Bad beat stories.  Every poker player has a million of ‘em, and one is more boring than the next. Nobody wants to hear them. Apparently two enterprising young women once opened a booth at The Rio and charged five dollars to players leaving the tournament to listen to their bad beat stories. (If a player…

I hate The Rio Hotel. For the first time in three years I will not be cashing in The WSOP Seniors tournament. But that’s not why I hate the Rio. Of course, I will be happy to tell you about the three hands that brought me down… But that still won’t be why I hate…

Warning: there will be no mention of poker in this particular blog. So. You’re sitting at a blackjack table at The D Hotel in downtown Las Vegas and the guy beside you orders four Rum and Cokes in the span of an hour. Do you cut the guy off? Do you say “Hey Buddy, maybe…

As you may remember, last year at this exact time I was finishing 2nd in the Seminole Hard Rock Casino Lucky Hearts $1100 tournament netting me $20,000 (US), my best result ever in a live tournament (up to now anyway). So why wouldn’t I return to the scene of the crime a year later? After…

The Vince McMahon-like emcee welcomed us all to the second day of the WSOP Seniors Tournament by commanding that all the players who were between 50-55 stand up. And then he asked them to have a seat again. “Now everyone 55-60 stand up”. He proceeded like this in five-year intervals until he got to 80,…

I take it back! I take it back! The part where earplugs were going to solve all my sleep problems? That was a classic case of premature expostulation! I got to bed around 12:30 long before Randy got back from a his night of debauchery, and my sleeping pill was doing its thing for a…

K- this is gonna be the quickest blog ever, cause I’m a little sleepy. Short story shorter, I have made it to Day 2 (once again!) in the WSOP Seniors. HOWEVER I have not yet made the money so don’t get too excited! I think we are down to about 920 people (out of almost…

Found this letter on the street….stuffed into a broken Agavales Tequila bottle…. lodged in the sewer. Hey Dougie S’up Brah?! Long time, no speak. I know it must be weird hearing from me. Technically it’s against the rules for me to contact you, but you know what I say “fuck ‘em if they can’t take…

Bjorn Borg once said “If you’re afraid of losing, then you daren’t win.” Rich Caplan says “Once you’ve been publicly quoted using the word “daren’t”… that’s a loss right there.” *** So I made it to Day 2 of the Los Angeles Poker Classic $570 buy-in. There were 1062 entrants on Saturday and after 11…

This morning, the normal-looking lady in front of me at the Commerce Casino coffee kiosk (how’s that for impressive alliteration?!) ordered a cappuccino and a cruller. The woman behind the counter politely told her the bill came to $5.01. The customer said “Pardon” and the barista sweetly repeated herself  “Five dollars and one cent, please”. The…