Photo Caption: Greg Merson took the chip lead with five players remaining. He picked out some unusual attire for tonight's final table showdown.
Greg Merson loves poker. But he's also a big fan of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles. In fact, Merson decided to wear an Orioles' jersey on the biggest night of his poker career at Monday night's final table.
Merson picked out the orange and black uniform of Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, who wears number 10. The Laurel, Maryland resident lives only about 20 miles away from Camden Yards, where the Orioles play their home games.Merson was certainly thrilled with the Orioles' surprising performance this past season. Picked by many to finish dead last, instead the feisty team made a serious run at the American League's Eastern Division title, staying in the highly-competitive race all the way until the season's final day. In fact, the Orioles enjoyed their best season in more than a decade, making the baseball playoffs.Merson hopes that turnaround will fuel his own victory, here at the poker table. It seems to be working. As of midnight, Merson had seized the chip lead away from frontrunner Jesse Sylvia, who has been the dominant player over the first six hours of play.When asked why he picked out Adam Jones' jersey in particular, Merson confided that he got to know the major league star during the long layoff between July's recess and now. Merson even stated that Jones is going to try and come to Las Vegas and watch Merson play, assuming he makes Tuesday night's finale.No word yet on if Adam Jones might be wearing a “Greg Merson" jersey.