Men Lie, Women Lie, Numbers Don't

Facts and figures. They make the world go ‘round and, more often than not, tell a story without letting opinions or biases get in the way. Which numbers from the past week tell that story and what quick opinions do we have?

$794,392 – Last week, things didn’t start off how the Brains portion of the “Brains vs. Artificial Intelligence” heads up poker match may have wanted. Through just over 18,000 hands, the four professional players were in a $181,140 hole to Libratus. Now, they’re not just in a hole, they are buried. Libratus is up almost $800,000 midway through the match. Good run humans, it was fun while it lasted.

10,268 – Tournament poker across the country is alive and well. A week after a record breaking WSOP Circuit field came together in Oklahoma, the East Coast kicked off their calendar with massive events. The opening event of the WPTDeepStacks Hollywood LHPO series attracted 4,756 players for a $360 buy-in event and the opening event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open series did even better. 5,512 players built up an over $2,700,000 prize pool, with the final seven players agreeing to a deal that netted them all six-figure scores for a $560 buy-in event. There is a reason we pegged these events as “Must Plays” in 2017.

$1,100 – What is a good deal at a final table? Everyone is going to have their takes and opinions on if a player made a good deal but there was no debating this week’s most talked about chop. Former November Niner Jerry Wong was four-handed at the WPTDeepStacks Hollywood LHPO Event 1 final table with 42 million of 66 million total chips and negotiated a deal to lock up the win and a $250,000 score. 1^st place prize money before the deal? $251,100, so Wong gave up $1,100 to end it right then and there. Good deal.

6 – No more than a handful of hours after the New England Patriots punched their ticket to Super Bowl LI, a huge five-figure purchase was reported on StubHub. How much do six front row tickets on the 30 yard line cost? $83,521 according to ESPN Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell. Who bought the tickets and who they will be rooting for is unknown but, if someone gets sick over the next two weeks and can’t go, I’d be in Houston faster than you can say, “Super Bowl.”

30/10/10 – Russell Westbrook was all over the news this week. First, he got involved with Zaza Pachulia, then he traveled and then he made some post-game comments that put the fear of God into me. Then, the NBA’s leading scorer and the only player who is currently averaging a triple-double, 30.6 points per game, 10.4 assists per game and 10.6 rebounds per game, was not voted in as a Western Conference All-Star starter. The only thing that is bigger than that snub is the chip on Westbrook’s shoulder.