I’ve thought a lot about how to do this Winter Classic trip report. First I made myself some notes and an outline of events from the weekend, then I tried to figure out a clever way to put it all together, but there is just to much to tell to try to form it into a cohesive story. I could struggle with it some more, or just get it down before I start forgetting things, so here it is, 3 weeks late.
I have been reading many poker blogs for quite some time and decided to start my own in July of 2006 after a trip to the WSOP. Only having blogged for a few months, I was unsure of whether or not I would be welcome or fit in very well at the blogger events, so in November, I emailed April, the organizer of the Winter Classic, to get a feel for what to expect if I came. Her response was encouraging. I talked my friend Andy into coming along so I would have someone to hang with in the event that the blogger reception was unwelcoming.
Due to high winds in Chicago (our connecting city) the flight out of Buffalo was delayed from 4:30 to 8PM. After waiting in line for and hour with only one person ahead of us, we tried to reroute though another city. The United rep booked us on a USAir flight through DC and we were off to check into our new flight. The flight was overbooked. Back to the United counter where we waited again for an hour with NO ONE in front of us. I thought I was going to lose my shit and start beating this woman as she talked on the phone and then took a break while we were waiting right in front of her. I realized at that moment that I should never own a handgun. Had I had one on my person, I am almost certain I would have used it. By the time we got our original boarding passes back, it was time to board. We miraculously made our connection in Chicago, and touched down at around 11PM Thursday night.
After a quick cab ride to the IP, we were subjected to yet another line at the check in, this one very long. Remembering Pauly’s rules, I thought maybe a twenty spot would get us checked in via the platinum check-in counter where there was no line. I sent Andy over there with a twenty while I waited in the regular line. He came back in a few minutes when he couldn’t get the attention of a clerk, and we just waited it out. Our room was at the ass end of nowhere on the 18th floor. After hearing horror stories about the IP’s elevators, I was pleasantly surprised to wait only 1-2 min for a ride. We dumped our bags and headed down to the Geisha Bar to see if the bloggers were still there.
They were. And they were drinking in full force. The only one I recognized was Pauly, so I worked up some courage and said hello. I don’t think he realized I was a blogger there for the event at first, but he was friendly and we chatted for a minute before he moved on to welcome others. I kinda stood around for a while, not quite sure what to do. I’m not very good at meeting new people. I tend to be quiet and calculating in unfamiliar settings and don’t really open up until I find a comfort zone with the situation. This demeanor hurt me for the first half of the weekend and I’m lucky so many of the bloggers were outgoing and nice or I might have not really talked with anyone.
A few beers later Iggy , the blogfather, introduced himself as Grubby. April warned me he would do this, but I forgot. I also met Falstaff and after a few more drinks, Falstaff and I went over to the poker tables and sat at a $1/$2 NL game with SoxLover, Dawn, and Karol. There was a lot of straddling going on, and it seemed to me that Dawn was trying to steal the blinds and straddle so I kept re-stealing from her. At this point I don’t think she knew I was a blogger and she was clearly getting annoyed with my re-raises. SoxLover, put an end to my aggression when on a flop of Axx he re-raised my continuation bet. I had a weak ace, went into the tank for a minute, and mucked. I think he showed Q10, with a gutshot. I hammered Falstaff for a small pot a little bit later and it became obvious to the other bloggers at the table that I was one of them. (Falstaff returned the favor the next day for a LARGE pot when he made a runner runner wheel with the Hammer) Andy came over to the table and asked how it was going. I said, “About even,” which meant, “stuck $100.” Andy does not play poker. Andy does not usually gamble. When Andy does gamble, he plays horrible –EV games. Andy is a god damned luckbox. He tells me he hit for $1500 on the video crack machine. I play for a bit longer and leave the table stuck $25.
Andy wanted to check out an after hours club, so we went over to Drai’s at The Barbary Coast. Andy treated me to the $20 cover and a $20 drink with his video crack winnings. Drai’s is a pretty cool looking lounge with some kind of house/techo dance thing going on. It’s not really my scene, but I did drag Andy a few thousand miles across the country, so we hung out for a drink and then got some breakfast and crashed until noon on Friday.
I tried to make it to the Wynn for lunch with the bloggers on Friday, but got a late start and by the time I got there, I saw Paulyand a bunch of bloggers on their way out. I thought about stopping to see what was going on, but the coward in me won again and I just walked by. We got some lunch and headed back to the IP where Andy crashed and I hit the Poker Bar while waiting for a seat on a table. I watched a table with a few bloggers for a bit and Iggy gave me a shout hello. He mentioned to another blogger (who I will call “Dick”) that I too was a blogger. Hushed conversation ensued in which Iggy responded to the guy “That’s cruel, he came all the way from Buffalo.” I don’t know what “Dick” said, but it was obviously not flattering to me. I had met some really nice and friendly people so far, including Iggy, Pauly, Falstaff, Dawn, Karol, and Soxlover, but “Dick” managed to put me on blogger tilt. “Fuck this,” I decided, and proceeded to attempt to chase Andy’s wins on the video crack machines. Now, I never play these machines, I know better, but between blogger tilt by “Dick” and Andy’s big wins I somehow ran through $300 into those damn machines and never hit a single win. It is amazing how fast you can run through money on video poker.
I wandered back to the poker tables and grabbed a cab with Falstaff, EasyCure, and Gcox to the MGM for the blogger mixed game. The blogger game was full, so I got on the list, grabbed a pager and called Andy. He came over to MGM and we had some dinner. I decided to skip the mixed game (still on “Dick” tilt) and hang with Andy for the evening. We played some craps, where I got stuck even more and decided to walk back to the IP and check out places along the way. Stopped at the Venetian and ran into Joe Hachem, stopped at NYNY and rode the roller coaster, and stopped at an arcade and played some video games.
Back at the IP, Andy hit the slots and I hit the poker tables. I sat at a $1/$2 NL table next to Karol. We talked politics for a while and then she gave me some good advice. She told me about how she regretted not spending more time with the bloggers at The Bash and all the things she missed out on. I went to bed a bit later thinking about that and resolved to be more involved with the bloggers for my two remaining days, no matter how some “Dick” made me feel.
Part 2 will be up soon – stay tuned to find out how I stopped being a pussy and made some friends, got deep into the tourney, and got unstuck playing Pai Gow.
