Summer Rumble: Jungleman vs Gambledore vs Jennifer Tilly
The WSOP is a week away, and nobody knows what is about to happen
“News team, assemble!”
One week. That’s all that’s all we have left before poker summer camp begins in Las Vegas. The PokerOrg team is ready, the WSOP is a week away, and the poker world is primed for a summer of…what?
We never know, do we?
Would you have predicted this time last year that last year’s champ would produce poker’s version of LaptopGate? Would you have predicted that Phil Hellmuth would swear off the Main Event? Would you have predicted in 2024 that PokerOrg would offer you a clean-bathroom oasis in the middle of the summer poker desert?
We don’t know what’s coming. You don’t know what’s coming. And that’s why we’re all here.
Will Jennifer Tilly bring her bling to the Horseshoe? Will Gambledore show up at the WSOP? Will Jungleman fight anyone who challenges him?
The PokerOrg news team has assembled. Are you with us?
Avoiding unnecessary conflict might have already been part of your summer strategy, but if not, a quick warning: if you find yourself in the vicinity of Dan “Jungleman” Cates, consider yourself in a combat zone. We can’t even comment on this thread beyond informing you that it somehow involves boxing, sex workers, and words we don’t use in this forum…
Question: Will Gambledore show up at the WSOP this summer? He returnedto the Triton tour this week (which is cool in itself), but imagine if he shows up and runs into Jungleman and hilarity ensues…
If this victory had happened online, people would be screaming “RIGGED!” at the top of their lungs, but Chris Moneymaker won his own tour's Main Eventin Palm Beach this week, and, man, that trophy is almost as big as Moneymaker’s dog!
While he may have big trophy, Moneymaker’s tour is losing a big asset. Longtime tournament director Tony Burns is stepping away from the circus. His goodbye message is some heartfelt stuff. Good luck, Tony.
Matt Hansen is out and about in Las Vegas again, and he’s found another gem of a story…the last $20 poker tournament in Vegas.
Allen Kessler is always telling tournament directors what they should be doing differently, and this week he got the chance to prove he knows what he’s talking about. Meet TD Chainsaw.
Longtime WSOP TD Jack Effel, meanwhile, is offering some much deeper insight into how Planet Hollywood ended up with a new poker room and what appears to be Caesars’ renewed commitment to poker.
If you’re planning a summer grind but want a break from the confines of the WSOP, the WPT is throwing a summer shindig of its own at at the revamped Venetian Poker Room.
On their own, Mike Matusow, ladders, and cats are just fine and mostly safe. Combined, they are a danger to anyone nearby…including Mike the Mouth.
Congrats to Xuan Liu for becoming the first female to win a Triton Super High Roller Series title. Her take? A cool $860,000.
Check out Badass Jennifer Tilly explaining her one-of-a-kind bejeweled belt and belt buckle necklace that she once couldn’t afford… “And then I got really rich and I could afford it!”
Hate to say it, but we once again have to pour one out for a podcast. In this case, make it a Guinness, because our Irish friends Dara O’Kearney and David Lappin are releasing their last episode of The Chip Race on Wednesday. Great run, lads.
Sarah Herring is massaging her brain toward travel mode in advance of Las Vegas and the WSOP, but in this episode of The Showdown she’s all the way out to Monte Carlo and the City of Angles (and no, that isn’t a misprint). And if that isn’t enticing enough, it’s always worth tuning in just to see what t-shirt she is wearing this week!
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Rampage denied WSOP credentials
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Our friend and Player Advisory Board member Faraz Jaka has launched his own 2025 WSOP newsletter, and in the announcement for it he asked for folks’ best WSOP tips. PokerOrg’s Terrance Reid was quick to chime in, and he just might have mentioned the best possible tip you won’t find anywhere else…how to find PokerOrg’s private bathrooms, snacks, and other stuff that we only open to members of The Org. One reader was incredulous, but Terrance set him straight.
In short…it’s easy. Stick with us. We’ve got you.
—BW