Bringing Brandi to Bregenz
Last week the Casino Austria Poker Tour (CAPT) was held in the small town of Bregenz, just two miles south of the Austria/Germany border. I didn't see much besides my hotel, the casino, and one restaurant, but I did spend some time following the tournament action and…drinking wine with poker pros from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
In regards to the tournament, the German-speaking Full Tilt pros crushed the CAPT, taking down three out of the six events, including the 2,000 Euro buy-in |
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main event. WPT winner Markus Lehmann dominated the main event final table (both by his plays and by having the most wine and fun as well) en route to first, and Marco Liesy, another Full Tilt pro from Germany, finished in 3rd, earning himself his biggest live score to date. Special kudos to Marco also, not just for finishing 3rd, but for reaching the final table following the party we had the night before.
Here’s the story. |
After busting early on day one (the CAPT main event was a two-day tournament), some pros decided to have dinner at the casino. Rino Mathis, arguably the most successful poker player in Switzerland and, coincidentally, a Full Tilt pro, chose mansion in Liechtenstein, and Rino was still going on about Markus' wine collection. While at Markus’s place, they drank Le Pin, Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, Cheval Blanc and finally Petrus. In short: they killed five bottles worth about $40,000 total. Now, back in the casino, we drank a few bottles and left for a well-known local restaurant named Viva. Viva serves Mexican food and the menu has ten times more wines on it than fajitas or burgers combined. Rino again took over the bottle selection, and since he knew the manager, we got some rare ones (Rino, by the way, also has several bottles of his own stored on the premises).
The curious reader might be asking by now, “What does the headline of this article (Bringing Brandi to Bregenz) have to do with the story? Was it just for the lame alliteration joke?” Well, good question, curious reader! After another two bottles, the main restaurant closed and the group moved to the bar. Luckily the house rules were:
“Open until customers leave”. By that time, day one of the CAPT main event had finished and Marco joined us. The party then got even more fun and “excessive.” Being the “always responsible” journalist (or at least the one I occasionally pretend to be), I brought my camera and was suddenly taking pictures of Marco and Rino posing like Brandi Hawbaker from the infamous “Full Tilt patch” pics. As you can see, Rino was nominated for the “More
Hair on His Chest Than on His Head” award.
So, if you’re reading this column to discover something new, here ya go: Looks like you can wear a Full Tilt patch over your nipple AND still be successful poker player! Sorry, Brandi! |
