blonde poker forum

We're here!  After only 17 hours of travel yesterday, we're settled in to our Resort (no less) and commuting on time to the Rio Media Centre in the Rio Convention Centre in the Rio in Las Vegas in Nevada in the USA!

We'll be bringing you the live and interactive blonde update experience right here on this thread ("Lite" updates on parallel thread if you want the bare bones.  Please do not post on the "At a glance" thread).

Snoopy is getting his first glance of the incredible size of the ballroom thing in which people are already playing something (satellites?  who knows?) and we're getting ready for the start of this high-buy-in prestige all-rounder HORSE event.  That's at 12pm here - 8pm back in the UK.

 :hello:

Paul Phillips' blog said 37 entries when he signed up. Will it get over 50 Jen?

The glory of a media pass: we have real chairs, and wifi and a desk and free coffee (going to have to go easy on that) and croissants and it's all a nice temperature.  Compared to the sit-in-hallathon of last year, this is going to be luxury...

Just going to see what's going on in the other room - Snoopy's computer is acting up again and the wifi looks to be MINE all MINE at the moment, so his nice photos will be usurped by me.  And shown to you.  In a moment.

Already 97 according to a sign in the Media Centre - who'd have thought...

Can you wish Paul Phillips good luck from me?

He won't have a clue who I am but the thought kind of amuses me.

Jen i'll come over in a bit ;) 
I think me and Rhowena are up for rollercoasters today  yay

I said it would pass 100! Make me right! Jen if its 99 i am putting you in it.

A blonde live update and you have managed to get usurped in there already- is there some sort of side bet/pool between you and spoony as to who can get the most obscure words in their posts?

Here's Snoopy's impression of the Scale of the room as it is now - full already and not past noon...

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I played a game of horse on Full Tilt the other night, was going fine until I played my kkQQ extremely aggressively during the 7 card stud, shame the round had moved onto Razz... :blonde:

I'm always playing that game, it's an idiosyncrasy I intentionally foster, at the cost of accusations of verbosity due to the prolix nature of my prose style. 

Expect shorter posts when the coffee wears off.

The Scrabble nationals are in Phoenix...

We reckon this is where the HORSErs are heading- quite formidable stack of chips they get.  And I should hope so too, for $50k... will try to get a full player list for you, in case you're as curious as we are as to who's playing.

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Can you imagine the Vic, lol. Day 2 "ok we need to get down to 9 so its a 20 min clock for today."

now you are just showing off. Dont hit the free coffee too hard jenn ;)
See you Sunday btw when me yoyo and womble all arrive.

50,000 chips, 25-50, and its limit! Could take a while!

Hi all

snoops here

Event starts in 5 minutes, from what I understand.

Meanwhile, I can't seem to connect to the wireless here, which is driving me round the bend.

rumour has it that we are around the 110 mark

snoops

Play starting in less than 15 minutes, and less than 10% of the players seem to be in the room... they can just sleep in, to be honest, as they'll lose about 200 chips an hour if they don't show up...

Just been on a quick tour (quick meaning 20 minutes just to walk the perimeter) and it's just like last year, with the wonderful exception of the quiet spaciousness in the press room, and the fact that there's a guy selling popcorn down the hall.  The smell is driving me bonkers.  Must go get some.

Bumped into Ram Vaswani, who's playing - he's never played Razz before, apparently. 

He had never played chinese poker before Monte Carlo but it didn't stop him playing for a grand a point and taking a huge chunk off the scandi mafia lol. I am sure he will be ok

looking forward to some excellent reporting like usual!  :)up

how many brits are playing this one?

Errr... still waiting on that list, but I saw Tony G and Tony Bloom hastening towards the room.  Don't think the rest of the Hendon Mob are playing, but I am sure there are more lurking in there.  Going to have a Snoop.

P.S.  Send your good wireless vibes to Snoopy - anyone who understands why a Netgear card might not be working please let him know!!

 :hello:            snoops and jen , looking forward to the updates , have a great time in vegas..(snoops , keep the safety catch on your guns )

Maybe one day this Event will be called the CHORSE.

By the way, I'm connected.

woohoo

Jen and I were having a pre-leave for the Rio guess at which Brits would be playing, and we both struggled.

My assumption is that entrants into this Event, besides the obvious amateur high-rollers, will be havily backed by sponsorship. Therefore, I reckon you'll see few Brits involved, as European sponsorship deals just aren't as Lucrative as the ones of say, Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet.

We may see the likes of the Devilfish, The Hendon Mob, Tony Bloom, Tony G, and co, but not too many more.

I may be proved wrong though.

odds please on time of first KO in the horse. I will go for 7ish vegas time.

im guessing there were satallites for this snoops?if so what was the buy ins$1000???? p.s you and jen have a great time and snoops>>>no MUFFING,of the poker kind that is lol gl m8.

Play has started - the T.D. announced "shuffle up and deal" and the pricey megatourney is underway.

Spotted:

Jennifer Harman
Tony G
Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson
Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Greg Raymer (same table)
Mel Judah
Christy Gazes (I think)
Ram Vaswani
Mike Matusow
Gus Hansen
Patrick Antonius
Scotty Nguyen
Marcel Luske
Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott
David Benyamine
John D'Agostino

LOWER

Try tools/internet options/connections and uncheck 'always dial my default connection' and check 'never dial a connection'

Tomorrow?

Action shot of Chris Ferguson, looking genial and relaxed always.

N.B.  From here on in "action shot" means "a bit blurry, as we're not allowed flash photography." 

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How come everyone is fully clothed in the photos ?

I thought that this was the whores event  ::)

And here's one of Gus 'Great Dane' Hansen next to Scotty Nguyen.  You might not be able to tell, but it is, it is!

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Well, I think you'll find the pics a bit disappointing in that case, LOL. 

Is the seniors event being played in the same room?
Alan Lake aka Rio Rodent is playing, no idea if you can find him or not?



Cheers



Jason

Unless you wanted pics of a grinning Patrick Antonius.  Like this one.  He's already won it in his head.

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I wish I was there, sigh!

Tomorrow, start with 1000BB's and its limit.

Yes, the Seniors are sceduled for today - somewhere in the gigantic playing area lurks your friend - I will do my best to find him, but the HORSE is in another, shall we say, borough to the Seniors, and we might not be able to. 

all my pics are naked mate,   sry i had the hun up oops lol

While we attend the list (on its way!  Hooray!  Thanks to Nolan Dalla and lovely press room lady; here's the man tikay refers to as "Boy Band Ulliott..."

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Thanks Jen, no worries if you cant.

A few players sharing tables:

Doyle Brunson, Scott Fischman, & J Hennighan
Mike Matusow, Marcel Luske, & Mike Sexton
Ted Forrest, Tony Bloom, & Dutch Boyd
Michael Mizrachi, Ram Vaswani, & Dutch Boyd
Phil Ivey, John Juanda, & Greg Raymer
Freddie Deeb, David Chui, & Huck Seed
Mike Caro & Johnny Chan
Gus Hanson, Allen Cunningham, & the Shiek
Barry Greenstein, Max Pescatori, Scotty Nguyen, Andy Bloch, & Chris Fersguson

Which of those would make you feel slightly concerned?

any of dutch boyds tables, how can he do that?

brad.strider - I just noticed this as well - shurely shome mishtake?  Or Dutch Boyd's recruited his own Doppelganger - which doesn't sound like playing fair.

The one and only Marcel Luske, avec eyewear.



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Oh, my little ears are always perked up - overhear that there are 143 players in the HORSE event (so far; I think late reg. is still a viable option).

Flushy, you weren't even close.  And I would have held you to that buy-in, by the way.

"avec eyewear"

English only please at the updates

:hello: Jen & Snoopy,

I'm looking forward to this equestrian event, when does the Rodeo proper start!!!!

Tonji.

Thankfully, the crowd have been forced to disperse, allowing me to take a few cool snaps.

Just from watching the stars at work, it's clear to me that they really do try their utmost to live up to their reputations as poker celebrities. Being unnecessarily loud and such, they want everyone to know they're here, which, when you're sponsored is quite understandable.

On the flipside though, you have Ivey and Juanda, quietly getting on with their game. They look focused and undeterred by any attention they may be receiving. Their willingness to just play, win, and not yearn for their face in front of the camera is a characteristic I admire in them.

I hope these two fair well today.

Looking forward to seeing how this goes, i arrive on sunday, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Before I trundle back for some hands, a few piccies for you...

Which means you are chasing your tail then?

I wonder what % of the players are in there on their own coin

20%?

Two of my favourite players, seated side-by-side.



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A silent assassin...



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One of the louder fellows in the room...



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KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Hellloooooooooo anybody there?

OK, here we are, the full list as of 15 minutes ago! 

Amit, Rafi                   Pescatori, Max
Antonius, Patrik          Phan, Thien
Appleman, Mickey       Phillips, Paul
Arieh, Josh                 Porter, Ralph
Awada, Yehia             Ramdin, Annand
Bechtel, James           Raymer, Greg
Benyamine, David        Reese, David
Berman, Lyle              Reslock, Chris
Bloch, Andy                Rheem, David
Bloom, Tony              Richey, Brett
Bonyadi, Farzad          Rodman, Blair
Boyd, Russell              Rudd, Ralph
Brown, Chad              Schulman, Nicholas
Browne, Walter          Seed, Huck
Brunson, Doyle           Seidel, Erik
Brunson, Todd            Sexton, Mike
Bucci, Rocco               Shak, Daniel
Burt, Timothy             Sheikhan, Shahram
Caro, Mike                  Singer, David
Cassidy, Joseph           Sklansky, David
Cernuto, John            Smith, Christopher
Chan, Jon                  Smith, Gavin
Chase, Ricky               Sofer, Evan
Chen, William              Sorensen, Jan
Chiu, David                 Talebi, Rodeen
Cloutier, Thomas (J)    Tenner, Mark
Cousineau, Anthony     Thung, Roy
Cunningham, Allen       Tomko, Dewey
D'Agostino, John          Traniello, Jennifer
Deeb, Kassem              Trincher, Illya
Dehkharghani, Raymond  Ulliott, Dave
Diano, Steve                 Vanalstyne, James
Diaz, Arturo                  Vaswani, Ram
Do, Cong                      Violette, Cyndy
Duke, Annie                 Wattel, Michael
Edler, William                Weideman, Thomas
Elezra, Eliahu                Williams, David
Eslami, Ali                     Williamson, Robert
Farha, Ihsan                 Wong, David
Farnood, Sherkhan         Zolotow, Stephen
Feduniak, Maureen
Ferguson, Chris
Fischman, Scott
Flack, Dee
Forrest, Ted
Franklin, Thomas
Freedman, Avraham
Freedman, Jeffrey
Friets, Neal
Gazes, Kristy
Giang, Chau
Glantz, Matthew
Gray, Jason
Greenstein, Barry
Gregorich, Mark
Grey, David
Guoga, Antanas
Habib, Hasan
Hansen, Gus
Hansen, Thor
Hanson, John
Harman, Jennifer
Harmetz, Daniel
Haveson, Brian
Hawrilenko, Matthew
Hellmuth, Phil
Hennigan, John
Hollink, Rob
Hufnagle, Thomas
Ivey, Phil
Jackson, Timothy
Jett, Charles
Juanda, John
Jungblut, Brett
Jurgens, Tad
Kaplan, Gabriel
Kassela, Frank
Katz, Aaron
Keikoan, Matthew
Kessler, Allen
Kim, Ki
King, Jeffrey
Lawson, Ted
Le, Tuan
Lederer, Howard
Leonidas, Alfredo
Levi, David
Lindgren, Erick
Lisandro, Jeffrey
Luske, Marcel
Ly, Minh
Mascio, Gregory
Matusow, Mike
McCrink, James
McDow, Roger
McKenna, Michael
Mizrachi, Michael
Mortensen, Juan
Mosseri, Abraham
Negreanu, Daniel
Nguyen, Scotty
Oppenheim, David
Perry, Rafael

The players have just moved onto Razz.

Meanwhile, here are the chips they are playing with:

black = 100
pink = 500
yellow = 1000
orange = 5000

Apologies for the blurriness, no flash allowed.


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I haven't seen Daniel Negreanu yet, although there are one or two empty seats.

Fashionable late I guess.

I suppose if you've got a million bucks kicking around, you can afford to give the ol 50k comp a crack.

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Evening Jen, sloppy, hope you had a pleasing journey, & all is well with you & yours. Missing you both, loads.

Meanwhile, you are in Vegas sending stuff back to the blondes in Blighty, while I am sat doing a Live TV Show & pinching stuff off this Update to tell the TV watchers. I may just mention blonde, of course, one never knows......

And do please be careful, both of you.

xx

Here's John D'Agostino.  Can you tell how I knew?

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The name is on his shirt.

Hi there - enjoy your show!  We're probably at our energy peak for the week right now, so hopefully we'll be providing some interesting information for you soon.

We're staying (courtesy of Cole - MANY THANKS) at the Cancun resort about 10 mins away from the Rio, and it's nice to be able to escape the Convention Centre in the evenings, like last year. 

Snoopy seems to be taking everything in his stride - it's great to have him here immersed in the busiest poker weeks of the year.

No, I stole his wallet.

Sorry that's too quick for me.

 ;tightend;

a few chippy counts for you:

Phil Ivey -- 53,900
Layne Flack -- 55,000
Johnny Chan -- 51,000
Daniel Negreanu -- 48,200

I said easily over 100 i am quite happy!

I'm no Razz expert and it's very tricky to catch hands, but what I have seen is:

-- Phil Hellmuth scooping a decent sized pot off Annand 'Victor' Ramdin. Couldn't see Phil's cards, but Victor held 3h 8s Ad 6s 5d 6c 6h

-- Dewey Tomko v Mike Caro

Caro = 2s Ac 4c 5c

Tomko = Aspades 9h 9s Jc

Caro bets 600, Tomko folds.

i was a little supprised jen no Antonio Esfdiarirnieiriris or isabelle mercier? cant they play holdem?or omaha?

Calling all blondeites. I need your help.

Now, I recognise this fellow from 'High Stakes Poker', but I just can't seem to recall his name.

Any clever blondes out there? (never thought I'd need to ask that question)  ;goodvevil;

Anyhow, whoever he is... he's on 47,200

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Eli elezra (sp?)

As sponsored players of big companies, I would have expected both of these to have been present.

Or the reigning WSOP Champ?

Well, as eagle-eyed viewers may be able to tell from this piccy, Daniel Negreanu is arrived, and is looking as laid back as ever, but what about that for a line-up!

Cloutier, Benyamine, Mortensen, and Negreanu.

Aye carumba!



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ELEZRA ELIAHU hes normally got a red rose stuck up his hooter

Apparantly, he's made it through to Day 2 of yesterday's Event, which makes it difficult for him to participate in this HORSE Event.

Ok thanks snoops.

great updating guys thnx ,nothing on tv home here



till 11 then its 854 time lol

players are now on a short break

what time is it over there?

Just in case you're still unsure of what this event entails (like Karabiner):

Rounds of Hold'em, Omaha 8/b, Razz, Stud, Stud 8/b - each level constitutes one round and lasts 40 minutes.

However, the Final Table will be No-Limit Hold'em. And levels will be 90 minutes.

Day One play will carry on until completion of level 15, Day Two will run from 2pm (10pm UK) until the final table, then Day Three is for the finalists.

Howard Lederer is a pretty big chap who seems to tower over his table.



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10.35 ish 

High roller Ted Forrest...



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So what to make of this very dramatic game change for the final table?  Is it just because the televisation of limit Omaha and Stud etc. won't whip the spectators into a frenzy?  It's lucky the players get a night to sleep on it before changing game, as the jump to a No Limit game is quite large.  I reckon it would be just as interesting to watch 'niche' games played at the final table - seeing as they fought their way there with their seven-card abilities (predominately).

I'm hoping a NON-Sponsored shirt wins.  8)

Purely NL Hold 'Em??? That's just stupid. Adds a great deal more weight to Harry D's case imo.

Flopsy have a drink FFS, you are shaking like a shaky thing!!

you hit the nail on the head its like saying lets have the world cup of football and when we get to the final lets have a hold our breath competition to see who the winner is,they might aswell called it half H.O.R.S.E half (man?)hold-em

???

While doing that "who's on what table" wander, I heard Freddy Deeb having a shouty, but amiable conversation with Phil Hellmuth a couple of tables away.  He was saying something like, "I should have got you drunk in Paris..."  Wow, that's quite something to contemplate - those two out on a bender.

Ram Vaswani, whose gallant enthusiasm for this new event didn't quite register in this pic.  He's up from the starting stack though.  The two kinds of pink chips, and the way they blend into one another is making accurate counting difficult, but I'm going to go and spend some time now gathering a few to tell you who's off to a good start, or shrinking already.

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Mateyboy

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surley the name        h.o.r.s.e     stands for


                             H     HIGH
                             O     ORGANISED
                             R     ROLLERS
                             S     SPONSORED
                             E     EVENT
  


id like to see that one beaten :D :D :D :D
 i do love this event though

i think if they did anything rite, making the FT all NL was the one thing that is correct

How many people actually watch poker on TV for the poker content? Can you imagine Norman Chad saying "so, is he going to make a thin value raise here with 2nd pair laying his opponent 8/1 to try and bluff catch?" theres no way that will appeal to the mainstream audience.. they watch it for the excitement, and if you have a series of games that have ZERO all-in potential, it will be too boring for the mainstream, and lets face it.. they have no requirement to try and market the game to those who already play poker, its a cert that they will be watching anyways

totalise, you're quite right about the reasoning behind it, but perhaps underestimating the general public's interest in exactly that kind of content - it's true that the all-in potential is zero, but I remember quite a few people (not technically-minded poker purists) watching the Limit Hold'em WPT event program and finding it pretty interesting.  It just seems a lot of cash (from a player's perspective) to pony up to play your speciality games, to end up going for the big money in a completely different game.

The guy with his back to us who looks like he might have come from the front of the Tour de France is Tony G, with a great crowd of spectators behind the rail.

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As a side point, I always found the FT's of the Omaha and 7-card stud from the WSOP really interesting and I just wish the organisers actually had a modicum of faith in this tournament and it's viewers.

Well, I think they consider today a success.

They've just announced the prize pool.

$6.84 million with 1,784,620 going to first.

Don't forget that 20 dollars!

I agree with you Jen.

Variety is the spice of life, and I'm sure there are lots of people who'd have been interested in something different from the barrage of NLHE.

Do you know when the players found out about the final table set-up? Had they already bought in, or was it known in advance?

From what I can see, all the 'name' players are still in.

Not surprising really when you have 50k starting stacks.

true true, but I think we probably have a different perception of the general public... in that I think the general public is someone who rarely watches poker, but might flick onto channel X and see the glitz and glamour of people moving all in and winning $2m and the turn of a card, which isn't (imo)  likely to happen if they see someone with rolled up deuces going for a crafty sixth street check raise which earns them an extra 1/2 of a bet.

I only say this because my nans next door neighbour came to see me in my house and i was watching poker, and she was sat there as they were flicking 100,000 around like it was nothing, and it got me thinking "if this old bat can get excited from poker, it really has a great future".. which likely wouldn't happen if it stayed limit, and i am sure that whilst their target audience isn't the antiquated amonst us (no offense tikay), it is going to be targeted at people with similar exposure

I do know this much though, if I stumped up $50k to play a HORSE tourney, I would be disgusted if it reverted back to NL at the final table just to appease the public

Layne Flack -- 39,000
Gabe Kaplan -- 41,000
John D'Agostino -- 55,000
Daniel Negreanu -- 42,000

We're currently playing 7 card stud.

the players that is, not Jen and I

D'Agostino takes down a nice pot with a straight.

9c 8h 7d 5c 6s Qs Kc

3 players in

Negreanu bets a few hundred with Qh 3d Th

Cloutier and Mateyboy call.

Negreanu then bets 1k after receiving a Qd

Cloutier folds, Mateyboy calls with 9c 4c 4h 7d

Face down card deatl.

Negreanu bets around 2k, Mateyboy calls again.

Negreanu shows Kh 8h 5h and take down the pot with a flush.

Mateyboy mucks.

Carlos Mortensen loses a 10k pot after his opponent hits a straight on the last card.

Here is the quiet, but deadly Jon Hennighan, seated next to the now beardless Scott Fischman.

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Wasn't the old tournament of champions event all horse until the final table where it became NLHE?

Was fine back then?

That makes it around $300K in juice, heavens to murgatroid  ::)

I bet they never announced that.

The Shiek - A recent emerging star (mainly due to his Matusow Main Event quarrels - hmm, clever self-promotion perhaps?)



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The pics are blurred ???

Game has just become Stud 8-or-better...

And at the end of the Stud 40 mins, some counts for you:

Kristy Gazes       35,100
Freddy Deeb      68,000
Ram Vaswani     43,500
John D'Agostino  50,200
Howard Lederer  43,100
Tod Brunson       54,000
Daniel Negreanu  38,400
TJ Cloutier          46,500
John Juanda       64,000
Phil Ivey             51,500
Greg Raymer       52,600
Patrik Antonius    60,000
Tony G              45,100
Devilfish             37,200
Doyle Brunson     54,800
David Benyamine  48,000
Marcel Luske        67,000
Scott Fischman    44,600
Mike Matusow      55,500
Andy Bloch          43,800
David Grey           49,000
Michael Mizrachi    56,500
Tony Bloom        48,000
Gus Hansen         54,500
Scotty Nguyen     51,000
Rob Hollink          55,600
Annie Duke          52,000

I'm not in Vegas taking the pictures though... ;)

So shouldn't that be Snoopy, not Flopsy? Snoops, he's confused the two of us, get your guns out!!!

 :birthday:

Interesting hand from the last round - Hellmuth vs. Luske:

Marcel was sat with Aspades 2d 2c
Phil had 8s 8h Js

Marcel mutters something like "give me an Ace," but is making all the betting (600 a pop at this stage) with Phil calling.  Mike Matusow says to Phil, "I couldn't put you on a hand if I tried..." as their hands become:

Marcel:  Aspades 2d 2c 3h
Phil:  8s 8h Js 4s

Again, Marcel bets and Phil calls.  With all seven cards out, Marcel bets again, and Phil dwells, saying, "I'm thinking about raising.  I already played one hand like a coward.  It's you, Marcel, I raise."  Call - and Phil says, "straight," showing:

8s 8h Js 4s Qh 9h Th.  It's good.

Why thank you.  Oh, you were talking to Snoops...

Deeb loses a 10k plus pot to Mateboy.

He called  a final bet, but found his opponent sitting on a full house, aces over eights.

Meanhwile the Countdown audience have there own seniors tournament going.

I've never seen so many cardigans in one room!

please inform mr luske that i am available for 1 to 1 tuition if he should need my services

I expect Daniel N to make a move in stud 8, he reckons it's his best game.

Any sign of the dancing girls yet ?  ::)

yes it always has been and some complained others didnt

David Benyamine, Daniel Negreanu, and Mateyboy lock horns.

Benyamine -- ? Ac
Negreanu -- ? 6h
Mateyboy -- ? 3c

Benyamine bets, Negreanu and Mateyboy call.

Benyamine -- ? Ac 4c
Negreanu -- ? 6h 2h
Mateyboy -- ? 3c Ad

Mateyboy bets, Benyamine and Negreanu call.

Benyamine -- ? Ac 4c 8c
Negreanu -- ? 6h 2h Kd
Mateyboy -- ? 3c Ad 3c

Negreanu bets, Benyamine and Mateyboy call.

Benyamine -- ? Ac 4c 8c Tc
Negreanu -- ? 6h 2h Kd 2s
Mateyboy -- ? 3c Ad 3c 3h

Mateyboy bets 600, Benyamine raises to 1,200, Negreanu folds, Mateyboy calls.

Benyamine shows 2c 8c 9s for a flush.

Mateyboy has Js 7s 5h for trips.

Here's Jennifer Harman, whom I recall seeing last after a truly bad beat in the Main Event last year which sent her to the rail.  Looks in a better mood today.

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We're now back round to Hold E'm after completing one full ride on the HORSE.

Now we're back to a Hold 'Em, we may see sparks starting to fly.

... especially with the likes of Mizrachi and Vaswani sitting next door to one another.

The Grinder bets 800 preflop, Ram calls from the button.

Flop = 6h 8h Ad

The Grinder bets 800, Ram makes it 1600, Grinder calls.

Turn = 5h

The Ginders checks, Ram bets 800, The Grinder folds.

Any knowledge of Negreanu's current chip count?

Doesnt sound like hes doing to well...

There are about 30 minutes on the clock.

Unfortunately, they don't seem to be updating the board, (which says 143 players remaining) as we've lost one table already.

Matusow, with two full Tilters at the table behind him, on the phone (is that allowed??).
"Get me a coke!"  No, that's someone else...  "Hello?  No, I'm playing HORSE.  No, that's a poker game."

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Master of disguises, Rob Hollink.



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Pop quiz

There are few ladies playing today; Harman, Duke, Gazes... but who is this well known female player?



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Please excuse any delays.

The crowd is 4 bodies thick and it can take quite a while to get from the tables, back out to the media room.

Jen is currently battling through the crowd as we speak, hopefully with some intriguing giblets of information for you.

Please go easy on the giblets, I'm feeling a little unwell...

***********************************BREAK********************************

Another three rounds over, and we'll be heading back in to Omaha 8/b (blinds 200/400) when they return.  Definitely interested in watching some of that...

Only caught a couple of hands from the last round, one being Negreanu taking down a couple of thousand with AK (Ace high) on the river.  Elsewhere briefly worried that Ram Vaswani's high-denomination chips had gone somewhere, but they were just hiding. 

Indeed... I only managed to find the popcorn stand which is doing a roaring trade, and is about to do more, as I am taking advantage of this break to have my 'lunch.'

Then chip counts once again.

Ooohhhh you are offal but I like you  ::)

good good, Negreanu taking down some chips, thats what we like...

have u caught any comedy banter at the tables yet?

LeKnave

Is it possible to groan and laugh at the same time?

I'm better in the flesh  :D

 Barbara Enwright

Play has now resumed with Limit Omaha.

Couldn't resist a quick snack during lunch...



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Hilo ?

hello Ralph

We're not 100% here how many players have actually been eliminated.

The board still says 143, but I'm sure a table was broken down.

Not sure how someone could be knocked out in Limit games with 50k in chips. Even now, the blinds are only 300/600.

Omaha high

Maureen Feduniak (spelling?*%??)

is it her? it reminds me of that feduniak creature. She told me off at the last wsop for listening to my music too loud. I wanted to do the manly thing and tell her where to shove it, but instead said "sorry ma'am" and turned it down. I thought she would like N'sync = (

Whilst Jen accrues chip counts, here are a few crucial observations that I have made throughout the day:

(i) Phil Hellmuth's hand seems to be super-glued to his lower mouth.
(ii) Whilst Howard Lederer towers over his table, Freddie Deeb seems oompa-loompa in stature.
(iii) Christie Gazes is a fox.
(iv) Chip Jett is wearing Elton-John like glasses but is married to Karina.
(v) The Shiek seems to be refusing to shave.
(vi) Josh Arieh is a lot more tanned in the er... flesh.
(vii) Huck Seed has gigantic feet. Size 13 minimum.

Remember folks, you heard it here first. More later...

Well done totalise and Woodsey, it is indeed Maureen Feduniak.

The Barbara was a good guess, I can see the resemblence. From what I undertsand, she was the first lady to make a Main Event final.

And the future has brought soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many more.  ;goodvevil;

I think she's more a prodigy and slipknot type of girl.

Board = 7h Ks 9h Td

Chip Jett bets 800, Chinese guy (he's pretty well known and makes many a final table, but I can't recall his name) makes it 1600. Chip chucks in chips to make the call.

How many chips could a Chip Jett chuck if a Chip Jett could chuck chips?

Sorry, where was I?

Oh yes, Chip calls the reraises (after Williams and Arieh had folded their rags) and the river brings a Ts

Chip bets 800, opponent calls, and Jett shows 8-6-K-K for a full house.

As promised, some more giblets:

(i) Doyle Brunson wears a quite extraordinary pony tail and reminds me of the comic book guy in the Simpsons.
(ii) Chan is the only player receiving a massage in which the masseur is on her knees.
(iii) Scotty Nguyen looks like an Italian Fonze. I hope it doesn't get too cold in here.
(iv) This must be the year of the razor as both John D'Agostino and Scott Fischman have removed their facial hair.

Snoops, could it be Minh Ly?

 8)

Chip Counts!  These are taking longer as the stacks get more "impressive" aka larger.  By midnight tomorrow expect it to take an hour per count...

Mike Sexton       61,000
Chris Ferguson    50,200
Kristy Gazes       37,700
Freddy Deeb      72,000
Ram Vaswani     54,000
John D'Agostino  41,900
Howard Lederer  38,100
Tod Brunson       60,000
Daniel Negreanu  31,600
TJ Cloutier          44,000
John Juanda       56,500
Phil Ivey             53,000
Greg Raymer       58,000
Patrik Antonius    75,000
Tony G              65,000
Devilfish             24,500
Doyle Brunson     45,300
Scott Fischman    43,000
Mike Matusow      70,000
Andy Bloch          60,000
David Grey           51,000
Michael Mizrachi    76,000
Tony Bloom        40,400
Gus Hansen         60,000
Scotty Nguyen     44,800
Annie Duke          50,000

Mike Matusow is his usual loud self, especially when the cameras are nearby.

After taking down a pot, he exclaims, "Did you see that?! I've found my game! Viva la Razz!"



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Boyd from Holland.



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If I could stick a gold star on your forehead, I would do it without hesitance.

hi learned updaters

could you please keep a lookout from time to time on the chip stack of William (bill) Chen? He would be the guy that strikes a passing resemblance to Lucky Liu and is always smiling/dancing in his chair. He won a bracelet a coupla days ago as well. If you could, that would be great

the bestest of wishes

T

Does he, by any remote chance, bare a striking resemblence to this fellow?


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 ;karabiner;

Hellmuth + Matusow + cameras = chat-tastic limit poker, with Marcel Luske in the middle, not saying much...

Matusow to Marcel: "This must be the first time you've been the 2nd best limit player at the table"*
Hellmuth to Matusow: "Marcel has changed his game - must've read a book or something."

*  Might have been "2nd worst"   

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Daniel Negreanu = ? Jh Kh
Mateyboy = ? 5h Td

Negreanu bets 600

Mateyboy calls
Benyamine folds
Mortensen folds

Negreanu bets his Js focing his opponent to fold.

Daniel takes a pot, but is still low with just 23k.

Chad Brown wins a pot off Williamson with a flush versus a straight.

As a result, the former is now on around the 80k mark.

Phil Hellmuth = ? ? 7s 3d
Mike Matusow = ? ? Aspades Jh
Mike Sexton = ? ? Qh Ts

Hellmuth bets 600, both call.

Phil Hellmuth = ? ? 7s 3d 3h
Mike Matusow = ? ? Aspades Jh Jd
Mike Sexton = ? ? Qh Ts 6d

Matusow bets 1200, Sexton folds, Hellmuth makes it 2400, Matusow calls.

Phil Hellmuth = ? ? 7s 3d 3h Qd
Mike Matusow = ? ? Aspades Jh Jd Kh

check, check

Phil Hellmuth = ? ? 7s 3d 3h Qd ?
Mike Matusow = ? ? Aspades Jh Jd Kh ?

Both check

Matusow shows 6h 6s 4c for two pair (sixes in the hole)
Hellmuth doesn't show, but takes an age to muck his cards, provoking Sexton to say, "Can we just get on with the next hand, please?"

Fantastic

 :D

----------------------- Dinner Break -------------------------

Back in 1hr 30mins

Not one single player gone

Could be a looooooong 3 days

Come on then, folks.

What time's the first victim player going to fall?

Devilfish is on 30k and is one of the low stacks!!

Surely it's whoever I pick?? ::)

Btw guys, any chance you can you do a post in highlight or glow whenever the game type changes? I'm having trouble trying to remember.

Great updates though.  :)up

anybody still there?

According to the clock, play will resume in a few minutes.

wish i was there watching

My guess for first player to drop is 20:33 (Vegas time)

Apparantly, there's one fellow on 7k.

clock fault - 31 minutes left

dam clock

The dealers sit there all the way through the break, hour and a half or no hour and a half.  I suppose the chips represent quite a lot of cash...

Will have to catch up on the updates tomorrow me thinks, off to bed once i bust out my tournament

These players are all sitting in a row.

Seed Habib Deeb

Try saying that more than once.  :D

Shiek -- 46,300
Allen Cunningham -- 48,500
Scotty Nguyen -- 23,500
Josh Arieh -- 20,600
David Williams -- 93,000
Tony Bloom -- 43,000
Johnny Chan -- 46,900
Daniel Negreanu -- 16,900
Todd Brunson -- 42,000
Huck Seed -- 48,000

Separated at birth?

(http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/pictures/WSOPEvent13Todd%20Brunson.jpg)

(http://z.about.com/d/animatedtv/1/0/l/cbg.jpg)

But they're BACK - all of them!  Surely someone must eventually bust out of this tournament...

We're now on Level 10 (would you believe it) - Stud 8/b with a 100 ante, 200 bring-in and 600 completion.

(http://myspace-479.vo.llnwd.net/00191/97/43/191663479_m.jpg)

(http://www.factsofisrael.com/en/images/articles/fonz.jpg)

I've challenged Jen to find a good looky likey. Will she succeed?...

This was the HORSE event about 6 hours ago.  It looks about the same right now.

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   ah ha ha ha

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In my time, I've seen many an inverted chair sitter and many a double stacker, but I have never seen the much discussed inverted double stacked chair sitter... until now.

Drum roll please for David Chiu (who I'd love to nickname 'the train'. Chiu! Chiu!)

A rare sight indeed.



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OK Snoops, consider your challenge taken, if only for tonight...

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There has apparently been some consternation (mainly from The Professor Howard Lederer) at the thought of the length of day which will inevitably ensue if the planned 15 levels are played today, with a return at 2pm.  He's estimating (and probably isn't far off) that it would take around 20 hours to reduce the field to the final table's nine, and that would leave those returning with about three hours' sleep...

So prepare for a last minute change, either to play on tonight, or to come back earlier tomorrow afternoon.

Arturo Diaz is out first and ONLY man out.

Doyle Brunson -- 24,400
TJ Cloutier -- 48,100
Greg Raymer -- 33,500
William Chen -- 49,200
Chris Ferguson -- 39,300
Marcel Luske -- 36,200
Phil Hellmuth -- 43,200
Dutch Boyd -- 34,900
Mike Mizrachi -- 50,000

How about this for a cash game?

Information courtesy of Keith 'The Camel' Hawkins.

$50 blind (just the one), with $25 antes

Antonio Esfandiari raises $300 preflop, Mateyboy makes it $1,300 on the button, Antonio calls.

Flop = 3-5-9

Antonio bets 1k, Mateyboy makes it 5k, Antonio calls.

Turn = J

Antonio bets 10k, Mateyboy moves all-in for 40k.

Anontio dwells for ages (almost 10 minutes according to Keith) before folding A-Q.

Mateyboy shows 8-4.

Crikey!

And as the game changes from Hold'em to Omaha 8/b, some more counts:

Scott Fischman      33,000
Andy Bloch           73,000
David Grey            61,000
Michael Mizrachi     75,000
Barry Greenstein    17,500
Annie Duke           80,000
Chip Jett              57,500
David Willianson     71,000
Josh Arieh            39,000
Max Pescatori        49,000
Jennifer Harman    56,000
Ram Vaswani         72,000
John D'Agostino     43,000
Howard Lederer     25,500
Tod Brunson          74,000
Daniel Negreanu     15,000
TJ Cloutier             36,400
John Juanda          59,000
Phil Ivey                40,000
Greg Raymer          33,600
Patrik Antonius       61,000
Tony G                  58,000
Erik Seidel              84,000
Devilfish Ulliott        31,000
Doyle Brunson        32,000
David Benyamine     86,000
Chris Ferguson        45,800

We're onto Omaha Hi-Lo now, and I just caught an interesting hand from Chan's table.

Dewey Tomko raises 1,600 from seat 2 (blinds are at 400/800)

Gabe Kaplan, Mike Caro, and Layne Flack (big blind) all flat call.

Flop = Jd 3d 7s

Flack checks, Tomko bets 800, Kaplan, Caro, and Flack all call.

Turn = Td

They all check

River = 4c

Flack checks, Tomko bets 1.6k, Kaplan calls, and so does Caro. Flack folds.

Tomko = Aspades 2d 3s 2h

Caro = 3c 4d 6c 5s

Kaplan mucks

Tomko wins the low with A-2

Caro takes the high with a straight, 3-4-5-6-7

chop chop

Attention may be wandering (even though it's not the 6am it says on my laptop) - see Ram Vaswani staring over his shoulder, and an asleep-looking Michael Mizrachi (The Grinder).  And if you look closely, in the background Gus Hansen looks to be staring at whatever Ram's staring at, and Scotty could be dozing...

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Flop = Qh 8h 4h

Mortensen bets 800, Cloutier calls.

Turn = Kc

Cloutier checks, Mortensen bets 800, Cloutier raises to 1600, Mortensen calls.

River = 4c

Cloutier bets 1600, Motensen dwells for a minute before folding.

is that dutch boyds hanky behind ram?

Here's a side view of the icon that is Doyle Brunson, not towering in chips (as is chip leader Victor Ramdin with his 125,000!) but holding his own, as everyone probably expected...

Behind him in characteristic head-hat-scarf thing is Max Pescatori who just won the bracelet in the $2,500 No-limit (right after Italy won the World Cup - many thanks to Pauly McGuire for this fascinating insight...) so it could be said he's having a good fortnight.

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Yes, with Dutch Boyd beneath it!  Well spotted!

Meanwhile, Mike Matusow trotts over the table and announces that he hasn't won a hand for 3 hours. When asked what he's on, 78k is his reply.

Negreanu sniggers, obviously slightly amused by 'The Mouth's' moan.

Is the lovely Jennifer Harman playing in this event?

Just dug out a hold'em hand from the last round... going to give it to you anyway -

Saw a threeway pot between Josh Arieh, Chip Jett and Matey, with a flop of 7h Ks 3d.
I caught the hand from where Matey was raising the flop and Josh and Chip called.  Turn:  3c.  Josh Arieh checks, Matey bets, and he's the only caller this time.
River: 4s     rather unexpectedly it's now Check-Check, and Josh announces, "Seven."  His 7s 5s wins it. 

(What is it about that hand?)

Yes indeed, and at last count was heading in a slowly upwards direction, nearing 60k.

Players are now on a 20 minute break.

Razz next.

We're back!

and Jen is armed with watermelon sweets!!!

Oh yes, the WSOP shop is like a paradise of small items, Snoopy bought some souveneir chips (yawn) and a pack of WSOP cards (double yawn) while I purchased the ever-necessary Chap-Stik to ward off the evils of air-conditioning and some delightfully fizzy sour watermelons.

dont they make the fake Bracelets yet??

And just before he gets back from his Razz-watching circuit - here's the little scoundrel now, modelling our delightful hotdogs.

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I'm not sure that wouldn't somewhat devalue the real thing - especially if everyone bought one and the whole room was filled with gold-wearing players.  Would be funny though.  Could play "spot the genuine article."

The following chip counts are all from the same table:

David Chiu = 82,800
Huck Seed = 45,300
Hassan Habib = 47,500
Freddie Deeb = 112,100
Kristie Gazes = 58,400

Tough table, huh?

I'm glad I had that second hot-dog there. The photo could be misconstrued otherwise.

yeah sure, Brian's got one

he'll aslo confirm that they make fake events, with fake camera crews, and fake players...  ;goodvevil;

There's a caption comp in here somewhere...

A challenge for all you early birds...



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A poker player in pink, what next? The 'antecool' is clearly accruing disciples.



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Here's a pleasant character. Allen Cunningham is one of the quietest, but most successful players around. A quite incredible record. In fact, some of you may recall him winning the Toyota Player of the Series last year. He's alread won one bracelt in 2006, if he gets a score in this event, then who knows, maybe he'll be keeping the trophy.

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With just four more players so far being eliminated  - in order these being:

Layne Flack
Tim Jackson
Scott Fischman
Hasan Habib

They've decided (pretty sensibly) to extend today's play by a full HORSE.  Thats 5x40 min levels.  Time for some more coffee, methinks...I reckon the UK contingent may be waking up to watch 'tomorrow' soon. 

Doyle Brunson -- 16k
Max Precatori -- 64k
Erick Lindgren -- 28k
Mike Sexton -- 57.2k
Brett Jungblood -- 87k

It looks like the $1,000 No Limit Freezout has just finished.

John Pham took second.

Friedberg won the bracelet.

Oh, and a few bob on top too.

I think the last hand was all-in preflop, Q-5 v 7-5, with Friedberg spiking a seven on the River.

I just remembered I picked up some counts while on the last zombie-like wandering through the room - and here they are:

Kristy Gazes         64,000
Freddy Deeb       97,000
David Williamson   47,000
Josh Arieh           37,000
Michael Mizrachi    86,000
Ram Vaswani       72,000
Dutch Boyd         29,600
Tony  Bloom        21,000
Rob Hollink          32,000
John D'Agostino   26,300
Howard Lederer   28,000
Phil Hellmuth        66,000
Mike Matusow      75,000
Mike Sexton         55,000
Marcel Luske        26,000
Jennifer Harman    58,000
Chris Ferguson      69,300
Andy Bloch          100,000
David Grey           61,500
Max Pescatori       48,000
Doyle Brunson       21,000
TJ Cloutier            38,000
David Benyamine    57,000
Annie Duke           80,000
Erik Seidel             70,000
Devilfish                16,000
Tony G                 11,000
Patrik Antonius     111,000
Greg Raymer          53,000
Daniel Negreanu     20,400
Tod Brunson          80,000

And, as the close of play draws closer, we're actually starting to lose a few players.

Tony G is the latest casualty.

He exited quietly.

This Just In -

The Powers that Be have attested that the comp will break As Scheduled tonight (in around half an hour), leaving a Giant Day tomorrow, where play will just grind on until the final 9.  In a way I am relieved to go and nurse my travel-weary self with waffles back at our little flat, but something tells me tomorrow will be quite a marathon.

Then again, it ain't over til the players get up and leave, so we're staying til the bitter end just in case...

What with the whole $50k HORSE thing being a new event for the WSOP (generating mixed feelings) you can't blame them for being unable to predict its time scale terribly accurately.  I haven't heard any complaints about the structure from the players, but the idea of playing a 20 hour day tomorrow really wasn't generating much enthusiasm, unsurprisingly. 

This is a new one on me.

The usually chirpy Daniel Negreanu just lost his rag.

Down to 9.6k, someone bets into him and he slams his fist down onto the table before folding. Steam coming out of his ears. Clearly a frustrating day, but a side of Negreanu that I've never witnessed before.

The announcer has just confirmed the P.O.A.

Tonight will finish as scheduled (in 15 mins time)

Tomorrow will start as schedule at 2pm.

Friday's final is being put back to 6-8pm, as a result of the inevitable lenghty Day 2.

The announcer described this as the only fair conclusion.

Sammy Farha

Not quite as sharp as I expected him to be, and certainly a lot smaller than he looks. Him and Freedy Deeb could both work in Willy Wonka's factory and still be bullied by their colleagues for being shorties.

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I'm not overly keen  ;tracet;

Maureen Feduniak is OUT.

Her opponent rivered a straight 2-3-4-5-6

Play has finished for the day, which means...

stack em, count em, bag em

Matusow quote to Hellmuth: "I bet I could take anyone off the rail, Phil, and they'd be able to beat you at Stud 8 or Better"

The Train has settled in its station for the night.

Chiu! Chiu!



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We have been told that full counts WILL be forthcoming, and not in a Dublin Say One actually-they're-not-really sort of way.  Give us half an hour before sticking the fork in.

With so few chips, Daniel Negreanu can't afford to take a nap.

As for the chap in the foreground, I'm not too sure who he is, but he's scaring the life out of me!

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Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi has been in super grinding force today, especially with a 50k starting stack.

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Great stuff Jen and Abel Xavier  ::)

Just caught up with the last four pages this morning.

Looks like Robert Varkonyi to me.

Yep, Good work team. ;applause;

What do you get if you cross the Fonz with Mr T?

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Could this pensive pose from Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson be a potential competitor to Rodin's 'The Thinker'?

Hmm, food for thought.

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Thanks Karabiner!  It feels truly weird to be wrapping up just as you're waking up... but top notch web-railing to get on here so fast!

Genuinely going to try to get the counts - I am putting aside exactly 30 mins.  If no joy, joy tomorrow before 2pm.

This guy (Max Pescatori) looks like the Italian Jac Arama.



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OMG guys you were updating when I went to bed, and still updating when I'm sat at my desk at work the day after.

You both must be ABSOLUTELY cream-crackered.

You have my utmost repsect and admiration.


xxx

I'll wait until we complete tomorrow's 20 hour session before I answer that. eeeeeek  :D

Great updates guys ;applause;

you guys must be shattered what time they thinking of stoping?thnx for the updates ,and your hair looks cools snoops

rotflmfao

watch it, sunshine

sry, I should have confirmed. Play has stopped for today, the players will return for a 2pm kick-off tomorrow (which I think is around 6am your time)

c u then, folks

fantastic work guys!...a couple of servers broke at work today but my internetconnection is still working (for some reason)...very happy to be reading this....and can't wait to see how Ram gets on tommorow...glad to see he's doing well.

Snoopy's clock is working backwards - it will actually start at 10pm UK time.

Thanks ALOT for the nice updates :) /Jon

Cheers guys, excellent reading thus far...look forward to hearing from both of u later...

How lucky are we to have Jen & sloppy? - this Update is just wonderful.

  Got to agree, the best on the net I'd say

Great updates, I want to be challenged on the quiz pics though....