WSOP Event #13: Where's Barry?

I'd spotted a friend, Scott "doubleas" Gallant, who had just arrived at the Rio. We were catching up when my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I hadn't seen Scott in a long time, so I almost let the call go to voicemail. Then I looked at the caller ID. I knew I had to take the call, because it would likely answer one of the greatest mysteries of Event #13.

The caller was Team PokerStars' newest member, Barry Greenstein.

"Brad, do I have a blog for you."

Here was the mystery: Greenstein had spent the entire afternoon in Event #13 building up a decent stack. Then, he went to dinner break...and didn't return at the end of the break.

Greenstein is a poker player down to his bones, but he usually tries not to book night-long sessions during the World Series. This year, however, he's been feeling good and his body has been holding up well to the rigors of the WSOP. So, last night, he played his cash game and ended up staying up all night.

Still, he felt good when he sat down to play the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event. What's more, he was building up his stack and was sitting around the average mark when he left for dinner. He dropped by the PokerStars suite for a bite where he decided he could probably use a nap. He went up to a friend's room, called for a wake-up call, and crashed for he was sure would be just an hour.

More than an hour after the dinner break was over, Greenstein's cell phone rang. It was a friend asking, in effect, where in the hell he was.

Greenstein jumped up to discover his wake-up call had never come. He rushed back to the tournament area...just in time to see his final chips blinded off.

Greenstein did all he could do. He reached under his chair, pulled out his book "Ace on the River," signed it for the man who took his last chips, and headed for home.

All in all, it had not been a very good day. Greenstein was likely thinking much the same thing as he walked up to his apartment and realized he was locked out.

Funny thing is, Greenstein didn't seem that miffed. He said, when you think about how bad off other people have it, getting blinded out of a tournament isn't that big a deal.

We'll see you tomorrow, Barry. Get some rest.