Hi Cos, I really enjoyed reading this. Hope you are all well. X

Thx Mo x

Hey Cos, If you see this can you put a little dot on a map to show me where you live? People who up sticks and re-locate to somewhere completely alien/exotic/different fascinate me.

I would love it if you were to write more about it, especially the emotional aspect.

xx

I wrote our a long reply to this a week ago and didn't like it so deleted before posting.

Right now I live in the middle of central Bangkok, somewhere I hated my first few years in Thailand. I never imagined I'd end up living here. Then again I never imagined I'd end up living in Thailand full stop.

I came out with Amatay in the years before he was collecting his pension and our plan was to do a year based in Phuket with regular travel to some other places in Asia. Apologies if im re-hashing old information btw.

Anyway the first day I remember thinking, I'm not going to last very long here. Some maniac taxi driver taking us from the air port in a 50 year old car that could still do 120mph and was going in and out of lanes non stop. Going up a quiet big hill road in the last part of our journey i could see shacks and streets dogs howling I thought no no no. We arrived at a lovely villa and things were a little better when the sun came up but I'm very OCD with cleanliness and nowhwere looked clean enough for me to feel comfortable eating at. Luckily there were still enough great things until I got used to the things I initially thought were bad but were in reality just unknown. The street dogs are just dogs without homes, most of them kind and beautiful. The shacks were places where people cooked amazing thai food at ridicously cheap prices. It was actually Amatay who said to me about a week in, mate I didnt come here to keep eating in this tourist trap places. Once we started eating at the local places, it never even crossed my mind to go back to those ever again.

While I got comfortable being there I didn't do much adventuring or anything outlandish. Just worked out very hard every day, ate good food, got lots of beach and sun and played a lot online. I quickly fell in love with the place and the lifestyle and then began to meet more people. There was a huge community of poker players who all shared the same interests. It was a few years of poker, beach, sport, good food etc day in day out. I played in a 2 different football teams 3 times a week and later on a pool league. I just loved it so much.

As poker began to get a little tougher to beat, that thinned out some of the community but there were still a lot of guys. However several started to move to Bangkok which I couldn't understand. A lot of them moved initially for the night life and im not much of a partier. I'd made a few trips to Bangkok but stayed in some of the more touristy areas of Sukhumvit (central Bkk) which are horrible imo. Once almost all my friends moved across, several were messaging me regularly to join. While one friend went away for a week I took his apartment in Bangkok and all my friends showed me around. I saw a different side than I'd seen before. One that I loved. Food is incredible here and there is also incredible live poker.

I was also going back and forward to Macau initially and Bangkok made the travel very easy too. Once I stopped going to Macau and we decided to start a family, we naturally extended a bit longer in Bangkok because schools and healthcare are very good here. Now it's just difficult to leave.

I like this comment.

Before this, I think the dumbest winner in tournament poker history was that guy who sold over 100% of his action for the EPT championship, then went on to win $1 million and owe more than he could pay. Actually maybe that is still the dumbest move ever. But this is 2nd place.

I have a vague memory of this around 10 or 15 years ago, was EPT San Remo & it was a Dutch fella, Constant Risenberg or something similar. He was said to have sold 130% of himself as I recall.

A very famous British player did this in a 10k tournment in Vegas about 15 years ago too.

Amazingly he still gets staked in big tournaments.

Is there a reason he's not named?

Yes, no reason to name him unless her ever asked for staking on here. Then I'd warn any potential investors.

Blonde isn't the only way people might have financial interactions or do staking with him though

:s

It's about a week ago that I came across this elsewhere but the other guy is silly for doing a deal when he was told the guy's circumstances.

Major drama queen also. 'Like I never existed'. lols

Hi Maureen,

Just wanted to say I think you are incredible.

Hope Reece and Darren are well.

Taxi, I've only just seen this. I'm so sorry I'm very sporadic with Blonde these days. I hope youre on your feet and doing better now.

If you need a hand, just reach out, I'm happy to help.

I can't be bothered to look through the thread to see if I had invested or not but seem to recall that I had.

Boldie had a bit of an ego, but so what? Half the forum did at one point or another, myself absolutely included. He was always nice to me in every thread or interaction, prior and post this debacle. I butted heads with loads of people that I wouldn't of I'd just fkn grown up a little bit quicker.

Mental health and gambling addicitons are no joke and I think this debacle will probably bother him in the back of his mind. I think it may help him feel right if he ever squared everyone off. I would donate the money to a mental health charity if he ever did.

Anyway I wish him well, hope he's turned his life in a positive direction and doing well.

Boldie wouldn't even make the top 5 wrong'uns who've had accounts on here.

There's been paedos, wife beaters, con men, gangsters and fraudsters who all jostle for that hall of fame.

Boldie was just a boring old degen.

At least one murderer too.


http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=121


http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=121;sa=showPosts


 

Gawd, he must due out soon. Wonder if he has British citizenship?

Nope, I dont believe he does.

He was given a 14 year sentence here in Thailand which gets reduced by a year every year on the King's birthday for each inmate that is well behaved, so effectively your sentence is halved.

He was released a few years ago and extradited back to the USA.

When I first arrived in Thailand it was not long after this happened. He was in the same Phuket Poker Player group that I was in so many of the people that I became friends with, had known or been friends with him. By all accounts he was a very strange character. Extremely broke during his Phuket days, some of the guys told me he would often him them up for $3 and $4 transfers on poker stars so he could 'grind'.

Another friend was arrested at the time and held for a few days because he matched the descriptions of the foreigner that was being looked for.

Anyone heard from Taxi? Hope he's ok

He posted last year to say he was looking for somewhere to stay short term I think as was waiting for some moeny to come through. Don't recall seeing anything else from him since.

anyone have his number or another contact?

I remember being shit scared the first time I saw Ronnie.

Have a Cane Corso now who sounds very similar to Zeus. Huge and mean looking but just an absolute sweetheart of a hound.

I’ve really loved this journey and learning experience with bigger breed dogs.

Did you think you would get another dog once Ronnie passed away?

He was a bit of a beast though was big Ron. Such a loving boy with those he knew but also incredibly unpredictable with strangers. Perfect 99% of the time but as you come across more than 100 people on your daily walk there's no choice but to watch him like a hawk 100% of the time. I have to admit I was constantly on edge if we were in public and there were a lot of people around, not so much as he got to 7+ years old but even then you can never forget the odd time he showed what he was capable of in his early days.

Zeus is so much easier around people as he's just a softy. This doesn't mean he's better than Ronnie, just different. There were elements of Ronnie that were far better than Zeus, his recall and lead walking for example were amazing. I have to admit though it's lovely being able to go to the pub with him and have a couple of steady pints with the lads.

I had a dog break for about a year and a half after Ronnie died but I always knew I'd get another. For a while the freedom was nice, being able to do anything without first considering how it affected the dog was great and also going to the gym at whatever time suited my was good. I was also in the process of doing up a house which being dog free made much easier.

If Zeus hadn't come along I'd probably have been getting one around now anyway. I wasn't sure what to get and to be honest it probably wouldn't be a Rottie. My mum really didn't want me getting a big dog as she's quite weary of them so me going for a German Shepherd or Rottie wasn't going down too well.

She was horrified when she knew I was getting Zeus but then after she met him a few times she absolutely loves him and even plays fetch with him in the garden

Have you had your Cane Corso from a pup?

Yeah I remember coming over to yours after one DTD festival and I was really keen to go and pet him but at the same time a little bit nervous and if youre a bit nervous around a dog that's not always a people lover I thought it best to stay away. Absolutely magnificent boy he was though.

Yeah I had all mine from pups. It's really so bad to have a favourite but the Cane Corso is just amazing. He is so protective and loving with my kids and he also just wants to be by my side all the time.

Sorta wants to rip other male dogs to pieces though so i have to be super careful on walks.

Anyone heard from Taxi? Hope he's ok

James Keys?

He's the reason the edit button only works for 30 minutes IIRC.

Got in a ruck over something and started deleting all his old posts

Had a baby a few years back, lives in Thailand I think. Doesn't play anymore as far as I know.

I think I spoke to him briefly about a year ago after randomly seeing the lady i thought was his mrs and their son in a restaurant. He is teaching now, I believe in Singapore.

Not sure about Kush. Hope he’s ok. Woodsey is banned from blonde now.

Why?

He was one of the best on and off the table.

I'll miss him.

Where you at now haters?