Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Woody502]

Being a Forest fan for most of my 33 years Brian Clough will always have a special place in my heart. He brought great success to a very average team and changed Forest from a run of the mill club to a house hold name in Europe. There are to many stories to tell about the man and England missed out by not giving him the managers job when they had the chance (much to Forests gain).

Apropos nothing in particular, I was reminded yesterday of a quote by the late Brian Clough. Mourinho & Ferguson have nothing on this man when it comes to soundbites - for me, Shankly & Clough were streets ahead of anyone we've seen before or since.

"I certainly would not say I'm the best manager in the business, but I'm in the top one".

Reminds me of a story a mate of mine told me once. He's a life long Forest fan & when he was about 8yo he was standing outside the Forest ground waiting for his heroes to walk past him to get an autograph of his fave player (John Robertson I think he said) before he got on the bus. To his dismay, his outstretched arm, with pen & notebook, went unoticed by his hero and, as an 8yo can do, he started to cry. At this point Brian Clough walks past.. "What's the matter young man?"  asked the great one. "He won't sign my autograph book" sobbed my mate. With that, Cloughie walks on to the bus and say "Right you lot, everyone off the bus & sign this lad's book. Not one of you is going home until you do!"

My mate loves telling that story & how could he not remain a Forest fan after that?

[bobby1]

Apropos nothing in particular, I was reminded yesterday of a quote by the late Brian Clough. Mourinho & Ferguson have nothing on this man when it comes to soundbites - for me, Shankly & Clough were streets ahead of anyone we've seen before or since.

"I certainly would not say I'm the best manager in the business, but I'm in the top one".

Loving the diary Tony.

How is the Baby Thing Phil?

He is great thanks, putting on plenty of weight now and blossoming. Had his jabs last Friday so he has been a bit off over the weekend but he will come around again. We thought it was about time he went racing so trotted off to Wetherby last Weds but he backed 3 losers so was grounded at the weekend, given a second chance we took him to Pontefract yesterday where again backed 3 losers. He deffo grounded again now..

Seems like he takes after his Dad at backing Horses - hopeless.

We need a picture of him. Please.

 I tried to post some last week but made a right pigs ear of it, will get the mrs to do it instead.

cheers

[celtic]

"We discuss it for 20 minutes then we decide i was right"

"If God wanted us to play football in the clouds he would have put grass up there"

Pure Genius from Mr Clough

[TightEnd]

tikay tried last night to get a young Belgian poker player to smile at the table. I think he succeeded eventually after several levels of trying. It was like listening to fingernails scraping on a blackboard, the whole experience of playing with the most sullen player I (and probably tikay) has ever played against.

Said player took us both out. We both pushed, he looked down in the BB at AA both times!

[tikay]

tikay tried last night to get a young Belgian poker player to smile at the table. I think he succeeded eventually after several levels of trying. It was like listening to fingernails scraping on a blackboard, the whole experience of playing with the most sullen player I (and probably tikay) has ever played against.

Said player took us both out. We both pushed, he looked down in the BB at AA both times!

Karma did it's job eventually, he Finalled with a gifted monster stack but called the lot off with horrendous judgement & only got a minor cash. Sophie got the lion's share, God Bless her, she's some character!

As to Mr Sullen, it was extraordinary, he was 29, has a day job, & there he was, playing poker, getting monster hand after monster hand, on a table where the craic was terrific & he could not bring himself to so much as smile once. It's a fashion thing, I believe, it's not deemed to be cool for dudes to smile. I'd hate to see him when he had some bad luck.

Many of us underestimate the value of a smile, a twinkle in the eye, & some eye-contact. And it's free!

I bubbled or bubble-bubbled, my third Bubble in a week at Luton, then played cash, & after doubling my pull-up very quickly, sat there for 4 hours £400 ahead give or take a few bob. We got thrown out when the Casino was about to close, but blagged one more orbit, and on the very last hand, I managed to drop £550, to end up with a loss on the night of £150. Earlier in the day, I played the Laddies $250, & with 4 left, I had 29k, Chip Daddy had 30k, & two shorties had 5k each, when I ran K-J into Chip-Daddies A-J on a J-J-x-x-x Board.......

As ever, luck in poker ebbs & flows, & I'm on a downswing right now. But for the first time in my poker "career", I'm playing well within my Bankroll, so I can handle these short term swings, & it's like a warm blanket knowing I'm not under any pressure. A year ago, I'd be shooting for the stars, playing all the biggies, & a run of bad form would cost a bomb, & have me playing scared poker, but at last, I've emerged into the warm sunlight of contentment, & I'm as happy as larry playing at the levels I now frequent.

I've had some busy week, so I better try & get this Diary up to date now.

[tikay]

Let's start with Late Night Poker, which is being recorded right now down in Cardiff, the Final is being played today in fact.

I was down there on Thursday, & had an interesting evening, more of which later.

I don't think it's right to reveal any results, or steal LNP's thunder by revealing too much, (unless word gets out, then I suppose it's OK), but I can tell you this, the blondes are VERY well represented indeed in the Final!

We (the blonde) had mixed fortunes, some outrgeously bad luck for one blonde hero/heroine, but some good fortune too, for at least one other very high-profile and popular blonde. You'll not be disappointed.

As to Late Night Poker, well, with the fashion for sexing up old shows to be modern & "different", I feared for it, but worry not, I think they got it spot-on, & it's almost indistinguishable from the original, even the original cheap & cheerful (but wholly effective) Logo remains exactly as was. Of course, the "feed" we saw was pre-editing, & it's entirely possible that they'll mess with it & add some daft features, heart-monitor shit or some such crap, but I doubt it. The camerawork was excellent, just like the original, & as long as the Editors don't get any daft ideas, it'll be terrific.  There was plenty of speech-play, too, but we did not have a commentary feed, so we just have to pray that the fashion for Poker Commentators to talk over the table-talk is thrown out of the window, nothing irritates more. One of the commentators (when not playing in it) was blondeite Roland de Wolfe, so that's a good sign. I assume Jesse May was there, but I never saw him.

And they had all the "old" faces there - Surinder had a terrific tussle with Marcel. Moment of the day for everyone in the Green Room was Korosh trying to get smart with WSOP-E heroine Annette & giving her some heavy duty verbals, but she returned the volley with interest & put him right in his place -  a truly magic moment. I watched the entire Heat that had Jon Kalmar, Marcel, Surinder, Annette, Korosh, Robert Williamson, and Olander, (I forget the other player) and a terrific game it was, with the lead moving around plenty of times. Korosh certainly was on his best speech-play form, as was Marcel, and it should make great viewing.

Thomas Kremser TD'd, & Marina was among the Dealers.

Great stuff.

[Karabiner]

I'm just guessing here Tony but did the guy who's name you couldn't remember win it ? 

[tikay]

Spotted in the Late Night Poker Green Room in Cardiff.

Thewy, on the red wine, looking cool & relaxed, & I drove him home afterwards, we got back to his place about 3am. (Read nothing into him going home, this was Thursday). He's been spot-on with his Baden & Pymouth winnings, it's all, in effect, safely invested in property, a new family car, & a decent "float" in the Bank. Nippers need not apply. He goes to Dublin Monday, he has family there, Mum, Dad, Brother, & I'll hook up with him next weekend, when I go there with Poker Week. I know Compo's looking forward to seeing him.

Praz, & Sunny, Karl was up in Walsall playing Day One A of the Grand Prix. Praz has a certain presence, with the ever-present visor, & I like him a lot.

Jon Kalmar, & Kyla, a lovely couple.

Jen - I drove her down from London. We'd been doing some filming together, for Sky, in a dreadful (but mercifully closed) Nightclub in Leicester Square, & I'd planned to go home after that, not having been home for 3 or 4 days. But she gave me that look & nod "go on, go on, you know you want to", & I yielded, so we set off just after midday, & poodled down the M4. I adore the company of anyone who can hold an intelligent convo, especially if they are female, & she's the nuts, & we chinwagged non-stop, & listened to a CD of "Sorry, I havent a Clue". Then we got onto trains & tractors, but she fell asleep, & missed the interesting stuff. We dropped into the Cardiff Hilton so she could book in, & then went to the Presentable Studios, which is on a miserable Industrial Estate. But they look after everyone a treat, & the food was gorgeous. As we arrived, we saw Thewy, Praz & Sunny wandering across a field with bottles of red wine at the ready. Happy days. Thewy has got his 2008 Sponsorship Deal on the table, & it's a corker. As it should be.

Jac Arama. Horrendous red shirt, luminous blue jacket, a style of dress that maybe worked 10 years ago. Non-stop flop stories, one after the other, groan. I thought about asking him his views on something non-poker, just for the craic......

Chili, like an excited kid in a sweet factory, & why not, God Bless her, LNP is a dream gig for her. And she has a terrific record in TV Tourneys. At one stage, she was wearing not one, but TWO WSOP Bracelets - Annette's, & Praz's, & the obligitary 'photo was taken, which no doubt will be on her Facebook by now! And why not. Uncle Peter (Costa) was a no-show.

Annette is special, really, she'll be all right. She told me the story of her Online career - all starting with Freerolls, which she built up to a meaningful Bankroll before ever depositing a penny Online. Betfair have done well signing her up.

Kevin O'Connell, ever-present at these affairs, warm & friendly.

Marcel was deep in convo with Simon Trumper, & those two fine men were their entirely on merit. I think Simon was commentating.

An oddity of the $5,000 Entry Fee was that it had to be paid in US Dollars, wtf?

Bo Schelsdt, he & I used to play non-stop $500 & $1,000 SNG's on 'Stars 4 or 5 years back, one after the other, in batches of 2 or 3, & we had an agreement to always chop 50/50 if we got Heads-Up. We transferred the cash inter-account the moment the comp ended, & he's a man who can be 100% trusted. He's gone on to bigger & better things since, & he's a very fine player indeed. An oddity is that he & I, having only ever "met" Online, clashed in the 2005 WSOP, where we both cashed, & we ended up sharing a table 4 from home there.

Neil Channing, the Mr Fix-It of Poker. He's great company, & always has an angle or different view on most poker-related subjects, but he has a fine mind & can talk eloquently on most subjects.

Oddly, Bambos never had an Invite, which I thought was rather sad, he is one of poker's greatest survivors.

Roland was ambling about in his tracky, looking very much at home, & he accepted my invite to appear on Sky Poker, which I was delighted about.

Jeff Burke was there, too, though I'm not sure if he played, or was just railing Skalie. He's going on the Laddies Cruise again. I watched him take the Scandies apart on the Cash-Tables on the last Laddies Cruise, boy oh boy, he has some game, & he's a steady, daily, winner Online at Cash. To watch him bluff pot after pot against the high-roller full-of-themselves 12 year-old Scandies was magic, & they won't messs with him again in a hurry.

A lovely evening, & my thanks to Presentable for their wonderful hospitality.

[tikay]

I'm just guessing here Tony but did the guy who's name you couldn't remember win it ? 

No Ralph! I've racked my brains, & I just can't recall the other player, sorry. It was less than 48 hours ago, my memory is getting awful, I'm sorry.

I can remember who got 1st & 2nd though..... A classic heads up, too.

It was 7 Heats I think, with the winners going through, & the Runner-Ups playing a "last-chance" Semi. The Last Chance Semi included at least one very popular blonde.

[tikay]

Compo turned up at Luton last Sunday, I think it was, or Monday, wearng THE most naffe sweater you've ever seen. He got mercilessly pilloried by all & sundry, & two Rulings were asked for on the ground of poor taste. He claimed it was a top-of-the-range Dorothy Perkins affair, & I think he's right.

It's the one that's top right in this picture.

[Karabiner]

I see that Kizzy has some modelling work these days....

[snoopy1239]

How wonderful that snoops ran so well yesterday in the GUKPT, I do hope he stays the course. He works so hard for blonde, & has Updated scores of Big Buck Events, so I bet he's revelling in being on the other side of the Updaters for once. I hope he runs really deep.

Note also the amazing way fate deals hands - his beloved Dana ends up sat next to him, & then he goes & busts her. I can think of many-a-couple who'd "soft-play" in that situation, & although I expect nothing less from snoops, it was lovely to see. Unless you were Dana.....

Thank you for the comment, it's a shame I was the latest blondeite to suffer from 'so near yet so far syndrome'.

As for Dana, I now have a small circular mark etched on my buttock from where the bath-plug has engraved itself into my flesh. Hopefully soon I can compliment my way back into the bed.

[tikay]

I've had a nightmare-ishly busy two weeks, (though I like it that way, & most of it is self-inflicted) but it calms down a bit now, so lets try & get this Diary Updated.

But before I get to the boring stuff, here's a tale from Luton last night.

I was sharing a Cash-Table with a bunch that included Jim McShane, Murray Brown & Shirley on a rare foray up from The Vic. Murray is an awesomely good & experienced Stud player, & he & Shirley, a lady of approximately the same vintage as myself, are affectionaly known as Hinge & Bracket, they chunter away about eveything in an oddly interesting way. There were also a few Sicilian mobsters (eeek), and a young, polite, gentleman. The latter is, I fancy, a Jewish Gent, observation of such things is a special skill of mine, see? (Though some might say his Skull Cap is a bit of a giveaway).  He sits down at the £500 DC table with £100 every night, & when he enters a Pot, or even Posts a Blinde, the building is evacuated, we all run away screaming. But he enjoys himself, & does no harm to anyone. He was among 7 Table Captains last night, all of them telling the Dealers how to split Pots, & generally being pretty dismissive & rude to the quite splendidly friendly, though inexperienced, Dealers, but anyway, that's another story.

So, anyway, somehow, Gary Jones's name crops up. You know, Gary "The Choir Boy" Jones, arguably the best poker commentator in Britain - he's deffo my choice for the nomination. And you may or may not know this, but when Gary turned up for the WSOP-E recently, he'd dyed his hair green. That's green. Bright, flourescent, green. I just thought it was a fashion statement, to be honest, but it turns out, it's not that at all.

In fact, it emerges in the convo last night, thanks to Hinge & Bracket, he's a staunch Greenpeace Activist, does not drive, use aeroplanes (no WSOP in Vegas for him), lives his life "green" & eco-friendly, & his hair is a political statement.

So there we are, chewing the cud about Gary's hair, playing our DC, when suddenly Young Jewish Gent, whose not been hitherto engaging in the convo, chimes in.

"He's a paedophile".

"A WHAT?"

A paedophile, you know, they mess with kids".

"I KNOW what a paedophile is, but Gary ain't one, gimme a break".

"He is, he's been in prison for it".

"Eh"

"Yup, did 4 years".

"Be serious".

"I am - he's deffo a paedophile, it was in all the papers, & on TV."

"That's a disgraceful thing to say, Gary Jones is  not a paedo".

"Gary Jones? Never heard of him - I mean Gary Glitter"

"Ahhh.......err.....well, yes."

Gotta love Luton, it all goes off there.

[byronkincaid]

he used to have a ferrari.

[TightEnd]

he used to have a ferrari.

Glitter?