I took some time earlier Monday to calm down, relax and get my mind in order. It paid off when I played some $10-$20 at the Mirage, hauling in just shy of $500 in a few hours time. To my left sat Jeff, a man from Canada, one of thousands of main event qualifiers who are starting to fly into town. He seemed a man lacking confidence, constantly poor mouthing his own play. It was a welcome respite from the cocky young players that have flooded the city, but I also felt a bit sorry for Jeff, a balding, mustachioed and twice divorced man. His play was weak and from all accounts he will be just another sheep for slaughter by the wolves soon enough. After losing yet another pot, Jeff quipped, “I haven’t had this much fun since my last prostate exam.”
I headed out at 9 p.m. to watch fireworks. It seemed everyone else in the city had the same idea, as the sidewalks were almost too congested to walk through. We were all left disappointed as no “sky flowers” were shot, perhaps because of the dry conditions and wildfires that have engulfed the state. I had to settle for the Bellagio water show and the Freemont Street Experience, which featured a patriotic them on the 4th.
Tuesday began well. I went to the Stardust to try my hand at a blackjack tournament, but didn’t like the format so I decided to play their NLHE tourney that was held at 10 a.m. Finally, finally, I cashed, as we chopped it four ways for $542 each, after a $45 buy in.
One of those was Johnny Walker (not THAT Johnny Walker), a man who used to run a card game in Houston. He was missing his right hand, but showed us how he could shuffle a deck with only his left hand, using a technique similar to riffling chips.
“Imagine what I could do with two hands. I got my hand cut off in Louisiana for dealing seconds,” he said with a wink.
Another of my fellow choppers was Lynn, an English teacher from Ohio. She played timid and conservatively, but caught strong hands at the right time.
I ate lunch with Lynn and her husband in the Stardust’s café. She told me that her school had to make a rule against bringing cards to school.
“Kids were coming in early and setting up Texas Hold’em tournaments in the commons,” she told me. “At least it was the kids who usually don’t come to school on time.”
Lynn and her husband debated the merits of poker as a critical learning tool. They agreed it’s not a bad game for children to learn to help with math and other skills.
Lynn said she was going to try her hand at the tournament again today, but I told her I wouldn’t be back as I had a busy day on Wednesday. I told her I might play a satellite to try and win a seat in the main event.
Lynn told me she has already met several people who have come into town to play the big one.
“I’m getting all of their names so when I see them on TV I can say who they are,” she said.
The Stardust had another WSOP connection in the dealer named Chuck, who used to deal downtown at the Golden Nugget and often railbirded and befriended the players back in the 1970s.
Chuck watched Jack “Treetop” Strauss win the main event after being left with one chip. Strauss had gone all in, but a chip was found under a napkin and he was allowed to keep it and play.
“That was a terrible ruling,” Chuck said.
I headed to the Rio to see who I could meet. I chatted with Jay Greenspan, who is quickly becoming one of the top poker writers, reporting from the WSOP for Full Tilt Poker and writing a book about home and backroom games and the characters there within. A couple of years ago I emailed him about his site PokerSavvy.com and told him he ought to think about turning it into a magazine and that I would be glad to help. He didn’t feel he had the time or resources and now there are several poker magazines out there. Oh well. If I had a dollar for every good idea I’ve had I would be a rich man.
It was downhill from there, other than meeting Angela again. The brunette with the beautiful baby blues who just moved to town from Austin, Texas, was playing some satellites Tuesday. Tonight, I hope we are meeting for drinks. :)
I lost a $65 satellite and decided I would try to find a $10-$20 game in town to earn money to play a $1,060 mega satellite. The Rio cash games were packed with the newbies to town so I went to the Mirage and got right into a game. Less than three hours later I was out $600. I then proceeded to the Bellagio to clear my mind and try some $15-$30. In two hours I dropped $500. Between the two games I had JJ cracked on the river by TT, AA cracked on the flop by 77, KK cracked on the river by J7 and other beats I can’t remember. I have to be the most unlucky person in this city.
I am entered into the media/celebrity charity tournament today at 5 p.m. If I win, $10,000 will go to the Tuscaloosa United Way. If I could go some good, it would go a long way toward making me feel better about my own losses. I’m anxious to see who I get at my table. Ben Affleck? James Woods? Fellow pasty white and chubby journalists?
Prior to that, there is a press conference in which the Poker Hall of Fame inducts two new members and tournament organizers discuss how the events have gone so far. For the first time in a few weeks I will truly feel like a newsman again.
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