I apologize ahead of time for the non-poker content. I would skip the off days, but for the sake of continuity, I feel the story needs to be told. Feel free to skip this episode, if you want, but please come back for day 3 of the Main Event.
Sunday July 11 - The World Cup Final - My Vegas Rant –Craptastic - and a Show.
Today is the World Cup Final -- the most watched sporting event in the world. Spain vs Holland -- the two best teams to have never won the big one. I’m excited.
We get over to Caesar’s early, and settle in at Shadow (the lounge nearest the sports book). I decided to put a wager on the game because I’m a gambler. I have not bet on a sporting event since my run-ins with the campus bookie in college (that didn’t go well). Throughout the tournament, my 9-year-old son had an uncanny knack for predicting the winners. He’d studied the players and knew the key match-ups. So I called him and asked him who would win and what the score would be.
Being that my son’s soccer coach is a young Dutchman, he had been sufficiently brainwashed. He picked Holland to win 2-1. I felt Spain was the better team, but the kid’s a savant, right? I went to the window at the sports book and made my first ever legal sports bet. I put a whopping $20 on Holland and another $10 on the score 2-1.
The guy at the ticket counter said, “Are you really picking against the octopus? You know the octopus has caused the line to move?”
“That makes this a better bet for me right? Besides, I have a monkey at home that said Holland will win.”
He looked confused, “You have a monkey?”
I place my bet and say bye-bye to $30, the best team won.
While we were watching the game, my former student, Gordon, saw a friend/co-worker. He introduced me, by saying, “This is my high school coach and teacher. Besides my father, this man has taught me more about life than anyone else.” I was surprised and flattered. I knew we had a good relationship built over the years as teacher, coach, and mentor, but in that instant I was reminded why I teach. I love that kid. *
*(editorial note: I didn’t include this as a brag. It really made me think --Here I was, in this world of make-believe – playing poker with people who make a living at it and of course I let myself imagine what it would be like. And, if you are reading on this forum, you have thought about it too – the glamorous life of a profession poker player, right? But I don’t think there are many poker players who get to affect as many people as I do in my job. And if Leo Doc gave up his job to play poker, he would miss out the chance to save lives. I believe this is why so many poker players are so generous with their time and money to help charitable causes. As human beings we need to feel connected with other people and making a difference in some small way.)
After the game Gordon headed out and my parents were headed off to the next part of their adventure in the wilds of Colorado. My wife and I had the rest of Sunday to hang out. We decided we would see another show (translation: my wife decided we would see another show). She suggesteda show called “Defending the Caveman” at the Excalibur. My parents dropped us off before heading east.
I instantly hate the Excalibur. From the outside it looks like it is built from Legos, and the inside is worse. It is designed to elicit, “Daddy can I get ……, or Daddy I want……” at every turn. The popcorn place, next to the candy store, next to the toy store, next the pizza place. It was gluttonous. The Excalibur is a cheesy-over-the-top-themed-money-sucking example of American excess and consumerism. It bothered me that it was designed to appeal to the young -- an indoctrination to consumerism. Now that I think about it, it does to kids what the rest of Vegas does to adults – appeals to our weakness for instant gratification. This is an excerpt from a blog I wrote for a non-poker audience:
Too many people bring their kids to Vegas. The big corporations want to market Las Vegas as family friendly, but I don’t think it is. Vegas is hedonistic, capitalistic, salacious, hot, not pedestrian friendly, and caters to man’s every vice. Vegas is a place where adults, can go spend their money. Period. It exists for no other reason than to entertain. The shows are great, they tell me the food is good (I not much of a fine food connoisseur), the gambling is fun, the sights are interesting, but it is not quality family time. Building sand castles at the beach is quality family fun. Covering your kids’ eyes from the trucks on the strip advertizing “Girls in 15 minutes” and “all nude” is not family fun. Yet everywhere I turned I saw people with their kids (at all hours of the day). Don’t get me wrong. I like Las Vegas. I can’t wait to go back, but family friendly…I don’t think so.
As friend of my sister who is from south Georgia, so elegantly put it: (insert southern drawl) “Keep ya babies out the casino!”
(sorry for the rant – I hope I didn’t offend anyone who likes to take the family to LV.)
After purchasing our tickets, we had to decide what to do for four hours until the show. I knew I had to get out of the Excalibur, I didn’t want to go back to the Rio just to turn around a short time later, my wife’s ankle was still hurting so we didn’t want to walk too much -- we settled on going next door to the Luxor.
We hit the craps table and bingo! We quickly won enough money to cover dinner and the show tickets. I can’t believe I am freerolling show #2!!! We look for a place to eat and decide on the buffet at the Luxor. (What is wrong with me?!) Warning—don’t do this! It is not good. But we were hungry and all-you-can-eat sounded like a good idea.
After eating I wanted to play more craps, but my wife was convinced we shouldn’t. According to her we had used up our good luck for the day. I laughed and explained that the dice have no memory or agenda. Or do they? Right away we start to lose and lose quickly. My wife shows a mixture of displeasure and satisfaction. She’s convinced she was right as we run through the first $200. To her dismay, I pull out another $100. I decided to put a stop loss at $300. When we were down to the last $40, I put it all out on the table and my wife turned away. We won and I started pressing bets. Twenty minutes later we walked away with a profit of $150. I gloat for a moment, before my wife takes the $150 and heads off to shop. I go look for a poker game.
The Luxor poker room (if you can call it that) only had one table running ($1/2) and no seats open. I put my name on the list and watched. The game was horrible. Seven super-tight grandpas who only played AA or KK, one older woman who folded every hand and stepped away to smoke every three hands, and two young internet tools who talked about +EV, pot equity, and hand ranges and then ended up only playing hands against each other because everyone else folded. I took my name off the list and walked around to do some people watching. I observe that no one playing slot machines ever looks anything but miserable.
The show (Defending the Caveman) was fantastic – very funny. I recommend taking your wife if you get the chance. It will help her understand you. My wife now knows why at the end of the day I don’t really want to talk. It’s because I am all out of words for the day. I hit my quota around 3:45. Anyway, good show and not too expensive (I’m cheap even when I’m freerolling).
We taxi back to the Rio (craps winnings) for some quality time and sleep. I need to be in top form for Day 3 of the WSOP Main Event. I will leave out the details, but if you had been standing at the pool of the Rio that night and looking up at a window on the 10th floor you would have gotten a show. We decided to be crazy and leave the curtains open and the lights on (for a while at least).
Sorry for so much non-poker content. Things heat up on the felt in the next installment. No more off days until it’s over.
Two Plus Two
It's nice to put a story behind one of the regs I see all the time. Keep it up!
But she comes around in the end. She's a good girl and she puts up with me so I'm always at least drawing to the nuts.
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