Truth is Stranger Than Fictionby Linda Johnson | Published: Mar 02, 2016 |
|
I subscribe to several poker news clipping services. If you’ve never heard of this service, a media clipping service provides a way to keep track of media coverage on a particular topic; in my case, my topic of interest is poker. These services save me a lot of time since I don’t personally have to scour magazines, newspapers, the internet, and so forth to keep up with what is happening in our poker world. Links to articles and columns and news about anything poker-related are sent to me on a daily basis. Sometimes the headlines are so interesting that I am compelled to open the link and read the subject material. In today’s column, I’d like to share some of the most “strange but true” poker news articles I have read lately.
The first article was actually posted to the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group online forum by Randi Levenbaum. Randi was asking for members’ opinions about a story involving Katrina Sheary, who had bagged chips at the end of day in one of the preliminary Aussie Millions tournaments in Melbourne, Australia. Sheary had gone into labor in the middle of the night and gave birth to a baby. The article went on to say that the casino’s terms and conditions for this particular event allowed for a substitute to take over a stack in “extreme circumstances only, provided that the substitute has not already participated in any stage of the tournament.”
The tournament staff decided that this was an extreme circumstance and they allowed Sheary’s husband to take her place in the tournament. He took over her stack and ended up finishing in 25th place, for a cash prize of AUD$6,495.
I was surprised to read that the tournament’s rules would allow another player to take over a missing player’s stack. I’ve never heard of it happening in the United States. However, if the rules are such that they allow substitution in “extreme circumstances,” I certainly agree with the tournament director’s decision. It sounds pretty extreme to me!
Another strange story to recently catch my attention, involved 31-year old Henry Martinez from Puerto Rico. Martinez recently passed away after consuming too much alcohol along with prescription drugs. At his family’s request, his body was embalmed. Apparently Martinez loved poker so much that his family and friends asked the funeral staff to dress him in street clothes, a New York Yankees cap, and sunglasses, and set his body up in a chair at the poker table so that they could watch him in his favorite setting one more time before he was buried. At his wake, a poker game was set up and with Martinez’ body propped up behind a full stack of chips, his friends played poker while posing for pictures with him. True story…I couldn’t make this stuff up!
One of the strangest stories I recall reading about involved players getting out of their cars on the side of a busy California freeway during a traffic jam, setting up a poker table, and then proceeding to play poker. Apparently the traffic jam was caused by someone who was threatening to commit suicide by jumping off of a freeway overpass. The traffic jam lasted about three hours, long enough for some commuters to, “lose several buy-ins.”
Some of the most interesting poker news stories involve prop bets; it seems that gamblers are willing to bet on just about anything. Brian Zembic, nicknamed “The Wiz,” is a magician and high-stakes blackjack and backgammon player. In 1996, he got involved in a discussion about what lengths women would go to in order to attract men. The subject of breast implants came up and Zembic made the comment that he didn’t think getting them was any big deal. An acquaintance offered to pay him $100,000 if he would get breast implants that were at least size 38C and leave them in for a year. The money was put in escrow, but nothing happened for a few months until Zembic took a beating in the stock market. Feeling short on funds, Zembic found a cosmetic surgeon who liked to play backgammon and he proceeded to win enough from the doctor to earn a free surgery.
After the year was up, Zembic won the $100,000, but decided to leave the implants in. He said that they helped him with women since most of them were attracted to his large breasts, plus he was making money from people who would pay to see them. I can vouch for the fact that he still had them in about ten years ago when he appeared at the taping of a WPT event and lifted his shirt to show them to the crowd. Awkward!
I hope you enjoyed this column. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for more strange news from the poker world. In the meantime, I hope you will join me on a poker cruise or in St. Maarten for the $100,000 guaranteed main event. For details, check out www.cardplayercruises.com. ♠
Linda is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. She is available to host poker seminars, corporate poker events, and charity tournaments. You can contact her through her at [email protected].
Features
The Inside Straight
Strategies & Analysis
Commentaries & Personalities