On the last night of the recent Card Player Cruise's poker vacation, there was a nice cocktail party. I was looking for an open seat when I saw one next to Robert Williamson III. I was thrilled to sit next to Robert, because I hadn't seen him the entire trip. In fact, I knew he was on the ship, but he always gets seasick, so I thought he probably hadn't left his cabin. By the way, he is the only wimp I know who gets seasick when talking about a cruise. Anyhow, Mike Sexton was giving a speech that he and Linda Johnson were going to honor one player with the Brian Saltus Award. Mike was talking about the fact that the recipient was someone who receives respect from all, plays well, and, most of all, is just a great person to be around, because he is so polite and well-liked.
At that time, I stood up and started walking toward the podium. It was obvious to me that I was the recipient of this great award. After a few steps, I recapitulated what Mike had said, and realized that he was talking about someone who was a good player. Robert grabbed me and said, "This is another award for Howard Lederer. Everybody kisses his butt these days. Just because he is so skinny … " At that moment, Mike said that the recipient of the Brian Saltus Award was from Texas. I then thought, wow, Robert is from Texas, and he is sitting in the front row on the aisle. He must kiss more butt than Howard. Robert then stood up and accepted the award.
All joking aside, Robert is one of the best people I have met in my brief stint in poker. I am very glad that he received the Brian Saltus Award, because he deserved it. Robert, you are one hell of a guy! To learn more about this award, read Mike Sexton's column in the next issue.
Everyone always asks me who is the better player – me or my dad. Without going into details, the answer is that I am the better player.
People also ask me how many players I think will be in an event and who I think will win. Someone recently asked me this question in regard to Bellagio's $25,000 no-limit hold'em WPT Championship. I always answer that I hope more than 150 players will enter, and that I will win. The truth is, who knows? I do know that there will be many great players who will enter, and some of them are on a roll right now. I like to go with those who are playing well and running well at the time. Of course, Howard Lederer, Gus Hansen, Layne Flack, and Phil Ivey seem to win everything. I am going to go out on a limb and pick someone who always finishes second, and may want it more. Therefore, I think John Juanda will win, even though he won't make it past the second day at the World Series of Poker.