Earlier today someone contacted me with a rumor about Max passing away. I did some searching, he hadn't been online for a few days. I checked some of the news in the Philippines (he moved there several years ago), and found this article (Translated below).

https://www.pressreader.com/philippi...81655371295654

"The Makati City Police are investigating whether a Filipino-American fallen or suicide, found in the city's building, on Saturday.

The victim was identified as Max Bloom y Salientes, who lives in the Amorsolo Building, West Tower, Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell Center, Barangay Poblacion, Makati City.

In a report by the Southern Police District (SPD), Calluza Vedal y Sabado, 54, a gardener, discovered the victim's body at the bottom of the building, around 7:30 am.

Vedal immediately informed the security officer of the building, Federico Marquez, and reported to the authorities."

It seems likely that this is indeed Max, hopefully there is some clarity on the issue in the near future.

If so, this makes me very sad. I knew Max for years and back when he lived in Vegas we would oftentimes go out on the strip, or play whiffleball on top of Panorama. He was such an upbeat happy guy, and I always loved hanging out around him. We even talked online over the last couple of years as he also moved into the crypto industry, this is very upsetting news but I figured that the community should know.

Sad day, I liked the guy a ton. Rest in peace Max.

Damn, he was the homie. Rip

Man, I hope this isn’t true. I’ll echo what Doug said about Max, he’s a great guy who has an infectious upbeat personality. Sigh

terrible terrible news

rip

Urgh, I knew Max too, very sad.

****, man. That hurts a lot. So many good memories with him at the hermosa/redondo beach 2+2 house, playing beer pong, going out to the bars, playing golf, vegas clubs... We didn't talk much since he moved overseas but man I really hope this is some kind of mistake

Real bummer. Max was my best buddy during our prime poker years. We lived in hermosa/redondo with CTS, dan bright, had stinkypete over all the time. Then me and him traveled for a year to australia/montreal. He was always a blast, super ADD, always new business idea type of guy. But after black friday, he got hurt a lot since he was super into staking and had so much money tied up. Invited him to my wedding but he never responded, then messaged me a few weeks later about something random and never acknowledged it. He moved to manila and I only had rare contact with him. He had a family tragedy, possibly some bad business ventures, I dunno. Last time we talked was Dec 17.

Thanks for letting us know Doug.

This poster, I assume?

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/members/45150/

If true, sorry for everyone's loss.

Heartbreaking news. Max was one of the first people I met through poker. We met on these forums, then rented a house in Hermosa Beach with billyjex and other OG 2+2ers back in 2006. He was such a kind, upbeat guy who went out of his way to make everyone feel included. We will miss you.

damn. rip slider.

Tough to come to terms with this for me. Met Max with a bunch of other guys from #MSNL way back in the day. Ended up staying with him for 2-3 weeks post black friday in Manila where we just grinded online all day played some live poker a bit and partied around the Philippines. Have not been in touch much over the last few years but will always have fond memories. Miss you Max

I hadn't known him as long as you guys but I was fortunate to spend 3-4 days a week hanging out with him in Manila throughout 2018 and daily telegram contact until a few days ago. He was special and a ton of fun to be friends with. I had a friend walk over to his apartment and ask the guard about the death. The guard wouldn't confirm the name, only that someone fell from Max's apartment. This is likely not fake news... (unless Max is trolling us, God I hope that's the case.)

This is really sad, but nice to see all the old 2+2ers posting.

I knew Max from when he and Billy lived in Montreal for a year. We often hung out and did tourney sundays, watching football all day at Cowpigs. A story I remember is when we were going to a Halloween party. Slider (who is half philipino, half white, but was tall and skiiny) was going as a Geisha. We had pre drank so were all a bit tipsy. There were these 2 cute girls who we bumped into at the corner store, one who was also dressed as a Geisha.

Cute girl geisha: OMG, you're a geisha, im a geisha too!
Slider: That is not possible (im bad asian accent)
Cute girl: What do you mean?
Slider: You are not tall enough or pretty enough to be geisha, only I can be geisha.

Her face changed from smiles to confused shock and then anger. We grabbed slider before she could start yelling at us and got outta there. Was really funny at the time and I still remember that 10 years later.

Sad to hear. My thoughts to his family and friends.

He was always very upbeat and spirited in my interactions with him.

Max was my first poker coach in 2008 he came to stay with me in Montreal for a few weeks where we would grind live poker all night into the early morning when it first opened in the casino. He later moved there for awhile with BillyJex, it was one of the funnest times of my life hanging out with him and he really brought the poker community together there organising the amazing Degen Night. We stayed in touch over the years always bouncing new business ideas off each other trying to figure out how to get all the internet monies. I just spoke with him last week

Ahh good memories, legendary stuff. He was always up for a big party.

RIP Slider, great guy and very sad news.

Max always had us cracking up. He was wild and arrogant when I knew him, but also welcoming and loving. There were moments he struggled and moments of great friendship he offered.

Few stories about Max.

Max, Billy and I went to an all you can eat sushi buffet in Vegas with a prop bet on who could eat the most. Billy puked in the parking lot. Nobody held his hair.

Max broke down hitting on girls, back then, to a science. It was hilarious, but none of that science mattered because his confidence was so commanding that you couldn't help but be drawn into his circle.

He and I shared a room in Vegas my first time I went out there, when I was playing Limit Hold'em (for some stupid reason). It was a small room he rented in a house owned by an older lady named Jasmine. She drove us to the strip sometimes because started down 2 big bets in limit is a big deal :P, and, believe me, any taxi fee is worth what Max and I survived with each of those rides. The woman was a maniac and always yelled for him as "MAXIIIIIIII" when we were home. During the same trip, Max showed me NLHE and I saw him winning $5000 a night online and saw that he also didn't know that much about the game. We shared several heart to hearts throughout the week or two I was there for that trip and it definitely changed my life. If nothing else, I quit playing LHE!

When I first started poker, Max and I went to the same college in Winston-Salem, NC. We played the frat games and really whatever ran. It was always a joke and we smoked kids. When I wanted to make the jump to online, Max offered to pay me $50 to make my PartyPoker screen name "PoopTaster". It was too brilliant to pass up.

I haven't seen Max for years now and we talked here and there when he got into game design a bit and a few others things. I know he helped younger kids grow up stronger and share smiles. He definitely made our lives better. RIP, man.

Lots of great memories in here, also want to echo the sentiment that its good to see so many of the classic 2+2 community posting.

Wow. I feel a lot of regret now for never following through on all my threas to visit him in the Philippines.

I have so many fond memories of Slider trolling BillyJex and ACowSayMoo, repeating his favourite phrases like "I make my own luck!" and "CHICKEN WANGS" with that big goofy smile and his eyes all lit up.

He was always excited about something. It was usually something ridiculous, but he never let that slow him down. There was something inspiring and infectious in his relentless, naive optimism.

This news makes me really sad. I hope they follow through on the investigation.

Yeah he was always Smiling, he was one of the first guy’s I met through poker that seemed to really use poker as a vehicle towards something bigger. At the time I thought it was naive because I was so invested and infatuated with the game... 10 years later it really seems like he had it right all along.

That Montreal degen night was hilarious to think back on... feels so long ago. A story I’d like to share (one of the pg13 ones I guess) was ~7 years ago we rented a house in Acapulco for a week or so and the week prior to flying there news broke that they found a mass grave of tourists. Most travel agencies cancelled and refunded flights. We figured it couldn’t be THAT bad but when we got there there was no tourists what so ever, city empty. Moral was pretty low in the house but Max found very «*creative*» ways to make it a hilarious trip and make the most of it.

I can also confirm that his confidence with women was legendary 😂

****!

This is very sad.

Max was a great dude and a kind soul. I was fortunate to call him a friend over many years before and after he left for the Philippines. I remember vaguely driving him to the bank once to open up a checking account. It was hilarious. Although I haven’t spoken to him in recent years I know he’s just one of those dudes you could always pickup where you left off. A real homie.

Rest In Peace Slider

Hi Everyone:

First, my apologies for being slow to get into this thread.

This is sad news and it’s always sad to hear about the passing of one of our most positive posters and community members. Rest In Peace and condolences to any family he might have.

Best wishes,
Mason

wow, hard to believe.

rip.