well we had the dinner meeting and it was fantastic. showed up was

i rowboat
karma
j.a. sucker
haakee
ray zee
hammerin hank
cealocanth
tommy angelo
reptile house
jfk
upright creature
all read
analyst
torello
pig4bill
bellatrix
plus the waiter who had played in three wsop events this year,

time was great and all but two drank alot of beer and ate like gentlemen and ladies.

lots of poker talk and they even got the old man zee to tell a few stories.
even gave some blackjack advice from the past. got some feedback on the podcast and they liked me. i was worried about that thing.
than we drank some more beer and talked some more. after three or four hours the place gave us the boot and outside for some more b.s. we went. until poor karma got cold in the terrible 50 degree weather and had to seek his car for warmth.
tommy angelo was in his good form and fun as usual along with the sucker and haakee. analyst left early as he was afraid he would have to buy more beer, or maybe he goes to work. pig4bill isnt bill but thats too long a story to tell. so he didnt tell it. oh well.
sucker had to tell a few stories about me, the askbowl he is. but eveyone liked what they heard. overall it rated a true 10 and we decided to do it again next year. although maybe at a place where we can down some scotch with the beer.

double thanks to all that came and to all that followed our escapades.

ban for lack of deference to 2p2 demigod

huh?

OP Should be BANNED IMO FWIW FTW

What the hell has happened to this site?

Thanks for sharing Ray.

Thanks for organizing the dinner, Ray. It was great meeting everyone. Wonderful conversation and good fun.

Ray - did Stoxtrader find you guys? A little birdy told me he got lost.

According to a post in the El Diablo thread, he went to the one in SF.

I enjoyed it immensely, thanks again Ray.

"You carry a gun, dontcha??!?"

Still chuckling over that one.

I had a very good time! Thanks Ray for all the AP advice. I am enjoying poker a lot at the moment, but I'll definetly keep some of the stuff you said in the back of my mind.
It was also fun meeting you all, I had seen some of you in the bigger games, but you probably did not recognize the small 20/40 player.

Oh man, best story ever. Especially with Sucker making the stabbing motions.

Thanks for organizing, Ray - it was a fun time. Also, you left out Boris in the list of folks there.

If it's in the Bay Area, I'm pretty sure it's Vesuvio's.

Thanks for the highly entertaining and educational evening.

Ray has a gift for hosting and a wealth of insights about both poker and gambling in general. Its remarkable to think that Ray (or that anyone) has been able to thrive at this whether the year is 1978 or 2008. He's a thriving and adaptable link to the road gambler past who still enjoys his share of success in today's game.

The dinner roster was filled out with players who could make a recreational player like myself feel like they stumbled into a MENSA convention armed with a 100 IQ. There was a formidable array of familiar faces from local mid-limit games. These are people to be avoided. In fact, some of these are people from whom you might want to outright flee if you have an affection for money..

Tommy Angelo and Dave Fromm had a lot to say and anyone interested in the conditions at the Bay 101 1/2 game had plenty of resources from which they could tap a story or opinion.

i recognize exactly one name

The dinner was great fun. Now I just have to decide if I should get a knife a gun, or just go with the 30 foot rule. Also I think I should probably do my good deed improving the general happiness of the population and buy Tommy's book.

Always enjoy your trip reports and your posts Ray. Thanks.

I had lots of fun. Great to meet folks and finally put some faces to names. We spent four hours just talking and having a good time, and literally had to be shown the door when they wanted to close up. Thanks again, Ray, for getting this event together.

+1

Sounds like a great time. Wish I was still out in the Bay area to have experienced this

thanks again to everyone. yea stox got the wrong place and ended up in san francisco somewhere. too bad as he is fun to have around. next time okay. boris was there too and i forgot about him but he deserves it as he is making himself scarce lately because he is in love.