The WPT Invitational is the only event on the World Poker Tour that my co-host, Vince Van Patten, and I are allowed to play in, so it’s especially fun for us. The media attention is extraordinary for this event and is really what makes this event so special.
This year’s tournament boasted a number of big celebrities, a few being James Woods, Jason Alexander, Vince Vaughn, tennis stars Pete Sampras and James Blake, and Paris Hilton. And with all the celeb’s that were there, believe me, Paris Hilton got far and away the most attention.
Paris was moved to my table and that was fun because of the media that now surrounded the table. As the Host of the World Poker Tour, I felt it my duty to introduce myself to Paris and thank her for playing. (Hey, it’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.) She was very cordial and nice to me (and everyone else). After a short while, it was obvious that she wasn’t a very good poker player as she checked down a nut flush in last position, but regardless of that (and perhaps because of it), everyone loved her being at our table.
I was doing fine in terms of chip count when the ‘key pot’ came up. An aggressive player raised in front of me, I re-raised with two nines, Paris Hilton called, the original raiser then moved all-in, I called (as I had plenty of chips), and Paris, who had about the same amount of chips as the all-in bettor, went all-in behind me! Everyone surrounded our table as this created quite a buzz. They oohed and aahed because Paris Hilton was all-in.
We turned up our hands – I had two nines, the original raiser had two Queens, and Paris Hilton turned up two Aces! The crowd went crazy.
Believe it or not, I was actually pulling for Paris to win the pot as she created such a buzz for the event. Then it happened; the flop was 9-4-2. (More ‘oohs and aahs’.) I sucked out to take the lead. A Jack on the turn and an eight on the river busted them both. Now before the dealer could shove me the pot, I said, “Wait a minute Paris, you had two Aces. You’re not out yet.” I then passed her about $10,000 in chips.
The dealer looked at me and said he couldn’t give her the chips, but I said it was OK (as did the Commerce management watching this take place, and obviously after their immediate OK, the dealer then gave her the chips so she could remain in the tournament). As I work for the World Poker Tour and this is a fun tournament, I felt it was far better for the event to keep Paris in the tournament (knowing the media would stay), than to send her home. Needless to say, the Commerce management (and the WPT) were very happy I made such a kind gesture (as did all the other players in the tournament).
A short while later, they moved Paris to another table, but about 30 minutes later, she got up and walked back to my table, hugged me, and thanked me for keeping her alive. Paris Hilton and I are now ‘tight’.
I can honestly say, that move was the best move I’ve made at a poker table in a long time.
Mike Sexton
Dieser Artikel erschien auf PokerOlymp am 10.04.2007.
