Great Casino Gambling

Celebs Alexander, Simon and Garrett excited on Day 3

LAS VEGAS — High-stakes poker appeals to the celebrity set for a few reasons: There’s an opportunity to return to some sense of normalcy, be one of the crowd, sit with fellow players and share in a passion. These may seem like small benefits, but when you wear the target of fame on your back, these are no minor goals.

Three celebrities are still standing at the onset of Day 3 of the World Series of Poker main event. Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett and Sam Simon — an actor, comedian and producer, respectively. They are known for their talents away from the table, but each has been among poker’s most passionate celebrity players for years. These three aren’t in the main event for a one-time thrill. They’ve each come back year after year to play with the best in the world. The fact that they’re the three celebrity set survivors, while the first-timers have fallen, speaks volumes about perseverance and the long-term view toward success in poker.

Each of the three shared their thoughts regarding the precipice on which they stood as they prepared to begin Day 3 play.

Sam Simon

The co-creator of “The Simpsons,” “Cheers” and “Taxi,” Simon’s success is difficult to measure, though it’s easy to say that the cash that comes with the world championship isn’t his motivation. Simon’s passion for poker has brought him back year after year since 2007, has landed him appearances on “High Stakes Poker” and inspired the creation of a short-lived poker show of his own, “Sam’s Game” on the Playboy Channel. Simon began Day 3 with 317,900 in chips, good for 12th place on the leaderboard.

Simon, a man who is accustomed to being in control of many subordinates, finds poker satisfies a need for individual pursuit. “The reason I like poker is it’s a competition where it’s the cards and your moves,” said Simon, reflecting on employee relationships. “It’s not whether people know you or are scared of you and just want to do what you say even though it’s not the best idea. It’s not the money. I’ll give away the money.”

“Nerves?” Simon mused. “This doesn’t make me nervous, though it is exciting. At this point in my life, there aren’t many days where I don’t know what’s going to happen. This is certainly one of them. I’m curious. I’m playing old-school type, solid poker and in this tournament that can take you a long way, so I’m hoping I’ll be around at the end of the day. I don’t see any reason to go crazy at this point.”

Simon has been using a series of small goals to propel his success in the tournament. “My goal at the end of Day 1 was to end with 30,000 chips, same as we started with. I started Day 2 with 100,000 and my goal was to finish with 100,000. I tripled up both days. I’d be happy to have 300,000 chips at the end of the day.”

Brad Garrett

Garrett doesn’t pretend to be an expert. He admits to being the inferior player to fellow “Everybody Loves Raymond” star Ray Romano and that he relies on luck as much, or more, than skill in a tournament like this one. Garrett’s here for fun, for the excitement the competition provides. While he’s here, he’s happiest doing what he gets paid to do, entertaining those he’s sitting with and keeping the game part of poker in perspective.

In the years he’s been playing in the WSOP, I’ve never seen Garrett “turn it off.” He’s always in performance mode, giving quick, funny answers to even the most serious questions. That’s why it wasn’t a shock when he didn’t exactly take my questions seriously before the start of the day. “Am I achieving goals?” he wondered aloud. “No. That happens on Day 8. There’s only one goal. And to meet a lot of guys. I’m really here to meet guys.”

That’s when he fixed me with a leering eye and a smile, asking, “What’s your name, scruffy?”

Once I changed the subject, Garrett admitted the butterflies were active. “I’m wearing a man diaper, that’s how the nerves are feeling. I’ve taken a lot of vitamins. I’m ready to take my 46 grand [in chips] and quintuple it up. Is that a word?”

With less than half the average stack, he has a lot of work to do.

Jason Alexander

The former “Seinfeld” star loves this game. The WSOP isn’t his only appearance on the calendar, though it’s been a hard entry on his calendar in recent years. A cash game regular at home, he shows no ego when talking about his game, displaying a toned-down self-deprecation that might seem more typical of his most famous character.

Alexander started Day 3 with 167,000 in chips, good for 52nd on the leaderboard, a very solid chunk. It was obvious in the time he spent speaking with ESPN, though, that he wasn’t letting his stack get to his head.

“I’m not feeling the nerves yet,” Alexander said with a hint of surprise. “Maybe they’re about seven minutes away. I have a solid stack. There’s a bigger one somewhere at this table. This is my goal day. Getting through this day I’m not talking about the endgame yet. I’m just talking about getting through to tomorrow, this is a big day for me.”

Alexander’s gotten this deep before, but Day 3 has been his wall. “I missed Day 4 by 90 minutes last time,” Alexander said. “I want to get there this time.”

It seems like a strange thing to long for, but for these men who are so accustomed to being watched, these small things go a long way toward feeling human again. We’ll keep an eye on them as the day progresses. And yes, “quintuple” is a word.