Here is the first part of Day One of my March 2008 Atlantic City Poker Tour Extravaganza! (Busy, so I'm posting these when I can!) The plan is to spend a couple days in Atlantic City, leaving Pittsburgh on Wednesday, March 5th, and come back Saturday, March 8th. My plans already get changed when the family informs me that they are having a 75th birthday dinner for my Dad, whose birthday is that Sunday. Nothing big as my Dad doesn't want a big celebration...just me, my two sisters, a brother-in-law, and a nephew. I love my family dearly...I really do...but the plan was to sneak in and out of NJ (where my family lives) without the family knowing about it. I did not realize this year was my Dad's 75th birthday. My sister, not knowing I was going to be in NJ that weekend anyway, emailed me and said that if I could drive out that Saturday, they could switch the dinner to Saturday instead of Sunday. I had to confess I would be in NJ anyway and if they could switch it to Saturday, that'd be great. Obviously, the good thing is I get to see my family. The bad thing is it will cost me another night at a hotel (I prefer staying at a hotel rather than with family), I won't be able to play poker that Saturday (more on that in a later Trip Report), and I was really counting on getting home on Saturday so I could rest Sunday before heading back to work that Monday.

So, anyway, it's Wednesday morning and I wanted to leave at 9. I figure it will take me between 6 and 7 hours to get there. I want to leave early enough so I don't hit rush hour traffic in Philly. You always hit traffic in Philly...I just want to avoid rush hour. It will take about 4 - 4 1/2 hours to get to Philly, so if I leave around 9, I should be ok. Of course, I leave late...around 9:30. But I should still be good.

The drive to NJ is pretty easy and boring...straight down the PA Turnpike. I stop along the way and have my usual Turnpike breakfast of Tasty Kakes and milk. And I pick up a Mountain Dew for later. One odd thing about the rest stop. I used the bathroom (yes! First bathroom story and we're barely into the trip report!) and there was a guy in there on his cell phone walking around. I mean, we've all seen people who roam around while talking on their phone...kinda wandering around. But it just seemed strange that he picked the bathroom to roam around while on his phone. Rest stop bathrooms are not exactly the cleanest place to be. And it was busy. Perv?

I notice a LOT of cops on the Turnpike...they were really out in force. Luckily, I rarely speed. The speed limit on the Turnpike switches between 55 and 65, and I usually go about 70 in the 65 section and about 60 in the 55 parts. There are a couple tunnels where the speed limit drops to 55 as you approach them and I noticed the cops hanging out there as well to nail people who don't slow down (which usually includes me, but I made sure I slowed down this time). As I was getting closer to my exit, I had a truck behind me. I think it was one of those car carrier trucks. I'm going about 70 in a 65 and we pass a Trooper on the side of the road. Son of a gun if the Trooper doesn't pull out right behind us. I'm getting nervous and pissed. What Trooper would pull someone over for going 70 in a 65? I quickly throw my gun and the drugs out the window. Just kidding. Anyway, he ends up pulling over the truck behind me. I don't know why. A couple minutes later, I'm off the Turnpike.

I make my way through Philly...traffic wasn't bad at all for Philly...over the Walt Whitman Bridge, down Rt 42 to the AC Expressway. I exit onto the Garden State Parkway for one exit, and make my way over to the Holiday Inn Express in Pleasantville, just outside Atlantic City. I had wanted to stay in AC and looked at some casinos, but since my stay included a Friday night, it was too expensive. The weekday rates weren't bad...I think they were like $70 or so. But then Friday would roll around and the rate would jump to like $200 for the cheapest place I could find (I think it was the Showboat). Too much for me. It took me just under 6 hours.

I check in and head to my room. Seems nice. The elevators seem a little old, but they get me to the third floor. As usual, the first thing I need to do is take a dump. Bathroom's a pretty good size one. I unpack, call home to leave the GF a message that I made it, and then try to decide what I should do. I didn't sleep well the night before. My cat has been sick for a while and last night was not a good night for her. But it's only like 4:30 in the afternoon. What a waste if I don't at least go to a casino and check it out. More later....

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 10/06/08

I hope you didn't tap your foot under the stall and start whistling or something.

Next part....

I head to the Wawa (the GREATEST convenience store in the world) and get a cheese hoagie and a small bag of Doritos. I eat that in the car and when I'm done, it's off to Atlantic City. I almost decide to head to Caesars to check out the WSOP Circuit Event, but decide to check out the Tropicana since I remember hearing good things about their poker room. Since they are in the group of casinos that is towards the south end of the city, I decide to take the Black Horse Pike instead of the AC Expressway (which dumps you out in the middle of AC). I'm only 6 miles from AC, and only 2 miles from the motels that charge by the hour. I had forgotten how seedy it is outside AC on the Black Horse Pike. I think I made the right choice by picking the Holiday Inn Express as I see several chain hotels that are right across from very seedy looking motels.

It takes me a little while to get to the parking garage at the Trop as a lot of the side streets are one way streets and I pretty much go around the block trying to get to the entrance. It costs freakin' $5 to park at the casino (you pay on the way out of the Trop). I hate paying to park.

I park my car and head to the casino. Even though I don't make it to AC very often, I figure I'll get a player's card anyway. So, the first thing I do is find the promotions booth and sign up for a card. I then find the poker room and notice people handling cards that look nothing like mine. Great...looks like the poker room has their own card. The nice guy at the desk takes my newly created player's card and makes me a Trop Poker Club card (or something like that). I sign up for the 1/2 NL (65/300 min/max) and he tells me not to go far...I'm third on the list. The Trop doesn't technically have electronic boards, but they do have monitors that show the waiting list on the white board behind the counter. That works for me.

I decide I should get my chips, but first I'm going to jot some notes about the room. I have my pad, but can't find my pen. Crap. I'm not going to be able to remember everything. And I'm not going all the way back to my car. I get $200 in chips and ask the nice guy in the cage if he has a pen that I could, you know, have. Not borrow, but like take with me. He's nice enough to give me one. Sweet.

It takes maybe 10 minutes before I'm called. It's 6:00, I'm in LP and am dealt pocket threes. How sweet would it be to hit a set on my first hand in AC and take a big pot? Some limpers, I limp, guy behind me raises to $10. Damn. One limper calls, I call. I miss the flop, it's checked to the raiser who bets $15, we all fold. So instead of a nice big pot to start my trip, I'm down $10.

In the small blind, I pick up K3o. SEVEN limpers, so I have to call now. Nine of us see a flop of 3-3-10. Nice. Being the poker pro I am, I check hoping for a bet behind me. It's checked around. Jack on the turn, putting 2 diamonds out there. I bet $11, guy next to me goes all in for $26 total, folded to me, I call. He flips over J8, the river is kind to me, and I win my first pot.

A3s in LP, 5 limpers see the flop of A-A-4. It's checked to me, I bet ten and take it.

One guy has a huge stack. I'm probably third in chip stack. Most people are probably between $100-200.

One of the floor guys asks for everybody's cards...I see other guys put their poker cards on the table and I do the same. He goes around the table with a gun like device and scans everybody's card. Weird. He does this every hour. Some places swipe you in and out...the Trop scans your card every hour.

There's an old guy next to me who gets into a fight with the waitress. Apparently, he's a diabetic and he needs food (table side service at the Trop). He's been waiting for the other waitress to come back with his comp or something but he needs food NOW!!! The waitress knows nothing. The old guy asks her if she wants him to die right here. A few f-bombs go back and forth. He needs his damn roast beef sandwich. She needs him to go get his own comp because the other waitress knows nothing about this comp he's talking about. Finally, they get it straightened out. After the waitress leaves, he's talking to me and I'm getting scared. He's saying something about when you're hungry, you'll do anything...especially if you're diabetic. That's what happens and that's what makes people crazy. That's why you see people go crazy with guns and shoot up places. Oh fucking great. I try to joke with him and ask him if he shoots up the place to please remember I'm a nice guy. He continues, talking about how people become homeless and don't care anymore. And that's why people kill other people...what do they have to lose? They already lost everything. Finally, he gets his food and starts paying attention to the game again...but every once in a while he says something to me that makes me wish he wasn't sitting right next to me.

More later!

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 10/06/08

And the final part of day one. Forgot to mention...when I say a card is x or a blank, more times than not, that means I forgot what it was and/or I didn't write it down.

Later in the week, someone asks me the difference between Las Vegas and AC as they have never been to Vegas. I've only been to Vegas once, but AC is more grittier, more scummy, has more attitude. Like the waitress who was giving it right back to this old guy. It has a "fuck you" attitude.

Meanwhile, back to the game. I'm not playing many hands and we're getting short handed as a tournament has started and some players left to go play in that. We're actually down to 6-handed and there's no list. I hate playing short handed. Due to the asshole to my left who is raising a lot, I'm not playing much at all.

I have no idea what this means...my notes say "guy next to me call everybody f".

I win a small pot with 8-9o when I turn two pair. Later, J10o in SB, flop 10-6-x, I bet 8, one caller. Turn is an ace, I bet 11, he calls. River is a blank, I bet 15, he folds.

The Tropicana poker room is nice. Huge. Lots of tables. Red race track table with a beige 'infield'. Auto shuffler...cup holders built into the padding. No problems with the dealers although I notice a lot are Asian. As a matter of fact, we have 5 straight Asian dealers at one point. The rake is 10% up to $4. Not too bad and this seems standard at the rooms I ended up hitting.

Pocket fours, I miss. 4-5s, I miss. I'm getting tired although it's only like 8:30. Long day of driving. There was one hand against the old diabetic guy who really seems like he wants to kill people...Q10s UTG. We're shorthanded and I should have raised, but just limped. Flop is 9-Q-2 with two spades (I have none). Checked to me, I bet $10, folded to old guy who shoves for like $50. Check/raises...he's the SB so he could have anything. I really wanted to call, but fold.

Two Russian guys sit down at our 6-handed table. I guess they were Russian. I suck with accents, but if I were to try to do a Russian accent, I would sound like these guys. Well, like the one guy since the other guy did not speak. One of the floor guys comes over and says they can't sit together because he has to keep the tables even...one of them will have to go to another short handed table. No, says the maybe Russian guy. "We play together...no move." The floor person is trying to be nice...sorry guys, I have to keep the tables even. "No", as they just sit there. Oh fucking great. I'm already worried about the old guy next to me shooting up the place and now I got freakin' Teddy KGB and his brother refusing to break up. The floor guy says to the dealer to just deal them out. The Russian guys are not happy. The floor person walks away and after the next hand, the Russian guy who talks tells the dealer to deal them in because they got more people at the other table. The dealer, who doesn't know what the fuck to do, asks the floor guy if he should deal them in. The floor guys says no...deal them out until I say it's OK. Finally he says it's ok and we're 8-handed. But I'm uncomfortable and I swear I saw talking Russian guy flash his cards to non-talking Russian guy (they were sitting next to each other).

Fuck this...I'm done. 8:46PM, up $50 in 2 hours, 45 minutes. I cash out and the same guy is still at the cage. I give him back his pen. (Later, I find my pen in my pocket...it had been there the whole time.)

It's still too early to back to the hotel. I think about checking out other poker rooms. I walk around the Trop and watch some Caribbean Stud poker. One guy bets $50. If you never played CSP, you put up your bet and once you get your cards, you decide if you want to play or fold. If you fold, you lose your bet. If you want to play your hand, you have to put up double your bet in addition to your original bet. So this guy wants to play, which means he adds $100 to his bet...and loses. $150 gone in like 2 minutes. I also watch some roulette. A guy with $500 in red $5 chips blows $200 on one spin of the wheel...he hit nothing. I understand different people handle money differently, and I don't know either of these guys situation, but I can't see myself blowing so much money in such a short period of time. I can't help but think about their family and how they're going to try to explain that they lost so much money. Of course, maybe both ended up winning for the night, but watching people play casino games makes me think about the people that really have a problem.

Somewhere in here, I use the bathroom. OK bathroom, but I need to lay some cable and every stall I check has the remains of someone who took a piss in the stall and had very bad aim. OK, fine if you want to use a stall to take a piss, but fucking lift the damn seat up first. Pigs. At any rate, I'm getting tired and hungry, so I leave.

There's lots of fast food places around my hotel, so I stop at KFC looking to just get something small...some strips or something. I wait for like 3 minutes before we move in the drive-thru. I'm now next. I wait like another 7 minutes (no lie) before the guy ahead of me can even place his order. WTF is taking so long? He gives his order, the worker screws it all up, he repeats it. They are out of chicken strips and it will take like 10 minutes to make more. OMFG. Fine, I guess I'll get popcorn chicken then. Another 3 or 4 minutes go by before finally I get up to the speaker. "We'll be right with you", I'm told. Another 7 minutes goes by. W....T.....F???? It's like 10:00 at night. There is NOBODY around. What's taking so long? Finally, someone gets on the speaker and...and...and says they'll be right with me. Fuck this shit...I zoom off, hit the Wawa, and eat in my hotel room.

I call the GF and leave a message about my day. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Friday, I'm meeting forum member Mike_Eagles at the Taj, so I think I'll hit the Marina section of AC and check out the Borgata. Not planning on playing...just check out the poker room over there, and the other casinos over that way. Then I'll make my way over to Caesars and check out the WSOP Circuit Event and the poker room over there. Sounds like a plan.

Day Two later....

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 10/06/08

Another detailed and informative trip report. Looking forward to the rest.

I agree! The Ceasars bathroom story is better.