Thanks Tikay, only met the guy the once, at BB4, and he was everything you say he was, thought the picture showed him for what he is, a real fun guy.
Geo
For those not aware, it was Phil (bobby1) who gave Thewy his first (& still retained) sponsorship deal, with Wm Hill. Thewy was an unknown then, so it was a brave gamble by Phil.
He also gave me my opportunity to do TV work which I'd never done in my life, & it came right out of the blue. I went on to do 80 "Poker 425" shows for him, & that led to Poker Night Live, Sky Poker & Poker Week for me. Clearly he's not always right.......
But we have had so much fun together. We went to Vegas in '05, Phil, John McGrane (cupcake), John finished 18th in the Main Event!, Thewy, Bad Girl, Smokin Steve.
Phil organised, as a thank you for some stuff I'd done, to have me sponsored for a WSOP Event, & I cashed in it, some thrill that.
Later, we worked together on the Land-Based Qualifiers for the 2006 WHGP, going to Aspers, The Broadway, The Sportsman, & Fitzwilliam Club, I was sort of general factotum, swanning about doing nothing really. I was "emcee", & that led to a bunch of other opportunities, & has opened a lot more doors for me, such that I've organised, helped to organise or brokered a whole bunch of Tourneys this year.
Phil was also responsible for Poker 425 Sponsoring the blonde Forum for 18 months, & we'd probably have sunk withouot their support.
Nobody has done more for me in poker than Phil, & on top of that, he's a genuinely lovely guy. I owe him so much.
I hope he's soon fit as a fiddle, because it'd be good to see him out & about again.
Thanks to all for the very kind words and all the best in the main event Julian.