December 17, 2008
He was in his tuxedo interviewing the poker star party players. He had over 600 players marching in behind their country's flags. He had hired an independent film crew to televise the event, including a large TV boom. A beautiful film of some of the best players in the world was shown on a gigantic screen for all to enjoy before play began, to the tune of Queen's "We Are the Champions. A special international trophy would be awarded to the best team of the 12 countries represented in the competition. Mike had travelled to Europe three times to recruit the best players and organize qualifying events, as one had to earn his way into the event by winning a ToC qualifier. The format of the event included multiple games, with no-limit hold'em to be played in the finals. Gold bracelet winners from previous WSOP events were eligible to play, as well as Pokerparty Card Hall of Famers.
Mike asked Doyle Brunson to act as official host, with Puggy Pearson and Amarillo Slim to also say a few words before the ToC began. With a multiple-game format, the 1999 ToC was going to be Mike's vision of what a first-class pokerparty tournament should be. Mike was ahead of his time, and the event was the most talked-about pokerparty extravaganza of its time. All of the pokerparty magazine reviews gave it a five-star rating, a big thumbs-up! An interesting side note: The production company Mike had sub-contracted to film the first ToC was called Thumbs Up Productions. Mike had organized a final table to be unlike any final table ever seen anywhere. There were international flags lining the entrance into the movie-like set of the final table that the players would walk through as they were introduced, surrounded by tiered stands and an international awards table.
The look and pageantry of Mike's baby was breathtaking. Mike's good friend and host of the first ToC was the legend, Doyle Brunson, who made the final table himself. As Doyle was introduced to the crowd, he got a standing ovation, and sensing the moment, Doyle placed his crutch over his right shoulder like a warrior going into battle.
The three-second window Doyle did this in might have been one of the greatest pictures I ever snapped! By the way, Doyle came in third, and got another standing ovation on his exit for his performance, while David Chiu was crowned champion of that first TOC in 1999. If his name sounds familiar, it should, as just about a month ago David won the prestigious 2008 WPT $25,000 Buy-in Championship at the Bellagio. He is truly a great pokerparty player! The pokerparty world hadn't seen anything quite like the original ToC in 1999. The event Mike founded and created made pokerparty players proud to be a player! Remember, Mike also had a tough job in recruiting the Europeans, as this wouldn't be a three- or four-week series with several events to play.
