Category Archives: WSOP

Apr
20
2011

They Paved Paradise Part I: The Dawn

There is really no need to interview Perry as the spewage is constant. If I took notes in shorthand on speed, it would be hard to keep up with the banter — Amy Calistri I wrote that about Perry Friedman in April 2003 – later quoted in Tales from the Tiltboys. I had played online […]

By java | Also posted in Las Vegas, Online Poker | Comments (3)
Dec
22
2010

How the World Series of Poker Saved Me from the Market Crash: Part II

“OK. Well I just hope I can sell this to the Lithuanian,” the voice on the phone concluded. I had just finished negotiating my contract to cover the 2008 World Series of Poker. It hadn’t gone as well as I had hoped. I got more than they initially offered, but not quite as much as […]

By java | Also posted in Investment | Comments (4)
Dec
18
2010

How the World Series of Poker Saved Me from the Market Crash: Part I

“The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.” John Maynard Keynes I thought a lot about Keynes’ cautionary words during the summer of 2007. But in the end, being early saved me. And strangely enough, the World Series of Poker gets most of the credit. In February 2007, HSBC wrote down over […]

By java | Also posted in Investment | Comments (6)
Nov
06
2010

Uncovering the Biggest Error in the World’s Largest Sporting Event: Part I

Tim Lavalli and I were hardly the only reporters who noticed. The entire media room was buzzing when the final chip counts on Day Seven of the 2006 World Series of Poker were announced. The fact that the count was two million too high escaped almost no one. Yet Tim and I were the only […]

By java | Comments Off on Uncovering the Biggest Error in the World’s Largest Sporting Event: Part I
Nov
06
2010

Uncovering the Biggest Error in the World’s Largest Sporting Event: Part II

The second article in the series went into excruciating detail to refute the “race-off” explanation for the introduction of two million extra chips into the 2006 World Series of Poker. At the time of its publication, Harrah’s was still publicly affirming this explanation. We subsequently learned, however, that by the time these articles were published, […]

By java | Comments Off on Uncovering the Biggest Error in the World’s Largest Sporting Event: Part II
Nov
06
2010

Uncovering the Biggest Error in the World’s Largest Sporting Event: Part III

Two Million Questions: Will Poker Answer (Part III) by Amy Calistri and Tim Lavalli, originally published September 8, 2006 In Part II, we dismissed the possibility that two million extra chips found their way into the 2006 WSOP Championship Event through the normal processes of blinding off dead stacks and chip race-offs. We also noted […]

By java | Comments Off on Uncovering the Biggest Error in the World’s Largest Sporting Event: Part III
Nov
15
2009

The Pollack Legacy: The Good, The Bad and The Silly

The dealer barely put down the deck on the 2009 WSOP when it was announced that Jeffrey Pollack, the World Series of Poker Commissioner, had resigned. In 2005, Harrah’s hired Pollack on as the Vice President of Marketing. In January 2006 he got bumped to the new position of WSOP Commish. Pollack excelled on a […]

By java | Comments (1)
Sep
13
2009

Poker and Investing: Dragons of Fortune

Last month, I wrote this article for StreetAuthority.com on casino and gambling stocks. Any way you cut it, gambling stocks are still under pressure. But I picked one B&M and one online company I thought had the edge. Both companies made the news last week, making me look smart. Wynn Resorts received approval from Hong […]

By java | Also posted in Investment, Online Poker | Comments (2)
Jun
05
2009

Poker’s Old School Still Rules

“Dear Amy, thanks for the kind words and I will see you at the Rio, Tom.” Well actually Tom McEvoy probably won’t see me at the Rio – at least not this month. Like last year, I’m feeling the double-edged sword of not covering the WSOP. I’m glad I’m not the one putting in 14 […]

By java | Also posted in Mike Matusow, Poker Media, Professional Poker Players | Comments (4)
May
26
2009

Nominate Andy Glazer for The Poker Hall of Fame

I will be nominating Andy Glazer for the Poker Hall of Fame. Public nominations open today and will remain open until July 2nd. If you are in the poker media and were inspired by his work, I ask you to join me. If you lived for his tournament reports as a fan of poker, as […]

By java | Also posted in Poker Media | Comments (6)