Keep in mind that this blog entry was
written in the train back in Germany while already being on the road
for more than one whole day. Thus, you can keep all typos that you
find but I may insist in 50% of the profit if you sell them.
Two days after my 30th birthday, I received an email whether or not I was interested in covering the World Series Of Poker Asia-Pacific in Melbourne. After having spent more than six weeks at the summer equivalent in Las Vegas, I didn't necessarily hesitate long to agree after checking my schedule for the availability and time flew by.
Obviously it is not necessarily an
advantage to live in the middle of nowhere for international travel
and it was barely a surprise to see more than 30 hours on my
itinerary with train to Frankfurt, a stopover in Bangkok and
ultimately the arrival in Down Under. The usual trick to exhaust your
body by staying awake the whole time and then falling straight into
the new time zone worked.
Mind you, that was also absolutely
necessary as my work started straight the day after at the Crown
Casino. On top of that, a little surprised waited for me when picking
up the media credentials. While I knew that the main focus of my work
should be taking pictures, there was no mention that those pictures
would not just be for PokerNews but also the official shots for the
WSOP as well. Just a tad more pressure on top.
Except for the first and the last two
days, I worked 12-14 hours per day and 18 days straight. Not that
this is a rare occurrence on live events anyways, but I didn't get to
see much of the city and should probably take a few extra days in
case I am heading to the other side of the planet once again.
The light conditions were quite
difficult to say the least. Barely any thorough light that comes down
to the tables and a whole section in the back that was totally dark.
Then again, nobody ever said it was gonna be easy and challenges
typically bring out the best of us. Eventually I got to do some
portrait shots as well and was satisfied with the outcome, though
there is a lot of room for improvement.
I'd probably consider myself as
advanced amateur that still struggles with the light settings too
often, though I also tend to be very strict on myself and the quality
of my work. As an advantage, I can do both the live reporting and the
photography and that combination is most wanted these days when
everyone except for PokerStars doesn't really want to spend much on
their media representation.
Low and behold, the two and a half
weeks were done and dusted by far faster than expected and suddenly I
was sitting here at more than 200km/h in an ICE on my way home while
reflecting about the favorite moments of the series that included 10
events in total. Below they are in no particular order of importance.
Australian girls like chocolate too
Okay, that was barely a surprise but
there is a reason why I tend to take chocolate with me on each live
event. It doesn't take much to make a girl smile but the effort is
always worth it.
The miracle of Sam Cohen
I know Sam Cohen for about three years
now from various events from all over Europe and also the WSOP 2014,
yet this time it was quite an outstanding accomplishment. In the
middle of Day 2 of the AU$ 10,000 Main Event, Cohen was down to less
than one big blind and then doubled up several times to eventually
cash one day later in 26th place out of 329 entries.
From a tiny DeepStack Event to WSOP
history
In April 2014, I randomly met Scott
Davies in the Mega Poker Series Madrid as he was just in the Spanish
capital and participated in the €700+70 Main Event. Half a year
later I got to take his winner picture in the WSOP Asia-Pacific Main
Event when the American won his very first golden bracelet. He
already came close during the summer by finishing fourth in a
Heads-Up Event in Las Vegas and joked that he'd only be in Melbourne
for the pictures.
Final Tables for Kurita and Italiano
During the 6-Max Event I stumbled over
a very photogenic female player from Japan and Yu Kurita ended up on
the final table of said tournament as well as min-cashed the Main
Event. The latter event saw local player Ang Italiano turn an
investment of AU$ 130 through the Step Satellites into a sixth place
for a payday of AU$ 118,769. Poker needs more of these stories, as it
shows that everybody can do it.
The fifty shades of Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth has gotten a lot better
at controlling his emotions and even joined the high-fives, started
by to-be bracelet winner Alexander Antonios, at the final table of
the $2,200
Six-Max No-Limit Hold'em. There is very little doubt with regards
to the skills of the “Poker Brat” in MTT's, but he still easily
gets upset and clearly shows that at the tables.
Leah crowns splendid year
It was kind of mandatory to use this
play on words for the title of this paragraph. Mike Leah already had
a final table at the WSOP during his summer and then came second to
the steam-rolling Dan Colman for his first-ever seven figure score.
He earned two WSOP circuit rings and then Leah claimed the elusive
maiden golden bracelet in the $25,000
High Roller Event.
Impressive battle for the POY title
The neck-to-neck race between Brandon
Shack-Harris and George Danzer continued in Australia and both
players aimed to write down their name in poker history for the
Player of the Year (POY) ranking. The lead changed a few times during
the WSOP Asia-Pacific and Danzer claimed his third bracelet of 2014
in the $5,000
8-Game Mixed to secure the title. Both contenders showed
impressive performances and determination with plenty of extra
pressure on their shoulders and that deserves the utmost respect.
The Australian mentality
No matter what, Australians tend to be
very polite and one simply has to embrace the accent. Calling
strangers “mate” despite never having met them before and
starting conversations or asking whether someone was okay is very
charming. The only downside for visitors like me are the extremely
expensive prices.
Moral of the story
Despite a very long trip of 32 hours
and more either way and long working hours, I would still agree in a
heartbeat to head down under again if I was asked to. I like
challenges and there is also one particular charming smile that will
stay in my memory.
What's next?
No rest for the wicked. About one week
time to catch up on all regular duties and reload the batteries
before I am heading the exact opposite direction via Paris to the
beautiful Island of St Maarten for the second edition of the
Caribbean Poker Tour.
The series includes a Championship
Event of the World Poker Tour and I will once again be in charge for
the overall live updates and press work. At least the mornings should
include a few trips to the pool or beach and one of my favorite
people will be there as well to lighten up the mood.
___
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