Paul Phillip's interuption at the final table

Luckless57 · #1 03-10-2005, 05:05 AM

Did anyone else think that was really out of line? I know I wouldn't appreciate someone mocking me after i just lost a huge chip lead(with over a million $ at stake) and you could tell lee didn't find it amusing.

ed8383 · #2 03-10-2005, 05:30 AM

If losing to Phil Hellmuth at the heads up tourney wasn't enough reason for the 2+2 marks to hate on Paul Phillips, now he will be run out of the forum!

They will never forgive him for losing to Phil Hellmuth (who the 2+2 marks can't stand), even though he is the best poker player in the world.

slamduncan21 · #3 03-10-2005, 06:11 AM

It showed a lack of class. If you're not playing or dealing at the final table, you shouldn't go to the final table before the tournament is over. And how about a slap at the WPT morons who could've edited that stuff out? This, after all, was taped, not live. The poker was too good to be tainted by one jerk. It made me wish for the baseball telecasts that make a big deal about NOT showing idiots who run on the field during a game. Lee got outplayed by Doyle and would be the first to confirm it. He didn't need his friend(?) trying to be funny and cute. He wasn't. And in my opinion, the viewers didn't need to see it either.

otnemem · #4 03-10-2005, 09:42 AM

I had a friend once who had a really expensive parrot; it was from some special breed, and it could talk and knew how to [censored] in a bowl and whatnot. Anyway, one day my friend threw a party. Tons of people showed up. Everyone was drinking and having a good time. People were in the pool, barbecueing, the whole nine. Well this one [censored], blasted out of his mind, he decides that it's a good idea to start messing with the parrot. So he takes it out of the cage and starts carrying out around, swirling it in circles, etc. My buddy, the parrot's owner, is getting really pissed now, telling him how special the parrot is and everything. The guy puts the parrot's head in his mouth and bites its head off. It was awful. Now he's on trial for animal cruelty and will probably spend a few years in prison. What's the point? I can't remember. Something about the stupid things we do when we're drunk...

Hold'me · #5 03-10-2005, 11:07 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I had a friend once who had a really expensive parrot; it was from some special breed, and it could talk and knew how to [censored] in a bowl and whatnot. Anyway, one day my friend threw a party. Tons of people showed up. Everyone was drinking and having a good time. People were in the pool, barbecueing, the whole nine. Well this one [censored], blasted out of his mind, he decides that it's a good idea to start messing with the parrot. So he takes it out of the cage and starts carrying out around, swirling it in circles, etc. My buddy, the parrot's owner, is getting really pissed now, telling him how special the parrot is and everything. The guy puts the parrot's head in his mouth and bites its head off. It was awful. Now he's on trial for animal cruelty and will probably spend a few years in prison. What's the point? I can't remember. Something about the stupid things we do when we're drunk...

[/ QUOTE ]
God how awful. He just bit the parrot's head off like that? If I was the owner, I would have murdered that guy on the spot. I would find the nearest bludgeon and beat his ass to death. That's just terrible.

Daniel Hoerr · #6 03-10-2005, 01:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
It showed a lack of class. If you're not playing or dealing at the final table, you shouldn't go to the final table before the tournament is over. And how about a slap at the WPT morons who could've edited that stuff out? This, after all, was taped, not live. The poker was too good to be tainted by one jerk. It made me wish for the baseball telecasts that make a big deal about NOT showing idiots who run on the field during a game. Lee got outplayed by Doyle and would be the first to confirm it. He didn't need his friend(?) trying to be funny and cute. He wasn't. And in my opinion, the viewers didn't need to see it either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Shame that was your first post...

You'll come to realize, either through your reads here or perhaps on your own someday, that the WPT is a television show. A television show which has shown success due to a palette of colorful characters, a natural competitive drama and, yes, a little poker. Even though poker is played on this television show, it's still a television show first and foremost.

What was the first SUCCESSFUL poker television show? Celebrity Poker Showdown and the like... Why? Because people ALREADY knew the players. They'd seen them on their favorite Thursday night prime-time sitcom or remembered them from their favorite childhood movie. They didn't care about the poker game, but rather the interaction between the characters and the results of how the competition played into that interaction. They could have been playing horseshoes or dominoes.

Sure, the evolution into the WPT from shows like this have been made possible by REAL big buy-in tourneys with REAL poker players, but the drama is the same; it just appeals to a wider fan-base now because actual poker players (like yourself) are on board, even though you’re more interested in the poker than the television show.

Marketing 101 says to identify your market. Like most other TV shows, the very broad television watching public is the target market for the WPT, not the poker purist (like yourself) who sits home and analyzes every play and the math behind it. Oh, but you can watch too...

But your gonna hafta get used to that colorful cast of characters rather than chastise the television show for being exactly what it was designed to be. If you want pure poker with no interruptions, go sit in your local card room and watch that action! As for those of us who really love the game of poker AND like to be entertained, we'll keep on watching the WPT and put it in their hands to do the best job of entertaining us.

As for this incident, it was humorous, regardless of "how Lee felt". It gave that friendly "home game" feel of boys needling boys which made for BETTER TELEVISION. Hell, Doyle even said at the beginning of the show something to the effect of "knocking out the only colorful character" in reference to Paul.

The poker boom has come in an age of simplification and if poker wants to be some high falooten "proper" activity to be put on a pedestal, as it seems you would suggest, it's going to miss the boat completely. Look at the grounding of golf to a more middle-class level, the opening of country clubs to wider membership bases, or for heavens sake, the de-snobbization of wine over the last 10 years. Screwtops on GREAT bottles of wine??? You better believe it!

MrMon · #7 03-10-2005, 03:30 PM

There is nothing wrong with screwtops on great bottles of wine. Cork is vastly overrated.

That said, yes, I prefer the ceremony of the cork pull.

Daniel Hoerr · #8 03-10-2005, 03:40 PM

[ QUOTE ]
There is nothing wrong with screwtops on great bottles of wine. Cork is vastly overrated.

That said, yes, I prefer the ceremony of the cork pull.

[/ QUOTE ]

Enjoy it for now! You won't have the option within 5-7 years except with those selections you've cellared...

[img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

slamduncan21 · #9 03-10-2005, 07:25 PM

You're correct. It was my first post after viewing a lot of the material posted on this website. And why did I finally register and record my opinion on a topic that isn't that big of a deal? When I watched the show, I thought going to the final table, when not a participant, showed a lack of class. It bothered me when I watched it. I'll stand by that. It bugged me enough that when I read the topic thread here I was moved to put in my opinion that it bothered me.
There is no question that television, and especially the hole card cameras, have created the incredible boom in poker. Do you want poker to be like wrestling? If it's ok for this guy to come to the table, will you think it's "good television" the next time some one decides to crash the game? A streaker? Use your imagination. You can dumb it down to broaden the appeal and please the masses. It doesn't make it right. Popular television is a fragile thing. Tinker with it too much and the audience dwindles. The high-profile players that play poker on tour are like rock stars now in terms of visiblity and potential earnings. This is a good thing going that should get even better. My opinion is that last night's stunt, ill-timed, offered nothing good to WPT. You're entitled to your opinion, but you won't change mine.

Hold'me · #10 03-10-2005, 07:58 PM

I have to agree with slamduncan21. I felt Paul Phillips actions were inappropriate and childish. He admitted to having one too many drinks in his system and was egged on by friends in the crowd. However, he should have showed some self-restraint. Lee just lost a huge pot, not only in monetary value, but that started a huge momentum swing in Doyle's favor. Lee was counting out how many chips he owed Doyle and I appreciated how he kept timid though you could tell he was annoyed by Paul's antics.

I'm not trying to be a stickler, poker is a fun game and I'm all for fun characters but there's a time and a place for that. Poking fun at a man after a crucial hand, potentially worth over a million dollars, was uncalled for.