Sports
Islander Jesse Sylvia has secured his spot at the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event. The 26-year-old West Tisbury native, now a professional poker player living in Las Vegas, beat out nearly 7,000 others for one of the seats at the final table in the October competition. He will compete against eight others for the $8.5 million top prize. Seven of the nine finalists are expected to win at least $1 million.
Mr. Sylvia enters the competition as the chip leader, with more than 44 million chips. His next closest competitor has just under 30 million chips.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission Thursday approved a two-year extension to complete a long-planned Oak Bluffs fishing pier.
According to a letter to the MVC from Douglas H. Cameron, assistant director and deputy chief engineer from the state Department of Fish and Game, all necessary local, state and federal permits for the state-funded pier have been obtained, and the project will begin upon the final approval of funding.
It was a sailor’s weekend in Edgartown. Over 200 one-design sailboats of all sizes competed in the Edgartown Yacht Club 89th annual regatta. The boats measured as short as eight feet to as long as 30 feet. The sailors and their sailboats came from all around Southeastern Massachusetts.
Bill Roman, manager of the Edgartown Yacht Club, said the Thursday through Saturday racing went well, though sailors were challenged by the variability of the wind.
They came from as near as Oak Bluffs and as far as Denver to compete in the annual Vineyard Cup Regatta, held last weekend on Vineyard and Nantucket Sound and in Menemsha Pond.
Ninety-five boats and 485 sailors participated in three days of racing and three nights of revelry, all in the name of Sail Martha’s Vineyard, the Island’s youth sailing organization.
It should have been the best moment of Chris Herren’s life when he signed a contract to live out the dream of every boy who grew up playing basketball in Boston. But as Mr. Herren spoke in his thick Boston accent about what an honor it was to be a hometown kid coming back to play for the Boston Celtics, he had his mind on something besides basketball — the 800 mg of Oxycotin waiting in his drug dealer’s pocket.
Keep your eyes on the water today where hundreds of sailboats, from schooners to catboats to modern design racers, are partaking in the Vineyard Cup. Races are based out of Vineyard Haven harbor, but you also can catch a glimpse of the action from the East an West Chop Lighthouses, Eastville Beach, State Beach and at the entrance of Lake Tashmoo.
The Vineyard Cup is an annual benefit for Sail Martha’s Vineyard, which provides sailing lessons and instructions to Island youth.