Today I was at Binion's Casino, in Las Vegas.
I know I should be in Oregon, continuing work on the bathroom. And I am very motivated to do so.
So... I feel I must explain, now, here, at this here juncture.
SO... here it is.
When I got back to California and read my leftover mail, I realized I had just narrowly missed the deadline for a free, three-night stay, included with free entry into a $45k invitational poker tourney. Bummer man. Then, the next piece of mail I opened was another offer, almost as good.
This one is a "Video" poker tournament though. And, granted "video" poker is more akin to a slot machine than poker, still, why not push some buttons for a while and have a few free drinks? I'm gonna be the dude who you think may be three sheets windward, because I'll be the one trying to start a conversation with every passer by willing to give a moments eye contact.
I sign up tomarrow. Game starts on Wednesday.
Vegas is cold. Hecka cold. Saturday hailed 30+ mph winds, and temperatures well bellow 50. I would guess the chill factor was in the thirties. Seriously, this a desert right? When I was here in July it was 92 at 7am, and was easily over 110 all afternoon. Now this? I calculated that to be an 80+ degree temperature swing.
I watched the Seattle-Giants game today. Last night some employee/white-homey-the-homeboy made a comment about my Seahawks hat. I jibed back about how Alexander would run on them, just as he thought Tiki Barber would seal the game with such certainty, so as to him it seemed reasonable to simply forego the entire game itself. We left each other pondering our own, very certain stance.
The Rio has a great sports book for a game with Ny fans. There was a lot of hollarin, and a lot of screeming. Not a thing was out of hand, yet the decibal levels of both rival fan base, was raucous and grand. I loved it. With the Seahawks winning in OT, I was able to depart the scene with hands held high, asking rhetorically, "Tiki who?"
The Rio does lack one thing though. Get this, all general guests have to pay a fee of twenty bucks to use the weight room. They include it into the "spa." Awesome. Super cool guys. Internet costs ten bucks for one 24 hour segment. Again, awesome fellas. Oh, but the fridge and pantry was stocked with a plethera of assorted spirits, beverages, and snacks. With a price of course. I've only had two things. Wait, no three.
I looked at the beer first. But it's Corona in the can. Sick. Bud Light in the can, grosser still. And a Heiny, in the mini 12oz. keg. Stoked. All shwag beer if you ask me.
But alas, I opted for the water first. Later, I taste tested the micro-sized, 8oz. unsweetened oj. I didn't see the unsweetened part until it made me wince in a salavatory tightening, of sorts. Like eating a grapefruit, with lime chunks. Nausea set in.
Next, I dove head first into a Yoohoo. THAT was what I was looking for.
IN POKER NEWS, I have played two days here now, entering four tourneys so far. The Plaza midnight, The Rio noon, The MGM 6pm, and Binion's 8pm-er.
The Plaza had 70+ players, I made it the the final 19 or 20. No money tho. The Rio was 70+, and I hit the final 30, no $. The MGM was a quick buster outer.
Binion's was something special though. $125 buy in, with one $50 re-buy (to be used whenever you want, no matter what your chip count, in the first hour). Oddly, it was 7 tables again, offering a $3k+ payout for first, and paying out to 7th.
I didn't get cards in the first hour what-so-ever, except for the pocket-ace rockets. I made a slender pitence. With only a "manufactured" win or two in the next hour, my chip stack began to look a little cruncheesy slinky (crunchy-cheesy-slim-skinny).
In the third hour, I called an all-in, to put me all-in, while holding a diamond suited A-9. The board fell me a pair of nines with the nut (slang: best possible hand, given the community cards on the table) flush draw. It hit, and I was happy. Soon therafter, I felt very solid. I made almost every right read, and was able to capitolize a few times over. I had over 16k in chips, after starting with 2 thou. Things were going quite well.
We condensed to two tables, and then both tables looked half vacant. Twelve were left, equally divided between the two.
The blinds had been tacking a whack out of me at that point, and I had just been shallacked for a 2200 blind+ante. My chips were back down to 8.8k and there was nearly 4k in the pot already.
A pair of jacks were top pair on the flop, and I had them. So I threw in the rest of my chips. He called, and I saw him hit his 6-out, 90-1, river ace to bump me out. He was the tables chip leader with roughly 50k in chips, so for him it was a very cheap call to see if I was just trying to buy it, and to seeif his A-K would land. Sure enough. Jerk.
Heartbreaker. Just five to the money and after wading through 4 1/2hours of patient, well deduced... and well performed poker play.
I still felt comfortable afterwords though, knowing I was in acute form, and in the end, just ended up getting drawn out on.
Oh, some pro was at Binion's last night too. "The Armenian Express" is what he calls himself. Chris was his first name though. In any event, I had never heard of him, and I lasted longer than he did!
Today, I hope to hit paydirt. In the meantime, I need to get some breakfast in me.
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