The Picasso Flop

by Vince Van Patten

  AUTHORS’ NOTE

  We feel it’s important to point out that the Mandalay Bay and Bellagio are jewels of the Vegas Strip and that none of the incidents described in the book have ever taken place there. The Five Diamond tournament is an actual WPT event held at the Bellagio. There is a Shark Reef display at the Mandalay Bay, but we doubt anyone in a wheelchair has ever drowned there.

  Vince Van Patten

  Robert J. Randisi

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to the World Poker Tour for their assistance in putting this book together—most notably Steve Lipscomb, Robyn Moder, Joe Grimm, Melissa Feldman, and all the gang; to all my friends at HollywoodPoker.com, especially James Woods, who is always there with a bad beat story; to the Bellagio, especially Doug Dalton and Jack McClellan. My thanks also to my beautiful wife, Eileen, and my children, Duke, Vinny, and Jesse, who inspire me always and who I bounce ideas off continuously. And finally to Michael Wallach, my manager, for pushing me and believing in the book.

  —VVP

  Also, thanks to the celebrities and/or poker players who agreed to appear as characters in the book—James Woods; Antonio Esfandiari; Gus Hansen; Mike “the Grinder” Mizrachi; and especially Vince’s broadcast partner, Mike Sexton. And many thanks, as always, to Marthayn for her love, support, and editorial eye.

  —RJR