From: "Stevan H. Goldman" Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 16:45:59 -0400 Subject: [BARGE] goldiefish's BARGE 2004 trip report A POWERFUL WINNING FORCE By goldiefish (warning: *thin* poker content) MONDAY Like any good, solid poker player, I prepare properly to play poker. I do so by carefully observing all the little things in life in an effort to get the best possible read on how my luck is running. You know, making all the lights on the way to work, finding money in a jacket pocket, all the obvious stuff we all use to improve our poker game. [Aside: You can read about this, and other r00ling p0cker strategies in my book, entitled "$20-$40 Holdem on $1,200.00 per Day". Be sure not to miss the newly updated chapters "Trapping the Nuts", and "Changing your game for TV".] In the case of BARGE 2004, everything seemed to be looking good. However, because my job and my family continue to interfere with my p0cker, I had to wait until Tuesday morning to head to Vegas. But, I decided to entertain myself on Monday by sprinkling some completely OT (off topic) political nonsense onto the BARGE list (not rgp). [Aside#2: I want to officially APOLOGIZE for my OT political rants on the list. I know better, and I will endeavor to control myself more effectively in the future. I'll double my dose. I'm sorry. However, I MUST say this: One of the reasons I find it hard to resist the political (and other OT) comments on the list is because I like so many people here, and I respect and admire their intellect (in most cases), regardless of their orientation. I suspect many of us feel the same way. Anyway, I understand that this list is NOT the place for OT stuff, so I apologize. Apology delivered. Now, back to my report.] The political bait works like a charm, and in a matter of minutes, flames are flying in all directions. I'm sitting at my desk, admiring the results of my handiwork when the IMPORTANT email arrives from Continental Airlines. My upgrade into the Republican section of the plane has come through! It means I won't have anyone to talk to except the BORG who sit there (and I refuse to be assimilated), but I will have more personal space. A worthwhile tradeoff. I'm definitely ready to head west. TUESDAY Tuesday morning dawns cloudy, with biblical quantities of rain predicted for later in the day. My flight is at 9:00, and Peg has me at the airport at 7:30. I'm ticketed (seat 1B ... Dingz!), through security, and at the gate at 8:05. We board at 8:30. I find it both ironic and amusing that when we board the plane, the Democratic section is to the RIGHT, while the Republicans, with me doing my best to blend in, turn sharply to the LEFT to enter their section of the plane. As I ease myself into my oversized leather recliner, it occurs to me that the "conservatives" get the more "liberal" seating, while the "liberals" in the back have to stuff themselves into the more "conservative" seats. I smile in the knowledge that life, and airplanes, like p0cker, isn't always fair. That's a good thing, because the more UNFAIR p0cker is, the higher my +EV. All is good with the world as the big 757 roars down the runway and heads toward the sky, right on time. The monsoons followed later that day, delaying others, but my flight arrived in the desert 10 minutes early. Dingz! Despite being one of the first passengers off the plane, and despite stopping only briefly in the restroom on the way to the baggage claim, my suitcase was actually waiting for me on the carousel when I arrived to retrieve it. Dingz! With bag in tow, I dart out the door to the rental car busses. I wait no more than 3 minutes for the bus to arrive, and I am in my car and headed for the hotel before noon, on a flight that arrived at 11:36am. Amazing. My fastest trip through McCarran since long ago, before they had jet ways, and you just got out on the tarmac and walked away. I stayed at Bellagio because I needed high speed internet access in my room in order to stay in touch with my "real life", at least during the week. Anyway, as I walk into Bellagio, I notice that there are about four guests on EACH check-in line at the registration desk, indicating about a 15 minute wait to check-in. But, DINGZ!... A new window OPENS UP as I walk in, and I am FIRST ON LINE within seconds of my arrival. The desk clerk looks at my record, confirms the Jacuzzi mini-suite that those lovely ladies in the Bellagio poker room always try to reserve for me ... Thanks, Karen and Penny!! ..., and asks if I want a "fountain view" room. I indicate that I really don't care because I've seen the fountains many times and won't be in the room during fountain time anyway. Nonetheless, the clerk says "well, since this is your 19th stay with us in the last 5 years, I think you deserve it", and puts me on the 28th floor overlooking the fountains. I attend quite a few trade shows in Vegas in my "real life", and because I get a great rate (ask me), I almost always stay at Bellagio. I would have guess-timated my stays at about 20 in five years, so I was pretty close. I get to the room, and plug the laptop in to check my email. One or two minor distractions to attend to, and then I'm off ... First stop to see a friend in Henderson. BUT, on the way, I stop in for a DOUBLE DOUBLE (with grilled onions, of course) at In-and-Out Burger on the corner of Tropicana and Industrial. In addition to being a personal tradition of mine whenever I arrive in California, Arizona or Nevada, In-and-Out Burger is the best damned fast food hamburger on the planet. If you’re a liker of junk food, even occasionally, and you've never been to In-and-Out, do yourself a favor and try it. You WON'T be disappointed. But, you'll only find them in CA-AZ-NV. I spend the early afternoon in Henderson at my friend's house. I've recently introduced him to on-line poker. I invited him to BARGE, but he had family in town over the weekend. He likes the $33 sit-and-go tourneys on Party. I'd never played in one, but he brought out his laptop and we played while shooting the breeze and watch the only portion of the DNC convention I would see all week. We finished 3rd to show a small profit, but we were mostly card dead. Our real luck came by avoiding the big hands that the two top finishers kept getting, until we were down to three. But, a profit is a profit. I met Andy Bloch and Nolan Dalla for dinner Tuesday night. We met at 6:30 at PIERO'S on Convention Center Drive, just off the corner of Paradise (you can actually now take the monorail-thingy to Pieros ... Get off at Convention Center) They were both scheduled to play in the BARGE Charity deuce-to-seven lowbah tourney at 8, so we ate early. Andy had the swordfish (I LOVE their swordfish), and I had the wild Alaskan salmon, which was delicious. I don't remember what Nolan had. PIERO'S is kind of a local legend in Vegas. They serve great food, and the place is frequented by all kinds of local glitterati, politicos, judges, entertainers, etc. They have quite a few private rooms, but I've seen everyone there from Don King to Wayne Newton (who came there to celebrate a birthday). Freddie, the owner, has been in Vegas for about 35 years, and everyone knows him and eats at his place. In fact, the local FOX NEWS people were having a party there that night. Andy told us that he would be on the FOX Casino show on the coming Monday, but he didn't know how much time he'd be on the camera, since the fine folks at the Golden Nugget apparently didn't want him to play blackjack, for some odd reason. We arrived at the 'shoe shortly after 8, where I saw Len Greenberg in a $1-$2 NL holdem game. There was a seat open, but there was a must move game, so I sat into that. I took the one seat, behind scottro who was in the 10. But, when scottro was called to the main game, I took his seat to be near the other BARGERs at that end of the table. I think Russ was in this game, but that may have been the next day. Russ will have to confirm. There was one particular local in the game, in the four seat, who made this game. He must have lost about $900, but the best part was, he did it $100 at a time. So, he never had enough chips to hurt anyone, he was always all-in, and he played like a moron. A deadly combination if I ever saw one. For some unknown reason, this strategy didn't work for him, and he may wish to wait for my book on NO LIMIT holdem. It is due out as soon as I can think of a title as catchy as my first book. I was on Eastern-Vodka time, so when fich suggested a cigar over at the Golden Nugget, I booked a $400 win at the NL must move, and moved on. I had just been called into the main game anyway, and Len was no longer there, so the timing seemed perfect anyway, and the cigar was definitely perfect. We made our way to the high limit video poker room of the GN to smoke our cigars (well, to smoke fich's cigars actually). I'm not too big on VP, so I watched fich for a while. Finally, in an effort to hit the royal that kept eluding fich, I decided to play. Fortunately, these were $5 machines, so not too much time was wasted in consuming my $300. That was good because I was tired, so I left fich at his machines, and headed to the hotel and sleep. The last decent sleep I would get for the week. WEDNESDAY Wednesday dawned bright and hot in the desert. With the non-Smoker looming at the "N9NE" restaurant, I decided to have a decent breakfast and forego lunch. I love the berries, granola and yogurt parfait at the Bellagio café. Fresh. Delicious. I swear, you have to look pretty hard to find a bad meal in Las Vegas. EXCEPT for some of the buffets, of course. Boardwalk comes to mind. But, by and large, the food in Las Vegas is as good, and as fresh as almost anywhere. Before I left the room I read TIGER's post about his bad-weather, cancelled-flight horror story that indicated he would be on a 5:50am flight Wednesday morning. Figuring a 5:50 flight would arrive in Vegas by 10:00 at the latest, I left a message for TIGER on his cell that I would pick him up at McCarran if he called me upon arrival. I didn't figure that TIGER's 6:50am flight was to PITTSBURGH for a plane change, and since I never heard from him before 10, I headed downtown. I didn't play in either the BJ or VP tourneys, but I did play $4-$8 holdem before the POKER DISCUSSION GROUP lunch. I have been to lunch with this group before, and I always find the conversation to be informative and stimulating. Wednesday was no exception. There was a tribute to Andy Glazer by TIGER, and worthwhile poker talk and information, as well as great company. After lunch, it was back to the $1-$2 NL game. Now that I think about it, perhaps this was the game in which I sat next to Russ. After discussing how soft this particular game looked with Russ, he took a couple of tough beats, including losing with his JJ to two small diamonds who flopped the baby flush. Russ had the Jd redraw but failed hit and decided to take a walk. I basically broke even in this game. Three days later at the banquet, Greg "FossilMan" Raymer would give an EXCELLENT talk, which included a description of his demeanor and emotions during the WSOP, and how maintaining an even keel was a big edge for him. Well, that's one of the things I admire most about Russ and his game....he maintains a great attitude. Sure, when you only play one hand per day it's pretty easy, but seriously, I admire Russ and his game, and one reason was on display Wednesday afternoon. He took the worst of it on two hands, and rather than sit there and punish himself, he took a break. It is excellent decision-making like that that helps make Russ a winning player. Thanks, Russ, for leading by example. You have helped me to be a better player. The non-Smoker began in the 6:30-7:00 range, so I headed to THE PALMS HOTEL with Chic and Len (I think?). Of the 34 people who told me they were coming to the nonSmoker, only 41 actually showed up. Yes, you read that right. You think it's easy to organize these things? Our hostess was somewhat concerned that she couldn't get us all served in a timely manner, and there was some delay. But, overall, I think the food was good (excellent?), and the service was fine. Just a little slow. Everyone made it back to the 'shoe in time for the team CHORSE, so it worked out just fine. In the future, if you're planning on attending, letting someone know might just make it a little easier on everyone. The nonSmoker is a perfect example of how little time we have a BARGE. There are some many old friends to see, and new ones to make, and so many hands to play, and so many beats to take, and so many drinks to consume, and so many cigars to smoke that we just don't have enough time for all the fun we'd like to have. The Sunday BEFORE I left for Vegas I told my wife "Damn...I can't believe BARGE is almost over!". She wasn't terribly amused, since I hadn't actually left yet, but my point was that as soon as I step off the plane, I feel like it’s almost time to leave. But, back to the nonSmoker. We did have a private room, but since 41 people can't possibly sit at the same table anyway, we were at four tables. There were folks at the smoker I didn't even get a chance to say "HI" to. But, remember, we arrived at 7:00 and we were out of there by 9:30. The restaurant would have been happy to arrange a private bar in the room we were in, for a cocktail hour, but we just didn't have the time, unless we ate at 5:30pm. In the future, I'm willing to look for a time when those who wish to can take a little more time, have a cocktail or two and relax before dinner. Perhaps Tuesday. We'll see. But, everyone who commented about the restaurant and the food itself was complimentary, so I think everyone enjoyed dinner. I hope so. I know I did. Back downtown, I distributed the shirts to our CHORSE team, The "MATH IS HARD" 5. I wasn't sure we'd win, but I knew we'd be the best dressed team. Actually, when I saw the line-up of the other teams, I knew we'd win. The only issue was reigning in Steve "marlin" Cohen when we had an insurmountable lead with one round to go. Steve was so intent on winning every hand that he temporarily lost sight of the fact that winning the tourney was the goal. But, since Steve was brought to the group by Randy Collack, a few specific threats to Randy convinced him to convince Steve to reluctantly throw away the last three hands to preserve our victory. Actually Greg Pappas did an excellent job of taunting Steve to keep calling when Steve held AK and Greg had 46 and the flop came 464. Greg: "I'm betting the flop. If you're calling me down, let's just put the entire $100 in now". By the way, this was the Crazy Pineapple leg. After Steve paid Greg off the whole way to narrow our lead (Greg's team finished second), Randy finally prevailed on Steve to muck the last three hands and take the win. I should point out that the main reason we won the team event was because of what Marlin won in the second-to-last round. On three CONSECUTIVE hands, he played aggressively, and promptly made the stone cold nuts on the turn. Three CONSECUTIVE hands!! Once that round ended, all we had to do was play smart to win. We barely made it, but we did make it. I played the RAZZ leg. I only lost one hand, and it was to John Harkness, a FORMER torturer of mine. He outdrew my made 8 on sixth street to make his 7. But, that was during the first round, and I didn't lose another RAZZ hand the rest of the way. Later, in the NLHE event, I would complete my revenge on my torturer when I knocked Mr. Harkness out. But, more on that later. In addition to our team r00ling the team CHORSE event, we cleaned Don Perry's clock on our last longer with him. Man, that plaque looks great on my desk. Thanks, Randy, for organizing the team and for netting the Marlin just in time. A few celebratory drinks, and in bed by 3:30am, ready for the TOC tourney at 11:00am Thursday. THURSDAY I scoop up Tom Goodwin and Dave Fruchter at the PARIS hotel and head downtown to the 'shoe for breakfast at 10, followed by the tourney at 11. Met Chic, Bruce Kramer and others at the coffee shop in the GN. Despite lack of focus, and despite sucking at Stud and poker in general, I lasted until the final 30 or so. I played well enough, but when I busted, I headed out to Bellagio to play for a few hours before the annual craps crawl. Before that, however, Kim and I exchanged some r00ling racetrack stories. Amazing story, Kim! I wish I'd known your dad then!! We'll definitely do dinner in NY...soon. I'm out of town next week, but I'll email you when I return. Perhaps dinner at the track. Hmmmm. My key mistake apparently was in having a pretty, shiny bounty (it is a coin...a 2004 liberty head silver dollar). Once I was all-in the first time and I put the bounty in the pot, it became a reason for Grizz to keep calling me, no matter what. I mean, it was only a coin, not terribly expensive, and very common. But, Grizz wanted it, BAD (leftover effect from 'shrooms?) I won that first all-in, but once my shiny bounty caught Grizz's eye, he called every hand I played until he beat me. He finally landed it in holdem with K6o when he called my A7s, all-in, short stack raise and spiked the 6 on the turn. Ni han, sir. IGHN. I know Ploink was sad to see Grizz bust out shortly thereafter because he said "Now that Grizz is gone, where am I going to get more chips?" Ahhhh, poker. Enjoy the bounty, Grizz. You earned it. I won a few bucks at Bellagio, and headed back downtown for the Crawl. I grabbed a big cigar (Partagas Lusitania cabinet I had been saving) and began to crawl. By the time we were halfway through the Lady Luck stop, I was stuck a little over $250. So, needing to get my money back, I put $5 on the hard ten. I lost. So, I put $10 on the hard ten. I lost. So, I put $15 on the hard ten....by now you get the idea. So, I put my last $30 on the hard ten. It was my only bet on the table. PRESTO! 5-5 shows up on the dice, and I'm now +10 for the crawl!! As the group was headed toward Fitz's, I decided to call it a night. I told the group I was done and immediately headed the wrong way, toward the worst neighborhood in Vegas. Fortunately, Bruce Kramer caught me and reoriented me in the correct direction. Still, I was grateful when he called me a half hour later to insure that I had survived my solo trip back to the hotel alone. Thanks, Bruce! Asleep before 4am. FRIDAY We meet at Binions for breakfast at 10 before the TOC event. I buy some KENO tickets during breakfast. Some uninformed r00lerz questioned by sanity when I played KENO, so I explained that I only play +EV games, and KENO is the highest EV game in town. They didn't seem to understand. But, I easily overcame that +EV, and won $14!! I played well enough in the TOC, and I survived more than two-thirds of the field. But, I'm really out of my league in Omaha, and I hate stud. That makes it tough to play TOC, but I didn't let it stop me. It occurred to me quite some time ago that about 95% of the people who play Omaha have no real idea as to the true value of their hand. That makes Omaha the biggest "edge" game in the room for those who can play it properly. Unfortunately, I also realized long ago that I was in the 95%, and not in the 5%. Let's just say that in my life I have done better at KENO than Omaha, and this day was no exception. After busting from the TOC, I sat into a boring $4-$8 holdem game while waiting for others to bust out and perhaps head to Bellagio for the afternoon, prior to the calcutt....err, I mean symposium. I did my best to liven up this mortuary of a poker game, including betting and raising BLIND through entire hands. Once, I almost won one when everyone folded except one psychopath who called with second pair, but I ended up dumping $190 into that ridiculous game before I left to play CHINESE P0CKER for my first time ever, with Chic, Warren, and Gavin Smith. As I said, I had never played Chinese before, so I gladly accepted help with my hands from Greg Raymer, and Gavin (after he had set his own hand). It was clear to me that I had mastered this game after playing four hands, so when it was suggested that we play for $25 per point instead of $5, I readily agreed. Raymer and Gavin quickly pull out their bankrolls, and we are joined by JP Massar, another mathematically-challenged r00ler. I pull out my deed to the Brooklyn Bridge that I had bought earlier (I got a GREAT deal), and Chic and I decide to combine our resources and play as one player. Chic and I only lost about $1200 before we won our first hand, but the r00ling moment of the day (and my first encounter with the powerful winning force) happened during this game. Before I get to that, I did manage to offer Mr. Raymer some advice I thought was worthwhile. He was taking a little longer than usual to arrange his Chinese poker hand, and said "give me a minute, I have a decision to make", to which I responded "Come on, Greg, what do you know about making decisions?". Spurred on by his smile, I continued "If you'll just look around and learn a little from the good players in the group, we can show you how to leave Las Vegas with a little money in your pocket!" R00LING MOMENT Just before we raised the stakes to $25, Greg Pappas came over to the table. There was a Horseshoe $110 NLHE tourney starting shortly. I don't know whether Greg asked Gavin to put him in the tourney, or if Gavin told Greg he was putting him in, but the next thing I know, Gavin takes $55 off MY dwindling stack, and $55 off his own stack, and gives Pappas the $110 to play in the tourney. Not seeing what was happening at first, I said to Gavin "What are you doing?". He told me we'd each get 30% of Pappas, and Greg would keep 40% of himself. I didn't argue. I don't mind backing players, but sometimes it's nice to know that you're doing it. Thanks, Gavin, eh? Next came the symposium. I put $100 into the Moosecocks syndicate (ultimately getting back $133US dingz!, and then Chic and AJ and I rekindled our mini-syndicate from the prior year, in which we cashed for a profit thanks to Tom "lucky rebuy" Goodwin's excellent finish. I liked our choices, which included Chris Ferguson, Steve Nissman, both Tannenbaums and other good NL players. We also bought Frank Nut-Z Brabec *and* Gavin Smith. Gavin went for $130, Nut-Z went for $100. As you probably now know, Gavin and Frank finished 1-2, so we CRUSHED the Calcutta, collecting just under $4400! After buybacks, each member of our three-man syndicate netted a Calcutta profit of just under $800 each. DINGZ! Interestingly, Chic was actually Frank's pairing in the Calcutta, so when Chic bought back himself, when Frank and Gavin were the final two we were actually in the position of Chic rooting AGAINST the other two members of our syndicate, since he would have done slightly better had Frank prevailed. Later Friday night, following the symposium, I was in the PL Binglaha game. I was just in the process of going all-in and forcing Dan Goldman (no relation) to call me for the third time in 15 minutes when up walks Greg Pappas. Warren Sander, immediately to my left, says "Goldie, I think you’re going to like this...". Pappas hands me $550, representing my 30% share of his second place money in the tourney!! DINGZ!! And, apparently he should have won the damned thing. Still, I was pleased that Gavin chose this unusual method of replacing the $500 he took from me in the Chinese Poker game. I don't think Chic's money from the Chinese poker was replaced as easily, but we'll all have to check with Chic on that one. LOL Meanwhile, I was sure glad I had bought Gavin in the NLHE. But, it was an easy buy because he told me himself "Goldie, I have a golden horseshoe stuffed up my ass!". I didn't ask for proof, but when Pappas handed me the money, I didn't doubt it. The PL Binglaha game was good, and it was almost definitely the first three-Goldman poker game in BARGE history. In addition to yours truly, the lovely Sharon Goldman, and her equally lovely husband Dan Goldman (PokerStars fame) were both in the game. PokerStars is a great friend to our group, and a sponsor of BARGE. I just didn't realize that the sponsorship money would be put directly into this game, but I was sure glad to be in it!! I only got fully involved in three hands in this game. I pick up AsQdKcJc. The flop is AdQcTc. Double DINGZ!! I bet the pot on the flop. Three callers including both other Goldmans. Turn is blank. I stack off (~$300), and Dan Goldman calls me immediately, and declares "well, at least a Goldman is going to win this pot!". Sharon and the other caller fold. I table my hand and Dan says "I have the same hand". He held a KJ for the nut straight on the turn, but I had the HUGE redraw on the clubs AND the AAQQ. Blank on river, we chop pot. I knew then that the site was rigged. A half hour later, I get a very similar hand. Flop nut broadway. Blank on turn, but board shows two hearts and two diamonds. I have four black cards, but hold nuts after turn. I stack off again (~$600), and this time the "other" Goldman (Sharon) is my only caller. We table our hands. She has two flush draws, but lost her low when the die was cast. Essentially, she needs a red card on the river to scoop, or a card higher than a 9 to possibly chop with me. River: Black 6, I scoop. OK, maybe this site's not rigged after all. Paul Phillips sits into the game and buys in for $6000, or roughly equal to the total combined chips on the table at the time. I pick up A245. I raise and get called by one other player (I forgot who...sorry), and Paul. Flop is 368 rainbow. Paul bets flop. I raise. One call, and Paul bets pot. We both call. Die is cast, game is Omaha8. Whew. Paul bets when 5 hits turn, I raise the pot with nut low and redraw, but so does the caller to my left. Uh Oh. I envision getting quartered as Paul calls and I call. River is a blank and is checked down. End of story...the caller and I had the EXACT SAME HAND, and better yet, Paul was apparently on a busted flush draw, and our pair of 5's hold up for the high hand, and we chop Paul's money! DINGZ! The only other hand I played (sort of) came down like this...Paul raised preflop the standard $15 to go. Nolan called, I call, both Goldmans call? Did I mention that the Goldmans seemed to both play a LOT of hands of Binglaha? Oh, yeah....sponsorship. Anyway, the flop comes down AsJs3s. I have AJ (top two pair), but no spade. Paul bets $200. Nolan raises the pot. It's $800 to call. I go in tank, and ultimately muck the hand. So does Paul and Nolan picks up pot on flop. Nolan tells me that he'll tell me what he had "later", but "later" when I asked he couldn't remember. Doh! I left the game shortly thereafter, booking a win of just over $800. DINGZ. Between Paul, the Goldmans, and Nolan being ahead, the game was promising to get MUCH bigger. I understand they raised the blinds to 2-5 shortly thereafter. Time for more vodka and cigars, then back to Bellagio. In bed by 3:30 SATURDAY With the NLHE starting at the ungodly hour of 10:00am, we had to be at breakfast by 9:00. Rich Korbin (PokerStars) told me he wanted to meet me for breakfast (I love Rich...great guy, like all PokerStars folks), but when I arrived at the coffee shop he had called and cancelled. Apparently he must have thought PokerStars was also sponsoring the $300-$600 rotation game at Bellagio because I think he spent the whole night there "sponsoring". ;-) I was pretty much card dead during the NLHE. We had lost about 60 players when our table broke and I was moved to a table with LenG, John Harkness, Gillian, Steve "marlin" Cohen, and others. I was slowly bleeding, and looking for my spot. I needed chips. Harkness jammed. I would have folded, but when David Heller called all-in for slightly more chips than I had, I saw my chance to triple through and I called with 9Th. When the 9 spiked on the river, Heller won the side pot (his chips), I had tripled through, Harkness was busted and I had finally gotten my revenge on someone who had tortured me for years. Ahhh, revenge is sweet. I went to ARG events for six years without EVER knocking ANYONE out, OR winning a bounty (obviously). That streak ended at FARGO last year, and while I have now knocked THREE players from ARG events (Harkness was the third), I have STILL never been given a bounty. The no-bounty-for-Goldie streak lives on. BUT, Tina Gonzalez did give me a wonderful rubber 'goldiefish'. It sits proudly on my shelf, and I won't take a bath without it. Thanks, Tina! You're sweet. A few hands later with the blinds at $100-$150, I picked up AcQc. I made a standard raise of 3x big blind, or $450. The only caller was Gillian. Flop A-9-6, one club. I bet $500 of my remaining $1100. Gillian called. Turn is small club, giving me backdoor flush draw. I jam. Gillian calls. River is Q. For a moment I thought I had sucked out against either AK or possibly A9. I continued to think that for a full 2 or 3 seconds, until Gillian turned over her 99. One more bounty given away. IGHN. I actually did go out to the Bellagio after busting from the NLHE event, along with Len G and Chic. We played for a few hours and then headed back downtown to the banquet. Fruchter sat into the VERY SOFT $15 holdem game I was in. He won a dime there, but all I could do was break even. No cards, but not hurt. Meanwhile, after I picked up and while I was waiting for the others to pick up, I decided to play a little Video Poker at the bar. I was playing for quarters, but I decided to see if I could double my fun by playing for halves. Seemed logical to me. It must have been the right play because exactly three hands after playing for higher stakes I drew the QsJs to the AsKsTs. DINGZ!! $2000!!. We headed downtown to the banquet, but when we arrived at the 'shoe we discovered that the NLHE was down to the final six players, and our mini-syndicate had 2 of the remaining 6 players (NutZ and Gavin), as well as about 80% of the chips in play. DINGZ!! DINGZ!! We headed over to the banquet to get our picture taken as the CHORSE team winners, and to have dinner. The highlight of the banquet, and perhaps the poker highlight of the entire weekend was FossilMan's speech at the dinner. In addition to being engaging and funny, Greg was extremely informative and insightful. He critiqued his own play, and his own state of mind in a straightforward way. In addition to the strategy he described (including what he calls the "stop and go" play), his description of how he maintained his focus should be a help to any poker player who can learn to do the same thing. Thanks, Greg. I cannot think of a better representative for poker in the coming year. You are a great player, thoughtful, well spoken and VERY knowledgeable. Poker is lucky to have you, and I am lucky to know you. I am also grateful that you so graciously signed both a hat and shirts for my son. You helped me maintain my status as "hero" in my family. Thanks again, Greg, and have a great year. You deserve it. The "stop and go" play bears mentioning for one other reason. Once the NLHE was down to two players (after the banquet), the blinds were $10k-$20k, and the chips were flying back and forth between Gavin and Frank, with the chip lead changing almost every hand. Gavin had consumed one or perhaps two adult beverages (starting at 10:00am - it was now about midnight) and was appropriately "animated" during play. At one time he called a bet of Frank's, remarking to himself (but out loud), "I wonder if this is a good time for the 'stop and go' play". The gallery laughed. When it finally ended, we chopped up our Calcutta winnings, gave both Frank and Gavin their shares, and I headed up to the suite to look into the scotch tasting. Oh, I played a little chowaha first, but the game was slow because all the serious drinkers were upstairs laying waste to the bottles of scotch. Too many r00lerz, too little time. Finally, with a 9:00am flight back to my real life looming boldly, and 2:00am staring me in the face, I headed back to Bellagio for the last time. But, not being all that tired, I decided to play Video Poker ONE LAST TIME. I put $100 in the machine (quarters). Forty minutes later I had hit quads no fewer than SIX times (never 2s, 3s or 4s which pay higher in double double bonus), and cashed out for $400, a $300 winner!! Final DINGZ! Almost. Keep reading. I get to the airport at 7:30, and due to a small crowd at concourse A, I was at the gate at 8:00 for the 9:00 departure. Unfortunately, the gate clerk told me that the Republican cabin had checked in and that my upgrade would not happen. I boarded and took my seat in the Democratic section of the plane. I had just closed my eyes when the gate agent tapped me on the shoulder and said "Mr. Goldman, we have an upgrade for you!". Yup, they came and got me out of my seat to give me the last Republican seat on the plane. I just don't ever get luckier than I did this weekend. I settled into my oversized leather recliner, and I was asleep before the wheels were up. Oh, and we arrived in Newark 20 minutes early. The perfect end to a perfect trip. Between my family and my friends, I often think I'm the luckiest man alive. Thanks to Chuck, Peter, Chic, Russ, Dan & Sharon, PokerStars, Paradise Poker, Greg Pappas, Paul Phillips, Andy, Nolan, Kim, Alan, Randy and of course, Greg Raymer, Frank Brabec and especially Gavin. I love you all, and if I forgot to name you, I apologize. --goldiefish, grateful to know you all