Breakfast Club Poker

Jeff Madsen, Instant Celebrity

What's the over/under on Jeff Madsen becoming a household name? With the help of Full Tilt, it might not take long. The youngest winner in WSOP history has already earned 2 WSOP bracelets, and brought his monthly lifetime cash to $1,467,852.

Today on the Luxe Life with Robin Leach, Madsen was mentioned as a poker pro in the same breath as longtime pros Johnny Chan and Chris Ferguson, gulp.

Carmen Electra hosted the official kickoff party with Shannon Elizabeth and Jennifer Tilly on hand with 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan and poker pros Chris Ferguson, Daniel Negrenau, Jeff Madsen and last year’s champion Joe Hachem.         
                                   —The Luxe Life with Robin Leach

(Photo courtesy of Wicked Chops Poker)
 

Fabio Plays Poker?

I know there is a lot of serious poker going on in Vegas, but if you were looking for the non-serious variety, you should have been at the Orleans on Thursday night.   

I kid you not; the Italian model Fabio was playing 4/8.  Most tables had immediate seating, but his table had every blue haired woman within a 20 mile radius on the wait list.  It looked like a really soft game, but I figured by the time I made it to the top of the list, I'd be a blue hair too.    

The Gossip on Jeff Madsen

So, I was at the Exaclibur poker room the other night playing $2-$6. A young asian kid saddle up next to  me and was playing a bit. I was talking to the guy on my other side about the WSOP, when y.a.k. says, "It sounds like you're playing in the WSOP." I told him that I was a writer for it, and he started to talk. He asked me if I'd interviewed Jeff Madsen yet. I said no, and then he gave me the skinny,

"I played with him in Santa Barbara at Chumash," he started. "He's very aggressive, and probably the last person that I'd expect to win a bracelet."

Well, being agressive obviously pays. To the tune of $1,401,881.
Amy wrote about Jeff on PokerBlog.com, "Stop Dissing 'the Kids", and you can get a longer story abou tit on PokerNews.com, "Twice is Nice."

If Only ESPN Could Speed Things Up

Two ESPN guys passed in the hall.

ESPN Guy 1: "How are we going to make this end?"
ESPN Guy 2: "I don't know, I guess we'll have to start betting for them."

Time, 6am.

Dealer Situation at the WSOP

Tim Levalli at Poker News got the scoop of the week regarding the unhappy dealers. Read all about what transpired on:

What's The Deal? WSOP Dealers Reportedly Upset at Conditions - Some Have Left.

Pauly also wrote about it on Tao of Poker.

Angry Aussies? Joe Hachem and Mark Voss

I saw Joe Hachem surrounded by two Aussies last night as they watched Phil Hellmuth try to take his shot at bracelet #10. I think it's great that Joe made a final table already and had a 2nd place cash. ($256,600 in the $ 2,500 Short Handed No Limit Hold'em)

Aussies seem to be in the spotlight even more now that Mark Voss won his bracelet the other night in the $2,000 NL Hold'em Event. But wait...there's drama.

Shane, the Poker.com blogger, reported yesterday that things are not all quiet on the Aussie front. Is it a good natured competitive rivalry or is it something darker?

Read all about it on "Poker Rivals Splitting Chips".

Where the Stars Are at the Rio

So, the other night after Clonie's Maxim Party, we just didn't want to go home yet. John had a hankering for the 3,5,7. After I lost a quick hundy, I headed over to the blackjack tables on the other side of the pit. Erick the dealer claimed to be Scotty Nguyen's old fish tank cleaner. He claimed that Scotty was always checking on his fish, and couldn't keep his hands out of the tank. Eric also mentioned that Scotty was extremely generous, always taking care of his family back home, and confident about how he was going to win the WSOP, well before he did in 1998. Eric got let go from his job after an unfortunate incident with the fish. He said, " I should of done a better job of keeping his hands out of the tank."

It seems the table games in the Rio are a hotbed of poker pros stepping away from the Amazon room. At the table next to me, Tuan Le was playing Blackjack with two beauties, and Tony G was at the bar talking business with Linda Geenan about  Poker Works. I also hear that the seafood restaurant, Buzio's, near the hallway to the convention rooms is a mealtime pitstop among the pros, too.

WSOP Organizational Hazards

There was a mishap with the chips at Gavin's table yesterday. Check out the full story on PokerNews.com.

Whose Chips Are They Anyway? by Tim Lavalli

WSOP Scoop Pointers

Need to know what's going on at the WSOP?
Here's a run down:

Poker.com: Our sponsors have their writer Shane on the scene in the Amazon room. Shane is giving daily summaries on the Poker.com blog.

PokerNews.com: Earl Burton has a better view of what's going on off the rail than on it. He's giving daily summaries on Poker News. They also have Tim Lavalli is also following certain players for PN. Check their home page daily to see his reports on Tony G, Liz Lieu, and others.

Full Tilt Poker Blogs: Jay Greespan, author of Hunting Fish, and Storms Reback, join the Full Tilt Pros in giving daily reports and snippets from the WSOP. Phil Gordon, Chris Ferguson, Kristy Gazes, Clonie Gowen, Andy Bloch...This is Hot!

Dr. Pauly: Everybody's favorite poker blogger is back on the scene. Pauly is funny, passionate about the poker, and is always where the fun is. He gets great onliners and quotes because he's at the right place at the right time. This blog is rated PG-13, if not NC-17.