Dave's WSOP Adventure May 20
May 20 - A good start
Left Saskatoon at 6 AM this morning. Got my lucky haircut in the Minneapolis airport during our three our layover. I promised the barber a $1,000 tip if I win.
In the air between Minneapolis and LV I am overhearing the conversation behind me. A South Dakota farmer is en route to the WSOP because he won his seat on PartyPoker.com. It the fourth year in a row he has played the big one. He describes the event as hours and hours of boredom with the OCCASIONAL hand of pure terror. Can you say “rock?†Ralph and I talk about this phenomenon. What peercentage of the field is this player typical of? Ralph guesses 25%. I guess 50%. What percentage of the field are FOXES. True FOXES. The players of which you live in fear. I guess between 5 and 10%. I place myself somewhere between those two groups. I am not a rock, that’s for sure. But, I do not have enough time in the trenches to hone my foxlike thinking. The rocks can get to the money, but that CANNOT win an even like this.
Ralph and I, when in Vegas, have a lot of fun. If I am in an extroverted mood (I often am) the fun often spills over onto those around us. So, as we are getting off the plane I ask the SD farmer: “Do you want a piece of the baggage bet? We each put up $500.00 and whoever’s bag comes off first wins the whole $1,500. No? OK… just you and me Ralph.†Several passengers marvel at our bravado. “Heelllloooo!!! We’re in Vegas baby! We’re hear to GGGAAAAAMMMMBBLLLEE!†My bag comes off first and I win the bet. As soon as we are in the limo, of course, I return the money to Ralph. We frequently make outlandish bets to freak out people around us. We never actually pay though. We once gambles seven $1,000 wagers on the monorail from Bellagio to Monte Carlo. That REALLY wowed some guy from Biose.
Arrive in LV. Limo to the hotel. It’s not much more money than a cab, it’s no waiting, and it’s a whole lot more fun. Wander over to Binion’s and – wow – the place is hopping! I strike, immediately, upon my first good luck of the visit. I walk in the door and bump into Nolan Dalla of CardPlayer fame. Nolan and I used to share a poker study group (along with Justin Baxter of CPP fame) some years ago. “Hi Nolan,†I say, “Can you help me with my media accreditation?†Nolan, the Media Director for the WSOP, walks me down the hall to the media room (used to be Gi Joon restaurant). Viola! I am accredited. “Where is the poker office?†I ask. Nolan shows me. Five minutes later I have picked up my registration, signed the ESPN waiver, and received my seat assignment. Woohoo. I have skipped a ninety minute lineup!
Ralph and I wander back to the hotel. Since our room is not ready we have a glass of beer. One thing leads to another and we play some roulette. Ralph loses $40 and I break even. Off we go to get our room. Ralph asks if I “have enough balls†to gamble my lone $100 chip on a single hand of blackjack. It’s like waiving a red flag. I bet it. I win it. I annoucne I will continue betting $100 until I lose once. I win again. I repeat this. And again. And again. And… I win six in row so I am up $600. Woohoo. I then double down, lose, and pull out. I am up $400. Kewl.
Enjoy supper with my partner from Canadian Poker Player magazine and then it’s off to the UltimateBet.com party. Weird. I have been in LV for six hours and I have not played a single hand of poker and I am up $400.
My seat draw? I do not play until day two (Sunday). I am table 8, seat 8.
At long last I get to play poker. I play the 10:45 PM $1000+25 super satellite make the money. $10,000 in my pocket. Excellent… I would post some hands and interesting tidbits but it is now 6:45 AM (7:45 AM at home) and I am a little tired…
Sunday is a freeroll! Woohoo
Left Saskatoon at 6 AM this morning. Got my lucky haircut in the Minneapolis airport during our three our layover. I promised the barber a $1,000 tip if I win.
In the air between Minneapolis and LV I am overhearing the conversation behind me. A South Dakota farmer is en route to the WSOP because he won his seat on PartyPoker.com. It the fourth year in a row he has played the big one. He describes the event as hours and hours of boredom with the OCCASIONAL hand of pure terror. Can you say “rock?†Ralph and I talk about this phenomenon. What peercentage of the field is this player typical of? Ralph guesses 25%. I guess 50%. What percentage of the field are FOXES. True FOXES. The players of which you live in fear. I guess between 5 and 10%. I place myself somewhere between those two groups. I am not a rock, that’s for sure. But, I do not have enough time in the trenches to hone my foxlike thinking. The rocks can get to the money, but that CANNOT win an even like this.
Ralph and I, when in Vegas, have a lot of fun. If I am in an extroverted mood (I often am) the fun often spills over onto those around us. So, as we are getting off the plane I ask the SD farmer: “Do you want a piece of the baggage bet? We each put up $500.00 and whoever’s bag comes off first wins the whole $1,500. No? OK… just you and me Ralph.†Several passengers marvel at our bravado. “Heelllloooo!!! We’re in Vegas baby! We’re hear to GGGAAAAAMMMMBBLLLEE!†My bag comes off first and I win the bet. As soon as we are in the limo, of course, I return the money to Ralph. We frequently make outlandish bets to freak out people around us. We never actually pay though. We once gambles seven $1,000 wagers on the monorail from Bellagio to Monte Carlo. That REALLY wowed some guy from Biose.
Arrive in LV. Limo to the hotel. It’s not much more money than a cab, it’s no waiting, and it’s a whole lot more fun. Wander over to Binion’s and – wow – the place is hopping! I strike, immediately, upon my first good luck of the visit. I walk in the door and bump into Nolan Dalla of CardPlayer fame. Nolan and I used to share a poker study group (along with Justin Baxter of CPP fame) some years ago. “Hi Nolan,†I say, “Can you help me with my media accreditation?†Nolan, the Media Director for the WSOP, walks me down the hall to the media room (used to be Gi Joon restaurant). Viola! I am accredited. “Where is the poker office?†I ask. Nolan shows me. Five minutes later I have picked up my registration, signed the ESPN waiver, and received my seat assignment. Woohoo. I have skipped a ninety minute lineup!
Ralph and I wander back to the hotel. Since our room is not ready we have a glass of beer. One thing leads to another and we play some roulette. Ralph loses $40 and I break even. Off we go to get our room. Ralph asks if I “have enough balls†to gamble my lone $100 chip on a single hand of blackjack. It’s like waiving a red flag. I bet it. I win it. I annoucne I will continue betting $100 until I lose once. I win again. I repeat this. And again. And again. And… I win six in row so I am up $600. Woohoo. I then double down, lose, and pull out. I am up $400. Kewl.
Enjoy supper with my partner from Canadian Poker Player magazine and then it’s off to the UltimateBet.com party. Weird. I have been in LV for six hours and I have not played a single hand of poker and I am up $400.
My seat draw? I do not play until day two (Sunday). I am table 8, seat 8.
At long last I get to play poker. I play the 10:45 PM $1000+25 super satellite make the money. $10,000 in my pocket. Excellent… I would post some hands and interesting tidbits but it is now 6:45 AM (7:45 AM at home) and I am a little tired…
Sunday is a freeroll! Woohoo
Comments
Holy crap guy, awesome start! Congrats!
ScottyZ
You say that like I tell my buddy I just won $50 in a $10+1 tourney. lol $10K!!! CMAN!! That's HUGE! WOOOO
Good luck Sunday! I wonder who is at your table.
Even though it's not a 'real' bet, this is still really funny. Waiting for baggage is the worst part of flying (especially at Pearson) and that sounds like a good way to break up the monotony.
Awesome report... sounds like you had an entertaining--and profitable--first day. Congrats!
I'm jealous of the fact that you skipped the lines...
That 10K win is amazing. What a way to start the trip.
Regards,
all_aces
ps: Where abouts is table 8?
After reading your post I had an image of Scotty Nyugen in my head
Very Nice Dave!
Wahooooooo wtg Dave!
If the SD had wanted action I would have booked it.
ROFLMAO!