BJ Nemeth is in the Hood

 

If ever I needed a constructive diversion, it would be in the form of BJ Nemeth (photo above by Joy Miller).  To me, BJ embodies the true potential of poker journalism; recognizing in words and photos poker’s salient and historical moments.  I saw BJ briefly in LA - which was the first time I’d seen him since the WSOP.  He promised to swing through Austin on his way back to Atlanta.  Last night, the doorbell rang, and there was BJ, bag in hand.

Up until his arrival, I had been trying to divert myself by following the EPT event in Germany.  I had been reading the live coverage on PokerNews as well as catching the live webcasts at EPTlive.  I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the first ever EPT webcasts; just superb production quality all the way around. 

Matusow

I also was following Mike Matusow’s performance at the Wynn Classic.  I got to talk to Mike earlier this week (picture from the 2005 WSOP - source photo owned by and located at http://gallery.pokerpages.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core%3AShowItem&g2_itemId=10321) and he said he really felt confident about his play lately.  The Wynn was sporting a pretty tough field, so it was nice to see Matusow parlay his confidence into another final table appearance.

Last night, BJ and I talked into the wee hours about everything poker.  We started with one of the seminal moments in poker’s growth: the Moneymaker victory.  I remember that I had been in Vegas for the 2003 WSOP, but had not stayed for the main event.  I had met up with PocketRocket and Lou Krieger that year to watch some of the preliminary events and catch the WPT Championship at the Bellagio.  It was then that Lou encouraged me to try to publish some of my poker work - so I guess it was sort of a seminal moment for my poker “career” as well.  BJ, already planning to move to Las Vegas, was further motivated by ESPN’s 2003 WSOP coverage.  By 2004, BJ was Card Player’s first online reporter, covering the series.

My guess is that this morning, we will pick up where we left off; two boats lifted by poker’s rising tide - marveling at poker’s unbelievable ride.           

3 Responses to “BJ Nemeth is in the Hood”

  1. Amy, if you intend to use photographs from http://www.PokerPages.com, you will need to cite your source for them. Whether or not you took the photos yourself, they were taken for PokerPages and are in our gallery. You need to add a link to PokerPages as a source below your photos, or remove them.

    Justin West said this on March 13th, 2007 at 4:37 pm

  2. Hey Justin,

    At the 2005 WSOP, I asked Steve Hall to take a picutre of me and Mike Matusow, which he did. He sent me the picture that night; I did not take this picture from the PokerPages site. If for some reason you believe this is the property of PokerPages, I will gladly provide a citation and/or remove it as well as offer my humblest apology for my ignorance.  [edit] Hey Justin, I found what was probably the source photo for this in the PokerPages gallery and provided a citation to the source.  I am very sorry.  I really did believe this was a photo for my personal/non-commercial use.  Most humble apologies.     

    Amy said this on March 13th, 2007 at 9:10 pm

  3. The mothership engages its defensive shield move.

    tict0ctoe said this on March 14th, 2007 at 2:57 pm

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