Background:
July 22, 2006
Micon made a NL final table at the 2006 WSOP. It was supposed to be on TV but wasn't for some reason (I forget why -- it was filmed as a TV table).
He entered short stacked (but not super short) and was the first one out. I remember it was just one of those hand-played-itself situations, where Micon didn't do anything wrong.
He was flat broke coming into this event. Before it started (the event, not the final tabe), Micon told me that he might have to give up on poker and get a job. He wasn't living in Vegas yet, but was just there for the WSOP. I was living in Vegas at the time, though. He was still married -- to Erin, not Martha.
When Micon made the final table, I asked if Erin was flying out to see it. He said no. I was surprised, given that this was (supposed to be) a televised final table. He muttered that she "has her own job and is too busy", but I could tell he wasn't happy about it, and that the marriage wasn't working out very well. Turned out I was right -- he would cheat on her with Martha shortly thereafter, while Erin was simultaneously cheating on him (which he didn't realize until after they separated!)
Anyway, I saw Micon as a good friend at that point, and cared a lot about him. When he made that final table, I was really hoping at the time that he'd bink the bracelet. When he busted 9th, I legitimately felt really bad. Micon was wearing my bracelet at the final table for "good luck" (lol). When he busted, he handed it to me half-jokingly said, "Get this bad luck charm off of me!"
I saw how devastated he felt. I told him, "I know this isn't going to comfort you much, but when I saw you bust, I felt really bad. Like, this is the worst I've ever felt about seeing someone else busting. I almost felt like it was me busting from that table."
To his credit, Micon later told me that it meant a lot to him that I said that. Hard to reconcile that he's the same guy I've disliked for the past 9 years (though honestly, the anger from all of that has long subsided.)
Anyway, a bunch of us from NWP were wearing Lithuanian-provided NWP shirts for the "televised" final table. The genius Lithuanians ordered them all in small and medium size, somehow forgetting that poker players aren't exactly a small-sized bunch. We were left wandering around in kinda depressed fashion after Micon busted and understandable bailed.
We came upon the "Milwaukee's Best" tent. Who do I mean by "we"? From left to right...
- An NWP lurker named Paul, who later became a college professor
- An NWP mostly-lurker who went by "Rex Charger", who worked as a DJ in Wisconsin at the time
- Brett Richey ("get crunk")
- Brandon Adams ("wins_pot")
- Colby Pitt ("Epistate")
- Scott Bohlman ("X")
- Me
There were models hired to work in the tent, all wearing skimpy outfits and "tool belts". It was supposed to be like a guy's tool shed or something. Someone (I forget who) asked the girls to pose in a pic with us, and here are 2 versions of it:
Strange to see myself looking so young, but it was 14 years ago.
After this, we kinda aimlessly hung out and talked for awhile, and all went our separate ways.
A WSOP memory for you, on a day where I would have just gotten there myself to the 2020 version, but instead will remain at home this summer like all of the other degenerates.