondepoker.com. She is responsible for its live tournament coverage in the UK and abroad.