Author Archives: java

May
12
2009

With a Little Help From My Friends

I promise this will be the last book blog for awhile. For one thing, I’ll get to finally play a little poker this week now that the book is out. So you have my bad beats to look forward to… Our agent Sheree Bykofsky humped Check-Raising the Devil to major publishers. Here was a typical […]

Posted in Mike Matusow | Comments (8)
May
03
2009

The Matusow Book: The Crossroads

Collaboration is powerful. When done right, the resulting sum is greater than its parts. When done badly, it can end up in a body count. The collaboration process with Mike was involved but surprisingly functional. We amassed hundreds of hours of interviews. Tim would draft a chapter. I would re-write it. He would edit it. […]

Posted in Mike Matusow, WSOP | Comments (5)
May
02
2009

Why Do I Want to Pay a Rake?

Like most of y’all, I’m on the Poker Players Alliance’s email distribution list. I think I may have been a member once. Don’t get me wrong. There are clearly some things they’ve done that have had value. They did some good work in PA and MA and they arranged for some responsible and coherent testimony […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)
Apr
21
2009

Shronk 1981-2009

I called BJ yesterday. But when I started to leave my message, I just broke down. BJ emailed me, saying he couldn’t call me back, because he wasn’t sure he could keep it together. It was one thing to know Shronk was gone. It was a whole different level of pain to have to say […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)
Apr
18
2009

Online Gaming: Hope Springs Eternal

Both poker and investment seem to be hanging their hats on hope this spring. Where the two worlds intersect is perhaps the epicenter of hope. Online gaming stocks have popped both on the news that PartyGaming settled with the U.S. government and the promise of Barney Frank’s new stand alone bill that would serve to […]

Posted in Investment | Comments Off on Online Gaming: Hope Springs Eternal
Apr
08
2009

Afterbirth

Last week I dropped my cellphone in the toilet. Luckily it was “pre-game” and I was willing able to fish it out. It started working again the next day – although it doesn’t ring anymore. That’s kind of been a metaphor for my life over the last few weeks – a number of “oh shit” […]

Posted in Investment | Comments (8)
Mar
05
2009

MGM Mirage Busto…Harrah’s Next?

I suspected something was brewing at MGM Mirage. Its earnings announcement was overdue with nary a peep. Then, instead of reporting its fourth-quarter earnings, MGM filed two other SEC forms. The first one was to confess they had tapped out their $4.5 billion revolving credit line by withdrawing the last remaining $842 million. And the […]

Posted in Investment, Las Vegas | Comments (1)
Mar
01
2009

Another Bust and a Bank Sings Proud Mary

“You sure do know a lot of people who get arrested,” said a co-worker after reading my last blog. I quipped, “Maybe it’s just that your friends can afford better lawyers and accountants.” If I needed any ammunition to support my argument, I found it while cleaning out my closet yesterday. I unearthed an old […]

Posted in Investment, Professional Poker Players | Comments (3)
Feb
22
2009

Consulting the WTF Guru

I was having a total WTF moment on Friday, trying to ride out the market’s bank nationalization paranoia and the new rabid bevy of speculators who profit on the short. I needed to make a decision about a bank preferred stock that was getting hammered. I thought it was way oversold. But the problem with […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Consulting the WTF Guru
Feb
16
2009

Lipscomb Scores, Berman/Beal Burnt?, Phelps Chillin’

Proving bankers aren’t the only ones to profit when their stocks tank, it appears that Steve Lipscomb won’t suffer much with the World Poker Tour’s stock languishing in the sub-$0.50 range. In a recent SEC filing, Lipscomb will now get 5% of the company if it changes hands this year – which will come right […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Lipscomb Scores, Berman/Beal Burnt?, Phelps Chillin’