Food

Our new home on the Cotai Strip: Pokerstars Macau

Pokerstars Macau recently announced its move to the newly renovated and revamped Grand Waldo Entertainment Complex. This place has its sweet memories for me, as I had finished third in the APPT Macau in 2008 which was my biggest live tournament success at the time. Returning there now provides a whole new experience for anyone who visits the home of the biggest and richest poker tournaments in Asia.

The complex already houses top facilities, but let me list several highlights for you in the area. Players on a budget can now consider staying the night at the Grand Waldo Spa for under $60USD or even sleep in the main hall of the spa if you don’t mind being in a shared area. Visitors to Macau have previously spent most of their time on the Macau side but everyone knows that the new “place to be” is the Cotai Strip across the bridge on Taipa.

The Cotai strip is continuously getting developed and you can always find swanky new hotels and restaurants to discover. If you thought you really knew Macau, think again! Across the road from Grand Waldo is its sister-hotel, the recently opened Galaxy, which houses several different brands of hotels and several world class bars and restaurants. A short cab ride down to discover Taipa Village – where the original community of Taipa Island started from – will transport you back in time as you discover its small cluster of narrow lanes and alleys with colorful old (& new) colonial houses. Amongst these houses you can discover old temples and the best seafood in Macau!

Another highlight of our newly situated room is its proximity to the go-karting track and golf course. Fancy some speed, and a short cab ride brings you to the Macau Motor Sports Club where you can unleash the speed demon in you! If you feel like a relaxing day out on the greens you can head to Caesars Golf Macau and even enroll yourself for some lessons at the Butch Harmon School. Who knows you could be the next Tiger Woods after all.

There are just so many sights to discover and I will definitely be on the lookout for more gems as I uncover them! In the meantime satellites for the Macau Poker Cup (June 9th-18th) on running now on PokerStars so make sure to make your way there by winning a seat now!

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As the Stars Tweet: EPT Monaco

The PokerStars European Poker Tour headed back to Monaco this year for the Season 8 Grand Final. Plenty of members of Team PokerStars Pros made their way to the principality for nine days of poker — after all, the Super High Roller, Main Event, and High Roller had to be

The trip didn’t start off so well for Daniel Negreanu. On April 21 he tweeted, “British Airways ahhhh! No bags again wtf! That’s the 4th time that’s happened with BA. My own fault I guess for trying them again. #steaming” Losing you bags is never fun, but Kid Poker headed back to the airport to rescue them after having “an awesome meal in Menton” at The Loving Hut.

Negreanu, along with 37 other players plopped down €100,000 to take part in the Super High Roller, which began on April 23. On Day 2 of the Super High Roller, Negreanu took it upon himself to order food for several people, including fellow pros David Williams (who was on his way into Monaco and is OK with “anything except cucumbers and olives), and Vanessa Selbst (who likes her spring rolls not fried).

There are a few ways of getting to Monaco — train, car, or helicopter. And when given the option, it’s always best to ride in style, which is what David Williams did. Chris Moneymaker did the same, tweeting, “Just landed in Nice. About to jump in a helicopter for quick ride to Monaco.”

David Williams’ helicopter

Of the eight players who made it to the final table of the Super High Roller, Team PokerStars Pro represented half the field — Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Duhamel, Eugene Katchalov, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. “Made the final table of SHR. Gonna be a sick fight with @realkidpoker @eugenekatchalov @jonathanduhamel @justinbonomo +masa patrik tobias,” ElkY tweeted. Negreanu and ElkY cashed in sixth and third respectively, and Justin Bonomo walked away with the title and €1.6 million first-place prize.

If you’ve got a view from your hotel room like most of the Pros did, it’s a given that there will be plenty of obligatory “awesome view” tweets, like this one from Lex Veldhuis, “Obgligatory Monte Carlo balcony view pic: one of my favorite hotels on EPTour. #eptgrandfinal”

Lex Veldhuis’ view

And some of the pros use the “my balcony has a nice view” as a way to lure Achtung players over. “Are we getting an #Achtung game going. My balcony has a nice view… Where u guys at? @VanessaSelbst @ssigsbee @ah_22,” tweeted Jason Mercier.

By the time that the Super High Roller was over, the Main Event was well under way. There were a number of pros in the field on Day 1a, but on Day 1b, one Pro was ready to make some history. “And day1b of #EPTGrandFinal is starting now. About time I become the first double champion. Joke has ran on for long enough! #itstime,” tweeted ElkY.

Liv Boeree got ready for Day 1b in an interesting way. “Ate a whole one of these last night for a dare, the accidentally rubbed my eye. Hell does exist.” We would never recommend that.

Liv Boeree’s hot stuff

ElkY’s Day 1 didn’t go as well as he’d like, but he didn’t give up hope. “6k going into last level of the night. Everything been going wrong so far, Time to turn it into 200k soon. #whywoulditend #EPTGrandFinal.” But it eventually came to an end, “And my dream of becoming the first Double EPT Champion will have to wait till Barcelona. Busted 55 vs @BigCheese_Poker AJhh next to the end.” Even though, he still didn’t give up hope, “Good night sleep and hardcore workout are the best remedies for bustout. Will be ready to take on the world again ! #thingsiwishiknewbefore”

As we all know, patience is a virtue and it’s definitely something that’s needed in poker tournaments. “Being so overwhelmingly patient I deserve a medal for patience for being patient in patient times #EPTPatience,” tweeted Boeree, followed by, “Russian kid keeps coughing on me #EPTPatience.”

Barry Greenstein took the saying “when in Rome” literally while in Monaco, tweeting quite a bit of his updates in French — and since we didn’t take French in school, we didn’t understand any of it.

Even though the Pros were in Monaco for the Grand Final, the upcoming SCOOP was on the minds of some. “Thinking about going to Mexico to play SCOOPs now. Is internet stable and what’s the best spot there for you guys? Any links? Thanks,” tweeted ElkY. Angel Guillen was quick to answer, “@elkypoker Mexico city is close to perfect internet wise, if u wanna go to the beach u could have a 2nd connection just in case”

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Travel Diary: EPT Berlin

I adore Berlin. It has such an edge of coolness about it I was so excited to return there for the penultimate EPT of the season. Having a good friend living there also helped me to enjoy the experience much more. Before the Main Event kicked off, I went out to celebrate my German friend’s birthday and get to know the Berlin way of life a little better than I had done before. It was a Sunday night and apparently the best night of the week to go out (that was a statement from a Berliner, so it’s pretty concrete.) We started in a Swiss restaurant called ‘Helvetia’ in Kreuzberg where we ate a cheese fondue. It was insanely tasty and cheap. In fact, I wasn’t really looking forward to it so much, I mean, how can a bit of bread and cheese be that great? But trust me, it was. I couldn’t stop dunking my bread into the hot runny cheese sauce. Just thinking about it now is making my mouth salivate, so really, if you come to Berlin, you must try and find Helvetia of you like cheese. The address is Mariannenstrasse 50, 10997 Berlin. Go. Go. Go!

After stuffing ourselves silly, we went out for a few more drinks and the others carried on to a club a little later, but having Day 1a the next day, I thought I better go with the sensible option and opt for an early night, well 2 a.m.

The day before we had also gone out to explore the city and all its history. There was of course a lot of history and I always loved coming to look at some of the old pieces of the Berlin wall that were still visible for the world to see. We had never visited the TV tower before, so felt we should take in the whole experience and see Berlin from up in the clouds and from a 360-degree view. There’s no need for you to do the same though, as it’s all here for you to take a look in the welcome video!

We knew Berlin was going to be a huge field right before the Grand Final and we weren’t wrong. We played 10 levels on both Day 1a and 1b, which was pretty unheard of. Yet, it meant the total field of 750 players had been reduced to 102 by the end of Day 2, so ultimately it was a good thing.

A number of Team PokerStars Pros had gathered at the felt to try and conquer EPT Berlin, but it was not to be. German Team Pro Jan Heitmann made it the furthest by coming 29th and taking home €17,500. It was such a pleasure to see Jan as well because he was such a great person and didn’t frequent all the tour stops. In fact, I think it had been a whole year since I had seen him at last EPT Berlin. He was willing to get involved and make my videos fun, including making a rather silly video, which showed off his piano talents a lot more than mine. I should have, however, received the EPT Oscar after making this video with him

As we got closer to the final table, although no Team Pros remained, we did have the chance of a double crown champion as former EPT Berlin Champion Kevin MacPhee, EPT Copenhagen Champion Anton Wigg and EPT Snowfest Champion Vladimir Geshkenbein all remained in the final 19 players. However this hope was also short-lived, as MacPhee busted in 19th, Wigg in 14th and Geshkenbein in 10th, even though the Russian did have his lucky monkey looking after his chips and his token alcoholic beverage next to him.

However, the final table was still an exciting one, with Canadian Andrew Chen and Belgian Davidi Kitai being the two players with most notable performance history and indeed making it to heads-up. Kitai held the chip lead for most of the day though it did pass to Chen a few times once the players had reduced. It was not a particularly long heads-up battle either, which was great seeing as our video team had to leave Berlin at 5 a.m. to get to Monaco (with a 4 hour stopover in Dusseldorf – its not all glamour!!) Davidi Kitai had become the first ever Belgian EPT Champion and the Belgians were having a great run recently for sure. He spoke to me after play and here is his interview:

So onward bound to Monaco, with no break in between Berlin and The Grand Final. I had my bags packed full of food as I had heard it was a little pricey in this glamorous principality. I just hoped it didn’t all fall out on the flight and smother my dresses! I leave you with some of the outtakes from EPT Berlin (which went out the video before the winner interview). Yes, we are a silly bunch! Until next time. Auf Wiedersen!

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EPT8 Monaco $25,000 High Roller: Schwartz busts amid the banter

The kind of conversation referred to as “banter” is usually best kept within the confines of online dating profiles, along with use of the word “random” to mean “slightly out of the ordinary” and “bubbly” to mean “boring”. (All that goes double for the notion of “Twitter banter” which, well, I’m not even going to continue with this train of thought.)

However there’s a good deal of what might sometimes be called banter going on at the €25,000 High Roller final table in Monaco this afternoon, and when it costs that much even to enter the conversation we can expect it to be of a slightly higher calibre.

Certainly Max Lykov, Justin Bonomo and Daniel Negreanu are keeping their twit-fans happy with some cyber-jibing. “I knocked out Max Lykov with AT vs his KK he was short. I’m back to a million. #DNegsGrind2012″ tweeted @RealKidPoker recently, and although that gleaned replies of “Goodluck!!!” and “it’s your time sir” from Negreanu’s followers, @superdecay hit back with a succinct “@RealKidPoker now i hate you!!! ”.

Daniel Negreanu makes a video for his Twitter followers

Moments later, @RealKidPoker was at it again. “Just doubled thru @justinbonomo with QQ vs his AK up to 1.6 million now. Revenge from the flip I lost to him in the super high roller,” he tweeted, which got a “Weird. Actually lost a flip for 1.5m.” from @JustinBonomo, followed quickly by a “Cold 5 bet shove took it down. Back to 2.2mil.”

And they’re at it in real life too, especially as the action hots up. During the pot that would result in the elimination of Noah Schwartz, most rail-birds were more interested in the commentary than the hands themselves, even though it would prove to be a belter of a hand.

It began innocuously enough, with Negreanu taking delivery of a box of vegetation for lunch and Artem Litvinov spotting an opportunity to get a barb in after a morning of one-way banter. “Don’t eat me up any more,” Litvinov said. “Eat your food.” Negreanu did so, setting about a maze of high-energy fibrous shoots and tendrils with some gusto.

But he was forced to pause a moment to watch the hand go down. Philipp Gruissem started things, making it 51,000 to play from under the gun. Igor Kurganov and Bonomo both paid, in cut off and button seat respectively, as did Schwartz in the big blind. That’s how come four of them saw a flop of [8c][5d][3c].

Noah Schwartz

Schwarz checked, as did Gruissem. Then Kurganov bet 144,000. Bonomo folded but Schwartz moved all-in for about 460,000. Gruissem then announced that he too was all in, covering Schwarz, but with marginally fewer than Kurganov.

“Is this real life?” asked Negreanu, quoting yet another Bonomo tweet from earlier in the tournament.
“What the hell,” added Bonomo, in real life.

Facing two check raises all in, Kurganov had a tough decision to make. He turned to the tournament supervisor and asked if he had pen and paper to help him figure out his decision. He was only half joking at most.

Gruissem helped him out, throwing over his smart phone (presumably with calculator feature enabled). “We’re all friends,” said Negreanu, giving his consent for the calculations.

“Yeah, what’s the turn card going to be? Bonomo asked the dealer, just out of polite interest.

In the end, Kurganov folded and it was Schwartz’s [8h][5c] against Gruissem’s [ac][9c] for all the beans. Gruissem needed to hit a club and the [jc] on the river sealed it in his favour, sending a somewhat downcast Schwartz to the rail.

Litvinov, who had spent much of the time shadow boxing beside the table, and chatting to his friend, celebrated Schwartz’s elimination with more relish than anyone else. He now takes his place in the final five as this surprisingly light-hearted final table continues to edge closer to seven-figure payout time.

Don’t forget, you can click here for live updates, chip counts and payout information from The PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final High Roller.

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EPT8 Monaco: The world beyond Le Sporting

For anyone thinking that Monaco is too expensive a place to enjoy, too exclusive for your regular poker player, too far away for your regular traveller or two uninteresting for the enthusiastic tourist, you might have a point. But you can find yourself easily be swayed to the contrary by a walk along the seafront, into Monte Carlo, for dinner in the open air.

The jokes are routine now about the “luxury” element of Monaco; you can’t pretend this is a place that belongs to anyone short of a few million Euros. For a start the walk to the restaurant alone (on sidewalks you can see your reflection in) takes you past a Bentley dealership, a McLaren dealership, a Ferrari dealership and the type of shops that require an invitation to enter.

Casino Square (there’s a Morelli’s Ice Cream parlor just off to the left)

But you set out to find something new because back at Le Sporting a toasted cheese sandwich from the bar will set you back €19, washed down by a €9 Coke, served to you by waiting staff who look like they were told a joke a few minutes earlier.

But there exist places within 20 minutes of Le Sporting where you can eat hot food for around €20 and buy a beer for less than ten (Have you lost your mind? — Ed). There’s nothing wrong with a breeze when it’s 22 degrees outside, and if you spend long enough drinking coffee in the open on a street corner you see all sorts of sights, like rich drunk people staggering up towards Casino Square and even a rare bottle-green 1988 Honda Accord with a dented left wing, dropping into second to take Mirabeau.

But perhaps our reluctance to embrace this place’s ludicrous wealth is misplaced, even with our pockets turned out and emptied by our Evian habit.

The richest poker tour in the world should come to the richest playground in the world. The EPT is about more than poker, it’s about glamour, talent, effort and a dash of aspiration. What’s not to like about a place that harnesses those virtues and packages them up in tax-free gilded wrapping and calls it real life?

If you’re still not sure the EPT will be back here again in a year from now, with a revised schedule and even more opportunities to win your trip for free (a word with no direct translation in Monegasque). Come find out for yourself.

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Will 2012 be the Year of the Women for ANZPT?

Poker tour destinations afford poker pros, cashed-up entrepreneurs and satellite winners the opportunity to tick off some dream travel destinations around the globe. While the current hype surrounds the glitz and glamour of the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final, on the other side of the map, there are plenty of ladies adding a little glamour to the tables on the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour. Taking a look back at the history of the ANZPT since it began in 2009, there have been several impressive and consistent performances from females on the tour, but we are still looking for our first female ANZPT champion to be crowned. This could be the year to make it happen.

The inaugural season of the ANZPT was the biggest year for women on the tour, with two final table results. In the very first event in Adelaide in 2009, it was Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin who added some glamour to the final showdown. Lin managed a seventh-place finish, taking home AU$23,475 for her efforts. It wouldn’t take long until the Shanghai-born beauty would hold a major trophy, as the first female to win a Macau Poker Cup later that year. The $50,932 lion’s share is Lin’s biggest live tournament score to date and helped her get within a sniff of the top 100 Australian All Time Money tournament earners. Over the past 12 months Lin has focused more on the growing live poker scene in her home base of Macau where she has been regularly spotted at Macau Poker Cup events and on the Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin

But it was a 49-year-old mother-of six from Australia’s sunshine state of Queensland who would give us the closest chance to a female ANZPT championship. One well versed in risk-reward and investment strategies, mortgage broker Lisa Walsh banked AU$162,690 for her runner-up finish in the 2009 ANZPT Sydney to a courageous victor in Paren “Puzz” Arzoomanian.

The highest female to rank on the Australian All Time Money List tournament winnings is Amanda De Cesare. The speech pathologist from Melbourne burst on to the local poker scene when she won The Poker Star, a reality TV show hosted by Joe Hachem. The then 34-year old single mother of two was crowned the winner of the show after proving herself to have the ideal characteristics of a poker player. De Cesare won the juicy prize of $100,000 and entry into four major events (Aussie Millions, APPT Grand Final, EPT Monte Carlo and WSOP Main Event). Within the poker community, De Cesare’s poker skills were scrutinized on public forums, however hosts and mentors, Hachem along with Lee Nelson, saw star qualities in their new protégé. Their decision was validated just one week after the final episode was aired, when De Cesare took down the Joe Hachem Deep Stack Series 3 Main Event for AU$77,500. In a dream year, De Cesare also final tabled the 2010 ANZPT Melbourne, finishing in 4th place for AU$52,261 to squash any lingering doubts of her ability.

Amanda De Cesare

Other ladies to get close to ANZPT immortality include Kristina Jenney (Griffiths) who shared the 2010 ANZPT Melbourne final table with De Cesare. Jenney finished in 6th place (AU$33,846) that year, and more recently finished in 15th place (AU$9,220) at the ANZPT Sydney last month. Selina Bodel also finished just shy of an ANZPT final table, with her 10th place at the 2010 ANZPT Canberra worth AU$6,878.

The 2012 ANZPT kicked off last month, with the Main Event in Sydney outlaying a tempting AU$922,000 prize pool. Perth, the capital of western Australia, is the next stop on the tour and while it may not have millionaires zooming around stunning Mediterranean cliff tops in ridiculously expensive fast cars like Monte Carlo, it does have a certain charm all its own. If it’s sunshine, white sandy beaches, the freshest seafood and top surf in a laid-back sun-kissed rhythm that you’re after, Perth delivers in spades. And if it’s poker immortality, by re-writing this history and becoming the first ANZPT female champion you’re after, then I’d gladly document your glory.

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APPT Cebu: Party in paradise

It was another perfect night in Cebu. Warm without being too humid, a gentle touch of a breeze with not a cloud in the sky. During the daytime, it’s certainly a treat to be outside in the glorious sun, but it’s the evenings where Cebu really comes alive.

So what better way to enjoy an evening in Cebu last night than at the annual PokerStars qualifiers beach party? It was an evening that was not to be missed and it certainly lived up to the hype, as our sore and sorry heads can attest to this afternoon.

The Shangri-La Mactan resort was again picture perfect as I shed a tear that we are not staying there again this year. We wandered down towards the private beach, and although there were no fire twirlers this time around, we arrived to be greeted by a bevy of beauties issuing our passes for the evening. With wristbands slapped on, we were let loose.

The San Migs were again the beverage of choice as the open bar was thoroughly enjoyed by the several hundred people in attendance. And it wasn’t your typical poker party crowd either. The male to female ratio was certainly well-balanced, which made a nice change, as players took the opportunity to bring along wives, girlfriends and even a few locals that had attached themselves during the week.

After refreshing our thirst we headed straight to the buffet where again we were spoiled by an abundance of calamari, seafood and beef skewers, and some delightful beef parcels wrapped in bacon. Of course, there was also yet another suckling pig. OMG.

We tucked into the food as the Filipino six-piece band played western classics with a flare that was almost a perfect imitation of MTV. Yep, Katy Perry has made it to the Philippines.

Then, as if the evening couldn’t get more perfect, the fireworks display erupted above us to remind us once again that this was indeed paradise.

After several hours of great fun, the bar tab was eventually drained, and the crowd slowly drifted away from the beach. Fortunately for us, the evening didn’t end there. Somehow Dave Behr is going to reconstruct those details for you a little later on from the brain cells that weren’t fatally damaged in last night’s festivities.

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APPT Cebu: Triple play

It’s Day 1c at the 2012 PokerStars.net APPT Cebu Main Event. For the players who take their seats today, the experience will be fresh. For the staff and your erstwhile bloggers, we’re already settling into our routines. But even we are having to adapt. A very late appearance at the breakfast buffet this morning by yours truly was rewarded with most of the food already consumed.

Why was I so late? Last night there was a little party at the Shangri-La for the 84 players who qualified for this event on PokerStars and their groupies: wives, girlfriends, hangers-on, even a few locals that the players have befriended since arriving earlier this week. One thing led to another, as it often does, and a large group of us wound up at a street festival celebrating the killing of Magellan in combat in 1521 – just in time for a blackout. More on all that later, once we sort out the publishable and non-publishable details amongst ourselves.

For now, our bleary-eyed selves are chugging water, coffee, Gatorade and other hangover cures of choice as the tournament staff count out stacks of 20,000 in chips for each of the Day 1c starters. It’s a tournament poker maxim that the last flight of a multi-flight tournament is always the largest, and this one is proving to be no exception to the rule. We haven’t started yet but there are already more players registered for Day 1c then there were for Days 1a or 1b.

Their primary goal will be to survive the day. Their secondary goal will be to survive with as many chips as possible. And if there’s a tertiary goal beyond that, I haven’t figured it out. The current overall chip leader, Antonio Martins of Macau, played yesterday on Day 1b. The 119,000 chips he bagged after six levels of play puts him in the pole position.

That’s our schedule again today. Six levels of play, one lechon (that’s a roast suckling pig being served for lunch, if you haven’t been following along the last few days), and shrinking the Day 1c field in half by 7pm. Then the bags will come out again and we’ll see what kind of Friday night mischief we can find in Cebu.

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EPT8 Monaco: Hungry? Thirsty? Genuine consumer advice from the PokerStars Blog

Poverty Update…

As reported earlier in the week, it’s hard to ignore simple economics of a visit to Monaco. As players will now becoming aware of, it’s relatively cheap to get here, Nice Airport being the closet hub, followed by a €90 taxi ride. But as soon as the taxi stops you’re on an entirely different meter, with charges jumping out at you from all over the place; rumour has it that if you even open the door of your mini-bar your bank manager calls, a klaxon sounding in the distance, informing you that your account has been closed.

Some have sought a cure for this poverty, unplugging the phone for a start, and using ingenuity to get pass colossal fees.

With the cheapest food on the room service menu being a €22 Euro omelette, with a €6 deliver charge (putting aside the fact that merely looking at the cover of the room service menu sets off a similar klaxon back in the accounts department), you begin to look for the value, nutritional value, between that and the €12 jar of nuts on the dressing table.

Are you going to eat those chips?

Seeking a cup of tea after work last night I attempted to circumvent any charge for tea by ordering a plan jug of boiled water (having brought my own teabags). I figured that simple boiled water might be free of charge, used to remove a stain perhaps, or to deliver a baby. Had I remember to ask for a cup as well this might have worked. But I didn’t and they had to bring this separately. How much they charge for this should prove interesting at check out.

Another tactic is to get up early for breakfast, then go back for lunch, although this relies on foiling the waiting staff. In LE Sporting, rumour has it that there’s a secret vending machine which, cut off from the world outside, thinks it’s about right to charge 80 cents rather than €8 for a small bottle of water. Its location is known to only a handful of misers. I could have my press pass summarily torn from around my neck for even talking about it.

Then there is the supermarket which, in what can be termed a genuine piece of useful consuer advice, we can tell you about. The local Spar can be found in Le Metropole Shopping Centre which can be found on Avenue des Spelugues which Formula 1 racing fans will recognise as the bit with the hairpin turn (see map with pointy arrow).

Down the stairs and down the stairs again

Map of the supermarket in relation to the hairpin turn

The Spa is at the top of the hill, if you’re walking up hill around the hairpin past the Fairmont Hotel, and is down some stairs. Monaco this may be but there is no dress code. They have food and everything there. No more peanuts for dinner!

Fill your boots.

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EPT8 Monaco: Dressing for the occasion

Mark Twain once said “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” He’s right of course, with the possible exception of anyone in fashion or film; but few poker players have really considered looking smart in their approach to their day job; swapping comfort for elegance often furthest from the mind of a man in short trousers shoving half of a fried egg sandwich into his mouth while everyone waits for him to check or bet.

The price we pay is sea of T-shirts, flip flops, and elasticated trousers, scraped off the hotel room floor this morning having been the last thing tossed there the night before.

However, it’s not all about food stains and visible underwear. Perhaps taking heed of the James Hartigan school of sartorial enforcement, whereby final tablists are obliged to wear a jacket and collar (I favour dinner jackets), a handful of players look to have upped their game sartorially this afternoon, at least since arriving in Monaco.

Chief among them is Kevin MacPhee, who has spent the day being followed around by a television camera crew, wearing a well cut jacket of plaid for the occasion.

Kevin MacPhee

Elsewhere Marcel Luske has done the same. The Flying Dutchman Team PokerStars Pro (in what order should those words really be written?) is no stranger to the pleasing pressures of a starched collar, but had drifted into casual attire of late. Not anymore; his Windsor knot easily capable of withstanding the creased aggression thrown at him by youngsters in bare feet.

Back to his old self, Marcel Luske

Others in jacket and collar include David Deutsch, who started the day on the same table as Melanie Weisner (more on her below), as well as Romano Favetta. Calvin Anderson matches a pale blue jacket with some tan polished wingtips; a simple lesson to anyone with feet.

It should be pointed out that this respect for the occasion is not exclusive to (albeit a handful of) men, it’s just that women players tend to look good whenever they play. Annette Obrestad and Melanie Weisner always shine, as do Victoria Coren and Vanessa Rousso. Vanessa Selbst created a look of her own in her red Adidas top, while Liv Boeree has Glam-Metal just about nailed.

Liv Boeree

This is Day 1 of course. It may be that come Day 4, the sports jacket comes out of moth balls and replace the sports team Halloween costumes. You never know, and only yesterday Jake Cody and Taylor Paur followed Twain’s route of a hardy white suit. Cody did bust though, and burnt his in protest. Perhaps for some the flannel pants and hoodie is a better option after all.

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