FIRST DISPATCH ON FINAL TABLE DAY
JERRY YANG ROARS OUT OF THE GATE
I arrived at the Amazon Room a few minutes before the noon start of the final table.
Long, long line of spectators hoping to get in. Packed final table stadium. Chair and bleachers set up in adjacent areas with multiple video monitors, also packed.
A buzz of anticipation. A world of possibilities.
Anthony Holden and I found our way out a back exit to a warren of production vehicles, where we met up with Eric Drache, who invited us to join him to watch ESPN's production - and maybe participate at some point, if they became desperate enough.
What an impressive operation. Over 20 people crammed into this tiny truck, 140 video monitors showing every angle and every angle FROM every angle. A concentrated hum of coordinated activity, carried on in total darkness.
But truly, no room at the inn. No place to sit. No place really to stand. Leaning against the door, the only unoccupied space, I am jarred every minute or so whenever someone enters or exits. and if I linger a moment as the door opens or closes, someone yells, "Keep that door closed!"
At about 12:30, Ty Stewart walks in. I had a great meeting with Ty yesterday, talking about ideas for the Hall of Fame, WSOP-Europe, and generally how he and Jeffrey Pollack and their team were increasingly winning over the players that they were good to their word that they would be responsible stewards of the World Series of Poker and all it stood for. We also discussed the possibility that I would watch him and/or Jeffrey at work for part of the day and share how THEY spent final table day. Stewart also mentioned something about helping me get a good seat to watch the action.
Ty pats me on the back, exchanges a few words with someone in the production truck, and nods at me as he walks back through the door.
Even though he looks hurried AND harried, I member something about our discussions from yesterday.
"Sure ... later ..." he says as he moves out of earshot, quickly leaving the production trucks for the Amazon Room.
To the chorus of "Keep that door closed!", I too leave the production truck. Not to ride on Ty Stewart's coattails. He was not, at the moment, in a social mood, not that he wouldn't have reason to be in a rush. But neither the executive suite nor the ESPN production truck seemed especially welcoming, at least not right now.
I returned to the Amazon Room, to collect my thoughts and watch a bit of the action in one of the auxiliary seating areas. I hoped I could find a seat.
That wasn't a problem. All those areas, teeming with spectators just a half-hour ago, were largely abandoned. In a moment, I saw why: no audio, just one overhead camera angle on the multiple video screens. Unless you were accustomed to watching your poker from a helicopter, this was a place to rest your haunches and nothing more.
Harrah's has proven adept at learning and evolving and I'm sure this will be no different. Their final table set-up for the preliminary events was much better than last year and I assume if I ever get inside the stadium area I'll find the same is true comparing the Main Event final table year-to-year.
But they have a way to go with the auxiliary areas. They clearly WANTED to accommodate people - they set up lots of seating along with the video monitors. They weren't charging these people and it's hard to see a strong nexus between these people dropping money in the casino and their attendance at the final table, set as far as you can possibly be from the casino and still indoors at the Rio.
They'll get it and maybe even before the final table is finished. But it's not a place to see anything.
It's a shame that I'm writing most of these words just 100 feet from the action. It's shaping up to be a very exciting final table. Jerry Yang, regarded as the tightest and least experienced player at the final table, may be shaping up to be this year's Steve Dannenmann. He won the first two pots, first with an under-the-gun raise and second with a gutsy RERAISE following Alex Kravchenko's large raise. Alex folded, showing 9-5o, one of the many poker hands named "Dolly Parton."
* * * * *
I'm back in my room now, the last place I expected to be on final table day. I'm half considering throwing all my possessions in my car, checking out of Vegas after 47 days, and driving home. I can catch the last 5-10 hours on Pay Per View, where I understand Phil Gordon and Ali Nejad are already doing a great job with the early action.
Lee Watkinson 
For the most part, things have been relatively quiet on the final four tables of the main event. However, I have witnessed two hands that have left me scratching my head this afternoon.
Hand #2 - Fits Squarely in Category "Hey, That's How I Got This Far!"
