Team Mark

The coolest thing about this World Series of Poker trip (unless I end up winning, which would be even cooler -- cool trump) is the incredible support of so many friends and family members who are helping me buy into the game.

This was an idea of Michelle's when we first talked about going to the World Series, and while I thought it was fun and might even generate a few hundred bucks, I never could have guessed we'd get such a huge response. As it stands today, two days before the tournament begins, we've sold more than half my action. Amazing!

That's also quite a lot of money, considering the buy-in for the Main Event is $10,000. I don't have 10 grand in my poker bankroll, so I might have had to go out on the street for the cash, like Worm, Edward Norton's character in Rounders. That never seems to work out.

As I've told many members of this "Team Mark" rooting section, I feel funny about playing with other people's money. Big-time poker players do this all the time -- trade or buy a piece of each other's action -- but for me it's nerve-wracking enough playing with my own money. I hope I won't freeze up or chicken out because I don't want to lose my friend's hundred bucks.

There's also the whole weird charity aspect of the buy-in, which makes me uncomfortable. A lot of my backers have gone out of their way to reassure me that they're making a wager or an investment, not a donation, but I still feel funny about it. No matter how you phrase it, when you send people an eVite saying you're accepting cash for a poker tournament -- and oh by the way you have brain cancer -- it feels kind of Jerry Lewis-y.

In my nervous or self-conscious moments, the whole venture has the stench to me of a Make-a-Wish Foundation thing. I half expect Willie Mays to show up with a signed baseball and a smiling "Say Hey, Mark!"

I joke with my girlfriend Michelle and my sister Michele, both incredible journalists, that I'm turning into one of those newspaper stories I hate. Mich, ever sympathetic, tells me to get a dog; it'll make for a better picture.

Michelle and I talked about producing Team Mark t-shirts but didn't get our act together in time, so she made some excellent stock certificates for the shareholders instead.



Here are the team members who will be receiving those shortly.

Michelle Nicolosi, awesome girlfriend.

Mike Stahlberg, one of my all-time best friends, who taught me to play hold-em poker more than 25 years ago, before much of this year's World Series field was born.

Laurie Spanier, a friend of Michelle's from college in New Orleans who I got to know when we were all living in Long Beach, Calif. She throws a mean Super Bowl party.

Jeff Wingate, one of several fantasy baseball geeks on this list and a mainstay of the decades-old Stathawk League.

Philip Katner, another great friend of Michelle's who I really enjoyed hanging out with at the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

Renee Nicolosi, Michelle's cool sister from Boulder, Colo., and her family.

Kate & Val Cohen, our terrific friends from Long Beach. They give a whole new meaning to the poker term "pot committed."

Freda Nicolosi, Michelle's very generous mother, in New Orleans.

John & Yulan Nicolosi, Michelle's brother and wife, in suburban D.C. In honor of John's standard bowling challenge, I'll drop and do 20 pushups every time I win a pot.

Susan Kelleher, our good friend here in West Seattle and Michelle's old reporting partner at the Orange County Register.

Rita Matassa, beloved mother (who doesn't bluff).

Michele Matassa Flores & Manuel Flores, my great sister and brother-in-law, our neighbors here in West Seattle. It won't surprise me if my nephew Tony wins this tournament someday.

Donna Wares & Ed Humes, our good friends and kitchen-table poker pals from Seal Beach, Calif. If I had back half the bets I lost to their 5-year-old poker prodigy, Eben, I wouldn't need backing from Team Mark.

Jack Broom, formerly "the kid" in the Seattle Times' lovable old-timers poker game and now a lovable old-timer himself. He'll know what it means when some guy reraises me all-in and I moan, "my stomach hurts." The first member of Team Mark.

Jim Simon, best buddy from the Times. He knows he can beat me at cards ... if he keeps the gin bottle on the table.

David Postman, great Times political reporter and blogger, but mostly a really good friend for a pretty long time.

Dionne Searcey, cool friend and formerly part of my Times politics team who has gone on to bigger and better things. Now a Wall Street Journal reporter in New York.

Jim Lynch, ditto. Now a successful novelist living on the water in Olympia.

Dave Boardman, longtime friend, onetime mentor.

Jason Bellamy, a baseball nerd I've known since he was 4 years old, hanging around our Eugene media league softball games.

Rob Moseley, the quote-unquote cool baseball nerd.

Mike Raz, part of the old Register-Guard poker game in Eugene. If memory serves, he's probably buying his Team Mark share with chips he took from me 25 years ago.

Lynette Johnson, Another of Michelle's decades-old friends from New Orleans who I got to know in Long Beach. One of the truly cool people.

Ron Quant, friend, former baseball geek and TV journalist from Portland.

Peter Lewis, an old Times reporter friend.

Scott Hanson, a good guy and one of the newer members of our baseball geek club.

Mike Lewis, a friend from the Seattle P-I. Not the best poker player I ever met.

Don Bishoff, one of the most likable, best-hearted guys I've ever known, and the (now-retired) model of a small-town newspaper columnist.

Ok, I think that's everyone. Thank you again, all of you. You totally rock.