Michael Craig's Journal

Andy Bloch just won the Pro-Am Equalizer Tournament. It’s going to be on ABC this November and December for 14 hours on weekends.

It’s Andy’s time and it couldn’t happen to a better and more deserving person.

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And, for that matter, Rich Little, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Jason Gold, Shannon Elizabeth, and Dan Cheadle?

And Gavin Smith, Howard Lederer, Huckleberry Seed?

… and Erick Lindgren?

I have fallen hopelessly, hopelessly behind.

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In the last two days, three people have asked me what I’ve heard from Andy Beal, what he’s up to, whether he’s ever going to play the pros again.

So I gather people are interested in knowing stuff like that?

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I should preface this by saying Chris Ferguson is one of my best friends in poker, and one of my favorite people. He is an admirable person on many levels. But ….

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I am in Las Vegas this week, in an unanticipated moment of calm amid too much work to do and sensory poker overload. I not only have a zillion words to write and a jillion hours of interviews to conduct, but Full Tilt is involved in a TV program that has most of its top pros at the South Coast, playing against celebrity amateurs who get a starting chip advantage over the pros.

I’m at the condo of Chris’s girlfriend Fabiola. We’ve been going at it intensely, covering about 40 hypotheticals involving no-limit post-flop play. Painters have come by to give an estimate, so I have a moment to take a breath.

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I had to add just a tiny bit to my music-themed posts of the last month:

1. Robin Leach posted my column in the September 21 episode of LUXE LIFE.

I think I have a real future covering rock concerts; I really do.

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I may be swamped with work and desperate to finish the Full Tilt book so I can get away from poker for awhile, but there is no shortage of people who want to keep me around. I’m not complaining, but I’m not bragging, either.

Richard Brodie, Phil Gordon, and Mike Matusow have all asked me about collaborating with them on books. I’m supposed to write the cover story for the December issue of BLUFF about Chris Ferguson. A couple guys who did some publicity for me earlier this year want me to let them market a theatrical-release movie project based on The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King. Robin Leach is trying to sell a TV movie based on the BLUFF articles about the 2006 Andy Beal games.

It all sounds rich and glamorous, doesn’t it? From my perspective, it’s simply … amusing.

If you saw it through my eyes, it would all be very entertaining. Wait! Isn’t that what this Journal is supposed to do: show it from my perspective?

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Before the World Series, I was visiting Howard Lederer. He was amusingly annoyed at an ad Doyle’s Room was running. We got on the subject of the lack of imagination of online poker sites competing with Full Tilt. This particular ad said something like, “Other online sites just give you a seat to the Main Event.” It has a pile of chairs, with logos from online sites, Full Tilt’s included. Then it lists all the unique things Doyle’s Room provided to its Main Event qualifiers.

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Believe it or not, I am NOT going to go crazy-ass on CARD PLAYER, even though their September 27 issue (another Jamie Gold cover) just showed up in the Wynn poker room today. Based on my theories of karma, this post, which will tell you about one or two correct things the magazine did, will motivate them to trash me.

So just to cover myself, I’ll also tell you about some of their usual ridiculousness. See, there’s something for everybody. Whether you loathe CARD PLAYER or are simply disgusted by them, I’ve got something for you.

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THE POST IS COMPLETE! Now I can catch up on some interesting poker stuff to share.

This post is really a shorthand means of letting you know the progress of the “Welcome to the Jumble” post. [As I update that post, I will update this one, so you can quickly see how far along I am on my Mega-GnR Project.] I’m in Las Vegas, working like a maniac to finish the Full Tilt book. For reasons I can’t describe, it seemed like a good idea in the middle of this to attend Guns ‘n’ Roses’ return to Las Vegas last Sunday night for Robin Leach and AOL. (That piece will appear on Leach’s LUXE LIFE site on Wed. or Thu.) But too much weird stuff went on for me to content myself with just a straightforward review/summary. That’s why I’m writing Welcome to the Jumble.

I’m offering you the chance to read it as I compose it from my notes and recollections of that night. I usually don’t develop these things in order, plus I’m “interrupting” that creative process by interviewing Chris Ferguson, interviewing Phil Gordon, reviewing a chapter by Rafe Furst and Andy Bloch, arranging an interview with Howard Lederer, and trying to coordinate one with Erick Lindgren. And all that has to take place before I leave Vegas this Thursday afternoon.

I am, as always, interested in your comments. You can leave them here or e-mail me at mrchaotic@aol.com.