Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

I'm very much looking forward to what is likely to be the last scheduled event of the Stake tomorrow, the $1,100 PLO/PLO8/Big O @ Venetian, which was always on the schedule.

I play Big O Cash at The Rio almost every evening, certainly every night when I am not in a Tourney.

It's $1-$2-$5, with a mandatory $5 button straddle, & with action pre-flop starting with the SB. It plays pretty small most nights. The min pull up is $100, the Max is $500. 

I sit with $500, & I always have $500 behind, in my pocket. I've only had to take the second $500 twice, & on each occasion I reduced the defecit to a few hundo by close of play.

Unforch, I've developed the habit of running the $500 up to $800 or $1,000, & then giving the profit back, & ending up with a small profit or loss. This seems to happen most nights. So I'm neither much ahead, or much behind, but I should be much more ahead.

On Sunday night I sat with $500 as usual, & had the worst run of cards I can remember. But I never forced it, & was patient for 6 hours. Eventually I cashed in for a $50 loss. (rake is $7 per half hour, so rake alone absorbed $84). So, whilst frustrating, I was pretty happy with that.

Then, last night was the complete opposite, I had a ton of good starting material, & even my bad hands hit.

Highlight of the evening was calling a small raise (it was called in 5 spots, so I had the price) with a real bag of spanners. I tend to play a far, far wider range in cash games but struggle to do so in Tournaments.

Anyway, my hand included a 6, & we saw a flop of......6-6-6

We have to bet these hands in O8 & Big O, as we don't want to give free cards & allow folks to hit the low & we end up chopping. 

To cut a long story short, Matey Boy was a non-believer & thought his K-K was good. YBA mate, given how tight I am. No low came either, so that was a grand scoopio, literally.  It ran out 6-6-6-10-Q, so I could have had Queens or Tens full, & I was pretty surprised he called with K-K tbh.

No mistakes last night either - I sat there for another hour & then had an early night, cashing up for a healthy 4 figure profit.

Hit & Run merchant, me.   

[tikay]

Think I will swerve that WSOP NLH/PLO thing today.

WSOP events are, to me, the greatest thing ever in poker & I love them to bits. We have enough cash in the kitty, too, though we have probably made a small loss overall.

I'm just not feeling it today though, I'm a bit under the weather (an "aircon cold") & part of the fun is thinking about these events in the days & weeks before. It all just feels a bit last minute.

Can you imagine those NLH hotshots with their level 5 thinking, & me sat here waiting for Aces all day?

Far too sensible (but probably the right move), after what you have been through the last few months you should be playing the main event, would you consider it?

I'll be working during the Main Event, so it's not possible really. Sky have been wonderfully supportive towards me whilst I have been ill & in recovery, so I would not want to take further liberties with their good nature.

Also, as Mr Doobs noted, the $10k PLO8 would be an immensely more realistic target for me, & I'd expect to cash with reasonable regularity in that.

$10k is too rich for me, but I did plan to play the Mega Sat to it. However, on the scheduled evening, I was nitting it up to the Final Table at Golden Nugget, for better or worse.   

I'm going to give Roy Castle a ring to see if this beats the World Record for the number of brags in one internet forum post.

Outrageous.

I never even mentioned the enormous sum I won in that Golden Nugget final Table, which was almost 4 figures.

Then again, my subsequent post, with the 6-6-6 hand, was mildly chirpy. Guilty as charged.

[tikay]

Thoughts turn to work now, with players, Staff & Ambassadors starting to arrive.

A couple of the lads from Next Door are here already, so I've been meeting, greeting, schmoozing & photographing today.

Tomorrow, Neil Channing arrives, & then on Thursday, 2 Suits - both of them my bosses - arrive, so I gotta start behaving myself, having a shave every day & wearing proper clothes & stuff.

On Friday, the two biggest MTT winners from Next Door arrive, TommyD & MattBates. (Matt posts on blonde as Magic817).

On Sunday, MarkyCrash, who also posts here, arrives.

And then, on Monday, it goes crazy, as the balance of 90 arrive (45 Package Winners & 45 +1's).  

It'll be all go from now on, so all the more reason to enjoy that Venetian thing tomorrow, &, hopefully, Thursday.

[tikay]

It's Independence Day here in the USA, which, it seems to me, is celebrated by 2 things - fireworks, & Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest.

Unsurprisingly, the Hot Dog Contest winner was Joey Chestnut, who has won 9 of the last 10 renewals.

He managed - in 10 minutes - 72 Hot Dogs, including the buns. That'll be 20,160 calories.

He came to the contest in great form, too, having just last month won the World Ice Cream Sandwich Eating Championship. He got through 25.25 Ice Cream Dessert Delights in 6 minutes, but it went to a tie-breaker which he duly won.

This, of course, is serious business, & is sanctioned by MLE - Major League Eating.

MLE run all sorts of Eating contests, look;

http://www.majorleagueeating.com/contests.php

The Hot Dog thing is broadcast live on ESPN, who boast that they syndicate the show to 72 countries. Presumably that excludes the likes of Bangladesh & large parts of Africa.

I am not making any of this stuff up. It's real.

If you have never watched a Hot dog Eating contest, look away now, it's the most obscene & disgusting thing you ever saw.

The whole thing is abhorrent, but then again, I cant help watching it.

Here's Joey in action today.

[tikay]

If you do not feel sick yet, here's Joey winning the Ice Cream Eating jobbie. Obv, it includes the tie-break, or eat-off.

[tikay]

You don't get good at this eating contest stuff without hours of dedicated training, either.

[Marky147]

Think it must be similar to yourself at Starbies, after a 1am bubble...

29.5 Choc Ices, in 96 seconds

 

[tikay]

Does anyone know what is going off here?

Caption Comp replies welcome.

[hhyftrftdr]

Whats with all the Joey Chestnut hating?

[4KSuited]

Does anyone know what is going off here?

Caption Comp replies welcome.

Egghead wins playoff final in knuckle crushing contest

[tikay]

Does anyone know what is going off here?

Caption Comp replies welcome.

Egghead wins playoff final in knuckle crushing contest

Close.

A very well known blonde is in the photo.

[tikay]

Pardon me copying from Next Door, but it makes no sense for me to type stuff twice. I put this up Next Door a few minutes ago. A player break was mysteriously extended & everyone excluded from the Amazon Room.

The reason for the elongated break has emerged, & it is a real weird one.

In the same room, the late stages (last 3 tables or so) of the 888 thing is taking place.
 
I don't know how many chips are in play - millions, for sure - but all the players have big stacks, obv.
 
Apparently, on one of the three tables, the Dealer became unwell - he had a seizure I'm reliably informed - & in doing so, he sort of fell on the table & all the players stacks got mixed up, & lots of chips got knocked onto the floor.

So trying to sort those chips it is something of a nightmare.

The WSOP "Floor" have kept all the players nice & calm, & seem to be sorting it as best they can.
 
Not sure I've ever heard of such a problem before.
 
Most importantly, of course, hope the Dealer soon recovers.  

[tikay]

Also from Next Door.....

Stood at Chris's Table, I hear the familiar voice of Will Kassouf talking nineteen to the dozen, as per.

I wander across to take a look.

Will is in the Small Blind, & it has been folded round.

Will raises.

"I've got a big hand, I've got a big hand" he endlessly repeats, as he raises yet again.
 
The Big Blind is having none of it.
 
ALL-IN he asserts with great confidence, pushing a pretty decent stack across the line.

Will snaps, "I've got a big hand, I warned you, I've got a big hand. CALL".

Big Blind is loving life, he has the Queens.

Will turns over.....KINGS

"No scares on the flop please Dealer" Will says.

First card King.

[typhoon13]

Does anyone know what is going off here?

Caption Comp replies welcome.

Well played Ralph 73 Hot Dogs

[Geo the Sarge]

Does anyone know what is going off here?

Caption Comp replies welcome.

Good to see someone get the lot on this thread 

Well done Ralph.

Geo