The 3rd Annual Nixon High Tide Hold’Em Comes Down To Ping Pong
March 5, 2009 – 12:00 am PT by MikeTags: Andy Irons, Danny Way, Dusty Payne, High Tide Hold'em, Nixon, Tony Hawk, Travis Rice —
I’ve been saying this for years now, “Poker players are the most complete athletes of all the athletes from all the sports”. That is why ESPN, “The world wide leader in sports,” constantly plays and replays competitive high stakes poker on all their channels. ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes all show poker. Why is there always such a high concentration of poker programming on the ESPN network? It’s because card players have unlimited stamina. They have the mental toughness to always be aware of their surroundings. And most importantly, they embody true athleticism. Poker athletes like Greg “FOSSIL MAN” Raymer. Freddie DEEB. And especially Phil “THE POKER BRAT” Hellmuth knows what it takes to be exceptional athletes.
That is why it’s so great to see extreme sport athletes jump on the poker bandwagon by partaking in poker tournaments. Obviously these extreme enthusiasts are nowhere near the skill level of the poker pros but at least they’re trying. NIXON for the third year in a row, hosted the High Tide Hold’Em tournament in the beautifully exotic Tavarua, Fiji this past February 12-21.
The High Tide Hold’Em is an all island challenge ranging from poker to spearfishing, surfing and karaoke to fishing and ping pong- all in the name of fun. Attendees for this years High Tide Hold’Em came from the world of surf, skate and snow, and included: Andy Irons, Tony Hawk, Travis Rice, Danny Way, Dusty Payne, Claire Bevilacqua, Hana Beaman, Cheyne Magnusson, Lyn-Z Adams, Mark Cunningham and Mike Escamilla.
Graves had a strong showing across the board with wins in both surf events, including an entertaining showing at Kiddieland with Triple Crown runner-up, Dusty Payne, in a pirate themed kayak. Snowboarder extraordinaire Travis Rice took to the mic and showed he had what it took to be crowned the islands first official karaoke champion but only after narrowly nudging out Payne for the final win in this category. In the end, who would win the weeks overall High Tide Hold’Em title came down to a final bout of pong between Graves and T.Rice, which extended into three game point deuces before Graves was able to walk away victorious. Said Graves about his win, “I can’t even express how psyched I was to be a part of the whole crew that was in Fiji this year. I’m so stoked to have been a part of this event at one of my favorite places on earth.”
The 2009 High Tide Hold’Em Final Winners:
Overall Winner: Dylan Graves
Surfing: Dylan Graves
Karaoke: Travis Rice
Fishing: Mike Murciano
Kiddieland: Dusty Payne and Dylan Graves
Spear Fishing: Jason Napolitano
Poker: Keao Dechape
Ping Pong: Tani Vula
The Nixon High Tide Hold’Em will debut on the Daily Habit March 23-27 on FUEL TV. Make sure not to miss it.
For more information visit nixonnow.com.
