A couple months back, Jim Anderson became the World Series of Poker Circuit’s first ever Regional Champion, taking the title (and, oh yeah, the $525k prize) at the Horseshoe Hammond outside Chicago. Now after three days of play and 127 players eliminated, the final table is set at the Eastern Regional Championship in Atlantic City. One of the final nine players will not only take home over $358k, they’ll also join Anderson in the record books. Wednesday’s action will be filmed for broadcast next year on Versus.
The final table is as follows (with chip counts): Chris Klodnicki (759k); Chris Bell (706k); Micah Raskin (594k); Jason Burt (579k); Ketan Pandya (377k); Nick Mitchell (332k); Todd Terry (307k); Andy Frankenberger (230k) and Seth Fischer (219k).
Also appearing on TV next year (maybe) will be one Phil Hellmuth. The outspoken professional loudmouth/poker player set tongues a wagging after he Tweeted the following over the weekend: “OMG! Phil Hellmuth (me!) on ‘Dancing with the Stars!’ Outrageous! Might make a fool out of myself on worldwide television one more time.” Since dropping this apparent bombshell, the Poker Brat has stayed mum on the issue, leaving the void to be filled by rampant speculation.
Leaving aside the debate as to whether or not Hellmuth’s appearance would have any effect (positive or negative) on poker’s image in the minds of the show’s middle American fan base, how would Phil actually do on the dance floor? First of all, the guy’s got a build like Sasquatch, and that high center of gravity does not traditionally equate with grace as a hoofer. On the plus side, his hair-trigger temper could make for some interviewing post-dancing banter with the judging panel. For instance, one can easily imagine him putting the blame on the music for having a ‘bad beat.’
