The concert last night was sick. I've been a fan of Staind since they emerged about 6-7 years ago, and this was my first time to see them live. For some unknown reason they didn't sell alcohol at this event though. That was kind of a bummer. Kaleb and I grabbed some food at Al's on the southside of Birmingham and then I headed back. Just as I passed the Mercedes plant exit in Vance at about 1 am I look in my rearview mirror and see the dreaded blue lights of a cop car. It turns out it was a state trooper. The gentleman was extremely unintelligent and spoke very grammatically incorrect English. Ironically, he never asked if I had been drinking (I hadn't), even after I told him I was coming back from a rock concert. I've listed our conversation below. Cop (at passenger side window): What the big hurry man? Me (trying to execute a huge bluff in which I act like I'm sorry for speeding): I have no excuse sir. I was at a concert and am just ready to get home. Cop: Well, I clock you at 87, but I lock you in at 83. Let's see your license. Me: Alright. Cop: So you don't live in Birmingham no more? Me: No. I live near the University campus. Cop: Are you a student? Me: Um. No. I just work. Cop: Where you work at? Me: I'm a professional poker player. (This was my mistake. It's probably very -EV to tell a cop this. I should've said Captain D's.) Cop: Hmm. Ok. I be right back. At this point I'm sitting in the car waiting for him, and I feel pretty confident that I just pulled off a beautiful bluff. I'm just hoping he doesn't call me with bottom pair here. The cop walks back on the passenger side of the car again, and I can't tell if he has anything in his hand or not. I'm not worried about the money, and I don't even particularly care if I get the ticket at this point. I just want to see if the bluff worked. The cop gets back and slowrolls the hell out of me! Cop: Aight man (in a "I'm gonna let you go voice,"). I know it's late and you're just ready to get home (his arms still down by his side). I've still got to give you this though for going 83 in a 70... Such a slowroll. He produces the fucking clipboard and I sign for the $131 ticket. It is my first speeding ticket since September 2001 though, so I guess I've done ok. ---------------------------- I'm back in Tuscaloosa now and leaving for Birmingham soon to meet with my accountant. I plan on coming back tonight and having some drinks. My boy Jon "Jcardshark" Little is making the drive up from Pensacola to go to the game and should be here around 5, so I'm excited about that. Also, here is the link to the interview I did with Craig Tapscott on FoxSports.com. All of the interviews were merged together, and I am on briefly late in the 5th minute of the 7 minute interview. The video is towards the bottom of the page and has a picture of Hellmuth on the front in sunglasses and is entitled "Inside the Legends of Poker." http://msn.foxsports.com/poker For some reason I was extremely nervous during this interview, and I think it shows :)

It was a long day of travel, but we finally made it back to Tuscaloosa late last night. We actually missed our first flight because the shuttle that was supposed to take us from the rental car dropoff lot was like 20 minutes late. We got to the airport like 42 minutes before the flight left, but Delta policy is you have to have your bags checked in 45 minutes beforehand, and you can't travel ahead of your bags because of the current security level. Oh well. Today I'm meeting with one of my financial guys at Amsouth. Tonight I'm going to the 3 days Grace and Staind concert in Birmingham with my friend Kaleb. It should be a lot of fun. I'll head back later tonight and begin the 72 hour drinking fest that is an Alabama football weekend. David Daneshgar finished 7th in the WPT event and received player of the year points, moving him up to #12 on the list. He bubbled the TV final table (WPT FT's only have 6 players), but Cardplayer always gives points to the top 9 finishers in events. I was able to escape without anyone passing me at this tournament. Atleast 15 of the top 20 ranked guys on the PoY list played this event, so I expect that no one who is in the hunt will slow down. I expect to see most of those guys in Atlantic City next week as well. SS

We're just about to leave the hotel room for the airport. We arrive in Birmingham at 840 p.m. LA is a really fun city. The culture here is incredible, and as I've said, living here is definitely a possibility. The day yesterday was a lot of fun. The market was really neat, and the Dodgers game was complete with tons of beer, hot dogs, and crazy fans. The Dodgers beat the Reds 6-5. They were up 6-1 and the Reds scored 4 in the top of the 8th for sweat. Regarding the WPT event, there are 50 players remaining. They still aren't quite in the money yet. I've discovered that there are 2 more players still in the event that could pass me. Erick Lindgren is in the top 15 in chips and currently 8th in the PoY race. If he finishes 7th or higher he will pass me on the leaderboard. Also, David Daneshgar is still in the event. He is currently ranked 18th in the PoY race, so he will need to finish in first or second place in the WPT event to pass me. He is well below average in chips in the event. SS