From: Patrick Milligan Subject: Yet Another Virgin at BARGE 2000 Yet Another Virgin at BARGE or The Education of a Virgin Player This trip report comes somewhat late due to the fact that I stayed in Las Vegas until last Thursday, and it's taken me until now to get caught up with real life (and massive amounts of post-BARGE email traffic). Warning: There *may* be some poker content mixed in with the long, rambling narrative that follows. Feel free to scroll over the boring parts... If I've left out any important details, or got my facts wrong, please let me know. I apologize in advance for the extreme length of my trip report. You have been warned! ***Back story Although I "learned" to play poker as a child (as part of the card game "Tripoley"), I didn't really understand the depth of the game until recently. I would get my clock cleaned at the few nickel-dime-quarter games that I played in high school and college. When business (mostly COMDEX) brought me to Las Vegas, I would try to find the cheapest 7-stud game (usually 1-3) and invest $40 or $50 into my next poker "lesson." My expectation was to lose all of my money, but my challenge was to make it last longer than my previous lesson. On one of these early Las Vegas poker experiences, I sat in game at Ballys old poker room (before it became the MGM Grand) and played with Redd Foxx for a while. Another time, after a *long* session at the Palace Station, one old timer to my right looked at me in disgust and said "If I had your luck, I'd be playing at the 10/20 game." I looked at my diminishing stack and wondered what the hell he was talking about. This was the first glimmer that there was more to this game than what beats what. Fast forward... I discovered Lee Jones' book in March 1999. The first time I played Hold'em in a cardroom was end of April 1999, at the Bellagio. The only memorable hand from that session: I had 5c7c and stuck in there until the river. The guy to my right has a king-high club flush and I turn over my hand to show that I'm beat. There's an amazed outburst of "straight flush" and sure enough, I've limped with the winning hand, not knowing it. The lady poker player to my left tells me "You'll get another one of those in about twenty years" and proceeds to raise every hand I'm in until she tires of beating me up and leaves the table. I start keeping a poker log and playing in the bay area cardrooms in September 1999. I try to keep up with r.g.p., but find the email volume on ba-poker to be easier to deal with. I see Lee Jones' MATH tournament scheduled for my birthday (9/17) but chicken out. I also chicken out on the closing of the Wagon Wheel in December. Fast forward... In February 2000, Lee Jones is hosting another tournament, this time called MOSFET. I sign up and express my concern to Lee that I'm perhaps not up to the challenge. Lee invites me to a "Hold'em training session" earlier in the week. I have a great time (even though Lee racks up a $60 win at $0.50/$1 HE). I end my 5 hours session down $7, which is a *really* cheap poker lesson. I meet Ken Kubey, Garrett Choi, and Michael Hunter. Later in the week, I play NLHE for the first time at MOSFET, and manage to make it to 5th place out of 15 players (2 off the money). This is also my first tournament experience. Just before the break, I manage to double up all-in with my top and middle pair holding up to top and bottom pair. I'm not used to the Adrenalin surge associated with shoving your chips all in... (but I could grow to like this!). At MOSFET, I meet Rich Strauss, Sabyl, Jeff Okamoto and Max Roman. The $0.50/$1.00 Hold'em game after the tournament is kind to me, and I end up $5 (negating most of my training session cost). In March, I start my own Hold'em training sessions as a monthly home game with an explicit "teaching" option. Ken Kubey and Michael Hunter are among the regulars that provide the veteran poker player perspective. I get several new players via ba-poker. In May, I host my own NLHE tournament. Lee Jones mother-in-law (Liz) is going to be in town, but Lee doesn't want to hassle with organizing a tournament, so I volunteer. It's in honor of Liz, so I call it MOTH--Mom's Occasional Tournament (Hold'em). We get 18 players, and I meet Bill Chen, Ed & Chris Fernandez, Ernest-Dieter Martin (ADB Jupiler) and James Kittock (among others). At MOTH, Dieter is impressed with my signs and blinds sheets with a "Presto" card design, and asks for my graphic design help on a lapel pin design that he wants to produce for BARGE. Up to this point, I hadn't really thought much about BARGE. But after working with Dieter to design and implement a terrific lapel pin, I started planning to attend. (And you wondered what all this back story was leading up to). At some point, the Team HORSE event is announced and I decide it would be fun to play. From my home game/training session, I recruit a bay area Virgin team that becomes known as Virgins.com (the team formerly known as the Bay Area Virgins). After the Crazy Pineapple game is added, we recruit our final team member. The team consists of myself (Crazy P), James Kittock (Hold'em), Ken Zarifes (Omaha/8), Jeff Okamoto (Razz), Lee Daniel Crocker (Stud/8) and Max Roman (Stud). Since we don't have a lot of experience playing some of these games, my Hold'em training session becomes a (weekly) C-HORSE training session. (Note: I prefer C-HORSE, spoken as "sea horse" to CHORSE. After all, a sea horse is a kind of fish!) After Dieter hosts a HoP practice session, those games are added into the mix, so it becomes a C-HORSE+HoP practice. Finally, when the rules for the HoP are posted, we add a late night baby no-limit practice so we can get some no-limit experience at Draw, Lowball, and Hold'em. So for June and July, we are meeting weekly, with other bay area players joining us from time to time. Sabyl and Michael Hunter are semi-regulars, Dieter shows when he can, and we even get foldem to a game! Lee Crocker makes the long drive from Sacramento for 2 of the July sessions. All of this is leading up to: ***Wednesday, August 2nd. My flight from San Jose was uneventful, but the bad beats started as soon as I touched down in Las Vegas. First, my ride to Binions with Barry and Betty Tanenbaum didn't happen since they drove rather flew to LV. After waiting 45 minutes for a shuttle bus to downtown, I finally get on an off-strip shuttle that takes almost an hour (and 7 stops) to arrive at Binions. I check in and discover that my non-smoking room with a king-sized bed has two double beds instead. A call to the front desk brings enlightenment: There are only 2 such beds on the single non-smoking floor, and (in spite of my explicit reservations), they are offered first-come, first-served. I express my displeasure and switch to a smoking room (the lesser of two evils). While waiting for some familiar SF Bay Area faces to show up, I grab a seat in the 1-4-8 Hold'em game at the Shoe. I meet my first BARGEr: Tom Overton. I drop about $30 in 90 minutes and head over to the Stratosphere for the Wednesday night NLHE tournament. When I get there, I find that the tournament is full, but I'm first on the wait list. I grab some nice sushi at the Hamada of Japan, and come back to play some $1-5 stud while waiting for the tournament to start. I'm up $7 after one hour of play when the tournament starts. BARGErs are out in force for the Strat tourney (this comes as no surprise). I manage to get a seat at the start due to a no-show. My table has JP in seat 1, and Ploink in seat 4. I can see this won't be easy... I manage to get some good cards that hold up and bust out a couple of players to take a short lived early chip lead at my table. I remember getting AK, making a small (wimpy) raise, and having JP come over the top, all-in. I think about mucking, but call since I have a surplus of chips, and I'm seduced by the possibly of busting out JP. He has 8c9c, but the board is kind to him and he doubles up (sigh). If I'd made a stronger pre-flop raise, it would have been a very different story. My run-in with JP isn't fatal, but it's put a dent in my stack (and my confidence). Next, the vacant seat to my right is filled by Bill Chen, and later, the seat to my left is filled by Kevin Un. My tough table just got tougher. I can't remember any significant hands from this point on, but the poker gods don't send any more reasonable cards my way, and I'm out of the tourney in 21st place (out of 43). I stick around to see Jarrod Ankenman win it after a great comeback all-in. I share a cab back to Binions and hang out for a while, but finally try to get some sleep. ***Thursday, August 3rd. I get up early so I won't miss the 10am Virgin Vanguard meeting. While I'm waiting, I try again to "master" Binions 1-4-8 HE game. I hook up with Scottro and the other virgins, and get together with most of my Virgins.com C-HORSE team. Since I didn't sign up for the HoP tournament, after the meeting, I'm back to HE, but not doing very well. After 4 hours, I'm down $90. So much for my plan to "save" $50 by not playing in the HoP! I pack it in and catch a ride with Jupiler over to the Mirage. By this time, skipping lunch to play poker is taking it's toll, so I grab a quick bite at the Mirage, and jump into their 3/6 HE game. I also sign up for a one table satellite so I can get some more NLHE practice. When the satellite starts, I'm up around $12. Most of the 10 seats in the 4:30 pm satellite are BARGErs. I do somewhat better this time, finishing in 4th place, outlasting Don Perry and other folks, but busting out to ADB Satan. Before exiting, I put fellow Virgins.com team mate James Kittock on tilt by going all-in with AJ to his raise. Turns out he also had AJ, but he read more strength in my all-in and folds. Randy Collack (aka Mitch Schmengie) wins the seat in the Mirage tourney, with James placing 2nd (in part due to playing aggressively after my earlier play). We also hook up with Ken Zarifes, another Virgin.com team member. By this time, the buffet has started, so we head over to hook up with the rest of the gang. I find a seat with Barry and Betty Tanenbaum and get to know them better. We get the news on the conclusion of the HoP: a NorCal sweep for a three-way tie. I'm especially happy for Michael Hunter, since he's been a semi-regular player at my Thursday night pre-BARGE practice sessions. I'd like to think that our HoP practice games may have helped him just a little bit. With time to kill after the buffet before the infamous craps tour, I head back to the Mirage poker room to try to pick up where I left off. After another 2+ hours at 3/6 HE, I'm down $14, basically giving back all of my earlier win and then some. We head back to Binions and hook up with Peter "foldem" Secor. For me, this will be the very first time I've ever shot craps. I'm told that being a craps virgin has some mystical powers, so I'm eager to see if this is true. My first run at the El Cortez is a fair success and I make my point a couple of times, but then the "magic" must have worn off, and I'm down a few bucks. We leave the El Cortez and head over to the Gold Spike, only to discover that they have no craps table. Then it's on to the Lady Luck where we downgrade one of their empty $5 tables to a $2 table. I stick around for a while losing more money learning about the COME bets and odds-on bets. When foldem et. al. head out from the Lady Luck, we seem to lose a lot of the crowd that we started with. We're back at Binions for part 3 of the craps tour. I decide to stick with the simple PASS line bets, and dig myself out of the hole. Next up is the Plaza where my modest craps win continues. We finally end up at the Main Street Station, camping out at VP machines with micro-brewed beers on tap. I sample the red brew and try to make my $20 last in a deuces wild machine. Just as we are getting ready to head back to Binions, I get a five-of-a-kind which brings me back to exactly even. So my craps tour experience ends up $13 for craps and break-even for video poker. Back at Binions, I watch from the rail for a while while the Chowaha "practice" game is started, and eventually head off to bed. ***Friday, August 4th. I get up early again so I won't miss the chip trading session. I buy sets of old BARGE chips from Tom Sims to add to my small but growing collection (I've only been collecting since January). I'm amazed at Ploink's collection in his massive 3 inch binders. Looks like I've got some catching up to do. I also hook up with Paul "ET" White to buy a couple of his card protectors. I had planned to give out BARGE lapel pins as my bounty, but I wanted to have a backup in case the person who busted me out already had a pin. I hang around the poker room, waiting for the start of the TOC. At my table, I find Scottro, NewJane, Michael Hunter, Jeff Okamoto, and Patti Beadles. I don't remember much of the early play, except that Patti is working at "dominating" the table in an attempt to put us all on tilt. In one of the 7-stud hands, I prove how much I suck at 7-stud. I've got split 4s with a 10 in the hole and I think I provide the bring in. 4th street gives me a second 10 for 2 pair. I don't raise at this point, thinking to do so on the more expensive streets. When I get a Jack on 5th street, I bet out, and get raised by Scottro. I've foolishly fallen in love with my 2 pair and I get in a raising war. When my two pair don't improve, I end up with a big dent in my stack, losing to Scottro's Aces up. Too late, I remember that 7-stud is Scottro's best game. I manage to survive until the break and get moved to a table that has Lou Krieger and Ross "Roadkill" Poppel. I'm pretty short stacked by now, but I manage to win a couple of key Omaha/8 pots. I'm all in and win low, then go all in again and scoop. I have a little breathing room. But then I prove my stupidity at 7-Stud yet again. I've got (AJ)J with the pocket cards both spades. I threw out a chip for a full bet but didn't say "raise" so I just bet the bring-in amount. On 4th street, I get a 3 and Ross gets a second 4 and leads the betting. I'm not worried yet, but on 5th street, Ross gets a third 4 and I catch a second 3. I know that my J's and 3's are a serious underdog to Ross' trip 4's, but I'm almost out of chips so I go all in, hoping to upgrade my two pair into a boat. On the river, I get a second ace, ending up with 3 pair. Ross also catches a second ace to match the one in the hole and ends up with 4s full of aces. IGHN. I'm delighted that Ross prefers a BARGE pin over a card protector as his bounty. I managed to last until level 6 (the 500/1000 level). Looks like I need to really work on my 7-stud game. I join the Binion 1-4-8 HE game, and the third time must be the charm, since I finish up $9 after a couple of hours of play. My heart's not in it, so I wander back to see how the TOC is going, just in time to see foldem's wonderful comeback with a AJo flopping KQT rainbow just when he needed it. I watch the final table until the end and then head over to Nugget for the Symposium. I manage to get there at the tail end of the food, so I know I'll need to get something to eat before the Team C-HORSE event. I leave before the end of the Symposium and grab a quick bite to eat. At last, after months of planning and practice, it's time for Team C-HORSE. I worry that I'll be having to drag Max Roman away from his ring game when it's time for him to play, but he sticks around and helps with the cheering section. We had a slow start, dropping down in the first few rounds, but by the third round, we had started a strong come back. I'm really proud of all of my team mates: I think we all played extremely well. By the start of the last game of the 4th and final round, we had about T1300 in chips. Unfortunately, we lost some ground on the final games, and ended with T1143 and fifth place. We were the best Virgin team, and each of us ended up $20. BTW, it was team member James Kittock that hit the 4000 coin jackpot on the nickel slot machine during the C-HORSE event. WTG, James. In the final hands of the C-HORSE tourney, I took a couple of bad beats which did not help our stack. Playing Crazy Pineapple, I start with AhQh8x and see a flop of QQ8. Ai-yah! I've flopped a full house and I come out betting. Turn is an 8, giving the guy with AQ a tie with my hand. (At least he wasn't holding a Q9, possibly making a bigger full house when a 9 came on the river.) I was robbed! Near the very end of the round, I've got pocket Kings, and see a flop with two aces. A nearly all-in player throws his last few chips in and I call and turn over my KK. He turns over pocket deuces, groans, and then spikes his third deuce on the river. I'm keyed up after the C-HORSE game is over, but I'm also tired from two days of early morning starts, so I hang out around the poker room for a while and then call it a day. ***Saturday, August 5th. I'm up early again so that I'm (hopefully) fully functional for the 10am start of the No-limit Hold'em tournament. I don't remember any really stupid or inspired plays, but I did manage to survive until around 1:30 pm, finishing 75th out of 180. At least I busted out to Jeff Bartoszewicz, so some my chips helped Jeff go on to his eventual win. He also prefers a BARGE pin as his bounty, and collects his first of many Virgin cherries. With some time to kill, and in need of a change of scene, James Kittock and I head over to the Plaza to check out the poker action. They don't have a Hold'em game going, but we aren't interested in stud, so they scare up a few props, have their poker room manager sit in, read off their short signup list, and get a 3/6 game started. I get some nice hands early on, and find it a much easier game than the 1-4-8 rock garden at Binions. After 2.5 hours, I'm up around $79 when the game breaks up. James hasn't done as well, but has managed to recoup his poker loss at the blackjack table. We head back to the Shoe to see the final table action of the NLHE tourney. We're there in time to see our Virgin lord Scottro knocked out by Jeff B. In playing with Jeff earlier in the day, I noticed that he had a strong preference for suited starting hands, and it's his suited AK that delivers the nut flush to take down Scottro. Jeff also wins his final hand with a suited King. I'm glad to see fellow Virgin.com member Lee Crocker proudly wearing his new Binions WSOP jacket for his 17th place finish (ahead of Bill Chen). WTG, Lee. After the thrilling conclusion to the NLHE tourney, it's off to the Nugget for the banquet. I hang out at the Virgins table, collect my Virgin and NorCal last longer money, and try to unwind a bit with a couple of glasses of wine. I'm sitting to the left of James Kittock, who suffers his final bad beat of BARGE, having to leave to catch his flight just as the prime rib is served. Since I was early to arrive at the banquet, I'm high on the Chowaha list. Back at the Shoe, I'm one of the players called to the first Chowaha table, along with Chris Ferguson, Ken QB, Lou Krieger, Lee Crocker, Kevin Un, Steven Eisenstein, and one or two more players. Having a small bankroll, I buy in for a rack and try my best to make some kind of a small, simple, elegant chip castle with my limited chips. I'm able to double up pretty quickly on one of the the must-straddle, must-cap family pots, and my small castle becomes a little less small. It's clear I can't compete in the 15 racks of chips league, so I don't try. Lee Crocker is sitting to my right, and I discover that he's actually done some analysis of Chowaha that he's willing to share. For example, he points out the advantage of drawing to the middle board, since it has 2 turn cards to work with. Chowaha (casino style) was one of the games that we would play for fun in our practice sessions, so we're not complete Chowaha virgins. I manage to drag in some nice pots with a couple of full houses, and I begin to loosen up a bit. My most memorable Chowaha hand: I start with JTo, and see two 4-straights on the flop (top and bottom boards). After the flop, I'm heads up with Chris Ferguson. I'm checking and calling. The turn provides no help, but I stick in there and river an ace-high straight. I check at the end, Chris bets, I call, turn over my hand and declare "Broadway," Chris checks the board and mucks. Ai-yah! I've sucked out on the champ! Shortly after Lou Krieger gets ready to pack it in, I decide to let others in on the fun and cash out. I'm up $100 after 3.5 hours of Chowaha! Those must-cap family pots really helped. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that my Chowaha session is my best win so far at BARGE. It was certainly the most fun! I check out the action at the must-move Chowaha table and wander around for a bit, trying to unwind. It's hard to top my earlier Chowaha action, so I don't try. Since I'm planning on playing in the NLHE tournament at the Orleans on Sunday, I decide to try and get some sleep. ***Sunday, August 6th. If you've lasted this far, congratulations. It's easy to write long, and much harder to write short. I'll try to pick up the pace here: I didn't intend to write a novel! BARGE is over, but I'll be in Las Vegas for another 4 days. My wife Eileen will be joining me late Sunday night after seeing our daughter Erin off to summer camp. I plan to take advantage of the inexpensive tournament opportunities available. I head over for the noon NLHE tournament at the Orleans. By now, it's no surprise to see several BARGErs signed up. I bust out a local player and collect my very first bounty (a $5 chip). A few hands later, my aces are cracked and I'm making a rebuy. I manage to finish in 25th place (out of 75). Shortly before I go out, Oklahoma Johnny Hale comes in to the seat on my left. I buy his book and get one of his special "Seniors Championship of Poker" chips. I give him one of my BARGE lapel pins in exchange. From the limited time I played with him, it was clear why he earned the title of the "gentleman" gambler. I blow off $10 in Video Poker in an attempt to decompress from the tourney, and then join Ken QB, Sandi, and Jim Bullbert for lunch. I plan to stick around and try out the 4/8 HE game after lunch. QB suggests that it should be a fairly passive game with players hanging around for a try at the jackpot. I buy in for a rack and nothing particularity exciting happens for a while. Then the guy in seat 5 returns and he's raising every pot. He's two seats to my right, so I get no plays on the button or in the blinds except with premium hands (which aren't coming). In a few hands, our raiseBot has managed to blow off a rack of chips. Gee, this feels just like a California game! After being down to my last 20 chips, I manage a rally and end my session up $40. I'm running late to get over to the Strat for their NLHE tournament, but I manage to get there in time to lock up my seat. More BARGErs are present at the Strat tourney. My table has foldem a couple of seats to my right. I manage to triple up fairly early when a short stack goes all-in, followed by the guy to my immediate right also going all-in. I raise all-in with pocket Kings, flop a set, and river a full house, Kings full of tens. The guy to my right had AK and was drawing dead. When foldem is busted out, the woman who took him out introduces herself as Dana Smith. I hadn't recognized her from her picture in Card Player since she was wearing glasses. At the break, I let her know that I appreciate her books on Omaha/8 and tournament play, and I ask about her pen name "Shane." She is a gracious lady, and it's a real treat to play with her. I do much better this time, but get crippled later when I go all in with AK. Dana is a short stack and she calls with Q9, thinking to contribute her chips to me. Her plan backfires when she spikes a 9 on the river to double up and put a dent in my stack. I manage to hang in there to take 13th place, short of the final table. I've outlasted 60 other players, and the poker room manager, Stan Baker, gives me a Strat coffee mug as a "special" prize for 13th place. What a nice guy! Dana manages to make it to the final table. I'm rooting for her and fellow BARGEr Paul Stine. I "borrow" foldem's BARGE pin and give it to her "for luck." (I still have a few extra pins back at the Shoe). A few hands later, she goes all-in with AK, the women to her left comes over the top, and a third all-in makes for a massive pot. It's AK v.s. AK v.s. JJ with a K on the flop, and Dana manages to beat out the other AK when a fourth club appears on the river to match her ace of clubs. Hmmm... Those BARGE pins must contain a powerful, winning force. I stick around to see the conclusion of the tourney. When they are down to 7 players, the chip leader offers to take $595 and suggests a 6-way split for the rest. Paul Stine makes out well with this deal, since he had barely enough chips left to survive the next blind. Back at the Shoe, my wife Eileen has just arrived, so we call it an early night. What a day: Oklahoma Johnny Hale in the morning, Dana "Shane" Smith in the evening. ***Monday, August 7th. The high points: -- Brunch at Binions with Eileen, foldem, Beth, Lee Crocker, Bob Herlien and Jarrod Ankenman. -- Visit the Gamblers Book Store. I buy a book on Crazy Pineapple! -- Visit the Gamblers General Store. I get loose leaf pages for my chips. -- Video Poker at the Bellagio (down a little) -- Bellagio Buffet Dinner with QB, Sandi, Barry and Betty Tanenbaum -- $5 Blackjack at the Bellagio (up a little) Eileen and I catch a ride back to downtown with Lee Crocker and have him drop us off at the El Cortez. We're up for a little craps action, and while we're there, we sign up for some poker action as well. The hold'em game is really soft and we both r00l. I'm up $7 at craps and up $78 at their 3/6 HE game. Back at Binions, I blow off $40 in Video poker and call it a night. ***Tuesday, August 8th. We're up early and head over to the Luxor after breakfast. Eileen and I sign up for their noon tournament and then head over to Mandalay Bay to find out about their 10 am tournament. We get there just as it's starting, so I pick up a chip for my collection and head back to the Luxor. I play a little 7-stud before the tournament (ending up $4) and do well in their tourney, taking 3rd place out of 28. I get $50 for my troubles, which covers my $27 tourney fee with a profit of $23. We have lunch at the Luxor with Paul Stine and then work our way over to the Monte Carlo, collecting a chip at Excalibur along the way. At the Monte Carlo poker room, I pick up a "mint" chip for my collection and chat with the room manager. He tells me which casinos still have poker rooms. (I'm only collecting poker chips from places where you can actually play poker!) It's too hot to hit the rest of the strip, so we head over to the Strat to kill some time and get some dinner before their evening tournament. We go up to the lounge at the top and enjoy the view, then head down to play some video poker before dinner. We try the buffet and it's much nicer than Binions but not as nice as either the Mirage or the Bellagio... However, at this point, I'm starting to get tired of buffets, no matter how nice they are. Neither Eileen nor I do particularity well in the Strat limit HE tournament. I bust out 19th out of 33. I've had just about every starting hand sucked out on. Oh well. We walk from the Strat down the strip, stopping at poker rooms along the way and collecting chips. We score chips from the Sahara, Circus Circus, Riviera, Stardust, the New Frontier, and finally the Venetian. We taxi back to Binions and bed, completely worn out from our long walk. ***Wednesday, August 9th. It's our last full day in Las Vegas. I really wanted to sleep in, but we get an early start instead and make it to the breakfast buffet at Mandalay Bay after signing up for their tournament. I bust out early in the first 45 minutes, and we head over to the Luxor for another try at their tournament. I should have slept in! At the Luxor, I do all right, but not as well as on Tuesday. I *do* manage to outlast both Paul Stine and Jeff Bartoszewicz, ending in 5th place out of 27. The $30 prize just covers the $27 buyin. We grab a late and leisurely lunch at the Il Fornaio in New York, New York. Next, we head over to the Monte Carlo, and camp out at their poker room. We have tickets to see Lance Burton at his 7pm magic show, so we've got a few hours to kill playing poker. Eileen does well in a passive 7-stud game, but I drop a rack between an aggressive 7-stud game and a tough 4/8 hold'em game. We both enjoy Lance Burton's act. Of special note is the "half-time" entertainment: A guy comes out dragging three bean bag chairs and then proceeds to juggle them. He also manages to juggle a live chainsaw, a bowling ball, and a lit torch. Very funny stuff. Our trip is almost over. After Lance Burton, I find several full-pay Deuces wild machines at the Luxor and talk Eileen into watching me play. I manage to cash out $60 on a $20 buyin, and we head back to downtown. I'm still wanting to play VP, so we check out the Plaza and find some more full-pay deuces. I drop $20 and we move on to the Main Street station. I really enjoyed their microbrews at the end of the craps tour, so this time I try their amber while Eileen samples the porter. I spend the last of my Monte Carlo VP profit on yet another Deuces wild machine while sipping my brew. I can't easily see what my credits are due to the angle of the machine, so I'm just playing for fun. I'm pretty close to going through my $20 buyin when I hit the four deuces jackpot. Mega-Ding! Part way through the pay out, I get an error code on the machine. I've broken it! No, I've just emptied it and they need to refill the machine so I can finish collecting my 1000 quarter jackpot. Suddenly, Eileen isn't bored with Video Poker anymore... We grab a snack in the brew pub and I get my own porter to finish off the evening. ***Thursday, August 10th. We are up really early (5:30 am) since we have an 8 am flight on Southwest, and it really pays to get to the airport at least an hour ahead of time to get our boarding cards. We grab breakfast at the airport and are soon winging our way home. Long days and late nights have caught up to me, so I go straight to bed as soon as I get home. ***Final Stats: -- Ring games: up $115 ($100 from Chowaha) -- Video Poker: up $210 ($250 from a 4-deuces jackpot) -- Craps: up $20 -- Tournaments: down $320 (11 tourneys, including 3 BARGE events) -- Net: up $25 (not counting hotel, airfare, taxis, tips, food, ...) Looks like I should play more Chowaha and Video Poker, and less tournaments... ***Final Thoughts. I had a great time at my first BARGE, and I can hardly wait for next year. Special thanks for: -- Mike Z. and Chuck W. for organizing this great event. -- Peter "Foldem" Secor for the C-HORSE event and craps tour. -- Beth and blt for their "welcome to BARGE" hugs. -- Chris Ferguson for his skilled Chowaha play and great chip castle. -- Fellow Virgins.com members for a great performance. -- Scottro for getting the Virgin Vanguard going this year. -- Lee Jones for lighting my way into the world of r.g.p. -- Ernst-Dieter "Jupiler" Martin for giving me an excuse to come to BARGE. -- My wife Eileen for allowing me to turn our vacation into a BARGE trip. Only 350 days until BARGE 2001. Can I sign up yet? --Patrick "Things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler..."