Nick Piccone
But this time, it’s at the Poker table. Brad Lidge is competing in the 2016 World Series of Poker’s $10,000 buy-in Main Event in Las Vegas after winning a seat at a charity tournament in Arizona. Thanks to PokerListings.com, we got a glimpse into the Phillies clubhouse of gambling thanks to Lidge.
I’ve played for a long time amongst baseball friends and teammates. We were always playing Texas Hold’em. We’d have little tournaments. We didn’t have quite as much money back in those days but baseball players love Texas Hold’em.”
“The highest stakes we ever got up to were in the Phillies clubhouse. I don’t think it would surprise anyone that Jonathan Papelbon and Cliff Lee were big-time action guys. They were not afraid to throw the cake around.”
“We always had a good time with it though and no one’s feelings ever got hurt. We were all good friends. It’s funny for me to get used to. In the clubhouse cash games in a matter of seconds people were throwing around as much as you could imagine. It takes some getting used to. It’s good though. It’s kept me in longer, that’s for sure.”
Lidge lives in Colorado but says he comes back to Philly “from time to time” and plays poker usually when he comes back. And Lidge isn’t the only local-ish celebrity there. He says a lot of players in the tournament are from the Philly area.
Texas Hold’em has just exploded in Philly with the opening of places like the SugarHouse. It’s always surprised me how many poker players from Philly come out here to play the Main Event.”
The final table will be reached on July 18th, and it’s pretty awesome that Lidge even made it this far. They’re playing for $8 million. Let’s just hope Lidge doesn’t get robbed.
And if Lidge wins, I expect the celebration to go like this: