AH, THE MEMORIES

I went back to 2004 to read of our Vegas adventure. Tom made such a great entry that there was no need for me to add my own. I'll never forget when we were whispering on the rail and the players broke the fourth wall and joined our conversation. That was really surreal. I was looking around for players I recognized from television and saw Robin Hood. I pointed out to Tom the guy whom I recognized who gives all his winnings to charity. That's when a player at the table we were railing turned and asked me what Greenstein's stack was at. I didn't recognize the name Greenstein, so I told him I couldn't see from here. We were just a few inches away from the players, but we were on the wrong side of the stanchions, so it didn't seem possible that they could hear us or would even be interested in our conversation. What's really amazing is that one year later, I would be on the money side of the stanchions.

I love the confrontation between Tom and Mississippi. Tom gave it a classic western feel by adding some dialogue to the proceedings. Tom talks like a movie character in real life during such situations, so I trust his memory was unembellished. I love how he finally busted Mississippi with the mighty T8 vs 98. I still remember that hand when I was rooked by the he/she with linebacker paws. She hit trip fours against my AQ on an ace-high flop. She was new to the game, and I was used to everyone overplaying ace/rag, so the way it played out, I thought my kicker was good. She did this thing while I was considering her all-in bet, where she talked to the guy next to her and held her cards high as if she couldn't wait to flip them over. Then she looked at me and said 'you're calling, right?" She gave me the perfect impression that she was just gambling and couldn't wait to see if she could draw out on me. So, I said, 'sure, I'll call." That's when the bad news arrived. She took a few hundred off me there, but I wouldn't bust until my AK lost all-in against QQ to a different player.

Even with the tough time Steve was going through, that trip ranks as one of my all-time fave getaways. We were playing casino no-limit for the first time, agonizing over $100 swings, and we were sharing our post-mortem recaps over bourban and cigars in the hotel with no other responsibilities other than to get enough sleep to be able to play another marathon session the next day. I brought some issues of my own to that hotel room, and talking with Tom late into the night was tonic I was in need of at that time. If that week could have lasted forever, with a bankroll to match, I could have believed in an afterlife and that maybe I was in it. We were amazed at the quality of food we were getting on the cheap. The two-inch diameter grilled asparagus at Mandalay Bay made the trip worth losing all that money at the tables. It also made our urine smell like a rodent corpse after we had returned home as a reminder of the good times.

I also revisited February 2005 when I won a couple of qualifiers to get me into the EPT Monte Carlo event. That was leading up to the most satisfying (and stressful) week in my poker life. Monaco was the turning point when the simple joys of cheap buffets and low-limit games no longer became satisfying. I have tried to stay true to the enjoyable aspects of poker: I still enjoy a cheap Vegas buffet, and I will still play $1/2 or $2/4 NL rather than the high-roller stuff, but now that I have final tabled a major event, I can only find true poker happiness in another televsion appearance.

I don't yet have a seat or hotel room for the WSOP main event, but I'm hoping that one of the Junto Boys can secure one in the months ahead. I've already got the time set aside while my family will be in New Jersey. Now, whether I play the main event or not, I just need a place to stay for a couple of weeks so I can live Vegas with my buddies once again. I don't think Daniel Negreanu's floor is a viable option.