"Day 1 of the 2004 World Series of Poker Report"

Poker popularity has exploded over the past year and I'm expecting something big to happen for today's 2004 World Series of Poker opening. But strangely, the streets of the freemont street experience seem more empty than the day before. Is everybody inside Binion's? I mill around for awhile inside Binion's and the casino is actually pretty quiet. There are lots of marketing people wearing shirts for Party Poker, Ultimate Bet, ....there is a fairly long line at the cafeteria....and the tournament people are fairly hard at work. I remember seeing the director on TV last night and here he was in person, so I guess I'm in the right place.

It turns out that the 2004 World Series of Poker is going to start at 1pm instead of noon, perhaps due to the record 2500+ players. I bought a couple souvenirs and ran down to the end of the Freemont street experience to see the 'dark side' of downtown. It's bleak indeed down there and carrying my laptop, I'm reassured by the heavy police presence. The sun is quite unpleasant too. Is this the same sun we have in LA? Seems way crueler.... I wander into the El Cortez and I realize that people who hate Vegas or hate gambling aren't entirely incorrect. It can be a fun hobby or pastime, but watching so many people who OBVIOUSLY cannot afford to be throwing money away playing slots (perhaps the surest loser in the Casino) is rather depressing. But they do have some great deals (99 cents) on used casino playing cards.

I got back to the Binion's for the 2004 World Series of Poker opening and secured myself a spot near a rail, sitting on a stool meant for slots. Next to me was a rather talkative older woman who explained that her husband had just won his way in by winning a $50 single table satellite for a $225 super satellite where he had rebought once and placed 7th. She was a bit worried that she'd have to find a hotel room for the week and change her flight, but it is a once in a lifetime experience. She seemed rather annoyed that people kept standing in her way as she was trying to take a picture of her husband before the 2004 World Series of Poker started.

Also sitting with me were a couple of younger guys who were watching their friend who had won an entry via a Poker Stars satellite (who, btw, had some really hot women outside all week). They were joking around with their friend about how nervous they all were about his pending tournament. I hope he did well. Throughout, he kept apologizing for boring them, to which his friends replied that it was better than losing money at blackjack. Indeed, they were so accustomed to throwing money at the blackjack tables that they felt they were 'making money' by watching him. Funny how Vegas changes your perspectives.

About 5 minutes after the tournament started, the woman's husband comes up to her and tells her that he is out of the tournament. His wife is convinced that he is kidding saying something to the effect of...'please, you're not out of the tournament 10 minutes and you're out...give me a break'. The man then assures her that yes indeed, he was knocked out of the tournament on the very first hand. There is an ongoing discussion in poker circles about whether you would go all in with pocket aces on the first hand of the world series of poker. You're likely to win, but do you really want to take the chance on getting knocked out so soon. It turns out that someone at this man's table was willing to go all in, except that he did so after the flop. On the flop, the man had made 2 pair (Queens and Tens) and called the all-in bet...he was a pretty big favorite, but somehow an Ace came on the river and the man had the unique distinction of being the very first person out of the 2004 World Series of Poker. Indeed, the very first hand! I was half tempted to take his picture but was prudently somewhat sensitive to his mental state. I volunteered that at least ESPN would probably want to interview him, and sure enough, after he had left, ESPN announced that they were looking for the first person out for an interview. Perhaps he was long gone by then though....perhaps 20 minutes later I heard another shout from a far off table as if someone had caught something on the river. I then saw a man get up from the table and make a very purposeful exit from the table, with the ESPN camera crew vainly trying to keep up with his determined pace. I imagine the man had no desire to be interviewed.

It soon got a bit boring with only the late arrival of Phil Helmuth Jr. giving me some entertainment. I was "fortunate" enough to be in his way, on the rail, such that he had to ask us all to move so he could awkwardly climb over the rail to his seat. I guess the actual walkway was even more crowded than our tiny section. You could see glimpses of TJ Cloutier (or so people said...I wouldn't recognize him) and other poker legends, but watching poker without knowing their cards is reallly really boring....so when I got a call that the Plaza poker room was seating for a relatively low buy in ($100) no limit cash game, I made my way over there.

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