Killing Phils

The 2011, post-Black Friday WSOP approaches with lots of unknowns, thanks to the actions of the U.S. government. I don’t want to get too in-depth in this blog with the fact that Internet poker has become a political football, and that decisions involving its legalization have more to do with political expediency and money than common sense and fair play, except to say this: I read an article a few years back where the author was contemplating what to call a collection of politicians, i.e. a herd of cows, gaggle of geese, etc. What he proposed was “a scum of politicians”. Perfect!

The neutering of the major sites in the U.S. poses lots of questions for this year’s WSOP, and for the future of poker in general:

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You know, one of those who you once knew well, hadn’t stayed in touch with or seen in a while, but always remained part of the fabric of your life.

In 1976 I was fresh out of college, with no real map for my future other than getting out of the frozen Northeast.  At the end of summer I put what I could fit in my old Mercury and set off for the West with a pocket full of dreams and $400. I had always been a gambler and, while I didn’t admit it to my gambling-averse parents, Vegas was dead in my sights. My brother rode out with me and we hit Vegas on a sweltering September day. Knowing nothing of how to approach the town, (there was no Las Vegas Advisor then) we found a cheap room at a now-defunct dive motel called the Domino, down on Main St. near the site of the future Stratosphere.

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