The Poker Brat continues to impress. Today he will be vying for his 12th WSOP Bracelet at the final table of the $3000 NL 사설토토Event. He starts off the day 10th out of 10 players left, but with his track record, you almost have to consider him the favorite. Another great run for Phil Hellmuth, who will be earning between $21k and $528k for his efforts. He does have some tough competition though. The chip leader is Dustin Holmes, who finished top 20 at last year’s Main Event. Full Tilt pro and 2002 WSOP Bracelet winner Perry Friedman is also in contention.
For a good example of Hellmuth being Hellmuth, check out this YouTube clip. Good luck everyone else!
WSOP Bracelet winner and local Raleigh poker pro Michael Gracz has already made two final tables so far at this year’s World Series. I’ve never met Gracz, but he was in the same room with me the day of the bust in Cary. You can’t really tell it from watching TV, but he’s actually a big guy and an intimidating presence at the table. He’s certainly an accomplished player, proving to the world many times over that he was no one hit wonder. He’s only 26 too, so he should be around for many, many years to come. His total winnings at this year’s WSOP total over $125k, and his lifetime tournament winnings are close to $3M.
A huge NBA trade went down today. Kevin Garnett, the Big Ticket, possibly the best player never to win a ring, was traded to the Boston Celtics for an incredible 5 players and 2 draft picks. That has to be the biggest trade ever for just one person.
So did the Celtics get the best end of the deal? They had to give up Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, reigning dunk champion Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, wannabe thug Sebastian Telfair, and two first-round draft picks. Jefferson is really the only starter out of the bunch, and he definitely has a chance to be a superstar. The rest of them? I really wouldn’t be surprised if the TWolves had nothing left to show from this trade except for the draft picks. But they did get some cap relief for next year to go after some free agents. But I can’t imagine anyone wanting to play basketball in Minnesota without Garnett there though. So I’m pretty sure the TWolves cemented their position in the lottery for the next 4-5 years. The Celtics, however, are prone to make a run at the title for the next 2-3 years. Boston fans have to be stoked. They now have Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, three extremely hungry superstars with no NBA titles. Unfortunately, they don’t have much else to work with. Still, in the East, when one player (Lebron) can single-handedly take a team to the finals, the Celtics could certainly make some noise. Can they compete with the Pistons, Cavs, and Bulls? Yeah probably.
But I still like the Pistons to take it next year, especially if Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell step up like they’re expected to. They better do better than the Celtics too, because I kind of made a big bet with a friend from Boston. Can NBA bobblehead dolls be used for voodoo?
