Diary

Wednesday, April 1
Not much travel on the agenda at the moment so I have been residing in Gibraltar. There have been a lot of promotions at PartyPoker.com recently so I’ve been working on promoting them. There is, however, a new Gala Casino on the Rock and a busy poker room. Best to avoid those guys from Poker Strategy at the tables though as I may make a fool out of myself. I’m going to the Irish Open this year which should be fun if not a little dangerous.

Years ago I worked for Ladbrokes and found a nun who had picked the last three winners of the Grand National horse race in a row. The story “Winning Habit” blew up worldwide, the puns were endless — “God’s on Favourite”,  “Betting en Masse” — you catch my drift. A lot of punters latched on to her tip and I was praying for my job as Gunner Welburn went over the final fence leading.

Third place was eventually secured but the trading director at the time still wasn’t too happy with me as we got hit hard on the each-way. Anyway it turns out she plays poker too and I am looking at the possibility of her playing in an event. She raised a lot of money for a hospice first time around and I hope that this time we can do the same if it happens. I can hear Jesse May now: “Sister Rita is looking for divine inspiration from the river”. Imagine throwing the “Devilfish” into the mix too. That would be one almighty gamble.

I used to be a regular on radio shows in the U.K. and had a little stab again last weekend on the BBC talking about the University Boat Race. After stating that Oxford were huge odds-on favourites, the DJ proceeded to ask me for a price for a boat to sink and how a boat could be sunk. Being no expert I just replied, “Someone could drop a huge log in the river.”

Talking of radio I heard Roy “The Boy” Brindley promoting his book “Life’s A Gamble” on a station recently. However it seemed as though the presenter was keener on talking about his life than Roy’s. Hats off to Roy though — there were loads of mainstream TV and radio appearances. I didn’t get a reply when I asked for a free copy of the book though…

Thursday, April 2

Preparations have started for the PartyPoker.com Women’s World Open and Sports Stars Challenge in May. The line-ups are yet to be confirmed but are looking more international than ever. The Sports Stars Challenge looks set to have two new great heats featuring motor racing and golf.

Some readers of Card Player will not be impressed by the quality of play by some of the participants in this event but the fact is people who are new to the game are more interested in such formats. One player who is confirmed for the motorsport heat is Giancarlo Fisichella, while Lee Westwood has confirmed to take part in the golf heat.

Footballers always seem to do well in this tournament and I will be intrigued to see how Frank Lebeouf and Ronald de Boer get on as I haven’t seen them at a table before. It makes me think about a previous football event we did a few years ago.

An Italian international pulled out at the last minute and was replaced by a fellow countryman who played in Barnet FC’s reserves. He passed pocket aces before the flop. Ouch!

Another so called “classic” was by Neville Southall, which has been widely written about and watched on YouTube. Maybe that’s why Dave Colclough has rightly never said a word to me since, and it’s all thanks to the Everton legend, Southall! Check it out.