The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a 40-minute wait, a two-top by the kitchen and a romantic shared-appy date in the hottest afternoon poker news bistro.
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Today in the 3-Bet we find a Jamie Gold for the modern poker era, Jason Mercier clinches the WSOP POY and Phil Hellmuth gets the off-menu treatment.
1) The Art of Speech Play
Is it any coincidence that on the 10th anniversary of Jamie Gold's epic, talk-filled run to the 2006 WSOP Main Event championship another big talker is rolling deep in the Main?
Cameras love Kassouf.
UK attorney William Kassouf made waves a few years ago with a much-ballyhooed run in with Vanessa Selbst at EPT London and again last year at EPT Barcelona.
Far from being a camera hog or attention seeker, though, Kassouf has been working his "speech play" game for over a decade and, as he says, it's merely an extension of his personality - not a malicious attempt to ruin anyone's day at the poker table.
If his opponents do end up tilting off some chips to him, though, he's not going to give them back.
Kassouf has been at the center of attention for the ESPN cameras over the past couple of days and when the show airs this summer we expect we'll get a heavy dose of his table show.
While it gets under the skin of some - and results in the odd one-orbit penalty from time-to-time - there's no question it makes for "good tv."
Kassouf is still alive in the final 27 of the 2016 Main Event and we expect his speech game will be on full display today. Follow along with the WSOP live updates or our On Demand updates right here.
2) Jason Mercier is 2016 WSOP Player of the Year
First-time POY.
Despite a couple more deep runs, Jason Mercier ultimately couldn't close on a third WSOP bracelet this summer and collect on his $1.8m side bet with Vanessa Selbst.
He'll have to settle for about $1m in cashes, one of the greatest weeks in WSOP history and getting engaged to his girlfriend, Natasha Barbour, on the WSOP live stream.
So not a bad summer, really.
Because of that epic week and a few more nice cashes Mercier was unsurprisingly running away with the WSOP Player of the Year race, but with Paul Volpe and Max Silver still deep in the Main Event on Day 6 there was a small chance he could be overtaken.
Not anymore. Although in typical poker player fashion, a win still cost him something:
Paul Gees busting the main event in 29th place cost me a 45k side bet... Luckily it won me WSOP player of the year. #FirstTime4Everything— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) July 18, 2016
Congrats to Mercier on a summer to remember.
3) Coaching Bleznick, Off-Menu Chicken Parm
Phil Hellmuth, on the other hand, did not have such a memorable summer. Or at least memorable in the sense of winning his 15th career bracelet.
Unsinkable.
Hellmuth didn't even really get a sniff of one over the 7 weeks of the WSOP, which for him is really quite surprising.
If you follow his Twitter feed you know it was a bit traumatizing, although it didn't keep him for updating fans on his mental state on the reg.
Most recently, he let us know he was going to coach Jared Bleznick into the Nov. 9 (since kiboshed by ESPN) and was important enough to order chicken parm off the menu at Carbone.
What a life! #blessed.
Monday I am officially coaching Jared Bleznick in @WSOP Main Event: there are 27 left. Goal: make it to November Nine (final table) @ESPN— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 18, 2016
Poker Productions will NOT let me coach anyone and keep my impartial job w @ESPN!— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 18, 2016
At Carbone (HOTTEST rest in Vegas!) w my sons and their GFs: ordered Chicken Parm (off the menu), Dover Sole, and @KimoSabeMezcal @AriaLV— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 18, 2016
