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Today in the 3-Bet we find a shocking and bizarre turn at the Partouche main event, Patrik Antonius making a very short stint as an ISPT ambassador and, of all places, Las Vegas cited as the last honest place on Earth.
1) Partouche Founder Gives Bizarre Speech, Cancels Tour
We mentioned the growing controversy at the Partouche Poker Tour main event yesterday but things got truly weird today.
Before the day began founder Patrick Partouche took to the mic and simultaneously pulled the plug on the PPT, claimed the prize pool was never guaranteed, had a fit about being called a cheater and trashed young, ego-driven players.
It was an impressive number of meltdowns in just a few minutes, really. Check the clip below starting at 4:30 for the English section.
Adding to the weirdness, Partouche Marketing Director JJ Ichai resigned after a clip surfaced of him confirming the guarantee on TV earlier in the year.
In his farewell Facebook post Ichai says he "had no memory" of the interview and that Partouche had no knowledge of the appearance before his speech today.
Meanwhile, the players left in the tournament continue to play for the shorted-but-still-impressive prize pool.
Some Twitter reaction:
Learned some French today. Apparently "Partouche" means "Epic" in English. #KnowingIsHalfTheBattle
— Lance Bradley (@Lance_Bradley) September 6, 2012I understand the frustration of Mr.Partouche, but listening to players is key to success for a poker tour, and blaming them is just stupid
— Jonathan Duhamel (@JonathanDuhamel) September 6, 2012Wow. Patrick Partouche took the mic at beginning of Day 3 to announce the end of #PPT. Angry, bitter speech. No #PPT next year.
— BenjoDiMeo (@BenjoDiMeo) September 6, 2012!!! VERY IMPORTANTeveryone who cashes the tourneyshould fill a complain with the DGCCRFas what partouche is doingis definetly illegal
— Dominik Nitsche (@DominikNitsche) September 6, 20122) Antonius Reps ISPT for Partouche Main Event Only?
In one of the stories overlooked at the Partouche main event given the latest hoo ha, Finnish poker superstar Patrik Antonius was semi-introduced as an ISPT rep yesterday.
@patrik_antonius, Prosper Masquelier and @lizlieu during the #PartouchePokerTour ! twitter.com/ispt_poker/sta…
— ISPT (@ispt_poker) September 5, 2012He took a publicity shot with Prosper Masquelier and new ISPT Ambassador Liz Lieu, as you can see above, and wore an ISPT patch at the tables -- at least for a bit.
Before he busted yesterday, however, the patch reportedly disappeared.
The ISPT website said Antonius was “wearing the ISPT colors” for the final leg of the Partouche tour but he's not referred to as an official ambassador like Michael Mizrachi, Sam Trickett or Lieu are.
Just a case of Antonius taking some cash to wear a patch or did he sense a growing distrust of the ISPT guarantee and pull the plug too?
3) Las Vegas the "Last Honest Place on Earth"
In other peculiar headlines we didn't expect to see today, writer David Flusfeder at the New Statesmen has ressurected the notion that Las Vegas is 'The Last Honest Place on Earth."
It's ripped from a 10-year-old book title and more just a hook for the author to talk about poker, but still. Not exactly the first thing you think of when you think of Las Vegas.
Primarily Flusfeder talks about his trip to play poker tournaments this summer and his insight is well above the expected for the mainstream. An excerpt:
"Poker is perhaps unique in that you are betting on an event that has already happened: the deck of cards has been shuffled and dealt; as more cards are revealed, more information is available.
"In playing a game of incomplete information, part of the agony is when you never find out the answer to the question that has been posed.
"I suspected that I had the better hand against the heavy-set aggressive kid, but I would never know. Even if I were to have asked him, dragged him out from under his headphones, he would probably have lied.
"Crucially, poker is also a test of the processing power of the brain and the emotional discipline of the player in response to new information and fresh stimuli."
It's an excellent (if long) read; check it out here.
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