Official Skatz 10 Million Views Thread

[PokerNewsDaily]

PROFILE
Name: Phil Collins
Age: 26
Hometown: Aiken, South Carolina
Online Handle: USCPhildo

No, he’s not that Phil Collins. But you will hear dreadful versions of the popular musician’s songs during the WSOP Main Event final table, as Collins’ rowdy friends will definitely create an entertaining atmosphere for the 26-year old pro in November.

It is Collins’ group of poker friends that could be his most dangerous weapon come November. The group — which includes Jason Mercier, Brent Hanks, Allan Bari, and Dan O’Brien, among others — is virtually conjoined during tournaments around the world. They’re constantly discussing hands and providing each other with invaluable analysis that most poker players would only dream of receiving.

Oh, and Collins’ backer is Erick Lindgren. He’s pretty good, too.

Collins is best known for his achievements as “USCPhildo” in the online arena, where he’s amassed more than $3 million in tournament earnings. But he’s played the biggest live tournaments on the planet — including the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio — so he’s no stranger to high-pressure poker.

Collins has eight career cashes at the WSOP and more than $125,000 in live earnings, but his biggest career cash is on the horizon. He enters the final table with 21,425,000 chips, placing him fourth overall, and is guaranteed a minimum of $782,155 as a member of the November Nine. He has to be considered one of the favorites to collect the gold bracelet and first place prize of more than $8.7 million when play resumes on November 5.

HOW HE GOT THERE:

Day 1: 71,225
Day 2: 236,900
Day 3: 436,500
Day 4: 1,077,000
Day 5: 4,109,000
Day 6: 7,240,000
Day 7: 13,805,000
Day 8: 23,875,000

KEY HAND: Collins claimed the chip lead on Day 6 after steamrolling the ESPN feature table. Moments after eliminating 2010 November Niner Joseph Cheong from the tournament, Collins sent Lance Steinberg to the rail to increase his stack to an astounding 10 million.

With the blinds at 12,000/24,000 and a 3,000 ante, Steinberg raised to 66,000 from early position and Collins called from middle position. The flop brought Qh-Tc-7s and Steinberg’s bet of 122,000 was called by Collins. The turn was the 8h and Steinberg bet 250,000. Collins moved all in, having Steinberg’s remaining stack of 900,000 easily covered. Steinberg studied his options for awhile before deciding to call with Jh-Th for second pair and flush and straight draws. Collins, though, turned a straight with his Jd-9d, and dodged the flush and higher straight on the river to extend his chip lead over the field.

Steinberg was the fourth player eliminated by Collins during a single level on Day 6.

WHY HE CAN WIN: With his supporting cast of poker pros behind him, Collins will be well prepared going into the final table. He’s played as many hands as just about any tournament player in the game and understands the fundamental concepts that go along with winning a major event. He’s been waiting for this moment all his life… so to speak.



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[BluffMagazine]

Monday mornings aren’t a lot of fun for anybody but just be happy that when you woke up this morning you weren’t a former online poker prodigywho got caught - and had to cop to - scamming some of your best friends out of tens of thousands of dollars.We’ve got that story plus a few [...]

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[CardPlayer]

It was less than two years ago when the poker community was captivated by $1 million hands on Full Tilt Poker. These days, in the post-Black Friday era, rail birds …

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[NASA]

NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft briefly flew in formation over the Edwards Air Force Base Test Range on Aug. 2, 2011. The aircraft were scheduled to be in the air on the same day, NASA 911 (plane in the foreground) on a flight crew proficiency flight, and NASA 905 (rear) on a functional check flight following maintenance operations. Since both aircraft were scheduled to be in the air at the same time, SCA pilot Jeff Moultrie of Johnson Space Center's Aircraft Operations Directorate took the opportunity to have both SCA's fly in formation for about 20 minutes while NASA photographer Carla Thomas captured still and video imagery from a NASA Dryden F/A-18. In addition to Moultrie, NASA 905's check flight crew included pilot Arthur "Ace" Beall and flight engineer Henry Taylor while NASA 911 was flown by Larry LaRose, Steve Malarchick and Bob Zimmerman from NASA Johnson and Frank Batteas and Bill Brockett from NASA Dryden. Image Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

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[Carl Culture]

About Lucas:

Lucas Simoes was born in 1980 in Brazil. An independent artist, he studied architecture and design in Brazil and Italy. Lucas uses ten different layers and then cuts out designs for each layer resulting in the amazing bizarre and distorted portraits.







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[NASA]

What is causing these dark streaks on Mars?




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[Big Gay Al]

Clooney was adopted a few months ago from the Baldwin Hills shelter in Los Angeles. He was there with his eight littermates and is the runt of the litter! Luckily, we spotted him at an adoption event where a rescue had taken him and his siblings in. He's a bit bigger now (and not so scrawny) but is a tiny guy for his breed. Clooney was named after George Clooney because he's handsome and gray! Clooney's favorite things include dried cow's ears, playing tug, trying to play with his Siamese cat brother, and snuggling. Clooney is a world class sleeper and can easily sleep for 12 hours sandwiched between his human parents! He also loves sleeping on people's heads, which can be a bit problematic because of his snoring. Clooney's daily routine includes hanging out with his canine pals at the La Brea Tar Pits and wrestling with his girlfriend Kitty (an English Bulldog). What a life!

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[Carl Culture]

Today's picture was submitted by Donna Perry. The picture was taken around 1935 in Hubbard, Texas. Donna's grandfather is in the picture, behind the man with the guitar. Her grandfather was George William Killough. Also in the picture are his brothers. I like this picture . . . guns, dogs, and guitars! This is a real classic.


As a bonus, we include the picture below, submitted by Kevin B. This picture was taken around 1900, and shows his great grandparents. The boy on the man's lap is Kevin's great grandfather. He had 6 children, but was killed when a train his his Model T, which had become stuck on the tracks.

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[Georgie Thompson]

Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson has ended his holdout and reported to training camp with the team.

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[NASA]

An active region observed in extreme ultraviolet light burst out with a short-lived M9.3 flare that originated from sunspot 1261 and began at about 10:02 p.m. EDT and ended around 10:12 p.m. EDT on July 29, 2011.Because the location of the eruption and its sunspot at that time, the associated high-energy particles went wide of Earth and had little terrestrial effects. The region that unleashed the flare has now rotated to be facing Earth and possesses the kind of magnetic field characteristics that could produce more solar storms.

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