Congratulations "El Matador"!

Hello all,

First off, congratulations to Carlos Mortensen for becoming the first player to ever win both the WSOP Championship Event and the WPT Championship. I watched the final table very closely and it seemed that he was in a great form the entire way. I also (as I kick myself) should have noticed that his game is in prime shape...he barely missed the final table at the EPT Grand Final earlier this month, finishing eleventh.

Part of the discussion by many has been how the final twosome (Kirk Morrison and Carlos) were basically reduced to all-in poker by the end. The blinds were an astronomical 600K-1.2M with a 200K ante by the end (with 30M chips in play, roughly). Unfortunately, the WPT has to wrap these final tables quickly, for filming time and for those that are watching it. Normally a WPT final table will take about five to six hours to play out. It is a stretch to ask the audience to stay for such a duration. Thus, they do accelerate the blinds at the end. It doesn't make it right, but it has to be done that way.

I know (from covering WSOP final tables) that poker fans would like to see skillful play determine a winner. Sometimes those WSOP final tables can take up to twelve hours to play out...an endurance test that most audiences will leave before its completion. It would be difficult to balance out this problem...I'll have to give it some thought to see what can be done here.

Secondly, the news that Yahoo! has started a pay poker site (for Europeans only, unfortunately) is interesting on many fronts. Will it have an effect on U. S. poker and gaming legislation? Probably not. Although Rep. Frank's bill has been introduced, the battle on that front is only in its infancy and will take some time to play out. Could other ISP or major players in the online industry (MSN, Google) do their own poker room? That would be interesting to see. If major companies get into the game, it is possible it could impact what we are doing in America. If anyone plays on the Yahoo! game, let me know what it is like.

OK, think that's it for now...will be back again soon!

EB