From: Michael Zimmers
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:01:56 -0700
Subject: [BARGE] KidZee's Trip Report

I needed this.

I REALLY needed this.

As most of you who care are aware, I hadn't been to the past few  
BARGEs and wasn't planning on coming to this one, until Monday night  
when a BARGE friend called me and basically convinced me that I had  
no excuse not to come. I grabbed a flight for Wednesday and already  
felt better than I had in days. I was going to BARGE!

Oddness begins in the boarding line at the airport, when two people  
behind me begin discussing a hand that I'd posted to ba-poker. I turn  
around to introduce myself, and find out that they knew who I was and  
were baiting me. God I suck at reality. The two Ricks and I play  
Chinese poker on the flight and I'm feeling more and more at home. We  
share a ride to the Plaza, where I begin getting a lot of double- 
takes, strange looks and statements that begin, "I thought you said..."

Nolan greets me, finds that I'm planning to room-share with someone,  
and offers me the bedroom adjoining the PokerStars hospitality suite.  
Ding for me and my was-to-be roomie. The room is what one would  
expect from the Plaza, which is to say that most people would find  
it, um, declasse, but it was just fine for me. My only wish was for a  
bigger shower; if a panatela like me can barely fit, how do the  
corona gordas in the group manage? Anyway, I'm grateful as hell for  
the room.

I play a couple of tournaments, and indulge in a few ring games, but  
they're really not worth going into detail on. I also share a few  
cigars and meals with friends old and new and generally have more fun  
than I've had in memory.

Here's an excellent example of why I love BARGErs so much: I find out  
that the only cocktail waitress that has given me good service was  
seniority-bumped out of the cardroom for Saturday night, so I take up  
a toke collection for her at the banquet. As I go table to table, I  
start saying, "I'm taking a collection..." and without another word,  
people reach for their wallets, without bothering to hear what it's  
for. I make a mental note to begin my daughter's college fund this  
way next year. Seriously, the generosity of this group seems to know  
no boundaries. And when I gave Denise the money, the look on her face  
was absolutely priceless.

After the banquet, as hordes of BARGErs descend upon the poker room,  
I discover that the cardroom manager has failed to mention a rather  
important point: the tournament tables can't be used to spread ring  
games (state law). This means we have like three tables at our  
disposal, which obviously isn't going to do. Peter's still at the  
banquet, so I step into a phone booth and emerge as BARGE Organizer  
Emeritus, and decide to send a couple of games over to the Horseshoe  
(excuse me -- Binion's). Unfortunately, my elevator didn't go all the  
way to the top, so I failed to realize that the games I chose to send  
to Binion's were the big-toke games, so the Plaza dealers kind of got  
the shaft. I heard that this was exacerbated when a Binion's dealer  
came over to gloat a few hours later. Oh well...it's good to know  
that I can still pull off a major organizational gaffe once a year,  
even when I'm not in charge.

This trip was pure tonic for my soul. As many of you know, I've hit a  
few speed bumps over the past couple of years, and my psyche is  
almost as flat as my bankroll. But the positive vibes I soaked up  
from BARGE seem almost palpable, and I hope will launch me in a  
better direction. Thanks to PokerStars for the room, to Goldie and  
Jade Matthews for the cigars, and especially to the BARGEr who  
convinced me to come and even staked me to a plane ticket.

You guys rock beyond description, and BARGE is...well, as Chic once  
pithily observed at his first BARGE several years ago, "this is good."

Looking forward to next year...all the best to everyone in the meantime.

mz
________
BARGE 2005 is being supported by
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