Andy Beal Is Back to Wynn: That's a Wrap for NowThe "Amateur" With the Deep Pockets Returns to Play |
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It appears that Texas billionaire Andy Beal came to terms with "The Corporation," a team of professional poker players who aggregate their money and match it against his in a spirited game of limit Texas hold'em. This week, they met again for a heads-up, high-stakes poker match that's scheduled to last for days.
Beal is the banker, real estate developer, and mathematical theorist who established fame, but not fortune, when he repeatedly challenged the elite of the poker world. A year has passed since his last visit and the saga continues at new location, the Wynn Hotel Casino on the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip.
The burgeoning aerospace entrepreneur suffered a loss to his bankroll, and possibly his ego, during the previous year's matchup, but Beal appeared confident and ready for a new challenge.
The Corporation bought in for $10 million. The stakes were negotiated, with the team of Las Vegans voting for $30,000-$60,000 limits, but Beal insisted the blinds start at $25,000-$50,000 making the limits $50,000-$100,000.
But after playing each day from Wednesday to Sunday, this session of the biggest game in the world has come to a close. Card Player's summary of the session follows.
Three-Day Weekend
Play started in the early afternoon on Friday with Ted Forrest again representing The Corporation. It appeared Beal was employing a more aggressive style and action made it repeatedly to the river, creating larger scores. One pot was estimated at over $1 million, but the average was about $300,000.
Forrest was unaffected by Beal's switch-up in style and ended the day at $4.5 million ahead, giving The Corporation a $2.5 million lead over the last three days.
Play ended about 9:30 p.m., PST but many spectators had already cleared the rails to attend the Legends Celebrity Poker Invitational event being held at the Palms Hotel located off the Strip.
On Saturday, the cards went in the air shortly before 1 p.m. PST and Beal appeared focused and determined not to experience the slide similar to the day before. Forrest was again the opponent and appeared to have no problems adjusting his play. Beal was deliberate and steady and the river card rarely made it to the felt.
Play ended at about 7:30 p.m. with no substantial gains for either side.
Sunday's session was short and play broke around 4 p.m. due to everyone wanting to experience the Super Bowl. Todd Brunson, who batted first for the The Corporation on Wednesday, again faced Beal and was able to keep his team in the black.
According to Howard Lederer, Beal was down $2.8 million for the week and it wasn't clear whether Beal would be returning on Monday.
Day Two
On Thursday, Feb. 2, Jennifer Harman sat down to the second day of heads-up match play between members of The Corporation and Beal. Harman followed Brunson, who played for five hours on Wednesday. That match ended with The Corporation down by around $1 million, but it would continue for four more days, plenty of time for the members to recover their losses.
The score isn't tallied by day; on the contrary, it's considered by everyone involved as one long game.
The blinds were again $25,000/$5,000, making the limits $50,000-$100,000. Play commenced at 2 p.m. PST and there were no substantial swings for the next couple of hours. Compared to Wednesday, more members of The Corporation were inside the high limit area and security was high around the rail making it difficult to witness the action. At one point it appeared Harman was up a couple of racks, approximately $1 million, but slid to about even before the dinner break.
Despite Beal's mention in his famous letter to Doyle Brunson of "musical chair" tactics from The Corporation, where members would switch up fresh participants while Beal was the only player on his team, he appeared ready for another challenge.
After dinner, Ted Forrest replaced Harman at the table. It appeared Forrest experienced a cold deck and folded several blinds. By the end of the evening he was down about a rack.
Day One
On Wednesday, Feb. 1, "The Corporation" introduced its first player, who celebrated the biggest win during the last union, the heads-up specialist Todd Brunson.
Security was tight, making it difficult to observe play, but didn't stop a crowd from gathering to witness the spectacle taking place on table two. The high-limit area of the Wynn poker room was roped off, open only to members of "The Corporation," casino floor personnel, and Beal. The Wynn's policy is to protect their VIPs and ensure privacy, so staff remained close-mouthed about details surrounding the event, until after noon.
Play commenced around 2 p.m. PST and an hour passed with no significant scores, though Beal did take down a pot worth over $500,000. By 3 p.m., Brunson had emptied one of his four racks, each worth $250,000.
Rallying their troop were Jennifer Harman and her husband Marco Traniello, Ted Forrest, Minh Ly, Chau Giang, and Johnny Chan. According to Harman, the roster had been adjusted, adding unnamed and less-famous players.
"They're known around town, but don't get the notoriety as do the tournament pros on the circuit," Harman said.
Michael Craig, the author of the famous book The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King, was also present, creating an even bigger buzz while "back on the trail of the richest poker game of all time."
After five hours of intense competition, the players called it a night. It appeared Beal had chalked up a win of over $1 million, but tomorrow would be another day and Beal will have to face off against a fresh and fierce opponent.
A Note About This Report
The high-stakes matches between Beal and members of The Corporation have officially been non-public, even though the challenge is taking place inside the poker room at the Wynn Hotel Casino.
Casinos work hard to respect their VIPs' privacy.
"It's Wynn's policy to protect the VIP Mr. Beal, who has requested we respect his. "The floor personnel have been instructed not to share any details," poker room director Deborah Giardina stated during a phone conversation.
The swing shift high-limit floor supervisor, when asked for information about the day's events, echoed the same sentiment.
"I can tell you it started at 2 p.m., ended at 7 p.m. and it was played on table 2."
David Gray, a local pro poker player said this, "Right now we really don't want to talk about it. It doesn't do any good. It's just not public information."
Actually, he's right. Despite what might be rumored, this is not a tournament or a public match. This is a private game. It's being conducted in a public forum because it would be illegal to operate a high-stakes, heads-up, freeze-out poker match anywhere other than a lawful and safe environment. The same respect is given to gamers at much lower limits.
Without exception, high-limit baccarat, poker, and blackjack can all be played in private rooms with the highest security at any major hotel casino in Las Vegas or across the country. Most casinos have guarded, private rooms for high-limit table games, called "salons."
If someone dropped $10 million dollars on the table between Beal and a Corporation member and demanded they be allowed to play, they couldn't. It's the same principle as online poker rooms. Heads-up matches allow only two players and there are only two chairs offered. It's heads-up.
Beal has expressed his sentiments in the past about false reporting on these "Big Game" events. In September of 2004 he wrote, "The extent of my losses is often exaggerated and mischaracterized. These stories have become like fishermen's tales, in which the fish is always getting bigger every time the story is told." This might explain his desire for obscurity.
What we do know is what we've witnessed on the rails and outside the ropes over the past few days. Card Player will continue to follow the rivalry between Beal and the pros throughout the year.
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