Yanks for Ryder Cup Glory

By Ram Vaswani, 13/09/2004

Four Queens Poker Classic, Las Vegas
$500 Pot Limit Hold'em
Report by Ram on Monday, 13 September 2004 at 8:09 pm

There is a great advert on TV at the moment in America, during the ESPN's coverage of the WSOP, which includes Phil Ivey and a couple of other poker pro’s walking around the golf course having $10k and $20k wagers even though they can’t hit a ball.

So when I went to practice at the pitch and put with my wife the other day only to see Phil and another young poker superstar Erik Lindgren I was licking my lips as they began to talk about getting some action going. As I watched Erik hit a massive slice and Phil hit a shot 20 yards ahead straight into the lake I realized it was never going to happen. So I left them to it.

However, I did manage to get a decent game with Peter Costa the next day, he plays off of 4 handicap and considering I am only about an 18 I was happy to lose by the odd hole and pay for the round.

The next day we were all relaxing by the pool before the tournament and a friendly young gentleman came and asked us for our autographs. He introduced himself as Phil Casey (pic below), English sports journalist. Phil seemed like a very enthusiastic poker player and was just passing through on his way to Detroit to cover the Ryder Cup which begins on Friday. I asked him for a couple of tips and he said he fancied the draw at 14/1 and Stewart Cink to be top American points scorer at about the same price. Personally, I prefer the Americans and will be lumping on the home team.

When Joe and I were playing in the final of the hi/lo Omaha a couple of nights ago we bumped into one of Prima’s on line WSOP qualifiers Rosie. Rosie was down for a couple of days with her daughter avoiding the hurricane in Florida where she lives. She has made quite a name for herself here in America being the top lady finisher at the World Championships and says she will be trying her hardest to try and qualify again this year.