Twas the night that caused tournament players in day 2 of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic to wonder “Why the **** are there so many bald dudes?” It started a few weeks ago when Barry Greenstein called and asked me to come to Vegas. He was holding a head shaving as a show of support for my battle against cancer and resulting baldness.
It sounded like a fun event, which it was, but I didn’t know what to expect. Never did I imagine the incredible turnout, outpouring of love, and level of compassion displayed by everyone there. It was a truly memorable night. A huge thank you goes out to Barry for organizing the event, Phil for letting us use his palace, the barbers from Presidential Shave, everyone who showed up, and all the positive messages in the forums.
It was in Phil Ivey’s huge villa and at first I thought it would be 3 people shaving their heads(Eli, Doyle, Barry). The number increased to 7. Then a group of largely internet players who I’ve been friends with for years arrived and, in poker-player style, decided to add some gamble to the night. They drew cards to see who would say goodbye to their hair.
Each person drew a card and grouped himself into the color drawn: black(Keith, Ryan, Alan, Dan) or red(Peter, Craig, Tom, Elky). Then I drew a card to determine which team would do it. And the team was….black!
But the guys are so awesome that eventually everyone agreed to shave their heads. In total I believe the count was 17(?) people, the last one being Johnnie the barber who endured the terror of me trimming his hair. He made it out alive. Overall it was great night filled with delicious shrimp quesadillas, free-flowing drinks, screams of celebration for each person that left the barber’s chair, and a spirit of true friendship and comradery.
Most traumatized goes to Elky.
Best half-shave goes to Barry.
Most amount of alcohol consumed while in the barber’s chair goes to Tom.
It was filmed and will air on Poker2Nite. Also, there are more pictures to come so check back soon.