It’s that wonderful time of year again...
Festive cheer. The WSOP and WPT competing for players. And fan favorite Garrett Adelstein coming out of hibernation to battle live on stream at Bally Live Poker - Live at the Commerce.
“I’m looking forward to just getting out there and battling,” said Adelstein to PokerOrg ahead of the announcement. “Believe it or not, the last time I played poker was on the two streams a year ago. I’ve been consumed with a couple of other big projects over that time, but I will always love poker, especially on stream. I’m sure it’s going to be a great time.”
When?
Adelstein will join an entertaining lineup of professionals and recreational players this Friday, December 13, at 1pm PT on the Bally YouTube channel. The stakes will be $100/$200 with a $200 big blind ante, and a $50,000 minimum buy-in.
Where?
The iconic Commerce Casino and Hotel will host the live stream - sponsored by GGPoker - at its newly built arena studio. Longtime industry professional Brian Arakaki will direct the show with Wayne 'D22-soso' Chiang, and respected cash game pro Ryan Malki on the mic.
Over the past year, OG high-stakes showrunner and legendary videogamer Chiang has worked tirelessly to draw Adelstein into a game at Bally Live Poker.
“Garrett and his fans want him to buy in deep and watch a lot of money flying around,” shared Chiang. “Garrett is the promise of covering the table and playing live deep stacked NLH. We never stopped trying to entice Garrett to play on the Bally stream. It’s going to be an exhilarating game for the fans.”
The lineup
The player lineup promises to be action-heavy, packed with recreational regulars who have more than a little gamble in them plus a couple of off-the-wall entertaining professionals to please any fan of high-stakes cash.
Many of the recreational players taking a seat in the game this Friday are familiar faces to poker fans worldwide: JD, Tan, Han, David, and the 'mad genius' Eric Hicks.
The always entertaining and jovial Japanese poker professional and vlogger Masato Yokosawa will also pull up a seat alongside Adelstein.
“Garrett is one of the most famous cash game players, even in Japan," Masato told us. "He is an excellent player in both strategy and metagame. In Friday’s game, it’s my turn to beat him and play a hand that people will remember.”
Masato will be trailed throughout his stay at the Commerce Casino Bally’s stream by a film crew from the hit Japanese reality series Crazy Journey, which regularly draws an audience of over 10M viewers.
The enigmatic and legendary Phil Laak, no stranger to the high-stakes scene from historic shows such as High Stakes Poker, will also join the stream.
Laak out of hibernation too
Laak, too, had been in a self-imposed hibernation period until he popped up recently and bagged a win at a Legends of Poker event at the Bicycle Casino two months ago for $380K.
“I’m looking forward to Garrett’s return,” shared Laak. “It’s been a minute. The last time we played was back in the $10/20 NLH days. I guess that makes it a long minute.”
You can watch the stream on Bally Live Poker on YouTube on Friday at 1pm PST, or on the Bally Live App and ballylive.com. Masato, Laak, and Octopi Poker’s Victoria Livschitz will face off in a $20,000 minimum buy-in $50/$100 game, with a $100 ante, on Wednesday at 1pm PST, also on Bally Live Poker.
