My Birthday

As usual I have turned my birthday into a week long celebration that I suppose will finally end tonight. Thanks to Lauren it has been the best birthday I can recall for quite some time. Thursday we headed down to Atlantic City for a delayed celebration after the long Memorial Day Weekend. I had booked a rock star suite at the House of Blues and we were having dinner at the Foundation Room that night, too. We got down early so I could play a little poker before dinner, but since the Showboat poker room doesn't have alot of action, we strolled over to the Taj to find a decent game. I found a decent No Limit game and managed to win a few hundred dollars in about an hour and a half and we headed back to our suite to get ready for dinner.
Dinner was amazing. There was only one other table of people in the place so it was very private and we took our time with the courses, finishing up with desert nearly three hours after we first sat down. Good wine, good food and great company!
After a late morning breakfast in the room we headed back over to the Taj and I found another juicy game. After getting down a little early on I regrouped, took a breath and renewed my attack. In no time at all I had managed to get all-in three times with the nuts and won three large pots, much to Lauren's excitement! It was the first time she had ever sat and watched me play and the poker gods were smiling favorable upon me. I cleaned three players down to the felt, including an older player who blew through $600 in less than 30 minutes. We got it all in with my pocket kings against his pocket queens, then he bought back in and we got it all in again with my Ace-Queen against his Ace-Jack. I made two pair and he lost again to me, informing the table he was done for the weekend as he got up and left. The third all in was a dream as several players limped into the pot and I managed to get in cheap with the 2-4 of hearts. The flop came 3-5-6, giving me the nut straight, although I didn't like the two diamonds that came up as they could easily give a player a flush draw to beat me. More money went into the pot as it came around to the man on my right and he raised it up. I re-raised him and it was folded back around to him. Surprisingly, he made another large raise and I immediately moved all-in figuring he was drawing to the diamond flush. He called me so quickly that I was amazed when all he turned over was A-6 giving him top pair, top kicker. What was he thinking? He was shocked at the strength of my hand and made a few verbal displays of his disgust with the situation. While the turn gave him two pair, my hand held up and I scooped another large pot. I decided to quit ahead and racked up my chips, cashing out with over $760 for about 2 hours work.
We spent the rest of the day checking out the shops at Caesars Pier with a little sushi overlooking the ocean.
It was a great time and I will be heading down again next week and with the Borgata Summer Open starting the following week on June 9, I am looking forward to getting back into some tournament play.

Cash Game at Borgata

So the brew fest at Iron Hill was sold out so early I never stood a chance. By 11 am there were no more tickets and I was still sound asleep at the time. I will just have to wait until next year.
On Thursday I finally sauntered back into the poker room at the Borgata after a brief hiatus from the live action and mostly playing online. There was a short wait to get into a juicy No Limit game and I finally took an open seat and unracked my chips. I watched a few hands to get a feel for how some of the players were playing and then joined in the action. I mostly folded early on as I was not getting any really playable cards and the few hands I got involved in I was unable to continue after the flop. After about an hour I was stuck a bit but stayed patient and stuck to my game plan. Since it was my first game back I decided I would walk if I doubled up my chips and that was not looking like a favored expectation in the early stages of the game. After almost 2 hours I started getting some decent hands to play and at one point went a on a 6 hand streak where I was dealt 88, 99, JJ, QQ, AQ and AK suited consecutively. With the nines and queens I ended up making three of a kind on the flop to win two huge pots and I even managed to win a big pot with my AK with no improvement when I sensed my opponent had just a little less of a crappy hand than I did. I had bet the flop when nothing came on the board to help me and she called very quickly. I bet the turn again with no help and she called that bet, too. On the river a scare card came that looked like it had completed a spade flush draw. I thought about betting but if she sensed I was weak and raised me I would have had to fold, so I decided to save the chips, check and put out a weak vibe that she might interpret as strength (weak means strong alot of the time in poker, its a tell you just learn to pick up on the more you play). I think she thought I was trying to trap her so she checked and announced "I missed" and I couldn't believe I had wont he pot with an ace high. The rest of the table was pretty surprised, too. As I had more than doubled up my chips after the six hand win streak, I grabbed some racks and proceeded to pile up my chips. I jokingly offered to sell my seat to another player who was anxiously awaiting my departure so he could move into it. I walked to the cashier and left with a nice profit for a three hour session, just shy of my favorite four-figure mark.
I will be heading back again next week and can't wait to get back in the swing of things again!

Brew Fest!

Not a whole lot to report right now. I have been laying a little low on the poker front, but I will be playing in the Borgata Summer Open which starts June 9 and runs through the 24th. Right now I'm looking forward to the Iron Hill Beer Festival that will be held in Media next Saturday. It's always alot of fun, I just hope the weather is going to be nice this weekend. I will be heading down to the Borgata this Thursday for some cash game action and that is about all I have actually planned out for the week so far.

Weekend Update

Saturday I was itching to play some poker so I decided to play in an online tournament. We started out with 4096 players with the top 512 finishing "in the money" (getting paid). I ended up getting knocked out in 210th place and was happy with my performance overall, considering I am a little rusty in the large multi-table tournament arena. That took up a good part of my Saturday, and then Lauren and I made our way over to Ted's little shindig later that night.
We slept in late Sunday and missed Super Sunday in Media, but I prefer the Food Festival anyway.
Last night as I lay in bed looking up at the stars and the sky I couldn't help but wonder, "where the hell is the ceiling?"!

A Night at the Circus

Lauren and I went to the Ringling Brothers circus at the Spectrum last night and had a great time. We had Celebrity VIP passes with front row seats for all of the action and it was awesome to experience everything so up close and right in front of your eyes. We were invited to join in at one point but we opted not to leave our seats. We would have been paraded around the arena in a large circus float, but I think we would have missed alot of the action going on, too. Afterwards we both thought maybe we should have done it, though.
I've always enjoyed the circus and this was my favorite by far. There's always so much going on you never know where to watch. At one point there was even two people on a motorcycle riding on a high wire right above our heads!
Here are a few of the pics I snapped with my camera phone.
The last pic is of Kelly the elephant painting a picture with a paint brush in her trunk which was pretty funny to see!

Borgata Pics

These pics are of one of our recent stays at the Borgata and the beautiful suite they provided for us. There are only two levels of suites nicer than this one, but until I have a seven figure credit line with the Borgata I probably won't be staying in them as they rent for about $10k a night. I think you can rent this one for about $3500 a night. Flat screens in every room, including the master bathroom (there wasn't one in the smaller bath off the entry vestibule). The view through the floor to ceiling windows was mesmerizing for Lauren. The last pic is from my point of view on the sofa looking back into the bedroom. My feet made their way into this shot.

A Few Bahamas Pics

OK, so I know it's been a few months since I got back from the Bahamas with Lauren, but here are some of the pics I took with my camera phone. I finally got the send pic feature fixed on my phone yesterday so here they are! Better late than never, right? These pics are of the Royal Bahamian Suite, the nicest suite in the resort. They start out with Lauren on the balcony. I still need to scan the 35mm pics I took and will post them as soon as I do.

Still Sick

I have been fighting some kind of upper respiratory infection for more than a week now and while it hasn't completely kicked my ass it has had me down and out of action for most of the past week. I am actually going to finally see a doctor and get something to get rid of this because I have had it with being sick. I made it all winter with a clean bill of health and now this.
I finally got my new Verizon FIOS service installed last week and have been back in action on the virtual poker tables again. I have been playing single table "sit-n'go" tournaments on PokerStars which are nine player mini tourneys where the top three players cash (50% to 1st, 30% to 2nd and 20% to 3rd place). I won two events back to back and came in third in another with only only one other entry where I busted out early out of the money (even though I went all-in with the best hand).
I enjoy the easy access but miss the face to face action of live play at the casino. I just haven't been feeling very motivated to make the drive to the Borgata lately. Hopefully when I am back to complete health I will be back in the live action, as well.

Bed & Breakfast

I have returned from my Buck's County weekend getaway with Lauren and it was a great trip. We stayed at the Golden Plough Inn, right near New Hope, in Peddler's Village. The room was fantastic, with a first floor living area that included a two person jacuzzi tub facing the fireplace and a high vaulted ceiling with skylights. When you went upstairs their was a king size bed overlooking the living room like a giant loft. Very comfortable with the feel of a warm townhouse more than a hotel room. Since this was a celebration of Lauren's Birthday, I treated her to a "Queen for a Day" package at the spa on Friday. She got an hour and a half facial treatment, a 1 hour massage followed by a manicure and pedicure. She loved it! The girl that did her facial use to work at Bliss Spa in NYC and use to treat Uma Thurman and Sarah-Jessica Parker!
I couldn't resist and ended up getting a treatment, as well!
I strolled around New Hope while I waited for Lauren and then we had an awesome dinner at Earl's Prime, right in Peddler's Village. This place is so upscale it feels a bit out of place in this location. Everything is cooked to order and they have aged steaks, even Kobe beef. Of course everything is a la carte so you can easily go over $200 a person here with drinks. Lauren had the filet mignon and I had a macadamia encrusted sea bass over lobster risotto. I have to put that one down in my top five list. And the desserts were huge. They even had ice cream from the Creamery at PSU! We got that to go!
We did alot of relaxing and sleeping in so it was more like a Bed & Bed since they stopped serving breakfast before we woke up each day.
Anyway, I highly recommend this place and while we were both sorry to miss Ted's bday bash on Friday, we had a great time.

Winter Blahs

I've been a little lazy about scanning my Bahamas pics so that I can post some here, but I will get around to it eventually. I've really only had one memorable poker session since I returned from the islands and it was a brief session at the Borgata where I tripled my buy-in in just under 90 minutes after sitting down at the table, got up and walked out of the casino.
Had a a little sushi with Ted and MoC the other night at Margaret Kuo's in Media followed by a brief visit to the Plum.
In other highlights I am taking Lauren away next weekend to celebrate her bday. We're staying at a B&B near New Hope. Should be very romantic and relaxing!
Other than that, not alot of excitiment to report about. Hope to get back to the tables this Sunday.

Back in the States!

Well, unfortunately I have to announce that I am back in the states. It was quite a shock to the system walking out of baggage claim late Sunday night in flip flops. I lost all feeling in my extremities within minutes and longed to return to the mid-to-high eighty degree temperatures of the Bahamas that I had left earlier that day.
The trip was wonderful with beautiful weather the entire time. The azure waters of the carribean are almost surreal and the pink-hued sunsets each night were unbelievable, as well. We toasted the sunsets each night with champagne from the giant balcony of the Royal Bahamian Suite, an upgrade they provided us with when I mentioned that the condition of the Royal Village Honeymoon Villa was just not up to my standards. We must have consumed at least ten bottles of champagne in our room alone, as I requested our butler bring a pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a bottle of bubbly each morning with our breakfast, and we would usually polish off another at sunset before heading out to dinner or late night upon returning to our room. We certainly kept them busy restocking the wet bar in the suite, but hey when they say "unlimited" in their marketing brochures they should know that I take them very seriously.
The food was great and we dined in a different restaurant each night except for two evenings. We enjoyed the romantic surf and turf dinner on the pier so much we had to do it one more time so the night before our departure we returned there to dine under the stars with the waves lapping at the beach beneath our feet. One of the benefits of staying in a butler suite was access to this exclusive restaurant.
Turns out we not only had one butler, but actually three butlers working in shifts to accomodate our every request. Those of you who know me understand I can be a little demanding when it comes to good service.
The exclusive offshore island was a great amenity of this resort that we took advantage of on several days. A short ferry ride across the clear water and you could spend the day secluded on a sun-drenched isle with two private beaches and all the comforts of a full-service restaurant, swim-up pool bar and spa treatments. I forgot how much I loved conch and Kalik beer!
Of course it all ended too fast and leaving was difficult, especially knowing the temperature would be dramatically different back home. I managed to get some time in playing blackjack at the Crystal Palace Casino down the road from our resort, and thanks to their generous offer of four free nights should I return to play, I think Lauren and I will be making an extended weekend visit in the near future!
I'm still getting the pics developed and since they are old school 35mm I need to get them scanned to upload here, but will get to it soon.
Anyway, its good to be back regardless of the weather!

Bahamas!

We leave for the Bahamas in just a few days and I am very excited about this trip and not because I just found out that the World Poker Showdown is holding its deep-stack poker tournament that same week at the Crystal Palace Casino, just down the street from our resort and within walking distance! No this trip is destined to be the most romantic vacation I have ever taken, and while I have stayed in hotels with personal butler service, I have never had the opportunity to utilize their services for an entire week and Lauren and I plan to put this one to the test of his limits! We will be staying in the Royal Village Honeymoon Villa which is in a secluded area of the resort and I also intend to put their all-inclusive amenities to the test of their limits, too! I'll be sure to take lots of pics and post an update when we get back.

Happy New Year!

I have been inspired by MoC's barrage of new posts to update my blog and wish everyone a Happy New Year! I'll start from the last post. I returned from Vegas recharged and excited to play after 5 winning sessions and 1 loser at the Bellagio poker tables. I even got a little time in at the Luxor and the Palms casinos, as well. I won a little at Blackjack overall, but lost at craps every time, which is why I usually avoid the game in Atlantic City. Thanksgiving was great with a wonderful family gathering at the Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere and a trip Downtown to Fremont Street for a taste of old school Vegas. One of the highlights was watching poker pro Phil Ivey playing some high stakes craps at the Bellagio with six figure bets on each roll of the dice! I've included some more pics below.
I played for a bit in the World Series of Poker Circuit event at Harrah's in early December, but came up short of the money. I haven't played much at all with the holidays upon us, but will be getting back to the felt in the next week or so.
Christmas was great and New Year's Eve was a bit more quiet than years past, but fun just the same (see MoC's blog for pics).
Lauren and I will be heading off to the Bahamas on the 15th of this month. From the moment we are picked up at the airport in our chauffer-driven Rolls Royce we will be experiencing the ultimate in luxury vacationing, including a personal butler at our beck and call 24/7! I'm especially looking forward to that trip!
Well, that about does it as far as updates. Wishing you all the best in 2008!

Vegas Baby!

I just got back from a week in Vegas yesterday and will have a full accounting of the trip shortly. In the meantime, here are a few pics. First is a million dollar pile of bills, then Bellagio at night and finally the canals at the Venetian.

Another Winning Session

I hit the Borgata again yesterday and sat in a $2/5 No Limit game. I observed a few hands before I was dealt in and I knew there were some loose-aggressive players that would build big pots but would also be dangerous as it is hard to put them on hands since they play such a wide range of cards. I was patient and mostly folded for the first 30 minutes. I won one nice pot but was really biding my time and waiting for the big kill I knew I could make with these kinds of players. After raising with a pair of eights and then folding when I was re-raised pre-flop, I looked down at a couple of tens and made it $20 to go. Three players called my bet and we saw the flop. The poker gods were smiling on me as the first three cards appeared on the felt: 10-6-6. I had flopped a full-house, an absolute monster! Knowing how agressive the other players were I slow played and let them do the betting for me. I checked and a player bet out $50, another played called and I just called, as well. The turn was a 2 and I checked agian. The first bettor put out a $150 stack of chips, the second player folded and I re-raised another $235, and was all-in. The other player called and when I turned over my hand he practically threw his cards in the muck. He was drawing dead, the last card was meaningless and the dealer pushed me a pile of nearly $1000 of chips! This was in the first hour of play!. I played for about another hour then racked my chips, cashed in and headed to dinner.
My confidence is high as I prepare to leave for Vegas this weekend!

Back to Borgata

Tuesday was my first day back to the poker room at Borgata since I started dating Lauren and I was anxious to see if I could get my focus back. I decided to play conservative and sat at a $2/$5 No-Limit game that had just started before I got there so there were no big stacks yet. I folded my first hand (King-Ten, under the gun) but did play my next hand which was Ace-Eight suited, in diamonds and I was in the Big Blind. I got an ace on the flop but there were three clubs on the board. I bet out and the player to my left made a minimum re-raise, a weak move here. I called and the turn was a non-club rag. I checked and he checked behind me which confirmed my suspicion he had a single club and was looking to hit his flush. The river was another ace, giving me trips and I checked again to see what he might do. He gave up and checked and I took down the pot. A nice opener for sure.
The very next hand, in the Small Blind, I looked down at pocket fours and the whole table limped in and I limped, as well. The flop came 4-K-T and I was first to act and checked. Another player bet $30 and three others called. I thought about raising but decided to smooth call. The turn card I believed was meaningless and I checked again. This time the first better moved all-in and it was folded to me and I called instantly. He turned over King-Ten for top two pair and I showed him my set of fours and he sighed in disappointment. The river didn't help him and I doubled my buy-in on the second hand! I played for about another hour and then took the money and ran. A $540 profit in an hour and a half, not too shabby. Looks like I have a new lucky charm!

I Hit The Jackpot!

I haven't played poker in a week. Like CNN before me, I have been struck by the love bug. It's like hitting a Royal Flush in Hearts on the river to win a monster pot, to put it in poker parlance. My new girlfriend is amazing and I've never been happier! I'm sure it will have an incredibly positive impact on my game when I do get back to the action this week. We've been out every night for the last 11 nights and having a great time together. Just wanted to shout it from the rooftops!
Here's a pic of her from Halloween. Her name is Lauren:

Like the Sands of The Hour Glass...

Thursday night they imploded the Sands Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. Lots of history in that place and not just for me. Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack actually use to hang out there. I learned how to play craps there and I had my first $10k+ win playing poker there. It was also where I competed in my first major, televised poker tournament ($10,000 buy-in) with one of the toughest professional fields ever assembled at the time in AC (if you had Fox Sports Net at the time you could have witnessed it on Thanksgiving Day back in 2003!. Lucky for me my bro in San Diego taped it for me!). I can even remember skipping school back in 11th grade and taking one of those bus trips down there to play blackjack!
The Sands was a place where you could sit down at a table and they greeted you by name because they actually knew your name. Those days in AC are gone for good now I think.

After a brief fireworks display it all came down in 18 seconds.

The One Pounder

Yesterday afternoon I accepted the challenge thrown down by Dave Guthrie that I couldn't eat in one seating, the 20 oz. monster cheeseburger at Cheeburger Cheeburger. Well, below are the before and after pics and my image now appears on the wall of fame at the route 202 location.

Flagged!

This photo is probably just as blurry as the subjects' memories of yesterday. That is none other than Ted, CNN and CNN's big bro Don standing outside John's Bar & Grille shortly after Ted and CNN were flagged! I have never seen Ted get flagged from any bar (although he came close in downtown Saratoga) let alone John's, but he took it like a true drunken gentleman. His futile attempts to argue a logical case with the bartenders for more shots were quite entertaining to witness, as well.