I have always gotten a kick out of the single-minded degeneracy inherent to professional poker players. It’s fodder for a million entertaining stories. But I also find it really depressing at times. I would much rather read about Barry Greenstein giving his tournament winnings to charities that aid poor children than about Erick Lindgren pocketing $340,000 for winning a golf bet (though admittedly I still think his winning that bet was really cool, one of the greatest prop bet wins of all-time).

I have only hung out with Annie Duke once. We chatted for a bit and tested each other’s trivia knowledge. She knows a ton of arcane facts. I thought she was cool then. Now I think she’s one of the coolest people on the planet. Organizing one of these events can’t be easy. Calling countless p.r. people and personal assistants to make sure that some actor can make it to Vegas for a night is a full-time job, and she’s already got one of those. In fact, she’s got two—she’s also a mom. Why would she subject herself to this? Because it’s IMPORTANT. Poker is many things: cool, fun, entertaining. But in the grand scheme of things it’s not important. Annie Duke recognizes that, and she understands what is, and I give her all the credit in the world. On this day, more than any other I can remember, I am proud to be a poker player.

George Clooney:  He's won "World's Sexiest Man" so many times People Magazine might have to ban him from the competition.  The Ocean's series appears to be his only real connection with poker/gambling.  That being said, he's known for his work with charitable/non-profit organizations, and why wouldn't the "World's Sexiest Man" want a good excuse to come to Vegas?  Still, he's a long shot.  Odds: 80-to-1

Brad Pitt:  See above...only add a wife and three kids to the equation.  Odds: 100-to-1

Matt Damon: How could Mike McD not be a lock for this event?  Easy, the guy who played him hasn't been seen in a card room since making Rounders references was cool.  Still, Damon did play in the 1998 main event, he's friends with former poker regular Ben Affleck, and healways seems to step it up when necessary.  Odds: 75-to-1

Ben Affleck:  This guy used to play a lot of poker and he was once mentored by "Ante Up for Africa" co-founder, Annie Duke.  Unfortunately, fans couldn't separate the guy who just wanted to sit at the table, from the guy who starred in Armageddon, and many believe the constant hounding burned him out.  Now he's married and has a kid...but I think Ol' Ben still loves the game.  Odds: 70-to-1

Jennifer Tilly: She dates Phil Laak, plays in WSOP and WPT events, and once gave Patrik Antonius credit for quad kings against her full house on Poker After Dark (PA had 10-8).  Odds: 2-to-1

Hank Azaria: Played in last year's main event, and even made calls and folds using the voices of his Simpsons' characters Moe and Apu.  Odds: 7-to-2

Danny Masterson: Played in last year's main event.  Also, has participated in numerous poker shows and is supposedly a regular on the Hollywood home game circuit.  Odds: 7-to-2

Mekhi Phifer:  Played in last year's main event, ER’s on summer break, and I don't think they'll be making an 8 Mile: The Sequel anytime soon.  Odds: 7-to-2

Charles Barkley: The biggest sports name on the list of potential participants, I don't know how much poker Sir Charles actually plays.  He is, however, an admitted gambling degen and estimates his loses at the table games to be in the area of $30 million.  Odds: 10-to-1


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Yesterday's 5 PM event was $5,000 HORSE, a preview for the upcoming event with ten times the buy-in. By 2 AM, I found myself in the Amazon Room, I thought to see Shannon Elizabeth put an exclamation point on a long, successful day in the $2,000 NLHE tournament, an event in which I had busted out so long ago that, while she was playing toward the money, I went to dinner with my friend and fellow poker writer Jennifer Hewitt, smoked a cigar with Richard Brodie, wrote and edited #176, and went deep in Full Tilt's $13,000 Guarantee and busted.

I knew from news reports that Shannon had 45,000 chips. Something happened in the ten minutes between my room and the Amazon Room, however, because I couldn't find her among the 140 survivors of Day 1 who were bagging their chips.

I had a sick feeling. Elizabeth had been playing well but getting no results at this Series, after cashing 3 times in limited play in 2006. She had been getting instruction from Annie "sixty-nine fucking hundred" Duke and was wearing a diamond poker chip necklace on loan from Cate Williamson and designed by her husband, Robert Williamson III.

I found Annie sitting to Chris Ferguson's left in the HORSE and had started watching them when Shannon Elizabeth and Joe Reitman walkd up. Shannon was carrying a pile of cash, though it looked like she had been crying. She made the money but busted and was very unhappy. She put herself in posiiton to finish the night in great shape to attack for the final table on Saturday but it went awry just before 2 AM.

Annie's situation was much worse. They were probably 18 hours short of the money in her event, and she was very low on chips. In fact, her stack dropped to 500 chips and she had taken to begging Greg "FBT" Mueller and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson to eliminate her during Stud, Stud Eight-or-Better, and finally Hold 'Em rounds.

But it was to no avail. As much as she wanted to bust - her kids are coming to town today and she saw no reason to finish on life support with no chance of cashing but obliged to come back - she kept getting her chips in with reasonable draws and then hitting. She never got in her money ahea, but was never a big underdog.

And as much as she hated being in this situation, she couldn't bring herself to self-immolate. She cursed Mueller and Ferguson when she won but once accumulated a few thousand chips, only to fold on the river to save her last 500 when all her draws failed to hit and she had a Seventh Street decision.

But then she doubled up three times on the last half-dozen hands of the night and was livid that some of the best poker players in the world couldn't oblige her need to be out of this tournament.

Bagging her chips, she told me, "I have sixty-nine fucking hundred, and you can write that in your blog."

Yes, ma'am.

Annie Duke - We saw each other just briefly at Jennifer Harman's charity tournament and the unveiling of her picture in Caesars' poker room, but hadn't really visited since last year's World Series. Back when I was in L.A. every other week interviewing her brother or Chris Ferguson for the Full Tilt book, we would get together so often that Jo Anne would gaze dreamily at pictures of Joe Reitman on the Internet, just to know if I could carry on a fantasy fling, she could too.

Annie was thrilled and excited about the huge ad in USA TODAY for Ante Up for Africa, the tournament she and Don Cheadle are hosting the day before the Main Event. She didn't even notice that the special section devoted to poker had a caricature of her - a very nice one - and a bit saying her nicknames were "The Duke" and "Annie Legend."

I think Annie Duke would punch me if I called her Annie Legend, even for fun.

We made vague plans to get together. "Text me," she said, repeating the message of almost every other poker pro in the house. Professional poker players are high-high-high on the list of the most frequent and agile text messagers.

I was so happy to see Annie that I gave her four hugs, and got at least one in return. I wished her luck during the last one and she whispered in my ear, "I'm a little bit sick."

We all are, babe. That's part of the charm.

Phil Gordon - Phil got MARRIED since the last time I saw him. I'm predicting a big Series for Phil and I told him, in addition to anyone else who will listen. He, too, was thrilled by the ad in USA TODAY's special poker section devoted to his favorite cause, cancer cures. Like Annie, he had high praise for Harrah's efforts to promote his cause. Phil and I also discussed, as commentators on the game, how a lot of outside media would spin the inevitable decline in Main Event numbers into a "poker is dead" sound-bite and what we could do, while being responsible and impartial, to rain (or at least urinate) on their parade.

Pauly - I saw the King of Bloggers, the Mayor of the Tilted Kilt, in the media line. It was the first time in half a year and I was amazed at how Paul looked ... good. I mean, healthy, fit, clean. Not the poster boy for the Seven Deadly Sins that I had grown to love and fear. But he assured me, "It's the 'before' picture."

Johnny Chan walks by, carrying a gold shopping back. There's Liz Lieu, looking gorgeous, yet way too skinny for a healthy human being. Chris Ferguson arrives and is mobbed by poker fans.

Howard Lederer, I learned, is not here for the start of the Series. He is attending his 25-year high school reunion. I e-mail him that I insist he give me the details for this blog. "If you don't," I write, "I'm just going to make it up, and what are you going to do then?"

I finally get out of the Rio at about 1 PM. I had shown up at 9 AM just to sneak in and register. Half my ensemble is pajamas and I haven't bathed or shaved.

I stop by a sandwich shop on the way back and am drawn into a conversation of three people about the quality of food offered casino employees. "Bellagio is best," Jennifer tells me. Jennifer is smokin-hot; I don't catch the names of the two dudes she's with. "After that, Wynn is great. Caesars has good food but they make you eat it in a pit." What's bad? "I think the worst is Riviera. When I worked there, everyone said to stay away from the EDR [employee dining room], including people who served the food. Tropicana is no good, and New York New York? That place is terrible."