Wednesday, February 16, 2005

High-security, high-anxiety at the French Open--Payouts announced

There's no bathroom in the ballroom, which is just as fun to say out loud as it is to write.

There's no bathroom in the ballroom.

That means any time a player (or, er...tournament reporter) needs to head to the head, it requires a trip past the security station and down a marble spiral staircase.

Now, there is no real complaint. We all need the exercise. But there is security to think about. I mean, after all, we're playing by the rules here. TDA rules, to be exact. For instance, English only at the tables during a hand. That's more challenging than it sounds when players are coming here from all countries. Another rule, no cell phones at the tables. Er, Devilfish, that means you.



But the TDA rules aren't the ones that have brought in the security staff. Those rules belong to the Casino Deauville and they state that only players--POKER players--are allowed in the poker ballroom. To enforce the rule, all players have been forced to wear festival-style bracelets for the duration of the poker festival.



Of course, security makes a special acception for journalists, sponsors, and staff. Beyond that, one has to be fairly sneaky to sweat his favorite player. The most popular way to score a bracelet is to become a player. Spouses and friends who aren't in the main event are buying into small Sit-N-Go tournaments. After that, they are players and can stay as long as they like.

Some journalists and writers have decided to not write about the event for the moment and play for themselves. Mike from the poker blog Lucky Blind is sittinig on an average stack in the dark back corner of he ballroom. And Tony Kendall from Blonde Poker is holding his own, as well.


Tony at the table

Just a few moments ago, TD Warren Karp announced the payouts for the French Open. They look as follows.

1--144,000 2--80,000 3--40,500
4--31,500 5--27,000 6--22,500
7--18,000 8--13,500 9--9000
10--5400 11--5400 12--5400
13--4500 14--4500 15--4500
16-18--3600
19-27--2700

At the beginning of Level 6 (150/300/25), we're down to 161 players. I suspect we'll be playing another three or four hours before we break for the night.

More updates in a while.