Merry Xmas, Happy New Year and all that other crap!

Christmas is now a not-so-distant memory and we are all looking forward to New Year's Eve with great anticipation (at least I am anyway) even though I have no plans as of yet. I'm still hoping someone will call with last minute news of a killer party being held somewhere in the area. The big day was relaxed and enjoyable and at this stage in life it is all about the kids anymore. We get to re-live all the joys of Christmas' past vicariously through our children, or in my case, my seven nieces and nephews. Maybe its just me, but it just doesn't feel like the same holiday it used to be anymore, although the cookies still taste the same as they always did! I spent Xmas with my mom and my sister's family out in bucolic Oxford, PA, where you can still hear the romantic clip clop of horse-drawn Amish buggies on the road and you can gently awake to the nauseating stench of manure from the nearby mushroom farms. Oh yes, give me the country life!
In another wonderous Christmas miracle, Granger and his Easy Money team racked up the points exactly when they needed them to come from behind and win so Kro and I finished in 4th place in Fantasy Football this season! We still feel good about making the playoffs in our team's inaugural season, but the pain of having to listen to Granger brag about his miracle victory for the next 12 months is a little too much to bear right now.
I plan to just take it easy for the next few days and gear up for the new year. I'll give some thought to some resolutions I may or may not make and set some goals for 2007, as well.
If anyone knows of a rocking New Year's Eve Party you know how to reach me!

Fantasy Football Playoffs

Well, for the second year in a row, and that constitutes my entire history playing fantasy football, my team has made it into the playoffs and has a shot at the big cash prize! ( we finished in 3rd place last year and did a bit better than break even!) Kro and I pulled it off in grand style with a complete rout of our opponent in the final "must-win" game of the regular season! Special thanks go out to Drew Brees for his 384 yards and FIVE touchdown passes! Both Granger brothers' teams made it and the infamous Mr. Wigs, as well. So this weekend is another do or die game and we have to win! I know you will all be rooting for us!

Trump Classic

So I am back in Media with my tail between my legs. I failed to cash in either of the two events I played (I slept in Tuesday, missing that day's event, but that will be an entirely new post in itself) and had mixed results in the side games (cash games). I got down to the Borgata Sunday afternoon and mostly relaxed and stuffed my face with free food (primarily a rib eye steak, baked potatoe, onion rings with a horseradish dipping sauce, green beens, 2 glasses of wine, and a spicy bloody mary, all topped off with a slice of coconut custard pie and 2 cups of coffee). I sat in a no-limit game that was so aggressive that I mostly just folded, played very few hands and managed to win a few pots when the time seemed right to strike. The last hand of my night I was in the Big Blind and had a pair of aces in the hole and was raised pre-flop. I re-rasied, more than tripling the bet. He called me with all but his last $200 which I bet out blind before the flop even came. He called that with no help on the flop and turned over Ace-King of diamonds. Of course he hit his diamond flush on the river and I took that as my sign to head back to my room and get some sleep. I gave back most of my winnings on that hand, but my main focus was on Monday's event at the Taj.
Monday morning I awoke, had a nice breakfast and checked out of the Borgata. I headed over to the Taj for the 11 am start of the No-Limit Tag Team event. My partner and I decided that I would start us off and the event was set up so that the blinds went up every 40 minutes and each partner had to play 20 minutes of each level. There were 280 entries with 18 places receiving cash prizes. We started with $3000 in chips and blinds of $25 and $50. We built our chip stack up to about $10,000 but were knocked out in 30th place with blinds of $500 and $1000. 12 seats out of the money!
You're always a little down after getting knocked out of a tournament so I headed over to my new room at Bally's and gorged myself on another comped steak dinner. I played in a small cash game and won about $400 in just under 2 hours. I went to my room and watched Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which was funny and got my mind off the tournament. Tuesday I slept in, as I said before, had breakfast in bed and then checked out the shops at the new Pier at Caesars. Then I actually walked to the Taj on the boardwalk, with no coat on, and had a late lunch. I taxied back to Bally's, played a little more in their tiny poker room and lost a $200+ pot when some donkey called my raise with nothing and got lucky on me. My pocket queens went down in flames.
Wednesday I was at the Taj about an hour before the start time and the line was already fairly long. They would easily have over 300 players (still very weak compared to last year) and I talked with a few familiar faces while we waited for the starting bell. It was a slow start and I had a few early setbacks but managed to rebuild my stack just in time to donk it off with my pocket nines to another player and his pocket aces! I could have gotten away from the hand, I should have folded, it was just a stupid move at the wrong time. I was out after about 4 hours and headed home to Media.
There are more Trump Classic events next week leading to the main event and the World Series of Poker Circuit events start at Harrah's on Monday, so I will chill this weekend and decide what to do next.

Class Reunion

Last Friday was my high school reunion and it was great to see some of the people I hadn't seen in almost ten years. Of course there was the cast of usual suspects that I still keep in contact with and all in all it was a great time. I expect to keep in touch with a few more people now, as well. We started at the Town House and ended up at Brodeur's where we kept the late night action going until almost 3 am! Saturday and Sunday night we continued the celebration with a few of us getting together on our own in Media. A week ago I was a little apprehensive about the whole affair, but now I am very happy to have been a part of it all. (even if did mean missing the Chili Festival, which I know Ted and CNN attended!)
On the Fantasy Football front Kro and I are now firmly ensconced in 3rd place after having our solid victory of two weeks ago "adjusted" to a tie due to the fact that the NFL ruled that Reggie Brown fumbled that catch and McNabb got the points for the pass completion...FIVE DAYS after the friggin' game!!!!! We have to win this week to make the playoffs and its our toughest competition of the season (although we did beat this team in our first match up with, they have become quite stronger as the season has progressed.)
I leave for Atlantic City on Sunday night and will be getting up bright and early Monday to register for and enter the "No Limit Tag Team" event of the Trump Classic, the first of its kind in AC. I'll be down there through Wednesday and will see how I am doing at that point before I decide how long I will be staying.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Friday Night and Beyond

Tonight I am off to AC with my friend Randy (Yes, that Randy for those of you from Penncrest) and the plan is to play some poker at the Showboat/House of Blues, then check out the Live concert (Live being the name of the band) and then hit the Foundation Room for some VIP bottle service!
This Sunday is week 11 for my Fantasy League and Kro and I are currently in second place with an excellent chance of making the playoffs if we can post another win this weekend. We had to sweat it out Monday night with our opponent ( Mr. Wigs) still having two players in the Monday Night game and we were sitting with a thin 28-point margin of victory going into the game. We pulled it off and now we face the second-worst team in the league this weekend! We need this victory and it would be ideal if the two players tied for first place both had losses to go with our win!
I'll let you know what happens!

Trump Classic

This month brings the return of the Trump Classic poker tournament at the Taj in AC running from November 27 to December 17 with 24 events scheduled . I didn't play in this one last year, but the year before I had some good results with two satellite wins and a 20th place (in the money) finish in the No-Limit Hold-em event which had a starting field of 245. The numbers this year will be much higher with closer to 1000 entries likely in some events. If the structure of the tournament is good, I plan to play the Limit event (#1) that kicks off the series on November 27. I booked my complimentary room today and I am going to follow in Ted's steps and commit in this public forum to play in the following events (so far). December 4th is the No-Limit Hold-em Tag Team event (#11). This is the first time I have seen this format and it should be interesting. You enter the event with a partner and each player takes turns playing the same stack of chips, swapping seats every thirty minutes or so. December 5th is the No-Limit Hold-em Six Handed event (#12) where instead of starting with ten players to a table, there will only be 6 players to a table, including the final table. This requires a slightly different strategy to full table play as the rising blind structure forces more action faster with less players at the table. December 7th is a regular No-Limit Hold-em event (#13). In between these events are some seven card stud and Omaha events as well as the Ladies Only and Seniors events (I have heard of guys dressing up as girls to get into the ladies event, but I don't even want to think about playing in a senior's event just yet, especially with my 20 year high school reunion this month already reminding me of the passing years!).
After these events I will see how things go and may play in more events as we approach the Championship event on December 16, which is a two-day event with a $5000 buy-in.
So now I am committed to playing those events and reporting the results, good or bad, for everyone to see.

Weekend Update

Not much to report from this weekend, no "fake" costume party invites, but did manage to get a few poker sessions in and was winner in both. Also, looks like another victory in Fantasy Football, unfortunately the losing party this weekend was none other than State Street (aka Tedman)! Actually, he still has a chance to pull from behind tonight, that is if Tom Brady can score about 75 points for him in Monday Night Football against the Vikings!
I've been putting in more hours playing online lately, trying to keep a regular schedule of Tuesday and Thursday night play. I won my first 9 player, single table Omaha Hi/Lo tournament online last week, too! The $320 buy-in paid $1350 for 1st place. Omaha is played like Hold-em, but you get four hole cards (instead of two) and you must play two and only two of your hole cards and three and only three of the five community cards, add in the Hi/Lo variance and now you are talking about high hand winning half the pot and low hand winning half the pot, but you have to have five cards lower than an 8 without making a flush or straight to have a low. It requires a lot more thinking and is considered by many to be a tougher game, but I still prefer No Limit Hold-em!
Next month is the Trump Classic at the Taj and I will be staying in a Rock Star Suite next door at the House of Blues. I think we should set up a night on the town with some fellow bloggers like CNN, Tedman, AKJN and Chuck if he is allowed in AC!

Happy Halloween to All!

Let me be the first to wish you all a Happy Halloween!

Anti-Gambling Legislation Passed

I'm more than a little upset that President Bush signed a bill Friday that has had a tremendously negative impact on the online poker world. Hidden deep in the stinky bowels of the Safe Ports Act (a homeland defense initiative to make our ports safer) by a sneaky Senator from Tennessee was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act. It's really a BS law because most poker sites are based offshore and are not under the jurisdiction of US law anyway, but a few of the bigger sites have buckled already and are no longer accepting action from US-based players. The bill really tries to make it illegal for US financial institutions to allow their gambling customers to send funds to offshore gambling sites. The largest site, Party Poker, based in the UK was bringing in almost $3 million a day in profit with 60% of their business coming from the US. They have now banned US players from their site and their stock has already lost billions in market value. Of course my favorite site, PokerStars, has benefited greatly with a huge influx of players since they have decided the new law is meaningless to them. Their weekly Sunday tournament attracted a record 6,517 players this weekend and paid out over$1.3 million with $176,000 for first place!

Senator Frist (R-TN), the author of the bill, feels that gambling is "destrying the moral fiber of America" and warned Congress that terrorists could be using these sites to launder money. First of all, I find it hard to believe that I've ever sat at an online poker table with Osama bin Laden or any other muslim extremist, but second, even if what he says is true, then why did he make exceptions for online horse betting and state lotteries in the bill? (By the way, Tennesee is a huge horse racing state, hmmm nothing suspicious about that, right?).
Just another reason why we need to allow the President to have Line-Item Veto powers so deceptive and sneaky legislators can stop hiding needless legislation in "must pass" bills!
Just thought I'd vent a bit!

The Borgata Story (My Version)

As expected, the trip to Borgata this weekend was awesome! CNN drove, which was nice, and we arrived with plenty of time to spare before the kickoff of the Eagles game. Upon arrival we checked our bags and hit the B-Bar for some much needed libations and I needed to see some game updates to see where I stood in my Fantasy League. The drinks were good and the game updates were even more uplifting! Team Rastamon crushed its opponent 149 to 82!
While the lounge chairs in B-Bar were comfortable, the view of the TV screens was not acceptable and we decided to relocate to the Gypsy Bar and it's theater-sized screen. We snagged 4 seats up front and started sampling the world's largest Tequila menu. While we were all tempted to try the new $300 Margarita, we stuck to the Cabo Wabo and Patron selections! The Prickly Pear was superb! We ordered a snack selection consisting of chips and salsa, habenero wings and an olive plate. While we had an incredible view of the huge screen from our seats, more incredible still was the view of our waitress, Virginia, a blonde, twenty-something who most likely hailed from Sweden. CNN and I debated at length on whether or not the particular "structural assets" this beauty possesed were "fake or "natural", and I feel confident they were 100% natural, along with here blonde hair!
The drinks were going down fast, the Eagles score was rising fast and we barely noticed that the paper products accompanying our snack baskets were dangerously close to the candle on the table. They burst into flames sometime in the first quarter and while we all stayed fairly calm, it was my quick response with a fresh Heineken Light that ultimately saved the day! When I informed Virginia that I had single-handedly saved the entire establishment from certain death with my quick response, she gave me a replacement Heineken and a bat of her beautiful baby blues!
Just before half-time we went up to the room and had our bags brought up. We popped a bottle of bubbly and watched the rest of the game while preparing for the concert. The view of the ocean from the 42nd floor was breathtaking (maybe just slightly more than Virginia bending over to take a drink order from the table next to us)!
Soon we were off to the concert hall to see Los Lonely Boys and Carlos Santana.
I had heard some of their songs on a CD, but Los Lonely Boys were great live! I only wish they had played more than five songs! There were barely 2000 people at the show and we had excellent seats right in the center of the room. There was a huge bar setup in the lobby which was just s short distance behind us, so it was easy to keep the beer flowing. Carlos Santana was absolutely amazing! The sound he can generate from a guitar is extraordinary! I was very impressed and was actually disappointed when his set ended.
After the show we wanted to get Tony Luke's cheesesteaks, but had to settle for a Fatburger instead, as TL's was closed for the night.
Shortly after that, CNN retired for the night and I headed to the poker room for a little late night action. I sat from 11:30 until almost 3 am when I decided that sleep was a better option for me. After going all-in three times, winning twice and chopping once, I was actually down $30. A dismal session to say the least and I feel I would have won if I had stayed and played, but I was really tired and feeling the effects of the beer and tequila.
We checked out and were on the road about noon Monday and all in all I think it was a great time! Now we can compare this version to CNN's when she gets around to updating!

Borgata, Baby!

This weekend I am headed down to the Borgata along with CNN and two other non-blogging party people. We will be ensconced in a beautiful suite and will be attending the Carlos Santana/Los Lonely Boys concert with the compliments of the Borgata (actually, compliments of my consistent level of high action when I visit!). I'm sure CNN will take advantage of some photo ops and I will have an update when we return. For those who care, Team Rastamon could not pull out the victory in week 2 and now stand in the middle of the pack with a 1-1 record.

Fantasy Football Week 1 Results

Team Rastamon came through in flying colors (red, gold, black and green to be exact!) in week one of the Delco Delinquents League with an early rout of Tedman's State Street and a final score of 114 to 96!

Punching Pussy

This what it would look like if a kitten was kicking your ass!

Annual Bellmawr Pig Roast & Block Party

So this weekend was the annual pig roast and block party up in Bellmawr, NJ. This was my fourth year attending (although I missed last year). Goose and I drove up early Saturday and helped set up as two of the hosts were involved in a wedding that day. We didn't get the pig on the spit until about 4 PM but it was worth the wait when it came off the coals around 10 PM. Goose ate both eyeballs out of the hot carcass and claimed they were delicious. The meat was awesome! Prior to the pig we had been grilling dogs and burgers and there was plenty to drink. Multiple kegs of beer ranging from Coors Light to Heineken and an entire bar set-up with prtemium Vodka, Rum, Gin and Tequila! Of course the highlight, as always, was the 350 pound ice block which we carved runs in so that you could do ice shots. I have a photo of the block below. Yours truly did the carving and let me tell you there was some very drunk people stumbling about this party after giving the block a try. There were also some very unhappy husbands and boyfriends (and a few happy ones, too).
Another highlight and a new edition this year was a live band. THese guys were about 15 years old and they were AWESOME! Their mom's had to drop them and their equipment off at the party, but they played like they have been doing this for years, and not only did it sound great, they actually had awesome stage presence, too! The lead guitarist, who looked about 14, would jump into the crowd as he belted out riffs on his lead guitar and danced about.
Everything was going great until the cops showed up at 11:30 and made us shut it down. The band was on their last song anyway and it was approaching their curfew, too!
Once the cops left we kept the party rolling sans the live music and continued to have fun into the wee hours with a mandatory hottub session to end the night off. The hottub soothed my muscles and prepared me for the uncomfortable sleeping situation I faced: The front seat of Goose's truck! I only had to suffer for a few hours as we were back on the road at 7 am (apparantly the husbands had some strict intstructions from their wives about the hour of their
return to Media).
All in all it was a blast and I am looking forward to the next one.
Pics are of the ice block, the band playing and Miss Piggy, the 80 pound guest of honor.

Fantasy Draft Party Part Deux

The Fantasy Football Draft Party was alot of fun, so much fun that I forgot to take any pics all night and before I knew it I was stumbling out the door to my car with no digital content for this update. Kro and I brought along a case of Red Stripe in the spirit of our team (Rastamon) and I even wore a tie-dyed shirt, Jamaica windbreaker and a necklace made of marijuana leaves (of course they were plastic simulations, PinF).
There was BBQ'd pulled pork, meatballs, tri-color pasta with proscuito, hot pepper shooters and the obligatory assorted chips, dips, chains, whips...wait a minute, I lost my train of thought.... Who's your name again?
Oh, and we had the beer.
We ended up with a decent team and I think we have a good shot this year. Our first matchup starts Thursday night when the regular season kicks off and we are playing against none other than Tedman's "State Street" team.
I predict a rout!

Draft Party

Tonight is the Fantasy Football Draft Party for my league, The Delco Delinquents. This will be my second year playing in the league and I have a new partner this year, too, Mike Krotow, who hails from Saratoga, NY. Last year I came within 2 points of winning the overall league and the playoffs which would have resulted in a very nice payday. Unfortunately, I had to settle for third place and look to make another run at the title this year. I have a new logo and team name to go with my new partner. We are Team Rastamon and the logo is shown here. The party is always alot of fun with good food, drinks and friends. I'll take some pics and let you know how we make out in my next update.

New Sony PSP Ad

Can someone explain to me what this ad means?

New Winner Crowned at World Series of Poker

A former Hollywood talent agent has won the 2006 World Series of Poker and the $12 million first place prize. Jamie Gold outlasted 8772 players to take down the championship being held at the Rio casino in Las Vegas. The favorite going into the final table, poker pro Allen Cunningham, finished in 4th place for a $3.6 million payday. The 2nd place finisher was a 22 year old who took home over $6 million!!
The pic is of the winner and his cash being congratulated by his mentor and winner of 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, Johnny Chan.

World Series Main Event

The World Series of Poker Main Event has been underway since last Friday. To accomodate the over 8,600 players who ponied up the $10,000 buy-in, they had to divide Day 1 into 4 groups that played each day from aprox. 2100 players down to 800 or so (day 1 lasted 16 hours). Then they had two flights of Day 2 with about 1600 players each . Tomorrow will be the first day that all the surviving players are combined in one room to play simultaneously and they will play every day until the final nine are seated next Thursday August 10th. The winner will walk with the greatest prize in sports history, a gold bracelet encrusted with 170 diamonds and, oh yeah, $12 million dollars in cash!
I regret not being a part of it again this year, but there are some good events coming up shortly where I will be participating. The World Championship of Online Poker is in September as is the Borgata Poker Open. Then we have the U.S. Poker Championship at the Taj and then the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods and finally the Trump Classic back at the Taj.

A Weekend of Poker

This past weekend I was able to play poker like I used to do back in 2004, non-stop- all night. I got to the Borgata at about 3 pm Friday and immediately headed to the new room. Thanks to all the new tables (85 total) I was able to get into a no-limit cash game very quickly. My first hand I was dealt pocket sevens, raised and was called by several players, then immediately flopped a third seven for a set. I won a nice pot after betting again. The next hand I played was when I was in the Big Blind, (which for those of you in bikinis, means I had my minimum bet already in before I was dealt my cards) and I looked down at a 3 and a 4 of different suits. Noone raised and nearly all of us saw the flop which came 3-3-4 a beautiful sight for me. I put on my acting hat and slow played the hand by checking it after the flop and the turn. On the last card I finally bet out and everyone dropped but an older asian woman a few seats to my right. She raised me about 4 times my bet and I acted like I was thinking about it and said "all-in" in the meakest voice I could muster. She asked if I was sure about that and then said "I call". She had made the straight with her A-5 on the last card, but my full-house was the nuts and she pushed me all her chips with a disgusted look on her face. I made a bit over $500 on my second hand and was starting to really like this table! In fact, I was able to pull off some great bluffs because everyone at the table remebered that hand for a long time after.
I ended up playing until about 2 am and cashed with a low 4- figure profit.
Saturday I slept in, ate breakfast around noon and then hit the tables by 3 pm again. I was playing middle limit (as opposed to no limit) but had a bad run of cards culminating in my ace-high spade flush being beat by a full house. After losing a couple of hundred on that hand as I raised and re-raised this player, I decided to head back to the no-limit tables where I could recover from this minor setback.
Another brutal table choice had me short stacked again in no time. After rasing before the flop with pocket jacks (7 times the blinds) I had two callers, flopped a third jack and then had my substantial bets called by one schmuck who made a diamond flush on the river after calling me with only one diamond and no pair on the flop! He had called my pre-flop raise with 9-7 of diamonds!
Anyway, I took my time, poured an ice cold drink on my steaming head and waited for the right moment. It came when I called a raise with a crappy jack-4 hand and flopped trip jacks. The fourth jack on the turn gave me the absolute nuts with quads and the ace on the river assured me a nice pot as it helped another player make a strong hand. I checked, he bet, I raised, he called, I won! The best kind of revenge!
I played into Sunday morning again and then was back around 4pm Sunday but only played for a few hours before heading home. It was a great weekend, I got to play alot of poker which is what I really needed to get going again and came out with a profit, some nice meals, some nice comps including a new Hawaiin-print embroidered Borgata-logo bathing suit. In fact, when I found out my friend Bill's favorite band was playing at the Borgata on September 24th, I had them use my comps for 4 center-stage tix to see Santana and Los Lonely Boys. CNN herself is going to be coming along that evening and I have a Fiore Suite reserved so we can experience all the late night action of the clubs and bars and maybe even test the maximum capacity of those showers once and for all! Stay tuned for that update!
It will be hard, but I have agreed not to play poker that night!

CSI: South Jersey

OK, sorry for the drama, the mystery and the absence of late. It's time to fill you in on the details. Timeline: July 2, 2006, 0630 hours. I received a call on my cell at approximately 6:30 am Monday morning from a Haddon Township police detective. He informed me that the manager of my building in Westmont was in police custody and he asked if I could come in to the station. I told him I was at the shore and if he explained to me what was going on I could better determine if a trip from the beach was necessary at this ungodly hour. He began to explain the situation and I told him I'd be there as soon as I could. It turns out that late Sunday evening the police responded to reports of fireworks being shot off the roof of the building (this is a 7 story office building near Haddonfield). The police saw two suspects on the roof but they refused to come down. With the assistance of the fire dept. they were able to gain access and found my building manager and his brother in the building. They appeared intoxicated and denied setting off the fireworks (the police had already found his truck in the parking lot with fireworks on the front seat, so they probably weren't buying his story at this point). The police arrested the two and while searching the building made a particularly interesting discovery in a large vacant space I have on the 6th floor. It turns out my manager had a bit of a green thumb and police found grow lights and 11 marijuana plants behind one of the locked doors. If he had done his homework he might have avoided a lengthy jail sentence as in NJ the cutoff for the highest level drug felony is 10 plants, and he was one over! The police continued their search of the space and the next discovery, while not illegal, was even more disturbing. Two fully-equipped bondage dungeons had been painstakenly prepared with chains bolted into the concrete ceiling planks and wall racks and shelves of various toys, whips, gagballs, buttplugs, candles and seran wrap displayed on the walls. I don't think we'll ever know the real truth about what was going on in those rooms, and quite frankly I don't think I really want to know! My manager was charged with manufacturing and possession of controlled substances (they found Ecstacy on him, too) along with the theft and fireworks charges. He was remanded to Camden County Prison on $110,000 full cash bond and awaits a court hearing.
Anyway, in addition to all this we discovered a bunch of items stolen from the building that he was most likely going to sell, maybe on Ebay. Needless to say, it threw my world upside down for the past 2 weeks as I dealt with the police, the tenants and the rumors running amok through the building and tried to find a new building manager. I think things are finally under control now, the new manager started Monday and last weekend I was even able to escape to the shore for a little rest.
Saturday night I hit the Tropicana's craps tables and lucked out when I found an empty table except for one gentleman on the far corner. Normally an empty table is a bad sign, but I plopped down a few hundred and placed $20 on the Pass Line. This guy was amazing. He started hitting numbers like crazy and in less than 20 minutes I was up about $500 and the table was packed with people. When I play craps I take my time building up my bets, but this all happened so fast I couldn't take maximum advantage of the situation. When he finally crapped out it was my turn and I sevened out after three rolls of the dice and decided to cash out. A nice win for such a short time and strolled to the cashier cage and walked out of the casino.
Sunday I was at the Borgata fora little No Limit Texas Hold' Em and to finally see the new poker room. The 85-table room is incredible and is now the largest poker room in AC. The lounge downstairs is great, too, with a huge food court and seating areas with flat screen TVs. I signed up for a game but the wait was not long. When I was seated I recognized two of the players from ESPN poker tournament broadcasts. I played mostly tight-aggressive and was able to win a few pots. I lost one big pot when I bluffed on the river with rags but my bet was just a little too small and the other player called. I only needed to bet a bit more and he would have surely folded. I won another big pot with pocket kings when I moved all-in on the river after my opponent had called every one of my bets (this was my only all-in of the day). I played for about 5 hours total and cashed with anice profit. Then I headed over to Brigantine to see my friend Nicole's new baby boy and went home from there.
Between the Trop and the Borgata it was a great weekend although it was a bit hot on the beach Saturday and Sunday morning. I am planning on returning this weekend, as well.

Update

The past week was a bit stressful for me after an incident in my "real" job had me dealing with police detectives and kept me busy putting out "fires". I am sorry to say I did not get in any poker time in the past ten days and it has cost me money for sure. The closing of the casinos in Atlantic City delayed the start of the Borgata Summer Open and then the crisis at work kept me from participating in any of the events. I even missd the Wallingford game this week but hope to be back in the game next week. I'll be heading down to the shore this weekend for some needed R & R ( and P).

Ponder This

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with Civil Rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by southerners.
Both were succeeded by southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by there three names.
Both names contain 15 letters.

Lincoln was shot at a theater named Ford.
Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln made by Ford.

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.

Both assassins were killed before they went to trial.

Coincidence or Conspiracy?

Another Win

I sat again in a 6 player cash game last night and had the poker gods on my side from the very start. Within the first few hands I doubled up when I hit my open ended straight draw on the river while my opponent had trip eights. Then a little bit later I raised before the flop with pocket tens and was called by two players. A jack came on the flop but I bet out anyway, one opponent folded, the other had Ace-Jack and I made three tens on the turn to double up again and win a $200 pot. . I don't usually get such good runs of cards but in a matter of just a few hands last night, I was dealt 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 6-6, J-J (twice and won both times with them) as well as A-K and A-Q for good measure. After that people started to back off a bit, leary of every bet I made and it was harder for me to get paid off with winning hands. I started feeling really tired around 11:30 and I gave notice I'd be leaving at midnite. I cashed out with a nice win for the second week in a row and headed home for some needed sleep.

I know this guy who plays poker and one day he started to hear a voice in his head saying " Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money and move to Vegas".
He ignored the voice.
Later in the day he hears the same voice, "Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money and move to Vegas".
Again he ignores the voice.
Soon he hears the voice every minute of every day, "Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money and move to Vegas".
He can't take it anymore. He believes the voice.
He quits his job, sells his house, takes all his money and flies to Las Vegas.
As soon as he steps off the plane the voice says, "Go to the Horseshoe Casino".
He catches a cab downtown and walks into the Horseshoe.
The voice says, "use your money to buy a seat in the World Series of Poker".
He puts up $10,000 and buys a seat in the tournament.
He goes to his assigned table and seat just as the tournament is starting.
The first hand is dealt and he looks down at the Ace of diamonds and the Ace of spades.
The voice says "Go all in!"
He pushes his entire stack of $10,000 into the pot.
Three players call.
The dealer lays down the flop which is 8-9-10, all hearts.
The voice says, "Oh shit!"

Update

I sat in a 6 player cash game last night in Wallingford and played well. My reads were pretty solid except for two or three hands where I most certainly folded the best cards but there just wasn't enough value in the pot to call the bet. I made some great hands where I got paid off and made some nice bluffs without getting caught. I started at about 9:45pm and I cashed out at 2:30am with 4.5 times my original buy-in and thats when the game ended.

Friday night was Ted's annual Media 5-Miler BBQ which was alot of fun as usual. It was great to see CNN and AKJN there, too.

OK, One More Gambling Joke

The IRS decides to audit Tim, and summons him to the IRS office. The IRS auditor is not surprised when Tim shows up with his attorney. The auditor says, "Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, which you explain by saying that you win money gambling. I'm not sure the IRS finds that believable."

"I'm a great gambler, and I can prove it," says Tim. "How about a demonstration?"

The auditor thinks for a moment and said, "Okay. Go ahead."

Tim says, "I'll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye."

The auditor thinks a moment and says, "No way! It's a bet."

Tim removes his glass eye and bites it. The auditor's jaw drops. Tim says, "Now, I'll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye."

The auditor can tell Tim isn't blind, so he takes the bet. Tim removes his dentures and bites his good eye. The stunned auditor now realizes he has wagered and lost three grand, with Tim's attorney as a witness. He starts to get nervous.

"Want to go double or nothing?" Tim asks. "I'll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, and piss into that wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between."

The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there's no way this guy can manage that stunt, so he agrees again.

Tim stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although he strains mightily, he can't make the stream reach the wastebasket on other side, so he pretty much urinates all over the desk.

The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win. But Tim's attorney moans and puts his head in his hands. "Are you okay?" the auditor asks.

"Not really," says the attorney. "This morning, when Tim told me he'd been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty thousand dollars that he could come in here and piss all over an IRS official's desk and that you'd be happy about it."

Now That's a Poker Player

Two couples were playing poker one evening.
John accidentally dropped some cards on the floor. When he bent down under the table to pick them up he noticed that Bill's wife, Pam, was not wearing any underwear under her dress.
Shocked by this, John tried to sit back up and hit his head on the table.
He emerged red-faced and headed to the kitchen to get some refreshements. Bill's wife followed and asked, "Did you see anything you liked under there?"
Surprised by her boldness, John admitted that he indeed did see something he liked.
She said, "Well, you can have it, but it's going to cost you $100".
After taking a moment to consider the offer, John confirmed that he was indeed interested.
She tells him that her husband works on Fridays and since John didn't he should come by the house Friday around 2 pm.
When Friday rolled around, John showed up at Bill's house at the appointed time and after paying Pam the agreed upon $100, they went into the bedroom and consumated the deal.
John then quickly got dressed and left.
As usual, Bill came home from work on Friday around 6pm and upon entering the house asked his wife, "Did John come by the house this afternoon?"
With a lump in her throat Pam answered, "Why yes he did stop by for a few minutes".
Her heart nearly skipped a beat when he asked, " and did he give you $100?"
In terror she assumed he somehow found out about their meeting and after mustering her best poker face replied, "as a matter of fact he did give me $100".
With a satisfied look on his face Bill told his wife, "Good, I was hoping he did. John stopped by my office this morning and asked to borrow $100 from me. He promised me he'd stop by the house this afternoon and pay me back!"

Now that my friend's is a poker player!

A Brutal Final Hand

Last night I played in the Wallingford home game and things started out very nice. I have a pretty tight table image over there and that has allowed me to get away with some nice bluffs. I try not to push it too much and if I get caught I go back to my usual tight play, but last night it seemed like nobody wanted to tangle with me. I did hit a snag when I tried to get tricky and limped in (didn't raise pre-flop) with pocket aces and when two fours came on the flop I knew I had let a crappy hand in for free and it was going to cost me. I was right and almost left as we were only going to play for another hour. I decided to rebuy and within 30 minutes had more than doubled my stack again when the final hand came up. Of course, at the time I didn't know it would be the final hand.
I was in the small blind and called the bet with 3-4 offsuit. It looked like the big blind checked (I thought he motoioned with his hand) and the dealer thought so, too and even asked him at which time he decided to make a weak raise of $5. I quickly called as I had been able to get this player to dump hands off to me earlier. The flop came Q-2-3 all hearts. Now this is a dangerous board for 3-4 even if I had a heart, which I didn't. I bet anyway to see where I was at and the player called. Now I figure he probably has at least one heart and is looking to make his flush. The 4 of hearts comes on the turn and now I have two pair but I know he made his flush, I bet again thinking if he doesn't have the nut flush (Ace high) he might be worried by my bet. He called again so I know he has a flush, just not sure how strong it is and I have 4 outs to the full house anyway. The river is a black 3 making me a full house, threes full of fours, beating a flush, of course. I decide to bet strong and make him think I am bluffing, and there are actually only two possible cards he could be holding in his hand that can beat me. I bet out $40 and he pushes all in, I had to call and the pot is now about $400. Of course he turns over the only two cards that can beat my hand, the ace and five of hearts for a straight flush and the absolute nuts! I can't call this a bad beat as I shouldn't have played the hand in a raised pot (even a weakly raised pot like this one) and I shouldn't have been chasing a four-outer either. It was just a bad hand, it still sucks, but I did it to myself. Of course 99+% of the time I take that nice pot down so I can't really complain. Needless to say, not one of my better nights as far as final results go, but I actually played well for the session overall (not including this hand or the pocket aces earlier) and in the long run playing well and making the right decisions leads to positive results at year end which is what it is all about.

Life's a Beach

Even though it rained most of the time, my first trip to the beach this year was still enjoyable. I even managed to get a little sunburn on Sunday. On Friday night I had the ritualistic slices at Mack & Manko's and a little soft serve to top it off. Saturday was raining so I headed to AC and instead of hitting my usual haunts, The Taj and Borgata, I decided to check out the new poker room at the Hilton. It's a nice space and even has some windows, but the hosts have a lot to learn about running a poker room. They were spreading only low limit games, but they did have a No Limit game in session so I took a seat to check things out. I mostly folded pre-flop as I tried to get a feel for the players. They were mostly weak-passive, limping in to the pot and then checking and calling bets. The first hand I played I raised from early position with a pocket pair of sevens and got at least five callers. I flopped a third seven to make my set but there were two hearts on the board and with that many callers I knew a suck-out was coming. I bet strong and all but one player dropped out. Of course the next card out was a heart and while I knew I was beat I decided to call just so I could see what the guy was holding as it might be worth something down the road. Of course he had the ace of hearts and the case seven, also a heart. I didn't play many more hands as I decided that with this group I had to play ABC poker to establish a table image and then maybe I could make some moves later on. The poker gods were not kind to me this day as every one of the few hands I played improved on the flop but were always paired with some kind of draw against me. I flopped another set, but with three diamonds on the flop it was a guaranteed suck-out waiting to happen. I flop top two pair on another hand, but of course they're no good when you can't get the drawing hands to fold even to strong bets. I played for maybe two hours and left the table down about $200. If I had more time I think it would have been profitable to wait it out, but I had dinner reservations and didn't want to be late.
Sunday the sun finally broke out, but it was still a bit windy on the beach and the water was way too cold for swimming, although a few brave souls gave it a shot.
I am looking forward to many more beach trips this summer with both better weather and better luck at the tables.

My Birthday & Some Poker Stuff

Last Wednesday was my birthday and so I am a year older and evidently wiser. I celebrated throughout the Memorial Day weekend and now, one week later, the celebration of what could potentially be the next new national holiday is officially over. I managed to get some poker time into the celebration and had a nice win in the Wallingford game last Thursday night. I arrived a little late, just before 10 pm and there were eight players already seated and playing. I took a seat and I made my presence known on the very first hand I played, taking down a nice pot with trip sixes. Then I had one of those magical nights where everything just seems to go your way and it seems like there is no conscious effort involved. My chip stacks kept growing and I managed to stay out of trouble with lousy cards and still get paid off when I had a hand. At 2 am there were 3 players left including myself and we decided to cash out and call it a night. It was a good night!
This weekend I am heading down to the shore and will be playing some cards and hitting the beach. Summer is finally here!

Paris Hilton & her Bentley Update

The largest online poker site in the world has recently made an interesting offer to Paris Hilton, the former owner of a beautiful $200,000 Bentley automobile that she lost in a "crazy" game of poker at her parent's casino in Las Vegas. Party Poker is the largest and the first publicly traded online poker site. They went public on the London Stock Exchange last year ( remember, online poker is illegal in the US) making the three co-owners instant multi-billionaires. The founder, a 30-something female who started out in the 900 number sex line biz, sold a small portion of her holdings into the offering, cashing in for just over $3 billion (she still holds an estimated $3 billion+ in shares)! The site takes in something like $3 million a day!
Anyway, Partypoker.com has offered the Hilton heiress an opportunity to get her beloved Bentley back. They will buy the car back for her if she agrees to play Mike Sexton, the host of the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, heads up and wins! No reply from Miss Hilton yet. As you all must be hanging on the edge of your seats, I will let you know as soon I hear word!


The pic is of Paris doing some chores around the parent's Bel Air estate to work off the $200k gambling loss.

Sweetnorthern Saint

My horse finally came in and finished in the money today at the Preakness. Too bad for Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner and favorite to win here, he fractured his leg seconds after leaving the starting gate and is mostly likely finished racing for good. Sweetnorthernsaint went off at 8-1 odds and came in second after Bernardino came from behind in the final strech to win it. I bet him "across the board" which means I had money on him finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd, so I made a bit of loot, but not as much as I would have had he won it. Now its on to the Belmont to see if he can win for me there!

Biggest Poker Game Ever

The biggest poker game in history was recently played at the new Wynn resort in Las Vegas. Texas banker and billionaire Andy Beal took on the group of pro poker players that have formed what has been dubbed "The Corporation", in a heads up Texas Hold-em match with betting limits of $50,000 and $100,000. What that means is that minimum bets and raises are made in increments of $50,000 in the first two rounds of betting and $100,000 in the last two rounds of betting on each hand. Nearly every pot contested was for more than $500,000 and many pots reached into the low seven figures. The pros sat down at the table with $10 Million of their own chips, Beal sat with $20 Million. The game continued over three days and Phil Ivey played for the pros, who have pooled their money to take on the challenger. After three days when the match ended and the smoke had cleared in the Wynn's beautiful poker room, the results were tallied...Phil Ivey won $16.5 Million for the pros and Andy Beal was on a jet headed back to Dallas swearing to never play poker again!

Paris & Poker part deux

Looks like in addition to losing the family Bentley, Paris may have actually lost her shirt in that poker game, too!
I apologize in advance for posting this.

I Can't Wait For This!

My tastebuds are doing backflips as I eagerly anticipate the opening of the newest addition to Atlantic City's growing list of upscale, celebrity-chef restaurants!
Food Network Television personality and chef-owner of Mesa Grill and Bolo, Bobby Flay will soon premier his first steak house venture at The Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa. Bobby Flay Steak is an 11,000-squarefoot space that merges sleek, modern design elements with natural materials such as leather, cast glass and rough-hewn woods. It is scheduled to open at the end of June! I have always enjoyed his Chillin' & Grillin' and Boy Meets Grill shows and got to see him in action when I ate at The Mesa Grill in NYC. The food was incredible and when they brought the dessert tray to the table I couldn't decide what I wanted so I ordered one of everything! Of course I reluctantly shared with the others at the table.
So here's the low down on the new digs:
Flay designed the chic and comfortable steakhouse to complement the exciting backdrop of The Borgata. Guests enter through an entryway lined floor-to-ceiling in red leather, which then reveals a gleaming circular brass cage. Design elements such as hand-stitched leather and rough-hewn woods instill the essence of a traditional Western steakhouse, but are updated with modern twists. Positioned between the bar and the main dining room, the Lobster Bar will feature a handmade, cast-glass bar front with built-in lobster tanks. The dining room houses four towering wine displays and a dramatic ceiling composed of wood panels arranged to create an undulating landscape. Bobby Flay Steak will seat 150 people, and includes two private dining rooms perfect for special occasions... (like the next blogger gettogether!).
Flay is excited to present the classic steakhouse fare he remembers enjoying as a child in New York City as well as new dishes that incorporate his famous grilling techniques and signature Southwestern fare. Bobby Flay Steak will feature the finest steaks paired with zesty rubs and seasonal ingredients, as well as the Lobster Barwhich will offer Oyster & Lobster Shooters, a smooth Lobster-Smoked Tomato Bisque and spicy Lobster & Crispy Squid Salad with hot pepper dressing. As a nod to Borgata's close proximity to the City of Brotherly Love, Flay has created a Philadelphia-Style Cheese Steak, a perfectly grilled rib-eye, hanger steak, New York strip or filet mignon with provolone cheese sauce and roasted mushrooms and onions. If I can't make it to the grand opening I will be dining there soon after!

Weekend Update

Well, I had half of the winning exacta numbers for the Derby on Saturday, but of course that and $9 will get you a beer at Piccasso's. Barbaro, the favorite in the race, won it handily and looks like he might be a contender for the Triple Crown as he appeared to have even more to give as he crossed the finish line. My pick, Sweetnorthernsaint, came in seventh after making an early run for the lead. If you had played the winning Superfecta numbers (the order of finish of the first four horses) you would have won $42,000 for every dollar wagered!
On the poker front, I was eliminated in the 6th level of the Borgata tournament on Friday. Things had been looking good for the first few hours and then I played a big pot with Ace-King and lost 90% of my chips when my hand didn't improve versus my opponent's pair of nines. Left with only $675 I moved all-in on the very next hand with Ace-nine and actually had a chance to quadruple up with four players in the pot. Although I caught an ace on the flop, I lost on the river to another player with Ace-Jack. It's always disappointing when you are eliminated from a tournament, but the reality is I just haven't played in any live tournaments in a while and maybe I was a little unprepared. My table had several very aggressive players who made it hard to enter any pot without a decent hand. Of course by the time I figured out the crap they were raising with it was too late. I love the tournaments because of the competition and the opportunity for big prize pools and of course the prestige that goes with playing in televised events, but I know my strength is playing cash games and I should focus on that and let the tournament results come as they may.
I played in three Sit-n-Go tournaments online Sunday, those are single table events with nine players. The winner gets 50% of the money, 2nd gets 30% and third gets 20%. The buy-in for these was $50 so a first place finish paid $225. I won two and finished third in another so that did help to ease my pain a bit. The final tournament I started playing an hour before the start of The Soprano's so I was a little worried it might not finish in time. With only minutes to spare I got down to heads up with my final opponent at the table and with $12k in chips versus his less than $2k, it was over fairly quickly and all I missed was the theme song!

Derby Update

OK, looks like I had some premature info on the post positions. Sweetnorthernsaint is going off in post # 11 (not 13) and Barbaro is going off in the #8 post (not 4). So my picks are the same, post positions are different. The exacta bet would now be 11-8 boxed (boxed means you win if the top two finishers are either horse, ie: finish is 11-8 or 8-11). I am leaving now for the Borgata to register for the event and get settled in. I'll have an update for you all on Monday!

Kentucky Derby

I'm going to go out on a limb and post my Kentucky Derby winning bets early. Unless things change between now and Saturday at 6:04 PM, I will be betting on #13 Sweetnorthernsaint to win and I may also make an exacta bet of 13-4 boxed (Sweetnorthernsaint and Barbaro). I'll be placing my bets while I am at the Borgata on Friday.

May Day

Hard to believe that it is May already. After the backlash I received about the puff piece on Paris Hilton, I will take a moment to write about myself. I have been gearing up for the Ultimate Poker Weekend at Borgata that starts this Friday, Cinqo de Mayo. The first event I am playing starts at 4pm Friday, and there are 3 more to choose from on Saturday with the main event being held on Sunday morning. I played in four online tournaments the past week and cashed in 3 with two 3rd place finishes. I have been hitting the books, as well, consulting some of the better reads from my vast poker library. It never hurts to go back and review some of the great strategy books.
Two of the events this weekend are rated so if I cash you will get to see my name in lights in the Cardplayer rankings again. The main event is called The Ultimate Super Satellite and will award as many $50,000 prize packages as the prize pool will allow. I expect there to be at least 6 prize packages awarded with some lesser amount of cash for a few other players. The package includes $10k in cash and 4 $10k buy-ins to upcoming major events at the Mandalay Bay, The World Series of Poker Main Event, Foxwoods World Poker Finals and the Boragata Poker Open. The Borgata buy-in is not transferable, but the others can be sold. I would most likely sell the Mandalay Bay seat and play the three, pocketing the extra $10k in cash.
I apologize to you all again for publishing the piece on Paris Hilton.

Paris Loses Bentley in Poker Game

After recently telling Bluff Magazine "I'm obsessed with poker. It's my favorite game now. We love it. We play at tournaments in Vegas. I'm really lucky in Vegas - I always win!", Paris went and lost the family Bentley in a poker game at none other than the Hilton family's own casino! She lost the nearly $200k vehicle in what she calls a "bad" game. Maybe she should just stick to making those videos. The papparazzi were stunned as she handed the keys to the winner and her parents are so furious they have banned her from gambling in the family casino! Evidently the house doesn't always have the advantage!

Lack of Poker Posts

I think I need to discuss exactly why there has been a lack of poker posts recently (maybe to your delight). I have to tell you about the worst beat I've ever suffered at a poker table in my history of playing the game. I was in a full cash game in a casino, no limit hold-emwith high stakes (for me anyway). Blinds of $25/50 and I had about $8k to start out with (far too big a game for my bankroll, but c'est la vie). After a few hours my bankroll had swelled to about $35k, one of the best runs of my career. The final hand came so quickly it still gives me the chills when I think about it. I was dealt the ace and queen of spades in early position and made a nice raise before the flop. I was called by three players and we saw the flop four-handed. On the flop were two spades, one of which was the jack, also the highest card on the board. So I flopped a draw to the absolute nut flush and I had two overcards to anything that was out there. I put out almost a pot- sized bet and was called by two players. The turn was the six of spades, locking up my nut flush. I bet out again and was called by one player and then raised by the third player. I was hoping he had a lesser flush or a similar strong hand that he would be drawing dead on the river with. The pot was now over $30k. I thought for a moment and re-raised all in with my last $25k or so. The second player dropped immediately and the third player went into the tank contemplating a call. When he finally called I actually felt so good and turned over the nuts as he slowly turned over two pair, a jack and a six. Now what card do you think came on the river? I'll give you a hint, there were only two of them left in the deck. A total of four cards out of the 46 possible remaining cards that could help him and he hits one! Worse than a 10 to 1 dog and he gets the miracle six on the river to make a full house and beat my ace high flush! The pot of close to $80k was pushed to him and I was left sitting there with my heart in my throat and nothing but a bare patch of felt in front of me. I was crushed emotionally on that one and that is why the poker posts have been lacking and I am working on re-building my bankroll as the World Series of Poker is rapidly approaching and I need to make plans for Vegas this summer. Next Friday, Cinqo de mayo, I will be playing at the Borgata again in their Ultimate Weekend of Poker event. A good performance there should boost my confidence again and get me back in the game. Until then you might get a few more twinkie posts.

Deep Fried Twinkies

I want to take a moment to discuss one of the most outrageous deserts I have ever had the pleasure of indulging in. A Deep fried Twinkie! I came across these incredible concoctions on a trip to Vegas. Across the street from Binion's Horseshoe and catecorner to the Golden Nugget is a little hole-in-the-wall slot parlor called Mermaids, and in the back, where you can also indulge in a glorious $2 foot-long chili-cheese dog you will find the most decadent marriage of artery-clogging, deep fat frying and a sugary, cream filled confection! If you've somehow managed your way through life to this point without ever having tasted one, I suggest you put this at the top of your "to do before I die" list and get with the program.

Big Brother VS Poker

Since 1995, when the first online gambling sites opened their doors for business, legislators have unsuccessfully tried to stop the unprecedented growth in online gaming. Even though online gaming revenues are in excess of $12 billion annually, all these legislators can think of is how to stop it instead of thinking about how to regulate it. Previous legislation that was unsuccessfully proposed actually suggested that banks and financial institutions should "police" their clients and prevent them from sending money to online gaming sites. How insane is that concept? Would you want your bank inquiring as to what you are doing with your hard earned money on deposit at their bank? The newest legislation again attempts to stop the flow of money to these sites by proposing legislation that would prohibit online gaming sites from accepting money from financial institutions. Only one problem smart guys...these sites are all based offshore (online gaming is illegal in the USA) so they are not subject to these laws!! How do these people even get elected in the first place? Anyway, there are an estimated 70 million poker players in the US and if even a fraction of them made their voices heard it could have an impact. I sent the following e-mail to Sentaor Rick Santorum to express my thoughts on the subject and actually got a reply (probably canned, but what can I expect?).

Senator, I am writing to urge you to oppose pending legislation that would limit the rights of individuals to play poker online. Currently, there are two bills in the House, H.R. 4411 introduced by Rep. James Leach (R-IA) and H.R. 4777 introduced by Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA). And in the Senate, Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is pushing similar legislation that he wants to introduce.

As an avid poker player, I feel strongly that these bills and any other legislation that deny Americans the right to play a game of skill such as poker on the Internet, seriously and egregiously violate my personal freedoms.

More than 70 million people today enjoy poker. And while most play at home, in taverns or poker clubs, many enjoy this game of skill with friends and family on the Internet. The possibility of the federal government stripping away this right to play online is very troubling to me.

These bills trample the freedoms of online poker players and represent a slippery slope that could lead to the federal government denying citizens the right to play poker in offline venues. The bills also hypocritically make exceptions for certain types of gambling, including internet state lotteries, placing online bets for horse races and select fantasy sports, while prohibiting poker, which is objectively a skill game.

Equally troubling, though, are the bill’s enforcement mechanisms. All three proposals contain banking enforcement provisions which would extend a “know your customer” relationship well beyond what I want my bankers to know about my financial affairs. This regulation would require bankers to monitor my on-line purchases and even review my checks. Like most Americans, I choose my bank, and deposit my paycheck for safekeeping, not for them to monitor my withdrawals, funds transfer or even individual checks. These provisions put the government too deep into my pocketbook. According to Forbes’ magazine there are 5 FBI agents assigned to internet gambling, I demand that American taxpayers know the full cost of enforcing a ban on my rights to play poker on-line.

Separately, in Rep. Goodlatte’s legislation, Internet service providers (ISPs) are forced to remove gambling related hyperlinks upon court order. Such mandates require ISPs to remove or disable access to online sites that the government deems violations. This is censorship of the Internet, plain and simple. Congress rightly criticized China for blocking the free flow of information to its citizens via the Internet, and now Goodlatte’s bill deserves similar scrutiny.

From average citizens to presidents, generals, Members of Congress and Supreme Court justices, Americans have been playing poker for centuries, making it a rich part of our cultural heritage. Today, the evolution of game on the Internet should not be restricted by overarching government interference, and simply by putting the word “internet” in front of poker does not make it wrong.

I urge you to take these concerns into consideration and oppose H.R. 4411, H.R. 4777 and the Kyl proposal that will make outlaws of poker players who enjoy the game online.

I think there are much more serious issues that these legislators should be expending their time and energy on. This is NOT one of those issues!

Russia Calf Shoes

Just like CNN, I too have been thinking of picking up a pair of new shoes. Not just any shoes mind you, but one of the most distinctive shoes in the world! The Russia Calf shoes that are made by New & Lingwood from London's Jermyn Street. What makes these shoes so unique you ask? These shoes are made from a limited cache of reindeer hides that were found aboard a ship that sank off the English coast in 1786. They lay at the bottom of the ocean for nearly 200 years until the wreck was discovered in 1973. Despite their prolonged submersion in salt water, the hides were as good as ever. The reason is that the hides had been processed by a secret technique that was lost after the Russian Revolution, and which made pre-revolutionary Russian leathers world famous for both their water resistance as well as their beauty.
First the hides were cured in baths of rye or oat flour and yeast , they were then hand finished and soaked in wood liquor. They were then hand-curried while still wet and soaked in seal oil and birch tan oil , which gives the leather its distinctive, rich aroma. Now these shoes don't have an anti microbial feature and they aren't odor resistant, so it may be difficult to justify the $1550 price tag, but then again that's a mere round of blinds and antes in a decent no limit game!

Where in the World is Chuck?

Since my Nigerian 419 scammer is nowhere to be found recently, I have turned my attention to another pressing matter; trying to find out what happened to Chuck? Just where in the world is Chuck? I have run down a few leads with no success. The first clue led me to Seattle, Washington, land of eternal sunshine, where I found Chuck B. was vice president of sales and marketing for Larry's Markets, the cash strapped grocery chain that just laid off 70% of its work force. This guy had a full head of hair so I knew right away I had missed my mark.
My next clue led me to Los Angeles where I found Chuck B. was a self-employed real estate developer who made a questionable donation of $1200 to John Kerry's presidential campaign fund. We all know Chuck is a devout Libertarian and would never have supportrd such a worthless cause. Since I was already in California I followed a clue down to San Diego where I found Chuck B. at a reunion of the Marine Corps Flying Tiger Squadron, but since this was a Vietnam era reunion, I quickly ruled out our beloved Chuck. I hopped back across the continent to Naugatuck, Connecticut to what I was sure would finally be success; Chuck B. was a licensed member of a national network of socially responsible investment consultants. Right up his alley, I thought, but alas, no luck! My final clue led me back to California where I was saddened to discover that Chuck was the former president of the Santa Cruz County Horseman's Association and had died in a myserious mountain biking incident that is still under investigation. I gave up my search there and am asking you for your help in finding Chuck.
Just where in the world is Chuck? Does anyone out there have a clue?

More Fun With Nigerians

I sent the following e-mail to the lawyer in London representing Mrs. Hariri and I am still waiting for his reply. When I get it I will add it below so be sure to check back here:

Mr. Johnson,
I am happy to hear the opportunity to assist Mrs. Hariri is still available and I can
assure you that my current legal issues will have no impact on our business at hand.
In regards to your request for information from me, I believe I may have
accidentally deleted your original e-mail while purging my system of unwanted spam.
What information do you need exactly for us to complete this transaction? I opened
a new account at my bank specifically to facilitate this transaction.
When I mentioned to the bank officer that I needed to open a new
account into which I could transfer $36 million,
he said " wow, you will certainly get free checking"!
I laughed at first, but then I realized that free checking is no laughing matter!

I must inform you at this time that telephone communication is going to be
difficult for us as my tongue was horribly mangled in a tragic cellphone
accident several years ago. In person, I can easily communicate with bits
of scrap paper and hand signs, but over the phone you would never be
able to comprehend my garbled attempts at speech. You will be happy to
know that while my handicap has been difficult to overcome, I have not
lost my sense of taste and still enjoy dining at gourmet restaurants
and sampling fine wines and cognacs.

Be that as it may, we will be confined to e-mail and/or fax messages for
the remainder of this transaction. I check my e-mail daily and will
promptly reply to any future correspondence.

I will be anxiously awaiting your further instructions.

Yours Truly,

Horace P. Manuer
Ceo/Media Wireless Group

Notice that I went back to the original spelling of my last name. Let's see if he picks up on it, too.

Lunch With a Playmate

I took a day off from playing poker and playing with Nigerian scam artists for a little B & B, which in my book means beer and bunnies! Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with a former Playboy Playmate. Colleen Marie, Miss August 2003, was very cute and very nice. We had lunch together and talked a bit about her love of extreme sports and Las Vegas, where she has a home. After lunch, I watched her attempt to climb a temporary rock wall (successfully) and then had a picture taken with her. Not a bad way to spend a Thursday afternoon!

Chuck Drops a Bombshell

Chuck has dropped the equivalent of a 20 megaton explosive device on the blogger community today. I am still in shock and may be for some time. CNN and I are already trying to organize a "Hands Across Sligo" vigil where fans and mourners of the Carlos/Chuck blog can gather and drown their sorrows in a pint of Guiness and discuss the current and often inflammatory topics that Chuck dared to divulge on his digital diary. Maybe if he switched to a "subscription-based" blog it would give him something more tangible in return for his heartfelt prose. A simple link and Paypal account would easily cover the logistics of that scenario. We need to band together and let Chuck know that he can't just walk away from this "thing of ours" like that. Viva las misadventuras de Carlos!!!

Matisyahu at Electric Factory

Last night was the Matisyahu concert at Electric Factory in Philadelphia. I only recently discovered this artist and really enjoy his music.
The show was great, bordering on uplifting if only for the fact that you genuinely sense that he is for real and his beliefs boom through the mic. The former resident of West Chester born Matthew Miller, became Matisyahu in his late teens after meeting a rabbi in a park in New York and taking on the Lubavitch Hasidic lifestyle. I only have his "Live at Stubbs" CD, but his new studio album "Youth" was recently released and I plan on getting that, too.

Say No To Tilt

I've played a little poker recently with mixed results, but have been able to stay in the black for the year so far. I've only played in one big tourney which is less than I had planned, but I know that the best route for me now is to accumulate winnings in the beatable cash games and play the tournies when I am at the top of my game. This Sunday the Borgata is hosting an interesting tournament called "The Ultimate Satellite". The buy-in is $1000 and for every sixty players a winner will walk away with the ultimate grand prize package that consists of the following:

• $10,000 Buy-in to the Foxwoods Poker Classic April 6-9
• $25,500 Buy-in to the World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio April 18-24
  
• $10,000 Buy-in to the Borgata Poker Open September 15-19
• $10,000 Buy-in to the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio July 28 to August 10
• $4500 in cash for travel expenses

Now that is a tempting proposition!!

Hot & Cold Running Beer

This sounds like Chuck's greatest fantasy!! (Next to Inga vrom Sveeden)

OSLO (Reuters) - A woman thought she was in heaven when beer instead of water flowed from the taps in her apartment in west Norway."I turned on the tap to clean some knives and forks and beer came out," Haldis Gundersen told Reuters from her home in Kristiansund, west Norway. "We thought we were in heaven."Beer in Norway is among the most expensive in the world with a 0.4 liter (0.7 pint) costing about 50 crowns ($7.48) in a bar.Gundersen said she tried the beer but that it tasted a bit odd and was not fizzy.It turned out that a worker in a bar two floors below had mixed up the pipes on Saturday evening, wrongly connecting a new barrel to a water pipe leading to Gundersen's flat. The bar got water in its beer taps.

Riddle Me This

Here's an interesting riddle to ponder over the weekend:

You are in a room with three light switches. Way down the hall is a room with a light bulb that one of these switches controls. You can't see the other room or the light from the other room from the room you are in.

All three light switches are off and the light bulb is also off. Now, you can fiddle with the light switches any way you want. Then, you can go into the room down the hall where the light bulb is and come back to the original room where the switches are.

There is one specific way you'll know for certain which switch controls that light bulb.

This isn't a trick question at all, but you might have to think outside the box to get the right answer. I've never met anybody yet who got it.

Road Trip '06: Alcohol Was the Theme

Like any road trip embarked upon by 6 mature, tax-paying, upstanding members of society, alcohol consumption was the main goal and we excelled in meeting our objective! Here's the basic rundown: After the free beers at the brewery we moved on to Club 18, home of the 75 cent draft and the $5 pizza, a classic combo that really got us in the groove for the rest of the trip. The Drunken Monkey, while not quite as inexpensive as Club 18 with its pricey $1.25 drafts, had its positive attributes, as well, and gave us the final burst of momentum we'd need for the hour and a half drive to our ultimate destination. While the image is a little blurry, I have included below a photo of our next bar tab at Crazy Fingers where before we knew what hit us we had consumed a total of 4 beers and 17 margaritas in a little more than an hour. The final tab of $197 made us shudder to think what heights the bill could have reached if we had decided to stay there any longer!
Once at the cabin the real drinking began, and with an initial arsenal of 3 cases of beer, a half gallon of Captain Morgan, a fifth of Vodka and a bottle of Cabo Wabo Tequila, we felt pretty secure in the fact that we were well supplied, at least for the first evening. An intense session of the classic drinking game PIGS got us off to a great start which led to several heated rounds of PIT, eventually ending the evening with a halfhearted attempt at the classic dice game Mexican. While Fold the Laundry was mentioned it was never actually played to my limited recollection.
Day two began shortly after breakfast with a pitstop at Pat's Pub in Hawley (happened to be across the street from the Hawley Diner) where we enjoyed several rounds of Yuengling, some pool and some darts. This is the spot where we found our temporary replacement for Granger, who couldn't make the trip due to his prior committment to attend a fondue party in Media.
After the bar we decided to head back to the cabin and we made a quick stop at the local market to replenish our limited food supply and we pooled our money to purchase 43 tickets for the record-setting Powerball drawing to be held later that night (the fact that I'm even writing this entry should be proof enough of the outcome of that one). We decided we would only drink hard liquor from that point on as we only had 8 beers left and the group concensus was to put the money into lottery tickets instead of more beer. By Sunday morning we had depleted all forms of alcohol but a quarter of the Cabo Wabo and we left the cabin satisfied, if not hungover.
Here's some more miscelaneous pics including one of Paul and Ted checking the thickness of the ice on the lake:

Road Trip '06: The Brewery

We arrived at the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, PA at about noon on Friday, which meant we had an hour and a half to kill before the tour would start. We checked out the Yuengling Museum which housed quite an impressive collection of beer paraphenalia and beer art, as well as Yuengling family momentos. We were surprised at the level of access we were granted in the building and the lack of security on the premises. On several occasions we waltzed right past the "employees only' signage to investigate rooms and areas not included in the public tour, including the brewmaster's lab and the tap room where we helped ourselves to some free samples ( see photo below). The tour itself was interesting but the tour guide could stand to drop the decibel level of her presentation a few notches. A few interesting highlights were the underground caves which were used to keep the beer cold before refrigeration was invented, and the fact that during prohibition the company survived by making ice cream and their classic Porter, which was available by prescription for medicinal purposes only! Another interesting tidbit is the fact that it takes approximately 28 days to create a batch of beer from brewing to fermenting to canning to finished product, yet on the very day that Prohibition was renounced, the Yuengling's delivered a a truckload of beer to the White House to assist in the national celebration.
The tour ended with a visit to the tap room, which we had already discovered pre-tour. The good news was you could drink any of the 7 varieties of beer Yuengling currently makes, the bad news was you were limited ( by some vague PA law) to 2 beers per person. We are currently investigating loopholes for the next trip.
The brewery has been family owned since it was founded in 1829 and each generation has to buy the brewery from the previous which led us to an interesting conclusion. Since the current owner, Dick Yuengling, has four daughters the empire is ripe for a coup. We tried to fix Ted up with Wendy Yuengling, who works in the shipping department and is the most visually appealing of the four. Who knows, if he plays his cards right we could be enjoying frosty cold pints of O'Hara Lager at the Plumstead someday!

Road Trip '06: The Drunken Monkey

While we were driving from Pottsville to Centralia, we ventured through the town of Ashland and noticed a sign for a small bar along the main strip called "the Drunken Monkey". A sign out front proclaimed it was the "home of the Monkey Wrap" which really intrigued us and we vowed to check it out on the way back from visiting the adjacent burning mine town. After Centralia we figured we were ready for anything so on the way back we pulled up to the bar and parked right out front. Inside we were greeted with a suspicious nod from the bartender and several locals enjoying a mid afternoon beer as we ordered Yuengling drafts and proceeded to investigate the premises. There was alot of monkey paraphenalia ranging from stuffed animals to posters, so I assume the owner has some sort of monkey fetish. They did have a Rolling Stones poster on the wall, too. Turns out the delicacy that they are so famously known for, The Monkey Wrap, is actually a deep fried burrito. Go figure. I guess inflation has caught up with this booming metropolis just outside of Pottsville as the price of draft beer had risen dramatically to $1.25. Oddly enough, they had the same selection of pickled eggs and hot pickled bologna that seems to be such a great seller in the local drinking haunts of this region. And what oenophile would not love a place that has ice cold bottles of Boone's Farm wine in their take-out fridge!

Road Trip '06

Well, this road trip certainly had it all! It will take several posts to report all the drunken debauchery of the weekend, but I will begin with our stop at Centralia, PA. The warning sign posted at the entrance to the town says it all. If it weren't so damn cold we may have spent a little more time exploring the little hamlet, but with the wind chill factor already in the negative digits and the sun about to set, we decided to keep this leg of the trip to a brief minimum. We were somewhat disappointed in the fact that there really wasn't any exposed flame, just a lot of steam rising from holes in the ground. Parts of the ground were warm to the touch, and you could see where the ground was starting to collapse in areas. Ted found a nice chunk of coal which we later used to heat the cabin when we got to the the lake. All in all it was kind of eerie, like visiting the set of a creepy horror movie. While I half expected to see some banjo-strumming, mouth-harp playing townsfolk rocking on their porches, we did not see any residents while we were there. This was the shortest leg of our journey, and we were quickly back on the road headed toward our final destination at Lake Wallenpaupack.