(Link to source)
Do the robot
Sunday, November 12, 2006 06:31 PM PST
I got an e-mail from James H. asking me to help him out with a little inside joke. Seems James has two buddies here, Greg "Bacon" V. and Neil W., to whom mentioning the word 'robot' isn't entirely dissimilar to exposing Superman to kryptonite. In the name of all things obnoxious and geeky, I was only too pleased to be of some assistance.
Furnished with a picture of the two, I searched the room and finally found Neil. I leaned in and quietly asked if he was indeed Neil. When he confirmed he was, I stared him in the eye and said "Robot."
You haven't seen a man lose his spirit until you've done this. Neil's chin sunk to his chest as his eyes fluttered to a close for just a moment. They opened and fixed on me as he said "I'm doing the robot" with disdain. His hands promptly tensed up pointed outwards and his arms moved mechanically as the classic dance would ordain.
Of course, once Neil had been stung, he was all to happy to try to help me find Greg. I told him I'd use him as a last resort, scoured the room a little more and went through the same process with the second victim.
Ultimately, they both took the gag with good humor and I helped them get the last laugh. I told them point blank it was James who had me carry the act out, and they're hatching a plan for revenge as I write this.
James, you may want to think about moving.
PS: A shout out to James' sister Amanda J., who couldn't be here this week. Get well soon, Mandy.
PPS: You too can make your friends do the robot if you mail us at
behindthescenes@worldpokertour.com
Follow up
Reader e-mail
Monday, November 13, 2006 12:15 PM PST
My collected e-mails today have focused on two topics, the live chip counts and the Robot. An explanation on each and a few other notes:
- With regards to the live chip counts, at present, the worldpokertour.com live update team is composed of three people: Tony B., Ryan L. and I. As such, getting live chip counts for every player in the tournament is impossible (getting 150 chip totals would take long enough that 100 of them would be inaccurate when the job is done), so we focus our energies on the players who the most people will want to know about. Some will argue this is unfair to the players who aren’t known, but everyone needs to climb that slippery slope. Put up the results and we’ll always remember you the next time.
The good news is that we’ll be expanding our numbers in recent months, so the chip counts should become more comprehensive. Thanks for bearing with us guys; we appreciate the patience and will take your requests into account.
- On the Robots, I’ve received multiple e-mails from friends of Greg and Neil thanking them for carrying out the task. Apparently, there’s a rule amongst their peer group that any utterance of the word MUST be met by doing the robot dance. Pilots have carried out the request. A waitress once bore a temporary tattoo. Any occurrence of the word would be met with certain death if the dance is not carried out.
Neil and Greg’s friends have decided to grant them immunity for the rest of the tournament so as not to disturb their concentration. They’re both still very much alive, with Neil at T120K and Greg at T85K, so if they reach the final table, I may end the immunity with a bellowed “ROBOT” to make them do the dance on national television. It would have to be deemed the greatest robot of all time.
- One e-mail I got yesterday came from Luke to his girlfriend “rr”. I told her he loved her, she exploded with joy and after she got home, he e-mailed to let me know he owed me one. Sometimes, it’s the little moments that make this job so enjoyable.
- If you have a loved one in the tournament who you want to hear more about, send me an e-mail with their picture attached so I can identify them more easily and I'll do what I can to get that info in the blog. Of course, any and all questions and comments can be sent to
behindthescenes@worldpokertour.com.
Linear Mode
