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Last week I ventured into Las Vegas to play the $1,500 "6 man No Limit event" and busted out on a bad beat when a player hit a river flush against my set of 8's... I immediately taxi'd over to the Bellagio where I entered the $1,000 tournament and made the final table where 8 hours later I finished 7th and I made $3,000 for my efforts, so it ended up a winning day and lots of fun on the green felt battle field.
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What we witnessed in the Octagon on May 23rd was definitely the beginning of the "Machida Era" in the UFC. Most everyone talks about and wonders who is the best "pound for pound" fighter in MMA today... This phrase was originally created for Sugar Ray Robinson during the days when boxing had only 9 weight divisions and the best fought the best multiple times per year and the theory was that at any given weight with the skill factors of the two boxers competing who would reign supreme. Great boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya held many different belts in different weight categories and are often referred to as 'pound for pound" to have been the best boxers in the world.
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Saturday was a fun event as I played in a "1776 Poker Classic" at Hollywood Park Casino here in Los Angeles. The charity helps women suffering from domestic abuse and goes as far as to hide them and their children from their abusers and clothe and feed them while finding them a new life to lead plus helping them with all else needed. The host of the event was Jason Alexander, the co-star of Seinfeld, who was very funny and down to earth. I announced the opening of the tourney in my usual fashion and then it was time to play.
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I flew to Vegas Friday to play in Johnny Chan's Charity Tournament at the Red Rock Resort outside Las Vegas which is an incredible 5 Star Spa hotel owned by the Fertitta brothers who own the UFC. We start at 11:00 am Sat. morning and I announce the opening of the event to the players with a lot of pros playing, such as Chau Chiang, Scotty Nguyen, Mike Sexton, Johnny Chan, Kathy Leibert and Gavin Smith who loves the "180" and told me "it is the greatest move in sports announcing history..." plus Eli Elezra sitting at my table.
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I hit the Bicycle Casino in LA Saturday for the $1,000 entry main event of their current series of poker tournaments. I am ready to go and confident as hell that I will cash in this tourney. Cards are flying and I'm playing perfectly, making hands and spinning gold out of straw when necessary.
Now comes the button position and I always wait for my turn before looking at my cards so I can get a sense of what everyone else has as I've been watching their moves and nuances now for an hour... there is a raise to my right and I peel back my cards to see what all poker players want to see, the weapons of destruction known as pocket rockets and otherwise known to the masses as pocket aces... the hand of hands, the kings of swings, the dream hand on the button which is the "moment we've all been waiting for"... so I raise and he re-raises me, YES...
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Well it's official in my mind that after two trips to Montreal for the UFC that Canada is truly a hot bed of UFC and MMA fans. Not only did the show sell out in one day to well over 21,000 fans who paid to attend, but the courtesy and care we all received was stellar and again I have to say that "I have yet to meet a rude Canadian".
From the moment the weigh-ins began to the moment they finished, the excitement for the UFC was apparent as this weigh-in had more fans attending than any I have ever seen before as they filled the arena up to the top tier screaming with excitement for all and especially the "Iceman" when they took the the stage and GSP wasn't even fighting... I estimate about 4,000 people attended. With MMA not being sanctioned in most of Canada many of the fans drove from most everywhere in Canada, and I learned that we will be expecting an even bigger turnout once we have a show in Toronto from what I was told, and I believe it. The Canadian passion for the UFC is amazing. "MERCI MON-REEEE-ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!
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So I'm in my room on the morning of the UFN 18 Nashville show on April 1st surfing the net and checking email when I notice my email box being flooded with fans' excitement about a fight announced at www.UFC.com between me and Joe Rogan to be held at the UFC Expo during the UFC 100 weekend on July 11th... I almost threw up my oatmeal and eggs, LOL... not that I would ever back down from a challenge but no one ever asked me about this... then I realize the date is April 1st and the laugh is on me.
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With all I do during the week running my various business endeavors and all else, when I get a weekend to myself with no travel, I want to relax, surf, have romance, spend time with my loved ones and be entertained by all I enjoy... it is hard to get me out to any event other than a poker tournament or something I am truly interested in... when I got the call to appear at the Fight Expo and fulfill a wish of children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to meet and introduce them to all attending and spend time with them, it would have taken John Wayne, Rambo and Chuck Norris to stop me from making the two hour drive to Del Mar to meet and be with them.
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"IT'S TIME!"... to go to war again on the "Green Felt Battle-Field of Champions"... I hope to see all you poker players take a shot at the title by playing against me next Tuesday March 24th at www.RumblePoker.com http://www.RumblePoker.com ... It's "FREE" to enter and a crisp "Benjamin" which is $100 for those that aren't in the know, will be awarded to the Poker Warrior that knocks me out of the tourney... bring your "A" game and as my old partner in the Octagon, Big John says, "Let's Get It On!"
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Saturday was unique and fun event for all but especially for my business associate and friend Gary Randall who is the creator and owner of wwwMaxboxing.com, the #1 site for boxing news and all else on the net... at 5:00 a limo, much longer than my two friends and I need, picks us up and takes us down to Euromasters car dealership bldg. in Orange County... when I get out of the limo I am surrounded by Ferrari's, Porsches, Lamborgini's, Cobras and many of the finest cars I've ever seen... there is a DJ booth, Toe 2 Toe clothing, exhibits, food, pretty girls and 10-20 poker tables for the charity event and the 150 or so people playing and the event is "pure class".
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This Tuesday I got the best "Shot in the Arm" an entrepreneur could receive and needed it badly due to being so anxious waiting for next Tuesday's release of our Ready 2 Rumble Revolution Video game (R2RR) on the Nintendo Wii
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Charles "Mask" Lewis Jr... Rest In Peace... I will miss my friend!
I am sad and in shock after being informed of the sudden death of my friend and MMA colleague Charles Lewis Jr... Charles or as most of you know him as "Mask" of the TapOut Crew was a true pioneer of MMA... I remember when he and his crew were at every MMA related event selling their T-shirts
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Stock Market and the WPT Invitational Poker Tournament:
The World Poker Tour ended in Los Angeles at the famous Commerce Casino with a bang as the Invitational was awesome and tons of fun, especially if you're an avid poker player and/or watch poker on TV as most all the big name pros were there playing whether in the tournament or downstairs playing No Limit Hold Em at tables with blinds around $600/$1,200... I play in some big games but limits like this are risky and one of my friends who plays there regularly has amassed a bank roll of well over $10 million...
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Returned from London UFC 95 Sunday... Watched the Oscars
I left on Thursday and returned on Sunday in time for the Academy Awards show, which was one of the best one I've seen in years. Hugh Jackman was great and a Wolverine is a true showman... happy Sean Penn won Best Actor (a far cry from Spicolli
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Well "It's Time!" for another European adventure... sometimes I sit on a plane and say to myself "If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium" as we have been doing shows in many areas outside of Vegas and all of has been a blast as well as a blur at times of recall... never thought I'd ever say that and damn happy I can now. Being the Octagon announcer
is truly more than just a job... it's an ADVENTURE!
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With my crazy schedule I was able to enter two WPT LA Classic tourneys this month and will also play in the WPT Invitational on Feb. 28th plus they want me to set off the festivities with "Shuffle Up and Deal" to start the tournament of celebrities and top poker players from around the world... I told them they better give me about 45 seconds before I say that to set up the intro "Buffer Style"... which they OK'd. The 180 can work in the Poker room also at times... LOL.
Now on to the exciting part of my weekend, aside from my Valentine's weekend activities... I entered the WPT $1,500 tournament at 1:00 Friday and played against 255 players including many of the top pros who are in town for this big event. I played excellent poker and made my way into the final 100 vying to get to the top 27 places where the money began with 1st place paying $107,000 plus a $10,000 seat to a WPT Main Event.
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FTOPS Event #8... Hosted by by yours truly
Full Tilt runs some excellent special tourneys like the FTOPS series happening now with over $15 million in cash prizes. I was invited to be the host of their 8th tourney last Sunday on the internet for which they used my animated facial avatar and name to promote it for weeks now. The funny thing is I had a UFC in Tampa the night before and had to stay Sunday in Tampa to play in my hotel room and delay my return to LA till Monday.
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UFC 94:
Great show... lots of amazing energy during the main event... the find of the night was a fighter named Jon Jones perform in the Octagon, this kid has a career ahead of him at Light-heavyweight and possibly...
WPT LA Poker Classic:
Played 1st tournament last night in a $500 entry deep stack 6 man table... now a 6 man table is like a vacation when it comes to playing poker in a tournament
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Finally an open weekend last weekend with no UFC to announce and no other personal appearances... Golden Boy invites me to attend the Affliction MMA show in Anaheim and I head down to enjoy the action from 3rd row ringside...
Every day I read 3000 jobs lost here, 6000 jobs lost there, stores and banks closing and retirement accounts losing an average of 35-40% of money built on paper and real dollars invested in which I am a victim also. My best advice is if you have a good job, keep it.
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Congratulations to our New President!
For the 1st time ever in my voting lifetime, I am truly exited about the potential of our new leader, President Obama.
UFC 93... Dublin, Ireland:
Excellent show, great experience, beautiful city, excited fans and lots of Guinness beer...
POKER:
My Dad taught me to "Win like you're used to it and lose like it doesn't bother you" and I live by that but I did get affected last night by the hand that lost me
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Saw Grand Tourino the other day by myself... Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, this film blew me away and his performance will get him an Oscar nomination this year. He plays a classic example of the "Old Breed", a real man's man which from what I see in my travels, is a dying bred in this "candy-assed" society in which we live today. I know this because this is the type of man my father Joe was, who passed away last May.
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From the weigh-ins on Friday to the main event on Saturday, UFC 92 was an electrifying experience. I've been in the fight game for approximately 20 years and have been to multitudes of boxing and MMA events and luckily have been present for most of the greatest events in fighting history encompassing both sports... one thing that stands out....(from the poker blog) ...time to chill from the trip and play online where I got 2nd and 6th on consecutive nights of play in the $50 re-buy at FTP...
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I'm working on my fight cards for this Saturday night's UFC 92 and all I can say is "Thank you Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta for saving the greatest UFC pay per view show of 2008 for last..." This show has "amazing" written all over it and how can it be anything but. Just take the three most talked about fights of the evening, which to me are like three "Main Events"... it's a UFC fan's paradise to be able to...
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The day after I get back from the incredible week of UFC action, I fly to New York to meet with the powers that be at ATARI for intensive meetings to go over all marketing plans for the March release of our "Ready 2 Rumble" video game for the Nintendo Wii and to begin plans to develop future sequels for the Wii and other platforms such as the Nintendo DS and X-Box. After about 5 hours of meetings...
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Thank God for cash game winnings as tournament poker has been kicking my butt over the last two weeks with incredible bad beats on the river... if there is a 2-outer creeping in the woods, it finds my table... one of the worst of many hands was in the $22,000 guarantee $50 multi-re-buy tournament on Full Tilt Poker the other night
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What a week… I’ll probably forget more than I can remember. Two action filled UFC nights on Spike within three days of each other makes me think of when there were only six or less shows a year. The UFC and MMA as a result have come a long way. The UFC is ending the year strong and when you do that, you start out strong... great way to...
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Last night's "UFC Fights for the Troops" Spike TV show was an excellent show and for a great cause as the commercials throughout the evening showed. All money donated will be 100% used to build a traumatic brain injury treatment center to care for soldiers returning from combat with traumatic brain injuries and psychological injuries. I hope all UFC fans watching donate as little as even $5 to help with this cause. Big props and praise to Dana White and both Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta for making this show happen and giving back to our armed forces as they
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Ready 2 Rumble Revolution to be released in Spring 2009:
This Tuesday was a very special day for me as we finally announced to the world through international press releases about the Spring 2009 release of our third version of the hugely popular “Ready 2 Rumble” video game franchise to be released for the Nintendo WII system by ATARI. This has taken me almost 4 years to develop, license and bring to market, so it’s an incredible day here at Buffer Enterprises!
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Had to share this day… A wonderful day at Mom’s house for the traditional home cooked Thanksgiving meal… 3 bottles of Champagne, lots of sausage stuffing, turkey and mince pie later, I am stuffed and happy.
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I’ve been playing poker for money since my teens and only the game of No Limit poker for about four years now, which is all I play whether be a tournament or in a cash game.
Recently I had the pleasure of entering the “Green Felt Battle Field of Champions” against Phil “Uni-Bomber” Lakke and Kenny Tran, who most consider to be one of the top ten cash players in the world today and made it down to the final two tabkles in the WSOP 2007 Main Event. The antes were $25/$50 and we all bought into the game Read the rest of this entry |
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| Today was very fun as I went to Big John McCarthy’s Ultimate Training Center to shoot a commercial with BJM and Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell for an amazing piece of MMA training equipment called the Focusmaster which Chuck and his trainer John Hackleman are bringing on to the market. BJM’s gym is 16,000 sq. ft. of top of the line training equipment plus Octagons and all else needed to train the best fighters in the world along with all who wish to begin training MMA and martial arts. Read the rest of this entry |
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UFC 91 was more than my usual 2-day Vegas trip… I also hosted Hewlett Packard software company annual convention at the Venetian Hotel in Vegas on Thurs. with about 3,000 of their international employees in attendance… they wanted a UFC flair to their convention and hired me, so I also contacted fighters Vanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and Frank Mir to appear with me plus arranged for Playboy cover girl and ex-UFC Octagon girl Rachelle Leah to appear as we needed some beauty to offset all of us beasts… LOL.
Friday 11/14 UFC 91 Weigh-Ins:
I left the Venetian to check into the MGM Grand Hotel around noon and then worked out and got ready for the much anticipated weigh-ins for UFC 91 as this UFC will be huge with Captain America Randy Couture fighting the monster Brock Lesner, which I can’t wait to announce Saturday night.
When I get to the Garden Arena I was happy to see a turn out of around 2,500 or more UFC fans. It was here that I was given the new limited edition “Buffer 180” collector shirts being sold at www.Americanfighter.com and they are very cool and very comfortable, so I’m happy.
Now it’s time to go out to the stage as Joe Rogan begins the weigh-ins and introduces Dana White, Joe Silva the UFC matchmaker and Arianny, our beautiful Octagon girl, me and then the fighters to the scales, fight by fight.
Of course all for us are waiting for the main event match-up to come on stage and then it happens…
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