Excitement in the Air

I went down to the poker room to play for a couple of hours last night and there was a very tangible excitement in the air. The names of the locals…Cavezza…Patel…Flowers…Vazquez… were floating around like they were Red Sox or Yankee legends. Legends the people here know.

For most of the Foxwoods folk, the WPT is a much bigger thing than for those of us traveling the circuit. It’s easy to forget that this is the stuff that dreams are made of. My experience here has lessened the intensity of the televised poker experience. Still, I could appreciate the excitement they were feeling. This thing could be won by one of their own.

They’re living vicariously through these guys like the small town sending one of their kids off to the big leagues. Every hand, every play every dollar is theirs. The guys who are still in this thing aren’t just playing for themselves; they’re representing home ad defending their turf. They’re doing it well too…there are only five usurpers left.

The product of all this may be a final table devoid of our usual recognizable names, but these guys play poker with passion. They talk tough and play tough, befitting a part of the country that thrives on verbalized one-upsmanship. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know these guys. I’m just interested now to know which one gets to live the dream.