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« Reply #54 on: November 05, 2005, 08:47:43 PM » |
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4 of us - Ted Giddens, Racing Ronnie (that's Ronnie De Bealoux, pronounced, "bollocks" - truly!), Pat Keane, & myself got invited to a TV Tourney in Moscow, at the Shangri-La Casino. NOT a team event, but we travelled as a group, same flights, same hotel, & it was all booked by someone else, more details in the full Trip Report later.
4 heats of 8, 2 from each heat go through to the Final.
We were all seeded into separate heats. Ted Giddens got busted in his heat, I got turned over by Kiril Gerasimov, when his AK beat my QQ all-in. (Well, when I say QQ, it turned out to be 3-5, but these things happen). Racing Ronnie & Pat Keane both finished as runners-up in their heats, & so made the 8 man Final.
The entry fee was $3,000, & the Prize Money was $60k, $30k & $10k. We four all agreed pre-comp to "swap" 10%.
Pat Keane ended up finishing 1st, & Racing Ronnie 2nd. Lovely. Some business was done 5 handed to save $5k each, so Pat & Rionnie bagged a total of $77,500 I think.
So that's $7,750 each due to Ted & me. We had paid our entry fee by cheque, (complicated, details in the TR) so I asked them to give me the cheque back, & take the $3k out of the $7,750, Ted ditto, & thats what was done, so Ted & me collected $4,750 each. So Ronniie & Pat netted $60-$65k, all in crisp new $100 dollar bills.
Our car took us to the airport together, we checked in together, & went throigh all the security gates together except the last one. We got separated in the Duty Free, so Ted went through first, no prob, then Ronnie went throuigh, but he got pulled & searched, they fouind the money, & he got marched away. Ted is watching all this from the other side of the security gate, so phones Pat to warn him.
I go through next, I get pulled too, & have to empty my pockets & bag. No prob, I'm not over the limit, but they take me to the side room too, where Ronnie already is. 5 State Police, 3 male, 2 female. I tell them my story, no probs, they scowl & give me a bit if a rub-down, but release me. I go thriough to departures to join a worried Ted G.
Please note, some discretion is required here - I need to say, I don't know how much Pat & Ronnie had on them.......
Ronnie is in trub though. Full body search, some money is identified, loads of forms to fill in, & he's told he'll be in clink all weekend, in court in Moscow on Monday, & is facing 1 to 5 years. Or, he could pay a $10,000 "Fine"...... Fine is paid out of the cash, forms are torn up, Ronnie is released.
Pat's next. He gets pulled, too. Same drill. Clink all weekend, court Monday, 1 to 5 years, or a "fine" can be arranged. We don't know what's happening, but we have to board now, there is nothng we can do, we board & leave Pat behind. Horrible.
Just before the plane leaves, Pat boards, he's safe. Apparently he got a $9k fine, too.......
So they lost $19k, & obviously, Ted & me will refund our %'s. Ronnie & Pat refused to take the money back, but they've got no choice, right is right. And poor Pat got pulled at Heathrow too, but no probs there, he was all in good order.
I may be a bit out of order divulging all these details, but I'd told Dave this morning I was in a spot of bother, & he must have told Rhow, who put it on the Main Page of blonde. So really, I don't have any choice but to reveal all, otherwise rumour & conjecture will run rife. My apologies to Ronnie & Pat if this causes a prob, but it seems half the world knew half the story, so I need to put it to bed. None of us knew or were aware there were any limitations to taking cash, which was legally ours, out of Russia.
I gotta say I feel terrible for Pat & Ronnie, but them's the breaks. A full trip report, with loads of interesting bumf, will follow.
Bit of a trip, one way & another. Big ups are due to Pat, Ronnie & Ted, WHAT a time we had, they are all great guys. A few tins of vaseline may be in order though....
OK, now I'll have to set up the lappie, because the pics of the box contents are on that. Bit of an anti-climax, that one, now!
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