Calistri's Corner

I know I’m supposed to be an unbiased reporter here at the WSOP, but yesterday when Bill Edler entered the Sequestrium (the curtained off and  isolated final table) my best wishes went in with him.  It was going to take more than my wishes, as Bill started the final table as the short stack with a 5-to-1 disadvantage when measured against the chip leader.

In poker, there are a lot players with reputations as “nice guys.”  But maybe as expected, some have painted on smiles and gen’d up affability for the television cameras.  Bill Edler is the real deal.  And there is no one in the industry who would deny it.  If he has one vice, it’s coffee.  I once told him that the media had set his coffee line at seven cups a day.  He said, “Take the over.  It’s a safe bet.”  While the above picture of Bill is from Tunica ‘06, all my pictures of Bill look the same; smile and a coffee.

Bill Edler started as the short stack and ended up with the bracelet.  Even though he played in virtual isolation, with reports coming out with an hour delay - somehow the word spread when he was heads-up in real time.  I wandered over to the curtained area, hoping for any sign that he had won.  I noticed that writer Jennifer Newell was also standing in waiting.  I asked, ”Are you waiting for what I’m waiting for?”  She said, “If you’re waiting for a hug from Bill Edler wearing a WSOP bracelet - then yes.” 

Many will say that this was Bill Elder’s finest moment during a WSOP.  Bill’s cashed four other times in the WSOP and made another final table last year.  But knowing Bill, I suspect that he’ll say his best moment during a WSOP was being able to marry the love of his life which finally happened during last year’s WSOP - after many months (if not years) of wrangling with governmental red tape to bring his wife and her daughter to this country.  Bill’s wife obviously understands what he does for a living although she is not a poker person.  And she obviously understands just how close he has come to scoring a big win.  She doesn’t follow along from home or hug the rail in person.  But when they talked on the phone yesterday morning before the final table she asked Bill how he did the day before.  He told her he made it to the final table.  She said, “Finalmente!”

When the word spread through the media that Bill Edler had won, the response from the ”unbiased” media was almost universal.  Finally.     

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 1st, 2007 at 9:22 am and is filed under Uncategorized.