“My day has started well. I called this guy down on all three streets because I had a massive tell – he was French.”
Classic Barny Boatman. The man with the razor sharp wit who wouldn’t look out of place on open mic night. His deadpan humor gets my ribs a tickling that’s for sure. He always wears this exterior of a man who has been there seen it and bought the t-shirt, and yet even for him, playing at Wembley Stadium is special.
“It’s amazing, absolutely brilliant and better than I thought it was going to be to be honest. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere, it’s very exciting playing on the Wembley pitch and I think it can only get better.” Said Boatman.
With over $2.1m in live tournament earnings to his name, Boatman senior has played in some of the greatest events ever held. The organisers were hoping to draw a field of over 1,000 players. It doesn’t look like we are going to hit that ambitious mark, so does that mean this tournament is a failure or a success?
“I expect Day Two to be bigger, and we have close to 400 today. So for a new tournament, that’s taking place at the same time as the World Series of Poker (WSOP); when Rob and Simon got hold of it very late and turned it around; when all things are considered I think it’s a very respectable turnout.”
