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.