Poker Poker Poker

I’m in fabulous Atlantic City where the boyfriend is playing poker tournaments this weekend. It’s kind of great to be in the midst of this and watch so many talented pros and amateurs (and then there are the donkeys) sit around the tables and try to out-think, out-play, and out-luck one another. As interesting as I find this, I’m learning that the organizer’s table is the place to be. These people have the best conversations and seem to know an insane number of players.
The female poker player who appeared on the millionaire matchmaker show was here. A friend told me about her and I’d figured that she would be Annie Duke (because she’s the only female poker player I can name off the top of my head), but I guessed wrong.
This person is Beth Shak and she’s kind of hilarious. The guys at the table were giving her a hard time for being on tv and looking so different in person (reason: she wasn’t wearing makeup IRL). She also took a jet to Atlantic City on the program, which they found especially amusing, since she was coming from within New Jersey at the time.
She had a boyfriend at the time she was on the show, which is what I find most amusing about the whole thing. She looks to be in her thirties, but her grandfather boyfriend looks significantly older. I guess that a smart, interesting, philanthropic millionaire female poker player isn’t considered to be appealing to television viewers without some sort of romantic hook, which is just a shame.