Out of all the past world champions in the room today—Chris Ferguson, Brad Daugherty, Greg Raymer—the tournament staff chose to put Chris Moneymaker at the ESPN featured table. It seems an odd choice, given the current level of his game, but I suppose he will forever be known as the man who ignited the Poker Boom we are still currently enjoying. Instead of sweating Moneymaker, I chose to set up camp behind a past champ who has shown he actually has the potential to repeat one day, Greg Raymer.
Raymer is truly a people’s champ. He spent much of the early rounds at his table discussing past hands with interested amateurs. He told one that he has never had a losing year in his poker career but that he was stuck so far this year despite the fact that he’s made two final tables at the 2007 World Series and made roughly $168,000. Shows you how expensive it is to play all the big events and also how genuine the guy is. Who else would confide such information with strangers?
Raymer was wearing the bracelet he won in 2004 on his right wrist, which, as gaudy as it is, was hardly the loudest piece of jewelry in the vicinity. That honor would go to the man sitting directly behind Raymer, rap superstar Nelly. All the collective bling Nelly was sporting—a diamond-encrusted watch, two diamond earrings, a gold necklace—had to have added at least two pounds to his total body weight. He was also sporting a camouflage baseball cap worn backwards while sitting in a chair turned around backwards. Between hands Nelly was checking and sending text messages. Was he violating the rules? Doubtful, because the rules are clearly different for Nelly. Players aren’t supposed to have anyone sweating them, no fans, no friends, no family, and yet Nelly, like Montel yesterday, was allowed to have his bodyguard parked fifteen feet away. At one point a tournament official started to give the man a hard time when he was quickly corrected by another official who was more in the know.
I asked the bodyguard about Nelly’s skills at the poker table. He said that Nelly played fairly often in the casinos in St. Louis before adding that Nelly has a penchant for calling too often because the money involved doesn’t mean very much too him. Nelly ran into some tough luck on a hand when he bet 1.5k with Q
J
2AA showing on the board. He got raised 5k and called with A-9. His opponent showed him A-J for a full house.
Knocked below 10k, Nelly moved all in after K4
2 flopped and got called. Nelly had K9. His opponent showed 4
2 for bottom two pair, which improved to a full house when the 2 fell on the turn. There would be no encore as Nelly quickly headed for the exit with his bodyguard at his side.
