Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[turny]

tony please dont take my question the wrong way as im just curious and you may have answered this question elsewhere and if so i apologise. but here goes.....


did you ever pay michael maccool regards the bet u had ((£100 i think) that you would personally turn luton cardroom around within a month?
or do you see yourself as succeeding and if so has he paid you?
is this still one of your personal crusades or have you given up on the place other than the occasional visit.

Marriott Hotel, Edinburgh, Sunday Morning, May 4th

I'd forgotten all about it, to be honest.

Given up? Me? Give up? I don't do give up Paul, you know that! I change my mind sometimes, but never give up.

Mick has since returned to Luton-G & played there several times, had no complaints as far as I know, but I have never thought to ask him his views on whether he thought things had impoved. Clearly, some things have, others have not, but it's a long road we travel, & Luton-G remain  a work-in-progress for a while yet.

Mick & I went through a difficult period, originally because he had some issues with blonde, & blonde Updates, about which he wrote at some length about me on his, if I may say so, rather splendidly penned-blog, & he followed that with a mocking piece about me as to that rather embarrassing, & I had assumed wholly tongue-in-cheek " tikay - UK Poker Legend" article that appeared on PokerNews without my prior knowledge. I never "bit", or threw any stones back, & have refrained from responding in kind, & shall continue so to do. We share Tables a lot at DTD these days, & we've established a rapport enabling us to share tables & have a little banter.

As such, we never mentioned the Luton thing again, we were non-speakers for a while, so it was hardly relavent in the greater scheme of things.

He can owe me the £100, I'm in no rush - it was not about money really, it was about "doing" something rather than just moaning. In the event that the bet were ever settled - either way - the money would go to Charity.

thanks for the reply tony.

hand on heart do you really think things have improved for the better at the g?
a number of regulars including tighty dont seem to be to impresses at the moment judging by there comments on the g casino thread, do u think there gripes justified?

[nirvana]

I had that Stelios in the back of one of my conferences once.

From what I gather, not the nicest, or brightest, of men. Typical Millionaire's Son.

He was quite down to earth Tikay - also, quite self deprecating - he was asked about his entrepeneuership / business acumen / brilliant 'idea' and he attributed the bulk of his success to having a stinkingly rich father who could bankroll all his failed ideas till one came off

[celtic]

tony please dont take my question the wrong way as im just curious and you may have answered this question elsewhere and if so i apologise. but here goes.....


did you ever pay michael maccool regards the bet u had ((£100 i think) that you would personally turn luton cardroom around within a month?
or do you see yourself as succeeding and if so has he paid you?
is this still one of your personal crusades or have you given up on the place other than the occasional visit.

Marriott Hotel, Edinburgh, Sunday Morning, May 4th

I'd forgotten all about it, to be honest.

Given up? Me? Give up? I don't do give up Paul, you know that! I change my mind sometimes, but never give up.

Mick has since returned to Luton-G & played there several times, had no complaints as far as I know, but I have never thought to ask him his views on whether he thought things had impoved. Clearly, some things have, others have not, but it's a long road we travel, & Luton-G remain  a work-in-progress for a while yet.

Mick & I went through a difficult period, originally because he had some issues with blonde, & blonde Updates, about which he wrote at some length about me on his, if I may say so, rather splendidly penned-blog, & he followed that with a mocking piece about me as to that rather embarrassing, & I had assumed wholly tongue-in-cheek " tikay - UK Poker Legend" article that appeared on PokerNews without my prior knowledge. I never "bit", or threw any stones back, & have refrained from responding in kind, & shall continue so to do. We share Tables a lot at DTD these days, & we've established a rapport enabling us to share tables & have a little banter.

As such, we never mentioned the Luton thing again, we were non-speakers for a while, so it was hardly relavent in the greater scheme of things.

He can owe me the £100, I'm in no rush - it was not about money really, it was about "doing" something rather than just moaning. In the event that the bet were ever settled - either way - the money would go to Charity.

thanks for the reply tony.

hand on heart do you really think things have improved for the better at the g?
a number of regulars including tighty dont seem to be to impresses at the moment judging by there comments on the g casino thread, do u think there gripes justified?

wanted to speak to carmel tonight but she wasnt around and then i left without checking again. It's time something was done, not sure what but its definitely time. Sitting behind a computer and spouting off on here isnt getting us anywhere so really someone has to take it upon themselves to do something. Maybe get the players commitee back up and running again?

[77dave]

What are you saying about the job that  i have done over the past 3 months???

[celtic]

What are you saying about the job that  i have done over the past 3 months???

think you have been very poor tbh jim, dont know if you will be able to show ur face next week

[TightEnd]

Luton are interviewing two "high calibre" external potential card-room hires this month

the aim is to have one on board next month. Their first task according to Carmel is to get Players feedback from a new committee via elections in June.

Don't shoot the messenger.

[jakally]

Luton are interviewing two "high calibre" external potential card-room hires this month

the aim is to have one on board next month. Their first task according to Carmel is to get Players feedback from a new committee via elections in June.

Don't shoot the messenger.

I have no time for commitees - I am sure they must be of some use in some instances, but I've yet to come across one of these.

IMO they are frequently the tool of weak management / lack of leadership - i.e. 'we know things are going to be less than perfect, but if we get you involved it's not just our issue'.

Also, why appoint a 'high calibre' person, and then tell them how to do their job.
If they are good enough, they should be allowed to get on with it.

[tikay]

tony please dont take my question the wrong way as im just curious and you may have answered this question elsewhere and if so i apologise. but here goes.....


did you ever pay michael maccool regards the bet u had ((£100 i think) that you would personally turn luton cardroom around within a month?
or do you see yourself as succeeding and if so has he paid you?
is this still one of your personal crusades or have you given up on the place other than the occasional visit.

Marriott Hotel, Edinburgh, Sunday Morning, May 4th

I'd forgotten all about it, to be honest.

Given up? Me? Give up? I don't do give up Paul, you know that! I change my mind sometimes, but never give up.

Mick has since returned to Luton-G & played there several times, had no complaints as far as I know, but I have never thought to ask him his views on whether he thought things had impoved. Clearly, some things have, others have not, but it's a long road we travel, & Luton-G remain  a work-in-progress for a while yet.

Mick & I went through a difficult period, originally because he had some issues with blonde, & blonde Updates, about which he wrote at some length about me on his, if I may say so, rather splendidly penned-blog, & he followed that with a mocking piece about me as to that rather embarrassing, & I had assumed wholly tongue-in-cheek " tikay - UK Poker Legend" article that appeared on PokerNews without my prior knowledge. I never "bit", or threw any stones back, & have refrained from responding in kind, & shall continue so to do. We share Tables a lot at DTD these days, & we've established a rapport enabling us to share tables & have a little banter.

As such, we never mentioned the Luton thing again, we were non-speakers for a while, so it was hardly relavent in the greater scheme of things.

He can owe me the £100, I'm in no rush - it was not about money really, it was about "doing" something rather than just moaning. In the event that the bet were ever settled - either way - the money would go to Charity.

thanks for the reply tony.

hand on heart do you really think things have improved for the better at the g?
a number of regulars including tighty dont seem to be to impresses at the moment judging by there comments on the g casino thread, do u think there gripes justified?

wanted to speak to carmel tonight but she wasnt around and then i left without checking again. It's time something was done, not sure what but its definitely time. Sitting behind a computer and spouting off on here isnt getting us anywhere so really someone has to take it upon themselves to do something. Maybe get the players commitee back up and running again?

And there you have common-sense at work.

We can all moan all we like - it's not that hard to moan, actually. Being constructive takes a touch more nous though. And patience, too, as in poker, is a wonderful asset.

But the Gold Medal goes to the "I told you so" Brigade. It's hard to imagine anything more pointless than "I told you so", but I suppose it satisfies those who say it, in some teeny-weeny way. That apart, never achieved anything, though.

[TightEnd]

Luton are interviewing two "high calibre" external potential card-room hires this month

the aim is to have one on board next month. Their first task according to Carmel is to get Players feedback from a new committee via elections in June.

Don't shoot the messenger.

I have no time for commitees - I am sure they must be of some use in some instances, but I've yet to come across one of these.

IMO they are frequently the tool of weak management / lack of leadership - i.e. 'we know things are going to be less than perfect, but if we get you involved it's not just our issue'.

Also, why appoint a 'high calibre' person, and then tell them how to do their job.
If they are good enough, they should be allowed to get on with it.

The players want a voice..how best to give them that voice?

as to letting someone get on with it, sure..but some corporate cultures seem to work towards the opposite..and casino managements are pretty apposite examples of that in my experience.

[tikay]

tony please dont take my question the wrong way as im just curious and you may have answered this question elsewhere and if so i apologise. but here goes.....


did you ever pay michael maccool regards the bet u had ((£100 i think) that you would personally turn luton cardroom around within a month?
or do you see yourself as succeeding and if so has he paid you?
is this still one of your personal crusades or have you given up on the place other than the occasional visit.

Marriott Hotel, Edinburgh, Sunday Morning, May 4th

I'd forgotten all about it, to be honest.

Given up? Me? Give up? I don't do give up Paul, you know that! I change my mind sometimes, but never give up.

Mick has since returned to Luton-G & played there several times, had no complaints as far as I know, but I have never thought to ask him his views on whether he thought things had impoved. Clearly, some things have, others have not, but it's a long road we travel, & Luton-G remain  a work-in-progress for a while yet.

Mick & I went through a difficult period, originally because he had some issues with blonde, & blonde Updates, about which he wrote at some length about me on his, if I may say so, rather splendidly penned-blog, & he followed that with a mocking piece about me as to that rather embarrassing, & I had assumed wholly tongue-in-cheek " tikay - UK Poker Legend" article that appeared on PokerNews without my prior knowledge. I never "bit", or threw any stones back, & have refrained from responding in kind, & shall continue so to do. We share Tables a lot at DTD these days, & we've established a rapport enabling us to share tables & have a little banter.

As such, we never mentioned the Luton thing again, we were non-speakers for a while, so it was hardly relavent in the greater scheme of things.

He can owe me the £100, I'm in no rush - it was not about money really, it was about "doing" something rather than just moaning. In the event that the bet were ever settled - either way - the money would go to Charity.

thanks for the reply tony.

hand on heart do you really think things have improved for the better at the g?
a number of regulars including tighty dont seem to be to impresses at the moment judging by there comments on the g casino thread, do u think there gripes justified?

Thanks for the reply? You are welcome. I try to answer all reasonable Diary questions.

Hand-on-heart, do I think it's improved? Hand on heart, in some ways, yes. Valet service, about which everyone was bleating, for example. Been not a single moan on that recently. Conveniently forgotten, of course, because it's OK now.

And there are more & better-trained Dealers, though for complex reasons (it would take all day to explain), they are not always available to the Poker Room. It's about spreading their thin resources to the best financial end, & with less players going there, the Staff are often redeployed elsewhere. If there were, regularly, more players, there would be more Dealers. There are not more players because in some ways, they have not progressed. Joseph Heller summed it up perfectly......

But on balance, taken as a whole, no, it's not progressed as fast or as well as most of us would have wished.

Part of that was due to their failure to attract a Manager of the right calibre, a subjct about which, perhaps, I should not venture further right now, as I'm a Fireman not an Arsonist.

But it remains a lovely Card-Room, with some of the most "fun" characters of any UK Poker-room. We have lost a few regulars, too bad. As Rob Yong keeps reminding me, sometimes it's best to say "look, if you don't like it here"......We can cope quite nicely without those who have absented themselves, thank you very much, although Jim McShane is a huge loss, he was the CardRoom Daddy there.

There was that song & dance because it took weeks to repair the Plasma. But did it really matter, enough for folks to get all uppity? (Rhetorical).

I'll respond to last week's plethora of Luton moans on the Luton thread shortly. Luton-G did have some responsibility for that - but let's not forget, so did the punters, deffo. No way on earth can the punters last week be considered blameless.

It's a weird thing, buit everybody sees everything as cut & dried, black & white. It's rarely that simple. Shades of grey exist, too. So do opinions, but everybody makes their Posts as "facts".

It is not better. It is better. It's neither, & it's both.

Has it progressed as much as I wished, hoped, & thought? Nope.

Has it progressed at all? Yup.

In my opinion.

[tikay]

Home, Derbyshire, Monday.

Met Tighty in reception at the Edinburgh Marriott at 0630 sharp, & it was a just wonderful Spring morning, with the blackbirds & rabbits all up & about, busy doing their thing.

Shared Tighty's Taxi to the Airport, & one again, bmi-baby delayed the plane - "adverse weather". Eh? (It had been raining in Nottingham.....).

A half-empty flight on an aged 737-300, many of the passengers were blondes &/or APAT-ers, including new Member Jordania.

I was asleep pre-take-off, & alsleep when we landed. We disembarked, then waited 35 minutes for the Ground Crew to offload the baggage. BMI used to be so much better, they've lost that "small is hungry is enthusiastic" culture. A takeover is imminent, at a knock-down price. !2 months maximum.

Was home by 11am, & spent a few hours catching up on the Forum chatter, mainly complex stuff on the Mods Board. Peeps think we just shrug our shoulders when things go off the rails, but they work incredibly hard to find the right answers.

I'm off to DTD shortly, for their £100 Rebuy. I'm aching for a game, so I'll probably play too fast.

[tikay]

Good night for Red & Chili Online the last few nights.

I read this morning - I've not spoken to him yet - that Red cashed Big in the $100k Guaranteed last night, terrific news.

And I rung Chili yesterday about something, & she tells me she cashed Big in the Sunday Morning (2am?) 'Stars $100k Guaranteed - 4 way chop, she scooped $11,500 I think. That's serious Bankroll.

Well done both.

And Karabiner showed extreme age is no barrier when he finalled in that very hot Omaha Comp at DTD.

Oh, & I spoke to Maureen this morning - see the "Reece" Thread, in The Lounge.

Happy Monday or Happy Mayday? Not fussed, I'll take either.

[RED-DOG]

I won the 5k  on blonde too, not that I'm chirping or anything.....   

[kenjude]

BMI used to be so much better, they've lost that "small is hungry is enthusiastic" culture. A takeover is imminent, at a knock-down price. !2 months maximum.

Can't quite see that. I don't think Bishop did the deal to take Bmed off BA's hands and gain more slots at Heathrow just to sell it all on again.

[turny]

Luton are interviewing two "high calibre" external potential card-room hires this month

the aim is to have one on board next month. Their first task according to Carmel is to get Players feedback from a new committee via elections in June.

Don't shoot the messenger.

I have no time for commitees - I am sure they must be of some use in some instances, but I've yet to come across one of these.

IMO they are frequently the tool of weak management / lack of leadership - i.e. 'we know things are going to be less than perfect, but if we get you involved it's not just our issue'.

Also, why appoint a 'high calibre' person, and then tell them how to do their job.
If they are good enough, they should be allowed to get on with it.