/ Editor / 07 September 2007 /

Dave Woods gives you his latest opinion on Day 2 of the WSOPE...

The World Series of Poker Europe has arrived in London. I know that because I just attended a press conference where Phil Hellmuth and the Devilfish arrived outside the Odeon West End in a stretch hummer, with 10 showgirls, assorted journalists and a couple of road sweepers waiting in attendance.
After they arrived the obligatory 10 minutes late (during which time you had to feel sorry for the ladies who had obviously been instructed to keep the same strained pose and rictus grin till their guests arrived), we were greeted with the sight of the Devilfish sticking his head out of the window (cue more anguish for the ladies) and cracking his first joke of the day. Unfortunately it wasn't the last.
Once inside the Devilfish used the platform to trot out his particular brand of stand-up, some of which amused (not necessarily for the right reasons) and others merely bemused. You've got to give him 10 out of 10 for effort though - even as everyone was leaving the Odeon West End he grabbed the mic for one more gag, delivered to the backs of the departing journalists.
Hellmuth restricted his jokes to calling the Devilfish 'fishy' for the entire length of the press conference (safe, but a crowd pleaser). When asked if he considered the WSOPE bracelets worth as much as the Vegas ones he replied, 'When I win one. Then I'll be right behind them.'
At 2pm the jokes were over and the real business of the day got underway - 105 runners rocked up for the start of the first bracelet event, the $2,500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament, including the Brunsons (Todd and Doyle), Jennifer Harman, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Allen Cunningham, Scott Fischman and - as you'd expect - a strong Brit contingent led by Marc Goodwin who finished 8th from the 51 runners that survived day one. He's had a torrid time recently but I'm tipping him to come good here.
My thoughts on it all so far? It hasn't got the pizzazz of Las Vegas but that's not a bad thing. The fields look like being every bit as competitive and if we can get big names onto the final tables (and the H.O.R.S.E. is looking very likely to deliver), it might manage to make a dent in the mainstream press, who - with a few exceptions - are still doing their best to ignore its presence. But the best thing? I can walk down the road from work tonight, have a couple of pints and then go and watch some of the biggest poker players in the world playing for a bracelet. And that's priceless.

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