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An Evening with Gus Hansen and Friends
Published: 2005-04-28
 An Evening with Gus Hansen and Friends
April 28, 2005
Tony Bromham
Time stamp: April 27th, 2005, 8 pm British Time (3pm EST)
Venue: Somewhere in a London TV studio.
Reason: Qualifying heat of British Poker Open
Here I sit in my comfortable armchair in my living room in Hampshire, England. I am privileged to subscribe to a satellite TV service that now provides The Poker Channel and that channel this month is showing live - yes, live! - all of the heats of the British Poker Open (BPO). For example, tonight, Howard Lederer, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Andy Bloch will compete with three hopefuls from the on-line world. The format for these is a 6-seat Single Table Satellite. The winner makes the semi-final which are two 6-seater satellites, with three from each progressing to the Final itself.
But, the focus of this piece is the action on April 27th and in particular the unique talent of Gus Hansen, the Danish poker player who has already won three World Poker Tour (WPT) tournaments with his very own style of "mix-em-up" aggressive poker. From what I have seen, he has left a trail behind him of bemused players wondering how Gus called their monster raises with 10 8 unsuited, or how they managed to put most their chips in the middle to find they had been beaten by full house 3's over 10's.
Awe at the Devil
Gus Hansen was up against one of the top British players and also a winner of a WPT tournament, David "Devilfish" Ulliott. There was also Roy "The Boy" Brindley (a regular European tour winner) and three good on-line players.
What riveting viewing this was! The early highlight was a hand that developed between Gus and Devilfish. To my mind, Devilfish's play was in the stratosphere. I don't know how he did it.
Devilfish had rags, Q3 o/s (no diamonds). Gus had AK suited in hearts. They saw the flop and it came down 3 x x (x x = 2 diamonds) not helping Gus. The turn was 3d. River, another diamond, so now there is a 4-flush on the board. Neither player held a diamond but Devilfish had a set of 3's. Gus had a pair of 3's, ace high. Devilfish raised to represent a strong diamond. Gus considered and then re-raised! A raise-bluff. Now, faced with that scenario, most players and their dog would probably fold. This was a further 26k in chips out of the starting 100k that Devilfish was being asked for.
Devilfish said he was going to call Gus's "AK" (before he had even seen his hand!). And he did. Astonishing stuff, and Gus was mightily impressed with that, I could tell.
Gus's Revenge
The Devilfish paid for it with a mother of a bad beat, but very much a play in the Gus Hansen mould for which he has earned a "lucky" tag from a host of beaten professionals.
Devilfish had since lost a big pot in a 50/50 showdown to a smaller stack, but he picked up some good cards in three consecutive hands which possibly triggered his downfall. First QQ, raised and took the blinds. Next hand, 10 10. Raised, took the blinds. Next, QQ again. Raised again. This time, Gus was probably wondering if Devilfish was aggressively recovering his lost chips by walking all over the table. Gus had 7 5 suited, just the sort of hand he likes to call with. So he did.
The flop came 10c 5c 6s. The Devil checked. Gus had bottom pair and decided to raise all-in. Gus said, "This should be enough to raise with". I suspect he meant that this should be enough to cause Devilfish to release his hand; but not with QQ! Devilfish called and Gus was a 5/1 dog and about to be eliminated in stone last place.
The turn came down 7h. A 2-pair for Gus and the river was not a Q, 10 or 6. The Devilfish was gone and fully convinced that Gus has a pact with Lady Luck.
Reputation enhanced, trap set
Soon after this, the two smallest stacks (including Roy Brindley), fully conditioned to the idea that Gus will call any raise of theirs with any cards, each re-raised Gus all-in with their own half-decent hands. On both occasions, Gus flipped over AK!
That left two on-line players both of whom had been steady and holding their own. The sole lady player, Mel Lofthouse, had over 100k in chips and raised Gus all-in with her own 2 6 offsuit. Gus folded. Nice play! Then she hit a genuine one, A 5. She went all-in over the top of Gus and he decided he would call with Q 9 offsuit. Given that this was a pot which would put Gus well behind, it was a brave but typical call. He clearly considers any chance of 40:60 behind as fair game.
The flop produced a 9 and Gus prevailed. Now he was a mighty chip leader over the remaining on-line player, Matt Born, a journalist.
The Sting in the Tail
Earlier on, Matt had survived when his JJ beat Gus's 88 all-in raise. Now, first hand heads-up, Matt received A 10 and went all-in again. Gus called with A 6 and lost.
Next hand, Matt raised all-in with 3 3. Gus again called with A 6 and lost.
Matt won another two or three hands on slow play and Gus was now behind. At this point Matt seemed to freeze up afraid to make the final plunge, even folding A 6 to a Gus raise! The pots were then exactly 300k apiece, a fact not lost on Gus as he decided that was a good time to finish the game in one go.
But what a time to decide to do it! Matt had raised all-in. Gus held Q 8 offsuit and was busily computing things in his head. It seems though that the prospect of finishing it there and then with 300k each at stake swayed Gus. He suggested this was one of his thought processes afterwards in his interview. So he called.
Matt showed A Q suited and Gus knew his time might well be up. The drama carried on as the cards before the river gave Gus straight draws but it wasn't to be.
Matt Born had a truly prized scalp and all shown live on television.
The essence of Gus Hansen
The commentators, observers and players were all sure they had seen a lot of "bad" moves by Gus, yet this is his method and it is highly successful. It creates a reputation verging on the mystic which for most players on the circuit is impossible for them to define. Their own decisions become confused and I suspect they end up folding far more hands to a Gus Hansen raise than they might otherwise do.
Three WPT wins is not the outcome of luck. Gus Hansen is simply prepared to go in where the bullets are flying but at the same time is prepared to loose his own weapons at all and sundry around him. It makes for a scared table and may explain why Gus dominates the table. He plays the players like all the top pros do.
Tony Bromham (Exorcism)
28th April 2005
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Resort has plenty of high-tech features
Published: 2005-04-28
Resort has plenty of high-tech features
By Richard N. Velotta
LAS VEGAS SUN
Technological innovations and architectural marvels abound at Wynn Las Vegas.
The showrooms, casino floor and guest rooms are full of state-of-the-art gee-whiz stuff that set the $2.7 billion resort apart from others.
Guests at this morning's opening were mesmerized by the Lake of Dreams environmental theater which blends light, water, horticulture, architecture and multimedia imagery into a show unlike anything on the Strip.
The Lake of Dreams is one of the "surprises" casino developer Steve Wynn spoke of when he promised new experiences for visitors wanting to explore the property.
Waterfalls that cascade down the side of the 140-foot man-made mountain create a three-acre lake from which four different dream sequences are displayed on a textured waterwall. While some may find the effect reminiscent of the Fremont Street Experience light show, the presentation will likely be hailed for its creativity.
And that's not the only place where technology creates an artistic assist.
The Wynn Theater, home to "Le Reve," the city's newest show, has a liquid stage similar to the one used in Cirque's "O" show at the Bellagio. But the domed theater that is the new home to 70 performers is a theater in the round, giving spectators ponying up $110 a seat a view from no farther than 42 feet.
The "smart cards" used by guests to access their rooms can be used as slot cards that can accrue credits for their play.
Many of the video slots have flat screens for a better graphic presentation for players.
Players waiting for a seat at one of the casino's 27 poker tables have their names entered onto a computerized list and get paged or called in their rooms when a position is available.
The resort's keno room has plasma-screen televisions to display results and every position in the Wynn's beautifully wood-paneled sports book has a plasma-screen TV for a bettor's personal use.
Technology in the rooms and in the meetings and convention areas will give guests hands-on information centers.
Each room has a fax machine and high-speed Internet access and the telephones operate with voice over Internet protocol.
The plasma-screen TVs seen all over the property are standard in each room, with some mounted conveniently on wall brackets.
Water is a key component of Wynn Las Vegas, and while waterfalls may not strike the casual observer as a technological achievement, their placement at this resort is.
Waterfalls drop 70 and more than 100 feet off the pine tree-topped mountain and the signature hole of the resort's par-70 golf course designed by Wynn and Tom Fazio includes a 37-foot waterfall at the 18th green. When golfers complete their round, they drive their carts through a tunnel behind that waterfall.
Finally, for those who can't get enough technology, there's a perfect retail outlet selling digital cameras, DVD players, PDAs, camcorders and music recorders. It's called Gizmos.
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