Pit Boss: Baltimore trio 2nd in Dream Team Poker
Pit Boss is that part of the Toy Department where we'll discuss games that don't involve balls (at least not the ones made by Wilson and Rawlings) and if those games happen to be played on something green, it's felt not grass. Sports gambling, poker, casino news, happenings in Las Vegas and Atlantic City -- that's what we're about in this adult corner of the Toy Department. The usual disclaimers apply: We discourage anything illegal and if you do any wagering, make sure it's with your head and not over it. Now ... can we get you something to drink?
Earlier in the week we mentioned that a poker tournament at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas during late-March introduced a new concept for an otherwise familiar game -- team poker. We also noted that the three-member team that won the event included 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jamie Gold and, more visually compelling, his girlfriend Ashley Nataupsky.
What we didn't know at the time was that a Baltimore team finished second in the event. Led by Philip Rousseaux, who finished second individually among a field that included 444 payers (148 teams), the Claddaghs -- named after a bar in the Canton section of the city -- split a $33,000 prize. Rousseaux pulled down another $13,000-plus for his individual finish. Besides Rousseaux (center), who owns a financial services company and lives in Canton, team members included John Anthony (left), also of Canton and the DJ at Claddaghs, and Ted Wolf (right), an accountant from Glen Burnie
Rules for Dream Team Poker are pretty simple. The game is No-limit Texas Hold 'em and as a player is eliminated, that person is assigned a score. For instance, if there are 300 players, the first person who busts out gets a score of 300. The last player remaining gets a one. Only the scores for a team's two best-finishing players are combined and the lowest score total wins the tournament, like in golf. The highest score, meaning the worst score, is tossed out. For Claddagh's, the scores that counted toward its final finish were those of Rousseaux (No. 2) and Anthony (No. 46).
The tournament buy-in was $1,500 per team plus a $150 fee but even though the tournament wasn't for huge stakes, the unusual format attracted a bunch of big-name players, including former Main Event champions Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan. Team Claddagh tangled with two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Mark Seif with mixed results. Seif knocked out Athony but Rousseaux answered by busting out Seif. Anthony and Seif had played against each other previously.
