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The Return to Vegas - Part 2

I arrived around 11pm (Vegas time) the night before the final table of the main event. Paul was getting pep talks from all sides. I managed to get some shots of the discussions - inside the Rio double that had become the pre-game war room. Paul's father was proud, you could see it in his soft eyes. Mike Odeh spoke exclusively in hyperbole and waved his arms around like Mussolini. Tom sat quietly off to the side, seemingly unshaken by all of the surrounding hoopla. Paul, in bed, at the center of all of this. His look of focus would occasionally lift into a smile as newly arrived friends and family dropped by.
The next morning I did an interview with Paul. He was relaxed, smiling. If he was nervous, I couldn't see it. He talked a bit about strategy - how he would play extremely tight until it got down to a few players, then pull a 180 and start bludgeoning.