2006: What a Year, So Far

Date: 2006.02.13 | Category: Hand Of The Week | By: Phil Hellmuth   

Last month, I was emcee of the W Las Vegas Hotel, Casino and Residences event held at the Sundance Film Festival. I had flown from the heat of Miami to the frigid mountains of Utah. At Sundance, where there were also stars galore, I joined the 50 players who opened the event. After all, first prize at Sundance was a $700,000 condo, and since I wasn’t getting paid to comment, I wanted a shot at winning it.

The event had attracted a huge audience, and the final table included Annie Duke, Chris Masterson, Shannon Elizabeth, Gina Gershon, W Las Vegas Hotel founder Reagan Silber and me. Through most of the tournament I had been paying scant attention to playing poker since I was teasing all the stars in the room and announced key pots at all five tables. For the first three hours of play, I looked at barely 40 percent of my own hands. I mean, I was in Sundance for the microphone, the mingling, the ambiance, and to watch a few films.