blonde poker forum

A long time ago  ( Three Years )

In a place far, far away  ( Las Vegas )

EPISODE 2

A New Hope

Previously our two heroes

Dean ‘ Sicilian ( Han-nah Montana Solo ) Morris

And Vince ‘Celtic (Chewbacca ) Calenti

had dared to travel to the heart of the Evil Empires capital .

Amid the shimmering lights of that desert oasis they had done battle with the worst the Empire could throw at them.
Limp callers, flush chasers and most dreaded of all, the hero caller with 4th pair.

Hordes of this menace were dispatched with skills honed to perfection at that Highest seat of all learning's, known simply as The G Luton.

 Three Barrels of Bluff were dispatched along with the awesome Check raise turn, into lines of hamburger filled flotsam and Jetsam, culminating in the epic battle of the Venetian.

However our heroes, even aided by their interpreter Chompy ‘c-3po ‘ Wheldon, had failed to take that last bastion of evil strength.

All is not lost, our heroes are to return to the empires arid plains, with new hope and new friends.

New Heroes have joined our band of fighters for the coming struggle....

Tony I'm on telly you know‘ Kendall as ( Luke ZimmerWalker ) draws forth the weapons of Cafe latte and folding to a min cash

Gavin   ‘Tootsie’ Kan as (Princess/Prince Leia/Lee ) master of the middle pin draw dons the white robes, with a dash of pink ,of confused cross dressing Chinamen,

Monday 20th of June 2011..so begins the adventure

Join us one and all for tales of epic felt based action, eye watering prop bets and ghey boy trips to the theatre....

lol, may the four outer be with you



(http://1.2.3.13/bmi/i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj280/TheUKShark/Other/StarWarsPoker.jpg)

Lol....gl...avoid the hookers at the cantina....

Vinny will be doing well to get it in drawing to more than 4.

Zimmerwalker lol


cant wait for vegasssssssaments!

Do you think you can improve on your opening set of Vegas results Hand Solo? Has your game come on in leaps and bounds since then?

It surely has come on johnathan edwards leaps and bounds.....

by the way it was very good of you to emulate my failure to cash in 2008 when you went earlier this year... is that why your not going back with us as you have not recovered from the shame ?

gl donks

btw i thought you were taking Alex with you?

Not with us..... But I believe he is there and will be showing the yanks several level 18 moves which they will still call with A 6 os

Can I have a more masculine name please

.ur lucky to get that...now fetch my bags

ha, com. gl lads!

sigh.  not that Alex!

Roffles....

Will be following this with interest!

GL lads!

Hehe very good.

Under starters orders...bags checked in Brekkie shortly with that old bike off the telly...oh and Gavin just set fire to his ghey head pillow. He is currently mourning it's loss

Sitting wth tikay and the boys having breakfast overlooking the runway...tikay has quietly orgasmed twice

Looking forward to following this for the next few days while I'm biting my nails and counting hours...

Good luck guys and hopefully bump into you later this week or next week!!

Sure was a quiet orgasm.

hope u all have a great time n gd luck at the tables   the burnbank blue nose

My mad 'setting fire to things' skillz has finally rubbed off  ;D





Gl Gl GL boys ...



Holdy's Daily Photo Challenge:

You're mission, should you choose to accept it, is to adhere to the 'Challenge of the Day'  (OK, maybe every coupla days cos I'm busy dont cha know)   

Rulez:   Pic's compulsory



Day: 1

Pic of Random asleep on plane with mouth open, pref with drool ..... (for this easy first challenge Tikay does not count as a random, OK)

how to make a challenge 50 times harder in only 8 words

The Eagle has landed...I repeat the eagle has landed

I see you're still a tad excited then  ;)

I hope you used protection

Gav has asked me to upload this for you guys .... he is suffering.   



To be honest, I actually thought it was him when I heard it   ;D






Norrrrrrrrrrr it wont upload ......   need someone to upload a sound file for me

vinny just to let you know neil lemmon signed a new contract with glasgow sceptic

So the day finally dawned and i picked up the kidz ( vinny and Gav ) and headed of to Gatters.

Arrived in good time and after wending our way through the heaving masses found the Virgin check in area...which was surprisingly quiet.

Bumped straight into that bloke off Sky He smiled at us smugly from the other side of a barrier seperating the priority checkin area from the riff raff. We obv gave him the usual .... 'arnt you that bloke off the telly ' as he shuffled off sheepishly promising to meet us on the other side of security for brekkie and plane spotting ( the 3 unwise monkeys agreed they were looking forward to one of those things )

I had already checked us in  online and bag drop off took literally 5 min... proper smooth so well done virgin.
The others wanted a fag before breakfast and  so outside to the drop off zone we went. Gavin then proceeded to set fire to his airplane head pillow just after telling us proudly it had been all around world with him...He looked visibly distressed ... so we only laughed for 5 minutes.

Celtic thought he would be lBalla like Dubai and play CCard roulette for 3 coffees.... He went up to some poor random bloke and offered him to take 1 of 3 credit cards...lol..bloke nearly crapped himself before pulling out Vinnys...run goodaments.

Meet up with TK in the cafe that overlooks the runway and his eyes were all misty as the giant tubes of steel trundled up and down the tarmac awaiting their turn to take to the skys. There seemed little gap between take offs and landings.. a truly impressive display of logistics. Im glad someone who knows what they are doing is in charge of all that.

Flight was nice and smooth...but felt really long at over 10 hours... celtic immediatly disappeared up to premium to schmooze with Sky man...he managed to blag it for 2 hours before he was sent packing by an eagle eyed stewardess.

Forgot how cramped economy is on these things and made a silent vow to upgrade next time..maybe even for the trip back

Here is is....  CLICK HERE.. (http://www.cejays.co.uk/gruffalo.wma)

wiiiii thank you Carl

LOL  thats pretty quiet actually..and was on a par with the other two.

Gav did that recording while you were both in different rooms..!!! :)

just found this thread and love it already. I know claw its outrageous! Maybe its cause i would end up running off with some  lovely young millionaire whilst out there and they just really dont want to loose me Hahaha

Vinny had a good run but i got him in the end

.

Yes - that is a Peterborough shirt that Chomps is wearing. And no, it's not been photo-shopped.

Looking forward to the golf updates...

Is that a man bag..? :)

Certainly is     ....    didn't you know that Gav's Graham Norton's houseboy?

So Vegas baby !!!!

Fantastic to be back and all seemed strangely familiar. Checked into the sumptuous Palazzo, twin sister of the Venetian. The reception is a cavern of Italian marble and is almost impossible to relate via mere words..Suffice to say this place has a picture next to the word grandeur in the OED.
Felt pretty beat after the flight but the other monkeys were bubbling over with excitement and couldn’t  wait to get to the casino floor.
Met up with Brummie boy & claypole. Good to put faces to Blonde names,and really nice guys. Had a drink with them and got straight into it with the Venetian turbo.... the structure was super quick and nearly 300 runners with unlimited rebuys.. A combo of tiredness and standard American play saw a fairly early exit.

Claypole introduced us to pai gow poker..table game and very addictive to this monkey. Its great fun and a very slow death for your money.
Finally got to bed around midnight and after a solid night’s sleep was ready to rock in the first of the venetian deepstacks.
Had a great starting table and won a few nice early skirmishes when I encountered a dream double up and a prime example of the level of play witnessed in these events.
At 75/150 oldish American makes a standard raise and I call with 88. We go Hup to the flop of a very nice J 8 3 rbow.... it seemed rude no to flat his follow through and when the turn brought me quads I was a little surprised to be facing another bet.... smooth called to the blank river and yet another bet.....wow!... I gave the requisite dwell followed by a push all-in expecting a fold as the dawn of impending doom  fell upon my opponent... but wait no he was considering..  was I lucky enough he had pocket aces he just couldn’t let go ?
He couldn’t let go alright as he proudly called the lot off with A J.... I sat there momentarily stunned as the dealer pushed a huge gift of chips in my direction. Yikes! 45k at level 2 .
Consolidated for a few levels when a sequence of 3 hands against the same young opponent occurred that may forever be seared into my mind.
To a standard raise at 150/300 I flatted with my happy 88’s and found the young BB repopping us up to 2100 with 11k back. The O Raiser got out of the way and my first instinct was the kid was squeezing. Up until this point he had seemed reasonably capable and this move didn’t seem beyond him and he didn’t look particularly confident... with a lot of chips and momentum I repushed and set him in. It was a nice move that would fold out a lot of hands that actually beat me.... the boy went distinctly green.... I felt a fold coming to confirm my read but was met with a long pause from the kid whilst he contemplated his lot.
A little doubt crept into my mind... finally he called.. with A 5 spades. Once again I was a little dumbfounded but happy until he hit runner runner spades...sigh... he looked pleased with himself enough not to register my sarcastic, venom wrapped nice hand sir comment.

We were to clash again a little later when I raised LP with KJ and was called by the kid in the BB... a 10 high 2 club board and my follow through was met with a CR... I considered.. It looked like he didn’t believe the continuation on a raggy board and with me still having him significantly out chipped I felt I could push him off, even if he had A10 he could fold to the big pair rep...and if called I still had the over’s.
I pushed back hard, real hard and set him in for a 50K pot and his tourney life... his insta call made my heart sink as I felt my poker soul slip towards the waiting mouth of the kids monster.... to my amazement and audible gasps of the table the kid turned over a crushed K 4 of clubs... I could only fade the turn and the ace of clubs on the river sealed the pot.  The dealer made the count and requested the chips I told him he had to count them as I wanted to throw up...
After picking off a nice SStack squeeze push with my happy  88 once again I was back up to 25 k and found 2 black kings utg.
My nemesis called and the bb joined the party... 8 9 Q  all club board wasn’t the worst flop in the world and I continued... to my surprise my little friend reraised and the shortish bb pushed.
It was an odd situation.. I ran through the hands..AQ with the ace of clubs was a good one..but I was beating that and needed to fade..AA with the ace clubs..unlikely..10 J had me beat but I had a good redraw versus that one and the BB didn’t worry me as his stack was a flesh wound... I rejammed..the kid paused for second..He had 2 jams in front of him, one from the original raiser on an all club board.. He called with AQ red !!! oh my !! The BB turned over 10 J red and I was free rolling a big side pot with a club to scoop..ty poker gods for the idiot boy who calls with AQ red on the all club board to 2 jams..... The queen on the turn and the ace on the river crushed mine and the BB souls in one fell swoop.
I stood up and couldn’t help myself, ‘youre fucking kidding me ? I spat at the little baseball cap.... how can you call that with no club in your hand... LOL... I think he thought I was gonna reach for him..it did cross my mind..
It was evening time and I recounted my tales over a steak at the grand lux with a grinding vinny and Davey boy Johnson.  With the vinsters usual non sympathy ringing in my ears I consoled myself with railing him and taking down one of the soft STT’s for $540 and an $80 table last longer.. So allin all not a too terrible start.

A fresh dawn and renewed hope brought over 800 fellow poker souls to the felt in the $340. I vowed maybe not to be so aggressive today..... once again the table was good..late in the first level i raised QQ..bb rraised..i flatted with postion..called the J high flop and folded to the turn shove..my opponent was impressed and showed me kings...I was glad he had made his hand so transparent and i lost the minimum..

Davey Johnson joined late and I felt better to see him depart early. Played good and solid and built nicely.We had one Spanish guy at the table I think who was quite loose and all over the place... he won and lost chips with  frequency. He liked to reraise and when he decided to try it with me I rejammed with Jacks having him heavily out chipped only to be show aces..fml... it put me on the back foot and I ground it out over the following few hours..Patience was rewarded with a nice set over set coup and I went to dinner happy.
Contestant numbers continued to tumble when i found Aq to an early solid raiser..i peeled with position.. A K x and i flatted the continuation desperatly trying to control the pot as we were quite deep..the turn brought a 3rd diamond... i had the Q diamond and called the turn bet...the K diamonds on the river paired the board and gave me the nut flush and my opponent insta shoved...wtf !!!...i felt sick.. i tanked...tanked hard. My opponent was solid..
 and abc..he looked bloody happy...if one of the lovely venetian waitresses was giveing him felatio i don't think he could have looked happier.... i think it was one of the hardest i have thought and time passed... this guy didnt have real moves and i came to the conclusion flush was no good and folded. He gave a nod of approval and showed me AK.... i didnt feel better

I was wounded... I ground it out but blinds and antes were my enemy forcing me into push/fold territory.... I finally succumbed in 110/800..a good solid performance but 20 shy of the money. To play for 10.5 hours and no cash is a tough one to take but I consoled myself that I was playing well and that surely that elusive Vegas cash would come.....

tl;dr

its about poker...so nothing there for you

Roffle

Some videos uploaded after golf today......Celtic's going to be a pro soon ;D


www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWLK8RKOMn8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0vKKZgUaI

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRAWZ65SsJU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebqOmRL4pRo

I am still chuckling at this one. LOL

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0vKKZgUaI)

quality - was laughing for about 3 minutes at the end of the first one :D

Was Chompy taught how to swing in a telephone box or something...?

so funny was laughing hard at the first one

I would suggest he was self-taught.....

You don't say lol

It was totally awesome, like watching Rory Mcllroy playing 18holes ;D pure genius

These vids are seriously funny. Keep them coming!

I'm really impressed that you guys actually even played in that heat.

Has Chompy filed his suit for whiplash yet?

I hope so, I'm on 40% of his Vegas action....

very funny vids boys - keep 'em coming

No sound here but still epic viewing. Lack of etiquette ruined my swing. Still planning on going pro next year.

The sound deffo adds to it Chomps.
WP all - v v g fun & most amusing!
 rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao

Ok...Been having too much fun to report so cliffs to catch up.....

played caesars... no good

discovered pai Gow poker...done my bollox

made a min csh in the evening aria comp...went into the FT chip leader.. but blinds high and run 10 10 into Q Q and AQ into Ak for 6/97

But vegas cash monkey off my back so pleased..

Another venetian...no good

Discovered  Craps...  once again thanks claypole.. me & Gav now complete craps degen....was a grand in the hole but got to even lol..you'd think id learn but see later report.

Went golf with chompy at desert pines...stunning course and a little upmarket..as you can see from the posted videos we had an epic time with chompy taking it oh so seriously.

Brummie boy came 5th in wsop event and my 1% good ...wiiiii...well done sir

Met up with Alex Martin with Marky 147 and a couple of other guys... More faces to blonde names...The pretty one asks us if we want to shoot some pool and we end up taking a limo to downtown and a crusty dive. Im glad we are 7 handed as we come face to face with the seedier side of Vegas..The place is cast in shadow and in the dim corners are furtive looking humanity...is that hunger born of badness i see in those eyes.

We shoot some pool, drink some beer and get out of dodge quick..especially as a few of us have proper money on us.

Went downtown today and played at Binions.... wow downtown Vegas is such a culture shock to the strip..

Binions is epic.... like all of downtown its old and tired...the staff are old and tired and the customers are old and tired .At one point paramedics turned up to treat a customer. Why do I feel this is a regular occurance.
Inside Binions the wall paper is peeling, the felts are stained and the chairs are narrow and made of hard leather. Whereas the waitresses at the Venetian are leggy supermodels binions are like your Auntie Beryl with heavy makeup and blue rinses.

But the strip is all false glitz.... downtown is real and has an earthy feel about it.it has real people living real lives...there are no billionaire whales here.
We saw several hobo's... downtrodden, a life of pain etched into their wizened faces...their tales of woe probably border on epic.
We made Vinnie stand near them...just to make them feel better.

Downtown has value for money, and as afternoon turned to night Binions and its Freemont Street home came alive and was packed with degenerates and tourists alike. The light show, parade and bands gave a carnival atmosphere no amount of billion dollar resort hotels could ever recreate.
Inside Binions I ground out a deep finish in one of the softest fields I have ever encountered. At one point I find myself sitting next to a lady playing whilst holding a small dog. I wonder briefly if its looking at my hole cards and telling her. But no she played so bad that wasn’t possible.
I go out just shy of the money thanks to a genius internet boy who decided peeling 3 bets with J 8 DD was a good idea. He was right on a Q 10 9 board. My timing immaculate with a repop of Q 9 to his cutoff steal.
My counterparts had departed early and Gav had already begun a run at the craps table.
I checked on Vinnie in the Binion card room, A small round alcove of poker history. The walls are adorned with framed pictures of the old greats that had once graced this hallowed room..most long gone, gamblers of the most degenerate kind Gazing down at their most favourite of pastures.
Standing there I truly felt a sense of something very special. I left the Scottish one to do his worst against the craggy regs and weaved my way through the myriad lines of slot machines. I felt as though I had stepped back in time and half expected a crew of sharp suited gangsters to come gliding through. All I got was Phyllis and Bert of Pennsylvania average age 129.
I found Gav at the craps that border the wide open entrance to Freemont Street. The dealers are scantily dressed cow girls strategically  placed to entice maximum custom.
Dressing the girls like hooker’s works and the place is rammed. The Gav and me get in a hole between us but then make a comeback and put in a spirited shooting display each that sees us high fiving and the pit boss bemoaning his luck.
We leave well up and happily seek out a taxi amidst the blinking lights of Freemont to take us back to fairy land and luxury.
We give some of our money back to the venetian when I discover I had lost a credit card...I cancel it but not before someone out there has a McDonalds on me. I have to laugh as the boys rip me about the hamburgler turning me over.
I will return to Freemont before we take to the skies and blighty...it’s.... bloody excellent

I shouldn't have talked you out of the Pigeon, you'd have been happier there.

Hamburgler. Epic!

Can I stop being labelled a degenerate who has introduced you to Pai How, Craps - I think it's Vinnys fault for bringing you  ;whistle; ;whistle;

Good luck today and sure I'll see y later for a roll....I mean beer

much better now you've cut all the poker hand crap right down :)

I'm glad someone else really likes downtown. Great place imo

yah palaminos binions is the nutz

Palaminos has some merit too tbf

Did it just for u obv

Craps is soooooooo good.

:-*

Really sorry about your credit card mate.

If you were really sorry, you'd have given it back to him by now.

Aargh, rate my chances of getting out of Howard Johnson JFK in one piece at no more than 50-50. GG everyone, was nice knowing yous.

They have a curry delivery menu and goat bhuna is on it!

Great writeups Dean, was good to meet all you guys and that pool hall was comical. The looks on all the the faces that were stood outside loitering on that industrial estate was worrying, I don't think that any of them had seen a limo before and it probably wasn't the most inconspicuous way to descend on the gaff :D

I'm moving down to the Nugget on Friday while I play their $1k and can't wait. I love the different pace of things down there and the light show with all the entertainers is pretty epic. I think if I stay on the strip much longer I'll be done  and I need a break to play some poker to try and get out of it!!!

20 left in 6 max 17k up top Vinny above average Gogogo........
Claypole, dean, johhnyplums and me railing :)

Get it won pls

Win Vin and take off the Fin

Doooooooooooo it VinnyDonk!!!!

wp vinnydonk

VWP Vin

go on lad!

Done and dusted, finished fourth for decent returnage.

Nice one Vin, happy for you mate. Enjoying the colourful repotage Deano!

More binks to follow for sure :)

They say New York is the city that never sleeps, having spent only a short time there I can neither confirm nor deny.
However after 10 days in Las Vegas I can confirm this is definitely the city that never sleeps.
Having witnessed at 7 AM on the Lords day a multitude of slot feeding automatons sprinkled with blackjack, craps et al degens hard at it, then the statement finally holds true.

Like Celtic I had good intentions of doing a daily diary of our exploits in sin city...but it all kind of went out of the window as we immersed ourselves in a colossal trough of poker and general degeneracy.

Having landed back safely I can reflect back and remember the times....

I’ll start with my roommates, Gavin ( Pizzled) and Vinny ( Celtic ).... Sharing a room with others can always be a possible disaster but we for the whole got on well and the general air of piss taking greased the wheels of multiple occupancy.
Fortunately the suites in the Palazzo are roomy and opulent so no complaints there... we had initially planned to stay at the Imperial Palace... I think a possible World War between us was averted judging by the size of the THForte style rooms on offer there.

So first to the pokerz.... Got off to a flyer in the first deep stack and played about as well as I ever have.. but as written previously was on the end of some horrendous play and even a big stack can’t withstand three huge beats.
Went mega deep in the second about twenty shy of the money.

Finally got a Vegas cash under my belt in 96 runner at the Aria. Aria is a magnificent new hotel twinned by the Cosmopolitan and may be tempted to stay there next time around....I believe Greeky is to stay there..let me know what it’s like there please.

Had a little bit of a Mid-Spell disaster in the deep stacks where I played the next two like a complete Donk.. one in particular where 10 minutes after sitting down I realise I really don’t want to be there when a random woman who looked like a praying mantis proceeded to get walloped around the face by the deck. After winning a large pot her vanquished foe had one 5K chip left and asked her politely for change.. she refused stating she didn’t have to.. no you don’t have to you minging munter but its called manners...GTFO .

Tilted and tired of seeing 9 2 o/s I decided to 3 bet a rock with 10 7 and not pass to the shove ( which I couldn’t as I’d already mentally and stack wise committed ) my only pleasure I got afore mentioned Munter to lay down AK.... obv the rock has AK but I sure do get there.
I got up happily with her whining about how bad people play... yup that will be me then.

Gave myself a talking to and went deep in 2 of the last 3 tourneys I played and got horribly outdrawn, the last being a 2 outer on the river to seal the trip.

Overall the poker side was a rollercoaster from playing some of the best to the worst I ever had..but overall I was happy as I didn’t run particularly good.

Received some stick over not getting a min cash American flag like most of the others but have enough flags and the boys over killed  the piss take so it didn’t register any more...

Table games, Room robberies and golf stories to follow..................

US flags are the most important part of a Vegas trip, you will realise when you get one. If you get one.;)

I stayed with two others at imperial! we survived, although I actually did not sleep there any of the nights, so that may be why!  Sounds like you guys had a great trip! insanely jealous right now as I look at 5 days in Edinburgh as my summer hols!

the boys over killed  the piss take so it didn’t register any more...

I know you're hurting.

tears in my eyes obv

Can we have this as a sticky at the top of every new staking thread that goes....." I am 23, never been to Vegas, I am a pisshead at home but I promise not to touch a drop on tour and will be in bed by midnight every night, going to the gym every morning and playing fresh every day."

Yeh but you have to get some wins in Vegas to show you can really play. It's like Man U winning all the prems but never winning a European Trophy - they need the European trophy for full credibility imo.

Good luck in your endeavours, Vegas will still be there when you feel ready to take the step up.

Schoooooooooled again donks.

Min pays - meh - rubbish...

Wins - well that different..!!  It means coming first.. 

Cant understand how people who have had minor wins can take the piss..!!  LOL

Honestly can't say I've ever seen you play better Donks. You were just awesome. Just ran bad like you said. Next time eh?

Please edit your post to simply take the piss out of Dean, this is why the thread is here, not for any sensible shizzle - TIA.

gtfo shogun.

35/700 is better than 6/96.

neither is better than 1st out of however many..!!! LOL

The facts are clear. He has no US flags.

Claiming a min cash in a 96 runner comp, where 90 of the field couldn't spell poker, is pathetic.

NO US FLAGS, I REPEAT, NO US FLAGS.

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=99904

Correct, not a star-spangled banner in sight

Just lolz at all of u...

Moreover, I believe he has now played in over 322 UK festival events

Can't click that link chompy, hurts too much.

2008 and 2010 were ok...ish for him Vinny.  Makes sense that he'd no hope in Vegas this year.  Has to wait til next year to keep the trend going.

Most of the strips mega hotels have casinos that are just open plan landscapes of table games of such varying degrees that half of them I had never even heard of. Variations of Blackjack and 3 card poker were just some of the less exotic on offer.

I had always prided myself on my ability not to get caught by casino tables games back home. Sensible enough to know that long term I couldn't possibly win. I had perhaps played table games less than 10 times total in my life... but in Vegas my head was turned.

It started innocently enough. A newly met Claypole ( for those old enough, why do I always think Rentaghost ) introduced us to Pai Gow. A slow moving poker game that often led to draws and was only really good for garnering as many free drinks from the house as possible. Sort of Alcoholics dream game. I found it strangely addictive and over the next few nights felt myself drawn to it on a regular basis. Fortunately after incurring a modest overall loss of around $500 total the aforementioned Mr Claypole introduced me to Craps.

Now I had often been curious about this raucous game of dice played within a bathtub table. Outwardly it looked complicated and random but after initiation I discovered it was as simple as Forest Gump.

I watched for a while..entranced by the roll of the dice and the blur that were the pit dealers hands as they scooped and placed chips at high speed. The guys were winning...easy money slid to them over approving roars of the table delinquents.
Everybody was having fun, a real community experience existed as each new shooter held the dice for the first time and prepared to roll everyone richer.
 I decided to dip my toe..just a $100.
It was gobbled up quickly to the tune of a disheartened ooooh as an ugly seven was rolled. Another crisp hundred dollar bill found its way from my pocket to the tables pillar box slot. Then another..and another...nine times that table gobbled my Benjamin's... A mere ten minutes had elapsed. I mused momentarily about Willie Tann,AKA the dice man... and suddenly realised how he had got his name and his empty pockets. One last shot I told myself... A thousand dollars was definitely it...

The shooter was a rather dour looking middle aged American clad in a brown Polyester shirt. As shining heroes go he didn't really fit the Bill.. but that boy rolled for twenty five minutes..hitting the point on a regular basis and running me back to even..

I cashed in my regained fortune double quick but knew in my heart it would not be the last time I visited this game. My main shooting partner was Gavin and we run good in various places that included Binions,Caesars and the Aria...Total profit I'd say was around $6K between us which sweetened our ineptness at the poker tables.

I just pray Luton G never gets a craps table..my soul and my fortune may be severely tested....

Wal to win at craps

One thing I forgot to mention I found quite poignant and a huge indicator between ourselves and the Americans...

Sitting in a Binions tournament, next to me is a young American guy no more than mid twenties. In his own way his a little obnoxious, not overly but enough to get under your skin. Suddenly he announce he was a an ex marine..

older guy pipes up, ' Iraq ? '
' no Afghanistan '

Suddenly all the Americans at the table start thanking this dude..

' I really appreciate what you did for us son '
' I'd like to thank you for what you did over there '

were some of the comments..

I must admit being a little taken aback at the love for the previously observed knob jockey.

I don't know..maybe a culture thing..maybe a wake up call....

It's amazing over there. I was in the RAF and I worked out in Augusta.

For being in the Military I got:

Numerous Free drinks
Queue Jump at check in and passport control
Cheap cinema tickets
Women offering favours..
Went to a rodeo and they asked all serviceman and women both USA and British to stand up, then everyone gave us a round of applause. Was told this is common place in resorts such as Disney etc.
They also have tv channels which send messages of love and support to forces people out on tour.

Really is humbling and very touching.

Recently it has got better over here but still pretty bad. Once i was in Bedford in uniform and i got called a baby killer by a man resembling Pakistani origin, I shrugged it off, mate of mine said i should have said "yea, but only terrorist babies"... better to not cause a scene.

In Vegas you get discounts on loads of stuff with forces id, abso immense, including strip clubs and the adidas store at premium outlets.

AMERICA RULES.

Now i work in IT i get exactly what i deserve. NOTHING.

Was that the guy that schooled you twice?

I have really mixed feelings about the way in which the military are treated in the States.  It is good that the people appreciate the risks taken by the military on their behalf and the way in which they look after their veterans is impeccable but I abhor the unthinking "thanks for what you did for us out there" kind of view.  On so many occasions at the tables I have had to stop myself from getting into a heated debate about what, exactly, the ex soldier at the table had "done" for the average American in Iraq.  

I think it's because of a couple of things.

1) The US military is far bigger, proportionally, than ours, so there's a much bigger chance that people will personally know/have family serving, which provides a connection.
2) Because of Vietnam, there are far more older guys who have first hand experience of war, and so have an idea of what those currently serving are going through.

I found it a bit strange at first when I was out in Vegas, how everyone got a hard-on for someone in uniform, but it is mostly done in a genuinely touching way, with real affection. People genuinely believe that their armed forces are protecting them and are mostly unable to separate what individual soldiers do abroad from the wider question of why so many of them are poking about in foreign countries in the first place and what they are actually achieving.

Yeah - good post.  I wasn't that happy with the way my other post sounded but I think what I was trying to get across was that whilst I think we should be genuinely grateful for the fact that the military are willing to put their lives on the line for their country it shouldn't neccesarily be the case that that goes hand in hand with a support for any military action that the country decides to get involved in yet in the States that seems to pretty much always be the case.

Its the politicians in their offices with their cigars and suits who pull all the strings. The soldiers/airmen on the ground are just trying to earn a crust. When you see all these people protesting against the guys coming back who have been away from their families and loved ones for however long it is pretty tilting. Especially for them, the Americans do 18 month tours to our 6 monthers. Pretty sick. Think the yanks understand this, either that or they just give it no thought at all. WOOOYEAH. AMERICA RULES.

Nope, he'd only just taken out his dummy

Yeah the love for the US military is a thing that really struck me on my visits to the US. I actually quite admire them for it, which is ironic given I think polictically the yanks are completely bonkers. It does make me think that the military in the UK don't get the respect they deserve after all it isn't their decision which wars to fight.