My efforts to finish this trip reports are echoing my Vegas experience - I'm running out of steam! But, I will soldier on for the sake of posterity.
Shortly before arriving at the Rio, we spotted Eric Seidel and Annie Duke crossing the street, the first of many "star" sightings to come.
The hike to the location of the WSOP was, indeed, a hike. We followed the signs with the increasing crowd our only clue as to how close we were getting. Pauly's excitement was palpable and infectious - he was going to be picking up his press pass. It was great to be within that aura of excitement and witness his step onto the path to the "big leagues." He's currently wearing his fingers to the nub live blogging the tournaments. Another one of the family receiving his due. Ma is in awe, m'dear.
Entering the "arena" required a shift in perception. I was not prepared for the sheer size of the place, let alone the thousands of people there playing poker. I stood next to Chris Ferguson for a moment while he negotiated some sort of financial transaction with someone. Strolling down the aisles, I scanned the crowd for other recognizable faces - I wasn't as adept as others seemed to be . Otis had been located and Bobby Bracelet was being scouted. Kent (aka Joe Speaker) and Wes had already been eliminated at this point, I believe, and no-one knew the status of Russ. I followed the leader to Otis' table on the far side of the room at the edge of the sea.
The action was accompanied by the chirp of chips being compulsively shuffled and maneuvered. I heard reports that "Devilfish is over there... Evelyn Ng is two tables down... Phil Helmuth is right through there - behind the bodyguards.. Toby McGuire is here somewhere..." I try not to be a star struck fan-girl, but, truth be told, I was giddy with anticipation of crossing paths with any of those whom I admired... I actually scoped out Phil H. and managed to maneuver down the aisles and walk right behind him - no body guard tackled me. Did I get a picture? No... Gracie gets mucho kudos for snapping, perhaps, the best Phil sighting pic with Jason.
Joe Sr. showed me the final table set up and explained the doings there. He also showed me some of the bazillions of photos he's been shooting - Joes, Jr. & Sr. are doing a phenomenal job over at Las VegasVegas - their coverage, the Poker Player News and Pauly's live updates are where you need to be going for you WSOP news.
I ventured into the the WSOP store and purchased my requisite shirt along with a WSOP chip. It's a tad larger than a normal chip, by the way... I may use it for a card capper and impress people. Hehe.
I got back to the action just in time to witness Otis' bust out. I gave him a hug, then got out of his way. I knew he had to be exhausted and most likely needed to get somewhere to decompress. As for me, I needed food badly. I was at the point that I'd be flat on my face if I didn't get it soon. My hunger, combined with the sheer numbers of people was bringing me to near "shut down" mode, and so I was glad that the group was in the mood for a nosh, as well.
We started out, resolved to stop at the first food place on the path. This happened to be the infamous Sao Paulo - home of the now renowned Worst. Buffet. Ever™. Because I was starved, I had two of the lukewarm burgers. One chunk of the ginger chicken. Lukewarm macaroni and cheese. Inedible vegetables. A bite of a poor excuse for barbeque ribs. I thought that the chocolate mousse might make up for the sub-standard entrees - but it barely resembled chocolate in taste and had something at the bottom that was pretending to be a banana, which, not being sure, I avoided putting in my mouth.
Several bloggers drifted in and out while we dined and the jury was in - it definitely was the worst buffet ever. None-the-less, the meal managed to revive me somewhat, and I was ready for the next leg of the day's events. It was agreed that it was time to head to the Castle...
Next up: Storming the Castle and Steamed Beats....
