12:45 AM CT Update From Vegas

Fourth round is now complete and Tim is sitting on 29,000 chips heading into the final round.  Blinds go up to 200/400 with 50 chip antes in the final round.

Stay tuned for final coverage of the evening.

-jp

11:20 PM CT Update From Vegas

Tim just increased his stack to 29,975.

-jp

9:20 PM CT Update From Las Vegas

End of Round 3.  90 minute dinner break starts now.

Tim is currently sitting at a table with Fult Tilt's Joe "The Elegance" Beevers, who called him on a $5,000 pot.  Tim is sitting with 23,600 in chips.

We will keep you updated as he progresses into the night.

6:50 PM CT Update From Las Vegas

Round Two is complete and Tim is moving on to Round 3 with a chip count of 19,850

Blinds this round are 150/300.

For those that may have heard Tim on Bernie and Randy's Show, Tim got the answer he was looking for in regards to laying his aces. On the button with the blinds 50/100 the player 2 seats to Tim's was first to act and raised to 200.  Tim was on the button and had pocket aces, and reraised to 750.  Everyone folded except the player that had raised and he called the 750 reraise from Tim. 

The flop came off 6H 4H 6C, the player to Tim's right checked.  Tim bet the pot about 1500.  The player to his right came over the top with a check raise of 7000 chips, appox. 1/3 of Tim's stack.  Tim went into the tank for a while and heeding the advice of Chris Moneymaker, Dan Nassif, and Norman Chad, he decided not to get into a big hand with just a pair and laid down the pocket aces.

About 45 minutes ago they broke up Tim's initial table and at that time Tim approached the gentleman to ask him what he had on that hand.  The answer.....He had pocket 4's and flopped a Full House.  He followed Tim around for the next few minutes as Tim went to his new table to explain why he bet as much as he did.  His reasoning was that he knew Tim had a big pocket pair and if another 6 came off, his Full House would have no longer been good. Tim says that he actually believes this guy because now that they are no longer at the same table, he has no reason to lie and Tim feels like he made a hell of a lay down and is glad he got the advice he got from Moneymaker, Nassif, and Chad.

-jp

6:05 PM CT Update From Las Vegas

With about 45 minutes to go in Round Two, Tim is sitting 19,250 chips.

-jp

4:30 PM CT Update From Las Vegas:

First round is now complete, blinds move up to 100/200.

1998 World Series of Poker Champion Scotty Nguyen is playing on the featured table today.

Chris Moneymaker stopped by to bust on Timmy for a little bit, and we got some photos with Norman Chad as well.

One player at Tim's table lost his cool and threw down bent cards resulting in a full round suspension, meaning he lost 150 chips overall.

Tim's Chip Stack moving into round two:  19,750.

-jp

3:30 PM CT Update From Las Vegas:

Not a whole lot to talk about right now.  Tim has played one hand with nothing doing.  Sitting at about 19,300 chips as of right now.

Wayne Newton was the Celebrity Grand Marshall for today.  Came out with the UNLV Marching Band, but did not sing.  Gave the customary:  "Shuffle Up & Deal" to get the day started.

Day starts with 50/100 for the first two hours, about 50 minutes remaining in part one.

More updates to come.

-jp

Going To Bed At 10 P.M. In Las Vegas...And Off To A Bad Start

(LAS VEGAS)-I was lying in my bed at the Hard Rock Hotel getting ready to shut it down for the night...at 9:00 p.m. Pretty impressive...and pathetic.

But, Thursday is the day, and I want to be on my game.

Getting a good night's sleep is critical when there's a chance I'll be playing 14 to 16 hours of poker on Day 1. But, after thinking to myself that I remembered everything in packing for this trip, apparently I left behind my magical sleeping pills. I'll have to get a new prescription out here tomorrow, but that doesn't do me any good for tonight (which is now last night...as you read this Thursday).

Quite honestly, I'm in a panic...because I have enough trouble getting a good night's sleep as it is. Now, I'm in a hotel bed without the medicine I usually take to sleep...and I've got a huge day ahead of me.

Not a good start.

Fashion Issues

Speaking of bad starts, I was thinking about just passing on the $1,000 I'd get from PokerStars for wearing their stuff at the WSOP...but the possibility of some much larger bonuses should I go deep in the tournament and/or get on TV made it worth it to completely sell out.

I kind of just wanted to wear my mick cap and my own t-shirt...and just play the game.

Instead, I had to go to The Palms yesterday to pick up my PokerStars attire that I will be wearing. They give you all kinds of shirts, jackets, and hats.

The shirts and jackets are fine...but the hats leave something to be desired.

Take a gander at my choices. The two ball caps are fitted...and they've got that Kent Tekulve Topps 1986 baseball card look to them. Then, you have the hipster cap...which I'm not really interested in. And, you have the straw hat...and since I'm not a 50 year-old member of the LPGA, I'll be passing on that.

The only other option is the visor.

I'm not big on the visor, but I think it's the best option of the 5...and I have to wear a cap to qualify for the sponsorship cash per the terms and conditions.

Fuck, man. First the sleeping pills. Now the fashion flaws. I can just sense my pocket Aces getting cracked by some ass hat with King Jack offsuit.

Of course, my attitude is as shitty as ever...and that's when I'm at my best.

The Process of Buying In Yesterday At The Rio

I'm glad I went by The Rio yesterday, because it took about an hour to get my buy-in paid for after standing in an incredibly long line.

I have to be honest...and I don't know why this is the case...but the whole thing is intimidating.

Just seeing so many people that live and die with the game of poker all here with the goal of taking this thing down is intimidating. I can't let it impact the way I play, but it would be disingenuous if I acted tough and cool and said it didn't freak me out a little...for some reason.

My hope is that by about an hour into the tournament, I'll be comfortable and playing my game.

It's like I need Herb Brooks in my ear...just like he was at the tail end of the United States' win over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics. He said over and over on the bench, "Play your game. Play your game."

The weird thing is that if I play my game, there's a better chance that I bust out on Day 1 than if I were to play in fear and hope to just survive. When I'm on my game, I'm playing aggressive...and that aggression can lead to some bigger losses than just sitting there and waiting for Aces, Kings, or Queens. I could play tight and just make it through...maybe. But, the goal is to come out here and play my game and see how I stack up with the best in the world.

I'm prepared for this to be a short trip...but I don't want it to be because I was a pussy. If I go down and get knocked out, I want it to be because I was playing aggressive and either ran into a monster hand...or got a bad beat.

So many people have sent emails expressing support it's almost overwhelming. I want to come through for (obviously) myself...but also for all of those people who would love to have the opportunity I'm going to have today.

One more time: I just need to play the game I played to get here.

insideSTL.com World Series of Poker Coverage

I'll be playing in the World Series of Poker Main Event starting at 2 p.m. St. Louis time. Producer Joe and Ryan "Big Grease" Pickett will be posting updates and pics throughout the day on insideSTL.com.

The boys will be online throughout the day, and I'll be passing along updates that they can get to insideSTL.com users as I try and survive Day 1. I've been told that Day 1 doesn't come to a conclusion until about 2/3 of the field (so 1,000 of the approximate 1,500 players on Day 1A) is eliminated. In other words, I need to be in the top 500 to continue to Day 2, which would be Tuesday.

We'll also have pics from our evenings out and the Hard Rock Pool throughout the weekend. Friend of the show and site Nik Richie of TheDirty.com is hosting parties at the Hard Rock all weekend, and Nik told us on The ITD Morning After yesterday that we can expect a variety of TheDirty.com Celebrities to be on hand...along with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The pictures from this operation should be quite strong.

Celebrity Poker Challenge To Benefit Darfur

While over at the Rio to buy-in, I wandered into a room in which a nice-sized crowd had gathered. I had no idea what was going on, but the voice I heard on the mic emceeing it sounded familiar.

Sure enough, it was none other than Phil Hellmuth...and he was surrounded by some big names in poker, sports, and Hollywood playing in a tournament set up by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke to benefit Darfur.

Some of the people on hand playing (and can be seen in STL Nightlife today):

-Phil Hellmuth

-Mike Matusow

-Annie Duke

-Clonie Gowen...who was kind enough to pose for a picture as I nerded out with my camera.

-Eric Seidel

-Charles Barkley (this was the infamous event he announced he was playing in...just a few weeks after announcing he was done gambling)

-Ray Romano

-Shannon Elizabeth

-Ben Affleck

-Casey Affleck

From what I understand, many of these non-pro poker playing celebrities partake in the WSOP. I would thoroughly enjoy sitting at a table with Shannon Elizabeth. She is just as beautiful in person as she is on TV or in Jim's bedroom in American Pie.

Time for me to shut it down. Once again, you can get a hell of a lot of information on my situation in today's Day 1A of the World Series of Poker Main Event via insideSTL.com updates throughout the day. We'll have pics going up tomorrow. And, Monday should be chock full of quality entertainment pics from the weekend.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send some really cool emails wishing me luck. In sincerity, I appreciate it more than you would probably think. It means a lot to know how much this opportunity means to so many of you.

I don't want to take it for granted. I want to try and enjoy it...all while playing the game that got me here.

Log-in and post your comments below...or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.