(continued, Part 2)
Shortly after collecting his $44k for finishing 175th in the 2012 WSOP Main Event, "Monkey" made his way back home, to his newborn child, Carley and his wife, Squirrel...and little was heard from him until he showed up that fall in Hammond, Indiana (Chicago, basically) for a circuit event. Refreshed and seemingly riding a cloud of jubilation at having become a father..."Monkey" made the money in one of the early events and was in the midst of another good start when suddenly he was surrounded by security, escorted from the property...and not seen or heard from again. No one, including "Monkey" himself knew why he had been ushered off the property.
He would eventually learn what had transpired, and with it being a mere misunderstanding between something he said, and what a dealer from Belarus thought she heard...had led to a complaint being made against him, and it being followed through on. He had been 86'd. Banned from all WSOP properties. He returned to his hometown. Numerous attempts to clear his name, and remove the ban against him were met with resistance from the other side. Eventually, "Monkey" came to terms with the realization that he was never going to be allowed back in. He would spend the next ten years playing at events that were held at non-WSOP properties, having some mixed results. His life with his family, and businesses that he had become more involved in seemed to take over as the top priority in his life. Poker became a bit of an after-thought.
Poker on its faced continued to evolve in the following years. The names began to change. The "vets" or "TV pros" as they'd come to be known as...were becoming fewer and farther between appearances. Monkey himself started a "team" of players...who would allow him to live vicariously through them at the WSOP Main Event, since he was unable to compete himself. He sold shares to friends, family and poker acquaintances; the price being $200 per share, with every 50 shares sending a player to the Main Event. Monkey didn't make anything off of this venture. As an investor himself, he only made money, if THEY made money. The first year he did it, 2014, he had 4 players. As each year came, the team increased by one player, until in 2018, it had a record 10 players. The results were mixed. While numerous players made deep runs, with some even making the money, there was never enough won to earn everyone an actual profit on their investment. But the experience was a positive for just about everyone involved.
Sadly, the arrival of the Wuhan Corona Virus, a gift from China, wrapped our world in a state of hysteria...cancelling just about everything important on our planet. Sporting events. Concerts. Theatrical productions. And of course, poker tournaments. Hell it even closed down casinos. Businesses were forced to close, which caused many of them to go completely OUT of business. Basically, two or three years of pure incompetence at the highest levels wreaked havoc on the entire planet. Economies were destroyed. Mental health was taken over the edge to places never visited before. And yeah, lots of people died, from a virus that still hasn't been proven to have been either created or having naturally occurred. That is, and will likely always BE...up for debate. A lot probably has do with which side of the political fence you live on.
With everything being cancelled or forced into schedule changes, Monkey was forced to shelve his poker team...which has come to be known by many as "Monkey's Minions." But all things being equal, and with the amount of "stuff" on his "To-Do-List" piling up seemingly more by the day, having a break from the annual summer project came as a bit of a relief. The smoke from Covid-19, which it had somehow taken on the newer, more politically-correct name sometime around the time Joe Biden was "elected" the 46th President in November of 2020...had finally lifted for the most part by the spring of 2022. People were finally returning to work, under the guise of "new job creation" by the new administration. And after a year where the World Series of Poker was moved to the fall in 2021...which just felt kind of weird, it was announced that everything would return to normal for the summer of 2022. In one exciting new twist, the yearly event would be moved...from it's old stomping grounds at the RIO Resort and Casino, where it had resided since the "poker boom" arrived in the early 2000's...to Caesar's-owned properties Bally's and Paris Casinos, which were side-by-side and offered plenty of convention space to stage the event. The move also provide the players with a lot more dining options, as well as hotel options that were within walking distance of the venue.
When it came time to decide on what to do about the "Monkey's Minions" for the upcoming summer...Monkey made a tough-to-make decision. About two years ago, Monkey received a notice that he was being audited by the IRS. This came as a bit of irritating news, but having kept perfect poker records over the entirety of his career...he was more or less prepared to be audited. Where things turned tricky, and annoying...was when the sports pools that he has run for close to 25 years came under the microscope. Lots of money coming IN....and lots of money going OUT. Shocker! People join a pool. Then people WIN those pools. People pay to play! Then they get PAID when/if they win! But to the IRS...there has/had to be something nefarious going on there...something the US Government felt like he owed them a chunk of change for! And so, the audit got more and more detailed, finally graduating to an actual criminal investigation. Able to see where he thought this might lead, and having read a lot of books lately that detailed just HOW the US Government intended to start going after tax "evaders" due to the onset of crypto-currency and other "work arounds" to avoid forking over all their hard-earned money to a bunch of bureaucrats who seem to lack ANY ability whatsoever to spend taxpayers money responsibly...yes, I am aware this is a really long run-on sentence....Monkey made the smart move and hired a highly-reputable tax attorney to represent his interests and hopefully prevent him from getting railroaded to a federal facility where everyone wears the same outfits and eats the same meals a few times a day.
Monkey decided that holding a bunch of other people's money; albeit in escrow (essentially) and being tasked with potentially have to sort out a bunch of prize money and tax forms AFTER the event concluded...combined with a "to-do-list" at home that never seemed to get any shorter, he made the difficult decision to turn over the entire endeavor to really the ONLY person he could ever foresee having the ability, the patience, the motivation, and the trustworthiness to handle. Bill "Wild Bill" Phillips was offered the chance to "take the reigns" from Monkey and essentially run the team for the Summer of 2022. He accepted, and quite frankly did a great job with what ended up being 7 players. When one of the players was a late scratch, Bill himself stepped in to take his place, and wound up being the only player to make the money. It was the 2nd or 3rd time that Bill had made the money in the Main Event...all as a member of Monkey's team.
Lost in all the lead up to the Main Event...was a phone call that was received by Monkey on the evening of June 7th at 6:36pm. While outside pressure washing his shed...he heard his cell phone ringing through his headphones. But by the time he got the washer turned off, and his phone out of his pocket...he had missed the call. When he looked and saw who the call was from...he was basically in shock. "Jack Effel" was what the screen was telling him. "Huh?" he thought. Then his phone rang again. Once again, Mr. Effel calling. To summarize, Effel was calling to bury a 10-year hatchet between him and "Monkey." In a very positive, upbeat fashion, he offered to allow "Monkey" to return to play the WSOP, not just the Main Event...but all the properties. "Monkey" was really mainly interested, however, in just ONE tournament...the BIG ONE...the one he's had to watch for the last ten years with a mixture of emotions. Having had that obstacle lifted, and the green light to return being illuminated, left "Monkey" feeling overwhelmed. When he went inside to share the news with his wife, the news was received with a cautionary level of happiness.
For "Squirrel," his wife...Vegas has been the site of a lot of marital angst over the past two decades. True, there have been many happy times enjoyed there together, including their marriage to one another. But it also had come with a lot of frustrating moments, not the least of which extended to the poker table. A lot of sleepless nights had been encountered while her husband was out in Vegas grinding at the tables at all hours of the day and night. "Monkey" had come to realize that this lifestyle of a poker pro was one that placed a lot of stress on a marriage. That a lot of what he had put her through in the previous years was unfair to her. He had no interest in subjecting her to more of that. And with a baby girl who was now a 10-year old girl...a lot has changed in their lives. So its safe to say he wasn't expecting his wife to do cartwheels when hearing the news that he was now allowed to return to Vegas to play the WSOP Main Event. She feigned happiness, but the true emotion was clear to see for "Monkey." When he went back outside to finish the pressure washing, she met him out there to apologize for not "acting happier" at the news. Apology not necessary, he told her. He fully understood, completely. And it was most likely that understanding, that moment of honesty, that made his upcoming trip west easier for her to stomach.
Monkey was out of "jail" and ready to return to the site of some of his greatest AND most disappointing moments in his poker career. The team of 7 was fully funded and assembled in place. His business partner in his bars was en route to Vegas to take a swing at the Main and some other events as well. His long time pal, Joe Cutler from the East Coast (South Jersey area) was also headed out to play the Main, and was looking forward to reuniting after 10 years of not having hung out together. Like "Monkey," Joe had settled down and got married, worked in the family business while backing down from the full-time poker grind...and even banged out a couple of whippersnappers...who are easily the center of his universe! Not just Joe...but several of Monkey's other "poker buddies" had taken the same course in their own personal lives. You know...becoming ADULTS!!!! :)
In the next part of this series...Will "Monkey" Souther will take over himself, and share his World Series Main Event experience with all of you!
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