 | | Paul Jackson |
Paul Jackson is one of Europe's best poker players and he’s just returned from playing in the biggest poker event of the year, The World Series of Poker Main Event, at the Rio Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The tournament ended on Friday 11th August 2006, with the winner pocketing a mammoth $12m. Paul, who has a reputation as one of the world’s best online poker players, as well as a strong record in “real-life” tournaments, kept a diary during his time in Las Vegas. Paul Jackson's Diary from the Word Series of Poker Main Event The first thing you notice when you get to Vegas is how damn hot it is. It was 130F when I got off the plane in mid-July and I was told it was getting hotter. More often than not it feels as if someone is walking with you, holding a hot hairdryer to your face.
 | | Bellagio fountain |
The hotels are truly amazing and very well air-conditioned. The lights are dazzlingly bright and everywhere you look there’s glitz and glamour. I stayed at the Bellagio. To give you some idea of the extravagance, at night they put on their famous water display across a man-made lake at the front of the building, which costs $20,000 each time. The food is sensational and you can have almost anything you care to mention and generally more of it than you could possibly eat. People are very polite but it’s not the real world and, after a time, you crave normal people and a regular cup of tea. The service is very good and the Americans are generally overly polite. If you become confrontational or have a complaint, they will generally thank you and point out how much they appreciate your point of view (even if your point of view is that they are a moron). But the horrible thing about Las Vegas is that everyone seems to look for an edge to squeeze every last cent they can from you. If you are here for too long, the soulless nature of the place grinds you down and it becomes depressing. Wolverhampton or Vegas?
 | | "Acrtion Jack" |
My daughter Kelly, who’s 17, came for two weeks with her boyfriend and, as a youngster, she simply enjoyed the spectacle, and it is a considerable one. I was here for six weeks and could not get home to Wolverhampton fast enough by the end - there’s nowhere quite like home, is there? One thing I was surprised about was, despite the vastness of Las Vegas, people seemed to recognise me and, being primarily an internet player, that was flattering. The highlight for me was possibly meeting two young Americans who seemed quite in awe of me. It was their first time playing in the World Series as they’d only just turned 18. They offered to teach my daughter to play but I politely declined, mainly because she already knows the basics, but also because I wouldn’t want this lifestyle for her! I soon found out these guys weren’t just novices – back home they were earning between $40,000 and $60,000 a month playing online. The starting field at the main event was 8,773, with some people paying $10,000 for the privilege of playing, while others won their qualification in previous tournaments or were sponsored to play. An early exit
 | | Paul Jackson |
Lady luck certainly wasn’t with me this time round. I’ve finished in the money in previous years, but this time round I crashed out of the event early-ish in about 5000th place after only five hours. There were so many players who qualified online, the event was much wilder than in previous years. In fact you could call it a bit of a lottery. But Javed Vinod from Birmingham and Katherine Hartree from Wolverhampton both performed admirably well. Katherine had the daunting task of playing on the same table as the reigning WSOP World Champion, Joe Hachem, and both players had their eyes on the amazing first place prize of $12m Battle weary from the epic contest, Javed eventually finished a highly creditable 419th, winning $30,512. Katherine performed real heroics and played brilliant poker for a final finishing position of 150th, winning $47,006. It must be remembered that this was from a field of 8,773 of the world’s finest poker players. So many congratulations to Katherine for her magnificent performance. Jamie Gold scoops $12m
 | | Jamie Gold |
The winner Jamie Gold, a former US television producer, took the top prize of $12m after nine days. He was willing to gamble and he was incredibly lucky. I’m not saying he isn’t a good player, but any decent player should have won with his hands. As for me, I might be back next year, although only if, like this year, I’m sponsored for the $10,000 entry fee. For now, I’m back to the daily grind of internet play and the occasional light relief of some real-life tournaments. | 
