Sending Good Karma to Daniel Negreanu

Way back in 2008, I was writing for PokerNews.com doing, among other things, event recaps during the World Series of Poker. I was assigned the $2,000 Limit Hold'em event which Daniel Negreanu won. I wrote the following first paragraph:

Daniel Negreanu went into the final table of this event the most experienced player in the field by far. For six of the other players, this was their first time at a WSOP final table. Negreanu not only had three prior WSOP wins, but had won this event before, back in 2004. So, despite not starting the day in the chip leader, it was not a surprise when Negreanu emerged as the winner of the 2008 WSOP $2,000 Limit Hold'em event. Negreanu won every hand in heads up play to earn the victory, his fourth WSOP bracelet and the first-place prize money of $204,874.

That has been on the front page of Daniel's MySpace ever since. It has been, I'll admit, something that has tickled me. I'm a huge fan of Negreanu's and I was glad that it was my voice that told the story of his most recent bracelet. I liked having my name on his page -- especially since it was spelled correctly, something that happens less frequently than Negreanu is spelled right. It's all about "a's" and "e's" -- I'll discuss that some other time.

So this is, I fear, how the curse worked. I apparently was a little too glad to be quoted and even remotely, tangentially associated with Negreanu’s bracelet, because as he proceeded to make deep runs in 2008 and 2009, I found myself having decidedly mixed feelings about it. While I think he's a terrific player and certainly wanted him to do well, I knew that when he won his next bracelet mine would be replaced by some other writer's recap.

Now you might think this is silly. But have you followed Negreanu the last two years? He’s had some good runs yet somehow fell short. Fellow Canadian Scott Montgomery won a bracelet this year and Negreanu still hasn't -- now that's what I call silly.

So last week I was on Keep Flopping Aces with Lou Krieger (on Rounder’s Radio) and I mentioned the curse and how I was lifting it. Honestly, part of me expected to read about a Negreanu bracelet the next morning. Well, it’s been a week and still nothing. Perhaps by putting it in writing that will be the final step in erasing it for good. I hope so, I’d like to see him win another. I look forward to reading the recap.

Gavin Smith Wins First WSOP Bracelet

I'll admit it. I have a bit of a crush on Gavin Smith. Others can drool over Patrik Antonius, but not me. I'll take the mischievous, twinkle in the portly poker player's eyes over the chiseled good looks of the Greek god. But then, this could be practicality speaking. As a middle-aged mother of two, at least with Gavin I have a shot. My husband promises he wouldn't stand in the way. But, as usual, I digress.

I had Gavin as my pick going into this World Series of Poker to take down his first bracelet. When I mentioned that in the ESPN chat room, let's just say no one was jumping on the Gavin band wagon. Of the list of "best who hasn't won" Gavin, they said, was not holding down the top spot. Andy Bloch -- he of the MIT and Harvard Law pedigree -- he was the next to get his first. Or Tom "Durrrr" Dwan, the online phenom who already had a pretty good run. But Gavin? Sure, he may have been WPT player of the year in the past -- but that's not the WSOP.

What people forgot is that Gavin is a savant when it comes to limit hold'em and he's not too shabby in the no limit either. The FullTilt pro knows what he's doing at the table. Like many great players, he has sabotaged himself at times or lost the killer instinct when it counted. But the ability has always been there.

As he said after the win, "I seem to be pretty good at screwing things up. In the past, I sometimes went out and got drunk or hung out. But this year, I decided to come in and try to play my best the whole time." There's never been a question about his raw talent. When Gavin is on, he's on.

He's aggressive, yet so affable that he can easily knock down his opponent's defenses. I remember one of my favorite Gavin moments when, during a WSOP Circuit event, he famously remarked, “I’m sorry for the bad beat that I’m about to give you.” He is disarming in every sense of the word.

So Event #44, $2,500 mixed hold'em, was right up his alley. Of course, not only did he have the smarts and skill to win, but his attitude was good. "The last three days everything just clicked. I played well and things went well and everything clicked at the right time."

Aided by the support of his many friends and fans, and with a determination to not let this opportunity slip away, Gavin took and kept control of the final table. But how could he lose, he had me in his corner. Well, not literally in his corner, I was railing from up above the final table, hanging over the balcony. I told everyone in earshot he'd win and then, risking jinxing it, I shook his hand during one of the breaks, told him I had predicted he'd win a week earlier. He promised to make me look smart.

And he did. The Canadian with the ready smile, who seems to enjoy life just a little bit more than the rest of us, has reason to smile even bigger. He now has his first WSOP bracelet. Congrats Gavin!

Meg Whitman v. Jerry Brown -- Who Has a Plan to Fix California?

I recently compared Republican nominee for Governor Meg Whitman's campaign website and that of her Democrat counterpart Jerry Brown.  Perhaps it's a superficial way to judge competing candidates.  But maybe not.  Because the differences were startling and demonstrate why one candidate has a plan to fix California and the other hasn't a clue.

Meg Whitman is not hiding her agenda behind obfuscations or clever slogans.  She's not running on platitudes or soundbites.  Her website contains a detailed plan for dealing with the many substantial problems that face the Golden State.  As the businesswoman she is, she has taken a seemingly insurmountable mountain of problems and broken them down into smaller, more manageable components.  She is a realist and knows that not everything that is wrong with California can be fixed right away.  So she has focused on three major areas that would be the focus of her first four years.

Her goal, if elected, would be: 1) to create good jobs in California, 2) to cut unnecessary government spending, and 3) to fix the K-12 public education system.  Three areas that, if addressed properly, could help turn the state around.  Meg Whitman wants the voters to know what she plans to do if elected Governor.  So she prepared  policy manual that is on her website, available for download, and also offered to be mailed to voters. 

Knowing her background, it is not surprising that Meg Whitman would take such a straight-forward, detailed approach to tackling the issues facing California.  She has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Princeton University and a Harvard MBA.  She went on to become one of the top CEOs in the nation, leading eBay to grow from a company with just $4.7 million in revenues and 30 employees to an international phenomenon with nearly $8 billion in revenues and 15,000 employees worldwide.  Meg Whitman knows how to lead, how to inspire, and how to get things done.  She has a track record of success upon which she can be judged.

All of this -- her education, background, experience, and her specific, detailed plans for a new California are all there on her campaign website. 

By contrast, Jerry Brown's campaign website offers some random thoughts by the former Governor Moonbeam.  Brown shares that. "Even though I am California's 'top cop,' 2 of my tires were stolen.  No matter.  I got 2 new ones and am rolling again."  Amusing, possibly, but what does that say about his plans for California?  He also discusses his birthday yesterday and mentions that he's planning a "Recession Reception."  So, while Meg Whitman is planning how to fix California's economy, Brown is planning on celebrating the recession?  That is more than disconcerting.

Jerry Brown's message seems to be -- I already know where the employee parking is in Sacramento, so vote for me.  He has nothing to say to potential voters about what he sees as the biggest issues facing California or what he will do to address them.  Brown is not even pretending to offer any solution to any of the myriad problems that have run this state into the ground.  Instead, he's riding on name recognition -- and the greater number of registered Democrats in the state -- to carry him to victory.  But if he wins -- California loses.  It will be another tax and spend administration, another four years of catering to the government employee unions, another four years of putting the burden of keeping this state afloat on the backs of just a few.

The two candidates will face off in many debates as the election draws closer and that will benefit Brown.  Because, TV is a whole different medium than print and he can charm and beguile all while saying nothing of substance.  That is why it is imperative for voters to read what the candidates have to say about what they will do -- don't rely just on TV commercials or the limited information provided during a time-restricted and strictly choreographed debate. 

If ever there was a year not to vote party line, but to research the candidates and vote on who has the best plan to make changes that will benefit the state -- this is the year.   California needs a governor who offers real solutions to real problems.  California needs Meg Whitman.

Don't Count Casey James Out

Sometime last year a Texas blues player drove his mom’s truck up to Denver to audition for American Idol. As loyal viewers of the show know, before a contestant even gets in front of the judges they have to make it past an initial screening. We haven’t seen what Casey James did to impress the producers to make it to the judges’ round, but we can guess that they saw what his many fans have seen over the past few months – a gifted singer-songwriter-musician who lives for music.

Casey made a memorable impression on many levels during that first televised performance – he had a good voice, he was cute, and handled awkward situations with equanimity. But what was most clear was this was a dedicated musician who just wanted the chance to show what he could do. When Casey got to Hollywood, he did just that. He brought out his not-so-secret weapon, his guitar, and played and sang “I Don’t Need No Doctor” like he’d been doing it all his life. It was instantly clear this was a talented artist, not a wannabe musician who was trying to take a shortcut to fame.

Casey had no way of knowing what the whirlwind of American Idol would do to him. He is now known to millions, yet it’s not clear that the casual viewer really knows him at all. This became eminently clear as the first videos from this past weekend’s series of hometown visits started being displayed.

We’ve now been shown a side of Casey that only his fans from back home had seen before. He sang with abandon, he played guitar with gusto, he charmed the crowd, he reveled in jamming with his band, he sang a beautiful duet with his mom. Unlike the sometimes stiff, sometimes reserved Casey that we see on the Idol stage, he was fully in command of every performances. He was comfortable, he was dynamic, he was expressive, and he looked to be about the happiest guy on the face of the earth. Playing music to him seems as important as breathing air to the rest of us.

And this voice, sometimes so subdued on the show, came out of nowhere. He had a husky growl and a sweet falsetto; he had smooth sustained notes and a sexy vibrato. The voice was mostly bluesy, with a little country thrown in. He played an original song which, as they often say on Idol, could be a hit on the radio right now.

We knew Casey could sing, we’d heard him play around with his voice before, making it do so many different things on so many different songs. But set free from the time constraints – and maybe feeling the love of the home crowd – he was able to give some truly remarkable performances. And he was able to do what he appears to love the most – jam. He can play guitar better than anyone who’s ever taken the Idol stage, without question. He might be one of the best guitarists out there, period.

The contrast between the adored Casey back home in Texas and the underdog Casey in California was striking. This weekend, he was a star -- clearly destined to be the next American Idol. Yet back in Los Angeles, Ellen and Randy have already written him off. So focused on their dream final of the two Midwesterners they don’t even mention Casey’s name in their interviews. Ryan, the good little soldier, was recently heard counting him out as well. But an interesting phenomenon is happening. The more people listen to Casey, without the American Idol filter to tell them what they think, the more the like him. Slowly, Idol watchers are seeing him as the dark horse that just might win the race.

They listened back to “Mrs. Robinson” and realized it might have been the best vocal of the year by any contestant, or at worst second only to his performance of “Don’t.” They realize that he wasn’t adequately praised for “You’ll Think of Me” and his ability to change up and rock out on “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” was overlooked as well. They realize that no one has had as affecting a moment on stage this year as “Jealous Guy,” and that he can do all this while being a veritable virtuoso on the guitar. And maybe most importantly, they’ve checked out the many YouTube videos from this past weekend and discovered what a star he already is.

This competition is not over, despite what the judges might think. It’s not in the judges’ hands, it is in ours. The journey that began on the road from Ft. Worth to Denver can still end under the confetti next week in Hollywood.

Here's to You Casey James

As I go off to literally fight City Hall this evening (over a proposed cell tower in the neighborhood) I won't be able to follow the results show for American Idol. I think that's a good thing, because however it plays out, I know that I haven't seen the end of Casey James. But it would be sad to say goodbye, especially after last night's stellar performance.

We knew he had the talent. But last night he showed a steely determination and wry sense of humor that means you can't keep this boy down. He came right at Kara and her merry band of accomplices with guns a-blazing. Objectify me? Make this year all about you and your boy crush, Kara? Well, here's to you!

Not only did Casey have the cojones to play Mrs. Robinson to Kara, but he also had the -- yes -- artistry to do it in such a touching fashion. Despite the gibe intended, regardless of the message he wanted to convey, what he told anyone within earshot was that he is a gifted singer, a wonderful musician, and someone who'll be around for years and years when all of this silliness has faded into memory.

I love that song and love the original, still I found Casey's version to be breathtaking. It was mesmerizing and moving, the gentleness of his voice, the sweet changes to the melody, made it as much a prayer as a song. He took something familiar and made it revelatory and new again. I'll never hear the song the same way again. It was his moment.

Of course, the judges couldn't let him have his moment. Randy nitpicked, Ellen hedged her praise, Kara wrapped hers in jokes and conceit, and Simon, well I don't know what he was doing other than furthering the stale jokes and trying to find a way to not praise what was such a lovely performance. The whole scene degenerated and a precious moment was lost.

I hope it isn't the end of the AI road for Casey tonight. He has so much more to show and so many more performances to give -- some that will be rollicking fun, and others that will show a more quiet and tender side. He, more than anyone else in the competition, has shown range and variety and a willingness to challenge himself and change our conception of who he is and what he can do. So three cheers for an amazing performance last night, Casey, and here's hoping for still more to come!

Judges Don't Pick the American Idol -- We do

We should have known it was going to be one of those years when on the first performance night of the guys, the judges ripped ‘70s rocker Tyler Grady – for singing like a 70’s rocker. Two weeks later they told Broadway performer Todrick Hall to stop being so “dramatic” and complained that he was too much a Broadway singer rather than a recording artist. The only compliment Simon gave him was that at least he performed – as opposed to the rest of the guys who just sat on a stool and sang which, apparently, is not performing. Someone should tell James Taylor he’s been taking money under false pretenses for decades.

But I digress. The topic for today is the whipsaw. The dictionary defines this as “to cause to move or alternate rapidly in contrasting directions.” It is the perfect description of how the judges have dealt with top-four-finalist Casey James since his first audition in Denver. I understand that there are much worse things to deal with than negative criticism, that’s not the point. The point is that when the judges’ critiques are given so much weight, they should at least have a modicum of sense and consistency to them. When they don’t, they confuse the artists, confound the audience, and make a mockery of the concept of the show which was to find and help launch undiscovered talent – not build up and destroy someone alternating weeks to see how long they can handle the abuse.

Casey has received more than his share of mixed messages, contradictory critiques, and inconsistent feedback. It would be enough to make anyone go a little crazy and lose their confidence. But that’s the power of the whipsaw. He was picked for the show for his great bluesy vibe, and then dismissed as being predictable for playing a bluesy song. His country take on “You’ll Think of Me” was met with a tepid response not because of the vocals, but because it was “safe.” Then weeks later, a similarly brilliant country performance was raved as the second coming. He was told he was channeling Hendrix by one judge, and then another mocked him for “trying to play the guitar.” He was ridiculed as “trying to be a rock star,” then a week later told he was a rock star. His voice was compared to dirt, he was called a bleating farm animal. Yet in the same moment he was being chastised for playing it safe, he was also told how consistent he is, always good, great voice, great tone, loved your vocals.

This has been a crazy year where it seemed not that the performances changed from week to week, but the judges did. One week, Simon complained about Casey “just”standing still playing his guitar, another week he raved about it. Randy was most consistent, praising Casey for his Stevie Ray Vaughn vibe three weeks in a row. But that’s where the consistency ended. Ellen and Kara loved it then hated it; Simon hated it then loved it. But let’s not get carried away with praise for Randy, who was the only one, not just on the judging panel, but within earshot of the performance, who didn’t unquestionably love “Jealous Guy,” alluding to some vague pitch problems in the moody, tender, and flawless vocals.

While all this is going on, there was the spectacle of Kara the Cougar hanging around objectifying Casey and indirectly belittling his years of hard work, his talent, and his drive. “The cougar is a fan.” “Did he not return your calls, darling?” “When Kara says show it all, she means…” These running jokes were a distraction at best, and, at worst, may have detracted from Casey’s performances. We’ve had attractive contestants in the past, but none has been treated like raw meat to the extent that Casey has. The ongoing joke isn’t funny anymore. Neither are the judges’ unpredictable hot-and-cold running critiques which haven’t been fair to him or to a number of the contestants this year.

The judges have been a mess this year in their efforts to evaluate the contestants' performances. They could never articulate to Katie or Siobhan what it was about their beautiful and unique voices that they didn’t like, yet the same judges consistently fail to mention Lee’s obvious pitch problems. Their idea of providing feedback to Didi Benami was to tell her that she had “changed” and lost her way – not exactly razor-sharp criticism designed to help the contestant. The judges are long on complaining, short on explaining. But then, they apparently have an agenda. We’ll see if America agrees with their agenda.

Because agenda aside, the judges are not the final say on American Idol. We are. While the judges will do their best to try and manipulate, they don’t have a vote in who wins. We do. Casey fans need to speak in a unified and consistent manner, something the judges have failed to do. They need mobilize their efforts on Tuesday to make sure the right contestant makes it to the end.

Casey James' Fans Rally the Vote

Ah, isn't democracy a wonderful thing? At least when the "candidate" you're supporting wins, it is. On Tuesday night, the judges eviscerated Casey James on national TV after what was, admittedly, a sub-par performance out of Casey's comfort zone (i.e., Dude, where's my guitar?). But later that same night, the Casey army came out in full force speaking loudly that Casey deserved to stay on American Idol and continue his journey all the way to the finals.

They remembered his "Jealous Guy" performance -- the artistry he showed in that raw emotion and vocal tenderness -- they remembered the rollicking performance of "Hold On, I'm Coming" where he showed the range of his talent. They thought back to just a week earlier when his revelatory "Don't" took their breath away. Each week that Casey has been on the American Idol stage he has brought it, performance after performance that has enthralled. And they said to the judges, you can't erase all that from our minds.

When Casey mentioned Tuesday night the call he received about a local gig, that reminded the viewers that all efforts to label Casey a construction worker or, worse, Kara's eye candy, completely miss the point. Casey is a musician. He was one before Idol and he will be one after. He has been given an amazing opportunity thanks to AI and he is making the most of it. He, more than anyone left, seems to really understand and appreciate just how lucky he is to have a chance to play for millions instead of dozens. That is why he keeps such a good attitude, even after being ripped to shreds after his performance Tuesday night.

If Casey fans can keep up the momentum for one more week, Casey will be able to show all of America his roots. His hometown, his family, the small places he's played and how long and hard he's been working to get where he is today. If you need to be reminded why Casey should stay, go check out all his past performances on AI. Without the filter of the judges' erratic responses (lavishing praise one week, destroying what they lauded the next) you will hear the next American Idol.