Hello all.
Ok todays poker tourist tips are on how to blag as many freebies as poss
at the area of the Rio where the wsop tourneys are held there are many side stalls selling everything from Cigars to solid gold chip markers, and they wont give anything away, but with a bit of searching and a bit of sheer bloody cheek you can get a few goodies.
Poker team "Full Tilt" have a private lounge which opens from 4.30 til 7.30 and is open to all, when you first go in you see 2 computer screens, simply enter your name and email address and go to the counter where they will present you with not 1 but 2 tshirts, a baseball cap, and a poster of their team which includes "Jesus" ferguson, Ivey,Lederer etc, and they all regularly mingle about in there, in fact i had a bit of a chat to "Jesus" Ferguson, and he was perfectly charming and I even wrote down the web address for the forum down for him and he promised to take a look. I have seen all the Full tilt team except phil Ivey, I asked "Jesus" why he wasnt playing and he said that he is saving himself for the big one as he fears he may burn out if he overplays, I replied that he was playing cash at the bellagio every day, he said "yeah but cash is easy compared to playing in a big arena with everyone watching every blink of your eye, it is enormous pressure" which is perfectly understandable when you see how much these guys are admired and respected here, people actually walk up to tables with all sorts of things for these guys to sign, and I must say i have never seen any of the top guys being anything other than obliging which is nice to see.
Back to the freebies.... also in the wsop lobby is a reward card desk which all the mugs who play the slots place in the machines before embarking on a 12 hour stint of button pushing, anyway act like a mug and sign up (you will need your passport) it costs nothing, and they give you a nice leather key/card wallet, a wsop official programme (which sells for $5) and a 12 pack of coke/diet coke... not bad for a freebie. I also blagged 2 extra tshirts the night John and simon chopped a small comp, all the players at the final table get a tshirt, and they only had XL left..Kerchinnnngggg another 2 tshirts in the bag
There is another stall where people are continually asking you to sign up for a wsop credit card and they will give you a free tshirt, well I thought i could sign up, get the free tshirt and then just not activate the card (thats if i ever passed any credit check
) but i was told that it was for american nationals only.....But every time i walked past I was asked again and kept telling them that i wanted to but as i was english i wasnt allowed, in the end the guy had asked me that many times, he said "look im really sorry, and if i ask you again i will give you a tshirt ...so i wait til its really busy and he is asking everyone and he makes the fatal mistake ...kerrrchhhinnng yet another tshirt
I have also blagged 2 baseball caps and numerous magazines
2 Funniest moments from today ...... before every tournament the director says the same stuff..."there will be an Immediate penalty for any F. bombing" cue the loud obnoxious hoody wearing american to say "what the fk is an F.bomb" resulting in an immedate 10 minute break for the dork. the other being Phil "I revel in my reputation as the bad boy/obnoxious prick at a poker table in the world) Helmuth walking past me on the phone to someone saying " They mucked my hand for answering my phone so i told them it wasnt my fault, penalise the silly fk that phoned me"
Today i bumped into "I know it" and Jim the Bandit, nice to start meeting the blondites...I also saw the interview that Brian Wilson gave after winning a bracelet and he was wearing a "Blonde Poker" cap...excellent stuff. Had dinner with Paul Maxfield and his brother in law they were good fun and very good company. also seen doc and the lovely claire, I mentioned to doc that Tikay keeps trying to get claire to spend a little time with him, doc replied Tikay is a dirty old bugger (well i think thats what he said but it deffo started with B)
Steve vladar and "Bad girl" (shes lovely) arrived yesterday, but their suitcases didnt, apparantly they went to chicago, but saw them today and happily they have been reunited with their clothes.
Waitress search has been put on hold for a few days, all this bloody poker is getting in the way
I am having an absolute blast here, i have lost all concept of what day/time it is , and i really dont care
Safe travel to all that are on their way over, and to those that arent.........start planning for next year.... Its both unbelievable and unforgettable and I can promise you that you will never have experienced anything like it in your life !!
Take care all and i will post again soon.
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