Fallsview Postscript

Still somewhat in recovery mode after the quick trip to the Great White North. There were a couple of items I meant to share from the World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic that occurred to me this afternoon as I returned to my barn duties here on the farm.

One was the fact that local gaming regulations not only forbid any photos or videos from being taken in the tournament area, but also dictated that players weren’t allowed to use their phones at all while at the tables. That meant players couldn’t really tweet out constant updates as has become a routine practice at most events.

It reminded me a little of when I first started reporting from tournaments, back when smart phones weren’t as ubiquitous. I know some players didn’t care for the restriction, and in fact on breaks when they did have a chance to use their phones a few would tweet out complaints about it. But most seemed not to be too bothered by it.

The other effect of that rule, of course, was that generally speaking almost all of the players seemed pretty engaged throughout -- that is, those who’d folded hands were focused more on watching the involved players and their actions than skimming through content on iPads or phones or messaging. I only became aware of that difference toward the latter part of the second day of play, but I imagine it created a somewhat altered dynamic at some tables than many tourney players were used to.

They played down to 10 players on Sunday night and stopped the tourney just a few minutes shy of the time the tourney was already scheduled to stop. It was a good decision, as there was a redraw necessary at that point and it made more sense to wait another day to play those first ten-handed hands.

A stage had been constructed with lights and good seating for spectators, and that’s where things played out on Monday as 10 played down to one. Even though the official six-handed final table wasn’t shot for television, it still retained a little bit of that “spectacle” feel the WPT final tables generally possess with the hands being announced over a PA and large screens showing the community cards and showdowns.

One other humorous detail to share. For much of that final day, whenever the announcer related that a player was all in, that would cue some music -- played relatively faintly, but plenty audible -- that I think was from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. You know what I mean, that familiar decision-making music with the “heartbeat” sounds…

Actually, now that I listen to this clip I’m not sure it is exactly what they were playing at Fallsview, but it was similar enough that everyone instantly associated it with the game show. People generally laughed, too, when hearing it the first few times. Remko and I had a phone at our table from which we were reporting, and one time during an all-in I picked it up saying “Regis, I’d like to phone a friend.”

Anyhow just wanted to add that little postscript before moving on to other things this week, and there are a lot of them, including a couple more chip-related scandals, the first Full Tilt Poker remission payments finally arriving, Phil Hellmuth’s lack of understanding of the Global Poker Index, among others.

So many topics out there now, in fact, I’m not sure which one to choose. Regis? I’d like to ask the audience.

Travel Report: Season XII WPT Fallsview Poker Classic, Day 3 -- Kick Your Heels

Airport blogging once again, presently awaiting first flight out of Buffalo as I’ll be winding my way back home after the conclusion last night of the World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls.

We finished up around 10 or so last night, although the day felt a little longer after my blogging partner Remko and I reported every hand from the ten-handed final table on down to a winner (over 250 of them). Matthew Lapossie ended up winning the sucker after carrying a big chip lead into heads-up versus Dylan Wilkerson and then finishing the deal after a little over 20 hands.

One hand early on saw Lapossie turn a straight flush against Peter Labib’s ace-high flush to knock out the latter, easily the most remarkable hand of the day. There were several come-from-behind turn or river saves for short stacks, though, which made things interesting while prolonging the final table.

Chris Tessaro noted at one point how the table was a “short-stack shamble,” the phrase sounding enough like your humble scribbler’s moniker to wonder if I were to blame. He also tweeted the best line of the day about players’ managing to double up over and again:

“Not saying this fallsview ‪#wpt final table is taking too long,” he wrote, “but I just gave coffee shop my last 1.60 and she gave 3.20 change ‪#doubleup.”

Great working alongside Remko who always keeps people smiling. Walking back from a short dinner break yesterday, he turned to me and asked earnestly “Wanna see my favorite move?” “Whaddya mean, dance move?” I replied, but rather than answering he jogged two steps then leaped in the air, kicking his heels before landing, momentarily becoming a literal flying Dutchman. Soon Remko was encouraging one of the friendly Fallsview staff to try the move as well.

Speaking of, all of the Fallsview staff were especially accommodating throughout. Indeed, as is often pointed out by those traveling north of the border, there were nothing but friendly folks at every turn during my brief Canada sojourn.

Gonna cut it short as they’ll be boarding us soon. Looking forward to reuniting with Vera and the horses and barn cats later today. Return tomorrow for the farm report.

Travel Report: Season XII WPT Fallsview Poker Classic, Day 2 -- Roll Up the Rim to Win

In a bit of a rush (as usual) this morning as I get my act together for one more long day of tourney reporting. Yesterday’s second day of play here in Niagara Falls at the WPT Fallsview Poker Classic went well as 114 survivors from a starting field of 383 played down to just 10. That group will reassemble at noon today at an unofficial ten-handed final table, then play down to a winner tonight.

There were a few better known players left as the night edged towards the finish -- e.g., Mike Leah, Mike Watson, Peter Jetten, Shawn Cunix -- but all fell shy of the final ten and so the winner here will be a relative newcomer, although a few have had some nice scores before.

Matthew Lapossie final tabled the EPT6 Barcelona event back in 2009. Josue Sauvageau finished fifth in this same event a year ago. Dylan Wilkerson has 15 WSOP cashes and over $340,000 in career tourney winnings. And Jason James, who has a big chip lead to start the day, also has a number of cashes at the WSOP and elsewhere, although this should mark his biggest to date.

The day began with an enjoyable breakfast meeting with a family friend who happens to be based here in Niagara. Always nice to be able to connect with folks on these trips, and we enjoyed a nice visit before I headed to the tourney room.

I’d already had a couple of cups of coffee before breakfast, drank more there, then during the late afternoon Chris Tessaro introduced me to Tim Hortons coffee, in particular the popular “Roll Up the Rim to Win” promotion which encourages people to buy still more cups of the popular brand.

Chris bought me a cup -- and a chance at cash prizes or even a new car -- while also filling me in on the history behind the franchise first co-founded by the late NHL star after who it is named. The coffee was good (even if I didn’t exactly need yet another shot of caffeine) and while I didn’t win any prizes I did feel connected for a moment with the many other Canadians rolling up the rims of their coffee cups every day.

Speaking of hockey, there was a positive vibe in the room for much of the day as people shared stories about Canada’s gold medal victory in the morning, with the match being replayed on CBC on television screens in the afternoon. Big deal, that.

Must sign off as I have much left to do before play kicks off at noon. Join Remko Rinkema and myself for the hand-for-hand coverage over on the WPT site today. As Remko would say, it should be a barnburner.

Travel Report: Season XII WPT Fallsview Poker Classic, Day 1 -- Good View

I write from chilly Niagara Falls where the temps will be going down further over the course of my short visit for the three-day World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic.

Didn’t get to start the trip until relatively late on Friday, meaning it was pushing midnight before I rolled in. But the hotel room is comfortable -- affording this fairly spectacular view of the falls -- and all’s gone well thus far.

The tournament is being played out in the Grand Hall here at the Fallsview Resort Casino, a spacious room that impressed my colleague Remko and I as nicely laid out with great lighting and lots of room between tables for us to mill about. A total of 383 ended up coming out for the $5,000 buy-in event (Canadian dollars), and after a full day of play there were just 114 left to return today.

Was impressed as well by the music selections early on, kind of laughing to hear tracks like “Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk” (Barrett’s Floyd), “Virginia Plain” (Roxy Music), and “Eight Miles High” (Byrds) playing overhead. However halfway through the day the mix gravitated away from psychedelia to nondescript contemporary dance stuff. Laughed a little, though, at Griffin Benger’s tweet early in the day that the music was “the devil’s anthem.”

Benger also didn’t care for the 10-handed play (which was the case for most of the early part of Day 1), which I know many tourney players aren’t crazy about. They eventually moved to nine-handed, though, once late registration closed.

Had fun working with Remko whose special fascination with barns I was able to satisfy with some pictures of the one Vera and I now own. Also was glad to meet Chris Tessaro of the Hardcore Poker Show. I remembered once doing a quick spot on there a long while back, and we had fun comparing our memories of that “Niagara Falls” bit I was writing about on Friday.

Chris pointed out that the Canadians remaining in the field are all going to be tired today after getting up early to watch the gold medal hockey match. I have it on (watching CBC) as I write this morning, with Canada trying to hold a 2-0 lead over Sweden as the third period begins. A lot of excitement about this match around here, as you might imagine.

Signing off to watch the finale and get some other business done before heading back to the tourney room. Check in over at the WPT site for our Day 2 live updates today.

Niagara Falls! Slowly I Turned, Step by Step, Inch by Inch...

I write today from the airport, awaiting the first of a couple of flights which will take me to Buffalo, from which I’ll travel to Niagara Falls to help cover the World Poker Tour Fallsview Classic stop. It’ll be a quick one, a three-day event that’ll begin tomorrow and end on Monday.

I’ve been to that part of the country several times, but never to Niagara Falls. Was telling my brother the other day about the trip, and he immediately responded in a way that might be familiar to many...

“Niagara Falls!” he said, interrupting me. Some of you might know instinctively what came next.

“Slo-o-o-wly I turned, step by step, inch by inch...”

I joined in before he finished and we both laughed. Do you recognize what he was saying?

There’s probably a cutoff age for folks to recognize the reference to what was originally a famous vaudeville sketch, much reprised by many performers during the first half of the 20th century and into the early era of television.

It’s kind of a goofy bit involving a couple of strangers (or in some variations more) meeting with one telling a sad story about an unfaithful lover. When he gets to the part of the story in which his beloved left him for another at Niagara Falls, the name of the place triggers a violent reaction with his innocent interlocutor the undeserving victim.

From there the skit continues, with every mention of “Niagara Falls” again igniting slapsticky violence. The bit is so famous there’s a Wikipedia page dedicated to it.

Both Abbott and Costello and the Three Stooges did it during the mid-1940s, and I think it was the Stooges’ version my brother and I saw multiple times as impressionable young’uns. Here it is as it turns up in the Stooges’ 1944 short film Gents Without Cents in which the trio plays a group of performers with the sketch comprising their triumphant stage show:

There was a variation in an I Love Lucy episode, the show which was featured in the latest episode of my infrequent podcast, The Hard-Boiled Poker Radio Show. I also seem to remember it coming up in a cartoon somewhere, which may well have been the version my brother and I remember, but I can’t put my finger on which one it might have been.

In any case, I know the two of us aren’t alone with this association deeply lodged in our brains. The WPT’s Vince Van Patten will be making the trip as well, and earlier this week he tweeted a reference to it (see left) which got lots of responses.

Good thing the memory of “Niagara Falls” makes us all grin and chuckle rather than start throwing punches at the nearest poor sap!