A who’s who of who.

It’s that time of year again! Time to crank out the annual Good, Bad, Meh for Poker list.

Usually, we drop the list the day after the WSOP Main Event table is set. However, this year there were a few factors that delayed our publishing: 1) none of the Entities were at the Main Event (business reasons) after the Day 1′s, so we didn’t get to see any of the guys, 2) we’ve never heard of any of the the Octo-Niners before, so 3) we needed to watch some TV and talk to other players, media, and industry types to get a feel.

And oh yeah, also, a big #4: after the two hot girls were eliminated in 11th and 10th place, everyone else was dead to us anyway. Seriously wtf. Worst. Beat. Ever.

During the poker boom years, the WSOP final table has been like a Rush concert: completely lacking vaginas. Getting just one female (especially a hot one, which miraculously both were) at this year’s final table would’ve transformed the buzz factor for the event by x1000. Getting two? Holy shit. The final table would’ve been as talked about as the Bachelor Pad 3 finale.

Ok maybe not that much…but close.

Anyway…we probably can kill some of the drama by saying there’s a whole lotta meh here. However, as always, a few caveats with the list: if somebody falls into the “Bad for Poker” category, this does not mean he is actually a bad guy. And vice versa. For example, many could argue that Dennis Phillips was “Good for Poker,” but that doesn’t necessarily make him a good guy (That’s right! Still taking Dennis Phillips shots after all these years!).

With that in mind, here is the 2012 WSOP Main Event Good, Bad, Meh for Poker list.

GOOD FOR POKER

We’re eternally optimists, in that we’re positive we’ll eventually be optimistic about something. So let’s start with the good.

As the watermark indicates, photo courtesy of BLUFF.

Greg Merson – Hey! Another 24 year-old anonymous looking college drop-out poker kid! There’s a new story!

Merson’s story actually has the most variance. Could be really good, could end up really bad. Because we’re optimistic today, we’ll throw him in the “good” category (although we considered netting him out at “meh,” as you’ll see).

On the plus side: Merson is a 2012 bracelet winner; he’s played by most accounts more hands of poker than anyone in the world the past few years; and his friend Michael Phelps–he of an Olympic record math math math 497 gold medals–has pledged to sweat him at the final table.

On the downside (potentially): Merson is a recovering drug addict.

If Merson doesn’t allow the momentary brief burst of fame go to his head like so many delusional assholes in this industry have before him, his story of redemption–how poker saved his life–has some real teeth to it.

If he slips, not good times for anyone involved.

We’re holding out hope for the positive. Merson falls into good…for now. Read more about Merson here.

Jeremy Ausmus - Thirty-three year-old pro Jeremy Ausmus, who cashed 9 times (jack-high!) this summer, has the most compelling, media friendly backstory of any Octo-9′er: he has a baby due the week of the final table.

[click to continue…]

Tagged as: 2012 WSOP, 2012 WSOP Main Event, Andras Koroknai, featured, Greg Merson, Jeremy Ausmus, Jesse Syliva, Michael Esposito, Octo-Nine

{ 2 comments }