The Tinseltown Invasion

Yesterday was Hollywood Day at the WSOP Main Event, or at least it seemed like it in the section I was covering. Todd Phillips, director of Old School, Road Trip, Starsky & Hutch, and Bittersweet Motel (the Phish movie) had a helluva Day 2 and jumped out to the chip lead by mid-afternoon. On one of my trips past his table, I stopped to count his stack and he leaned over and asked me "So, what's the biggest stack in the room?"

"About 300-320K right now."

"Well I've got 342" he boasted, with a smile.

"Then I guess it's you."

Tobey Maguire was also moved into my section, right before the dinner break. He took a seat next to Pot Committed reader and online poker whiz Mandy Baker, who had steadily been building her stack all day. I had a similar experience myself when I played in my first WSOP event in '05. When my first table broke, I got moved two to Tobey's right. I was wearing a baseball cap from one of the Big Man's recent flicks and Tobey asked, "Hey, you work for those guys?" I nodded like a geek and just prayed I wouldn't make a donkey move in front of him.

Montel Williams also played his Day 2 today, but busted out early. I also noticed Nick Cassavetes on the roster and wondered if it was the same dude who directed "The Notebook."

A little-known actress called Deanna Dozier also made it to Day 2. She played today under the glare of cameras and constant media scrutiny despite the fact that no one has ever heard of her. I looked Deanna up on IMDB and she has credits from one episode of MadTV, a bit part in the 2005 Robert Downey Jr. flick Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, and a starring role in the film Girls Gone Psycho, which thus far, has only had a theatrical release in Vietnam.

So, basically, Showcase has more film and television credits than this girl. That's not saying much. And still, every lens was trained on her face. Sabyl Cohen had to make the final 7 tables last year for anyone to sit up and take notice of her. Oh waiiiit.... that's right. Sabyl isn't a petite twentysomething blonde girl. What was I thinking?

I got off work at dinner break and when I got home,I found that I actually had the energy to play a couple of tournaments. I played an $11 6-max NLHE one on Full Tilt. 251 runners, 30 paid, change100 finishes... 37th. Is that just like me or what? You know, if I didn't, I don't know, lose every single coinflip, run queens into kings and get rivered out of 3 pots where I was better than 4-1 on the turn, I might have made twenty whole dollars. I was crushing those fucking donks. Seriously, I don't know anyone with poker luck as foul as mine... except maybe grubby.

At the same time I bought into a $5.50 H.O.R.S.E. MTT. I've been donking around at the very low limits in H.O.R.S.E. cash games for a few minutes a night since coming to the Series. Covering so many mixed game events sort of gave me the appetite for it. 109 runners, 16 paid, change100 finishes... 24th. There goes another 2 1/2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

I've been dead tired for a month now, but I have very rarely wanted to put my fist through a wall. Oh right, that's because I WASN'T PLAYING ONLINE POKER. Or, really any poker for that matter. And when I was playing live? I wanted to put my fist through a variety of clueless old people dribbling off their pensions at the Station Casinos. In the words of my boss, Tony G, I want to "rip them apahht so hahhhd."

Maybe I should talk to my psychiatrist about increasing my dosage when I get back to L.A. Or perhaps it's because I've been smoking maybe 25% of my typical weed intake since the WSOP began. Though I must say, for a girl completely spoiled on California medicinal bud, the product I've enjoyed here in Vegas is pretty damned good. Blueberry, Trainwreck, Hindu Kush, Bubble Berry... excellent stuff.

Day 2B starts in just under ten minutes. 1305 runners will whittle down to about 400 by night's end. Vinny Vinh's stack, blinded down to 3,300 when he took off on his Day 1 dinner break and never returned is sitting on Table 225. There are rumors abound that his backers hired bodyguards to ensure that he shows up. We'll have the skinny on PokerNews, that's for sure.

If you survive today, you have a great shot at cashing. It's time to pump up or go home.