Reflecting
LAS VEGAS -- When Larry busted out last night, I was sad, relieved, stunned, exhausted. I was just too tired to process the whole thing. Now that we've had 10 hours of sleep (and we NEVER sleep for 10 hours), I think I can put some of this in perspective:
From this morning's write-up on the WSOP website, they call the rest of the tournament "the long journey toward finding this year's final table." And a long journey it is. For the players still in (about 1,700 left now), they will start at noon and play until about 1 a.m. Then do the same tomorrow. And Saturday. And Sunday. And Monday. No breaks. Nothing but poker until the crowd is whittled down to the final 9.
I can't believe Larry made it as far as he did. A lot of the pros busted out before him: Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson (who at one point had 180,000 chips), Gus Hansen. And celebs Jennifer Tilly, Matt Affleck and Jason Alexander, all gone.
I don't know how much the heat affected us. I'm pretty sure we shouldn't have been outside for as long as we were on Tuesday, buying a jacket that he ultimately didn't need.
I watched Antonio Esfandiari (who last week won $18 million in the $1 million buy-in tournament) for a while, standing just a few feet from the table he was at. He's total concentration. I never saw him waiver or give anything away.
Ran into Norman Chad yesterday. A couple of guys asked for a photo with him, and I just watched. I don't know, I guess I don't need a picture with him now that I know he really exists. I'll listen to him during the coverage on ESPN.
I have work to do (editing a book on the history of engineering at CMU), and I can finally think again.
We changed our flights from tomorow to today, and Southwest has done a masterful job in messing them up. Larry's been on hold for half an hour, but we'll get home tonight. (Just got the thumbs up that we're good to go.)
THANKS AGAIN to everybody supporting Larry and following along with us. I'll keep writing, although it won't be all about poker anymore. Philosophy alert! Life is like poker; you never know what the next card will be.
Leah and Larry... It's Jackie Hartman... My mom gave me the blog and I loved, really loved following it. Dave and I watch the tournaments all the time.. I figured if Larry made the next round, he may have gotten an interview as a first time participant. I was so nervous and checked the blog several times for your update. I loved seeing the family pics. Always thought your Hannah was an exceptional person from what I saw of her when she was younger... What a beautiful young lady the two of you have.... Congrats to both of you !!! Quite an accomplishment....
ReplyDeleteLeah,
ReplyDeleteGreat job putting this together and I can't wait to read it again next year! Congrats to Larry on what was most assuredly the ride of his life. There was a construction trailer full of old curmudgeons that were enjoying catching updates on "my pretty friends dad". (That's what we get for posting pictures?!)
Please please let me know when your history of CMU Engineering book comes out or is even in draft. I have read a couple of the things that you've written and apart from being "my pretty friends mother" I very much enjoy it.
Safe Travels!
Greg, you win the award for most responsive reader! I really enjoy hearing from you. Now that we're home, I have final edits on the engineering book to make including searching out a few more photos. It won't be for sale but is for alumni, etc. So I'll make sure you get a copy. How to Design a World-Class Engineering College: CIT and the History of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. (It took a long time to figure out the title...)
Delete