Poker News Daily: You’ve just returned from the PartyPoker Big Game IV. Tell us a little bit about your experience.
Dan Fleyshman: There were a lot better players than I expected. Originally, I thought there would be mostly European players, aggressive players, and more tournament players. However, when I got there, I saw guys like Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo and Isaac Haxton; it was like murderers’ row.
There were a lot of quiet moments until we decided to do a 7-2 game, which changed everything. The more traditional players changed their whole game around. Players could have premium hands or they could have 7-2. The game played a little differently than I expected. I had a bunch of all-in pots with David “Viffer” Peat, who literally stole the show. He was down ₤38,000, busted Luke “Full Flush” Schwartz, and then went nuts on everyone. To win ₤150,000 in a ₤25/₤50 game is ridiculous.
PND: Did it play like a typical $25/$50 game?
Dan Fleyshman: We started doing straddles, which was better. It pretty much played like a regular $25/$50 game, though. It wasn’t any crazier or harder than a Bellagio $25/$50 game, but there were different elements. For some of the players, it was too small.
PND: Talk about the presence of Peat.
Dan Fleyshman: We got it in and ran it twice a few times, which was entertaining. Every two hours, you eliminated someone. Viffer wasn’t going to be eliminated ever because the most aggressive person at the table got a pass. In this case, it was pretty simple. It was going to be Viffer.
PND: You’re on the Victory Poker team. Talk about the site’s plans for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Dan Fleyshman: The WSOP will be our claim to fame. We have 19 pros now, so at the WSOP, we’re going to smother the place. Luckily, the guys win a lot and make lots of final tables. Right now in the $25,000 event, we have 3% or 5% of the field. We have grinders like Paul Wasicka, Lee Markholt, and Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little who will play every day and every event. We’ll definitely come up with a party. We might also end up doing a charity event.
PND: We read on your blog on Bluff Magazine’s website that you had an interesting run-in with Emma Glover.
Dan Fleyshman: We were on a plane to London. I was reading a magazine and all of a sudden, I saw a picture of Emma Glover that was just stunning. We were landing and it was nighttime, with our party the next day at 7:30pm. I put an all points bulletin out to book her for the party. I just wanted to have her work the party because she was stunning. She was friends with all of the other models in the magazine I was reading and she’d be a good fit. I tried everything and the owner of Bluff Europe texted me. His response was just, “Are you sure?” At 7:29pm, one minute before the party started, he came with Emma Glover. She was already booked that day for something else, but somehow, he convinced her to come.
PND: Talk about your mantra of turning fantasy into reality.
Dan Fleyshman: That’s how Victory Poker came to be. It was a fantasy. I asked Antonio Esfandiari to be the face of the site and built it around him. The concept of it was that you just have to do it. If you want to find a girl, you have to do it. You have to put forth the effort to make things real. It’s the willingness to try. You have to open your eyes and go do it. If you don’t do it, it’ll be a fantasy forever.
PND: What can we expect in the near future from Victory Poker?
Dan Fleyshman: We’re talking to a few new pros in Europe and just signed Jason Lavallee. Our video contest just came out. We’re going to be choosing the next Victory Poker pro. People will submit 60-second videos and the winner gets $100,000 in buy-ins, a fully furnished condo in Panorama Towers, a car, a watch, clothes, and will live and learn from us for a year. It’s a full-fledged package and we’ll be filming it. That’ll be the focal point regarding marketing. It’ll be like “The Apprentice” for poker. We’ll start with 25 players and every week, we’ll eliminate someone. We’re going to narrow it down to one person, who will win this dream package.
