NBC Television announced the 64 "Invitations" to their Heads Up Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas next month. As with any exclusive list, there were and are omissions, favorites and just some questionable choices. Appropriately cranky comments follow the list:
1. Alexander, Jason (celebrity)
2. Antonius, Patrik (player)
3. Bellande, Jean-Robert (player)
4. Benyamine, David (player)
5. Brown, Chad (player)
6. Brunson, Doyle (player)
7. Brunson, Todd (player)
8. Chan, Johnny (player)
9. Cheadle, Don (celebrity)
10. Clements, Scott (player)
11. Cloutier, T.J. (player)
12. Cunningham, Allen (player)
13. Deeb, Freddy (player)
14. Duke, Annie (player)
15. Dwan, Tom (online player)
16. Edler, Bill (player)
17. Elezra, Eli (player)
18. Elizabeth, Shannon (celebrity/player)
19. Esfandiari, Antonio (player)
20. Farha, Sam (player)
21. Ferguson, Chris (player)
22. Fischman, Scott (player)
23. Forrest, Ted (player)
24. Garrett, Brad (celebrity)
25. Gold, Jamie (player)
26. Gowen, Clonie (player)
27. Greenstein, Barry (player)
28. Grizzle, Sam (player)
29. Hachem, Joe (player)
30. Hansen, Gus (player)
31. Harman, Jennifer (player)
32. Hellmuth, Phil (player)
33. Hershiser, Orel (celebrity)
34. Ivey, Phil (player)
35. Juanda, John (player)
36. Kaplan, Gabe (player, announcer but also player)
37. Laak, Phil (player)
38. Lederer, Howard (player)
39. Lindgren, Erick (player)
40. Little, Jonathan (player)
41. Matusow, Mike (player)
42. Mizrachi, Michael (player)
43. Negreanu, Daniel (player)
44. Nguyen, Scotty (player)
45. Pham, David (player)
46. Raymer, Greg (player)
47. Rousso, Vanessa (player)
48. Schneider, Tom (player)
49. Schreiber, Daniel (online player)
50. Seed, Huck (player)
51. Seidel, Erik (player)
52. Singer, David (player)
53. Smith, Gavin (player)
54. Tilly, Jennifer (player)
55. Townsend, Brian (player)
56. Tran, J.C. (player)
57. Tran, Kenny (player)
58. Wasicka, Paul (player)
59. Williams, David (player)
60. Yang, Jerry (current WSOP Champion)
61. online qualifier
62. online qualifier
63. online qualifier
64. Caesars Palace qualifier
All American players: Sure Gus Hansen is there but he lives in the world of Full Tilt. Where are the European players, Devilfish or Jeff Lisandro, Max Pescatouri, Tony G., these guys make for great television. Oh wait this is the National Broadcasting Company, the show is for broadcast only in the U.S., nevermind.
Just a few names worth mentioning: Kenna James, Hoyt Corkins, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Jared Hamby, James Van Alystyne, Nam Le, Robert Mizrachi, Gavin Griffin (what pink hair is not good on TV?) but no we will all get to laugh at Brad Garrett instead.
Why Daniel Schreiber or Tom Dwan as the "online representatives"? Maybe Sorel Mizzi or any number of other players who have come out of the online space to make a mark in the last couple of years.
