ESPN’s Inside Deal with Vanessa Rousso, Dean Hamrick and Phil Laak

ESPN’s news franchise recently interviewed the fresh WSOP bracelet winner Dean Hamrick and poker pro Vanessa Rousso.

Dean is the happy winner of a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event for $604,000, which also made him a bracelet owner. He told the Inside Deal host Laura Lane and Andrew Feldman about his feelings when winning the tournament.

“It felt amazing. It was a little weird because it was 6:30 in the morning when I won, so I was as excited to finally get to sleep as I was to win the bracelet. It’s a pretty surreal moment. Everyone is around you and they’re dealing that last river card and you know if it goes right, you’re going to be the champ and get everything you ever wanted.”

This has been the second WSOP final table in Dean’s life, but the WSOP was not new to him, as he had taken part in the 2007 and 2008 Main Events as well.

“When you’ve been close a couple of times, you realize how hard it is to get back. A final table is very tough, especially in the bigger fields. You don’t want to make a mistake and every decision is crucial”, says Hamrick.

He also thinks that the field is getting tougher and tougher, something backed up by almost all WSOP participants asked.

Vanessa Rousso was interviewed as well; she was asked about whether she thinks 2010 is the Year of the Woman.

“I think that whole Year of the Woman thing is just to have something cool to say marketing-wise. Yeah, some women have had some great results this year. I don’t think there’s anything unique about 2010. Women will have great results in years to come. Truth is, we just have a lot of great women players now” said Rousso.

It is true that women are doing pretty well, though, considering that Annie Duke, Vanessa Selbst, and Liv Boeree have all won major tournaments in 2010.

Another guest at Inside Deal was Phil ‘Unabomber’ Laak, who recalled his one of most recent activities, namely breaking the world record for non-stop poker.

 “When I got to 80 hours, I hadn’t made a plan of when I’d stop. I just figured I’d stop soon after that because I’d be so exhausted. What I didn’t expect is that I was supercharged. Since the challenge, I have become super human. I think better, I play poker better, I have more patience, I’m more empathetic, I work harder at the gym, and things are more effortless. It’s crazy.”

Swiss poker enthusiasts have already broken Phil’s record, but their result is not official.