Dan Cates has announced that he will be attending the Unibet Deepstack Open Marrakesh. [Image: PokerGO.com]

Cates’ hot posts

One of the biggest stars in poker and one of the sharpest minds that the game has ever known, Daniel Cates has dominated in both the live and online arena during his 17-year career. A fearless mixed game player specializing in short-handed formats, he usually pedals his wares in the biggest cash games. In 2021 and 2022, though, he went back-to-back in the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship at the World Series of Poker.

failure to pay up on a $100,000 bet

In the past week, Cates has been in the news after he took to social media to out David Oppenheim for what he alleges is failure to pay up on a $100,000 bet about which of them is hotter to women and gay men. Cates only published partial screenshots, making it hard to discern whether the bet was booked. He also alluded to “arbitration,” which was either inconclusive or unstageable.

Regardless, the post of Cates’ which piqued my interest this week had nothing to do with his perceived hotness but was actually him announcing on Instagram that he would be attending the Unibet Deepstack Open in Morocco.

Lappin sidelined

Starting this Friday in the El Saadi Casino in Marrakesh is one of the most anticipated poker events on the African continent. Ten action-packed days of tournaments ranging in buy-in from 1950 Moroccan Dirham ($195) to 20,000 Moroccan Dirham ($2000) are promised as is a very special Pot-Limit Omaha cash game in which Cates is booked to play.

When I heard about this game, I immediately wanted in on the action. You see, I recently came second in back-to-back Pot Limit Omaha tournaments at the Festival Series Malta. I picked up the phone and spoke with the organizers who initially seemed keen that I get in the mix, but rumor has it that Cates was so intimidated, both by my recent breakout results and by my handsomeness, that he vetoed me.

I would both straddle and intentionally dress poorly

Suffice to say, I was devastated. The $20/$40 game looks juicy, and I am attending the festival anyway, so I implored the Deepstack Open’s head honcho Alex Henry to make the case for me again. I assured him that I would both straddle and intentionally dress poorly so as not to upstage the 34-year-old guest of honor/heartthrob.

Surprises galore

As a compromise, it was agreed that I would commentate but not play. As a brand ambassador for Unibet, it is a greater priority that Cates feel comfortable and I am very much looking forward to critiquing Jungleman’s play. Henry told VegasSlotsOnline News that “it is an honor to have an Omaha player of David’s caliber in the booth.”

Henry added: “It is really exciting for us to be back in Marrakech and the El Saadi Casino, one of our best venues on the tour! The UDSO Omaha Cash Game Challenge will not be the only surprise – we are also hosting the first ‘Vlad Casino live tournament’ as well as blackjack and roulette tournaments.”

The livestream will be a central part of this year’s UDSO Marrakesh. The $20/$40 PLO Cash Game will be showcased on Monday night as will most of the final tables, all viewable for free at www.deepstackopen.com.