Here is Day Two of my March 2008 Atlantic City Poker Tour Extravaganza, again, broken up in chunks! For Day One, click here. Remember, X or blank means I didn't write down the card and/or can't remember what it was.

I slept like crap. The alarm goes off at 8. The Holiday Inn Express has a free breakfast and I want to check it out. It ends at 9:30, so I drag myself out of bed, shower, and head down to the breakfast. Surprisingly, the breakfast is pretty fucking good. Usually, you get nothing but stale Danish and bagels...maybe some cold cereal. But this spread had these little mini cheese omelets, sausage, Danish, waffles, bagels, cereal, several coffees, apple juice, orange juice, milk, yogurt, biscuits, warm cinnamon rolls, and more. I had some Danish and a couple mini omelets w/sausage and am stuffed. I wanted to try the cinnamon rolls, but they didn't have any out when I went back.

The plan was to check out the Borgata poker room (not play, just check it out), maybe play at another Marina area casino, then head over to the WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars and play over there. But I'm really tired and am thinking maybe I'll go check out the Borgata, then head back to the hotel for a nap, then head out again to play some poker at Caesars and the other casinos in that area late in the afternoon/evening into the night.

As I'm fiddling with my bankroll, figuring how much and what else to take with me, the cell phone rings. It's the GF on caller ID. To take full advantage of me not being home, she has also taken a couple days off. I answer the phone and she's bawling her eyes out. I can barely understand her because she's so upset. My cat is not moving. She's breathing, but is not reacting to anything. She's in the home office, up against the desk. Every once in a while, she makes a weird noise. She's dying and I'm not there to comfort her. My GF doesn't know what to do. It will take me 6 hours to get home. We decide it's just best if she takes her to the vet and have her put to sleep. It's killing me that I won't be there for my cat. She's been sick for a while and we knew it wouldn't be long, but I really didn't want it to happen while I was away. I'm crying, the GF is crying. The GF says she'll take her...we hang up. A few minutes later, she calls back. My cat has stopped breathing. She just died. We decide there's no point in me coming home now. The GF will take her to the vet. I decided to have her cremated, like my GF did with her dog. She decided that she didn't want to bury her dog because if (when, really) we move, she wants to take her with her. Sounds right to me, so I decided to do the same. The GF said she'll see if she can get someone to drive her over because she's so upset.

At any rate, sorry to include that in my report, but you guys know my reports include everything. At this point, I don't much feel like doing anything. So I lay back down and actually end up falling asleep. I wake up in the early afternoon feeling better. Still upset about the cat, but there's not much I can do now. I flip on the TV while I decide what to do. I'm flipping thru the channels and start watching Death Wish V. My God, what a fucking funny movie. I know it's not supposed to be, but it's freakin hilarious. I'm watching it and can't stop laughing. The writing and acting are soooo bad. I needed that.

I decide to hit the Wawa once again for lunch. It's 4:20 as I head to AC. I liked the Trop and almost went there again, but I decided to check out Caesars and I arrive in the Caesars parking lot at 4:41. This time, I took the AC Expressway, which leads right to Caesars. And, right on cue, I walk into the casino and have to use the bathroom. I go into the bathroom near the hotel check in. OK, I get it...Caesars, Rome, lots of stone and marble. But sound echoes off of stone and the whole bathroom is stone. And I have gas. So my gas noises are bouncing off all the walls. Soon, a distant person starts answering me and it sounds like we're having a conversation back and forth. They might want to add some sound deadening carpet or something.

With one or two companies owning so many casinos, and others being bought and sold all the time, I'm not sure if I have a player's card for Caesars or not. So I hit the promotions booth and explain the situation. It turns out I do have a card...Showboat and Caesars are owned by the same people and I have a Showboat card. The nice and helpful promotions person prints me out another updated card so I can see all the casinos it's good for (they're printed on the back) and lets me know that if I earn 25 base points today, parking is free. I have no idea if 25 base points is a lot or if you get points for playing poker.

The WSOP Circuit Events are taking place at Caesars this week and next week. I walk over to the ballroom to see if there's anybody famous over there. Event #2 is going on. I believe it's a $340 NL tournament. There's a couple spectators milling about, but no crowds around any one table. I assume that means nobody famous is here. And with such a small buyin, I guess there wouldn't be. While I'm watching over the whole ballroom, the floor gets called to a table that's in front of me, but still too far away for me to know what's going on. A floor person goes over and makes a ruling. One guy gets up, points at the floor person and yells "you're WRONG!" and storms out. Then the floor person turns to someone else and gives them a penalty...I assume something like a ten minute penalty. I can only assume he dropped the f-bomb. Not sure what was going on.

Event #1 from yesterday (most of these are 2-day events and I know this one was a $340 NL) is going on in the corner and there's a small crowd of maybe 10-15 people. So I go to check that out. They are down to 2 tables, like 15 players, level 17, blinds 12/24K with a 3K ante. I don't recognize anybody here either, but I do notice a guy being a real jerk and obnoxious. Obviously drunk. He must have won a big pot recently as his chips are a mess in front of him. He's trying to stack them and I get the sense the table is pretty disgusted by him. Finally, a floor person who is watching the table comes over. I think he's going to tell him to stack his chips properly, but instead he just starts stacking the guy's chips for him. More about him later...it gets better. I decide to leave and on the way out, I spot the WSOP Circuit rings the winners get. Kinda neat, but nothing special like a bracelet.

On my way to and from the ballroom, I notice WSOP kiosks. I didn't stop by because I figure everything will be way too expensive and Johnny and I make fun of people who show up in poker rooms wearing WSOP crap. They also have WSOP video poker machines. I think the 'bonus' game is you get to play an actual hand of Hold'em against a computer opponent on the screen. Looked kinda cool, but I'm not much of a slots player.

More later....

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 9/06/08

Sorry about your cat. Before I left on vacation last summer, I had my cat that I'd had for 20 years put to sleep. I know how it sucks.

Thanks, Carrera...I miss her most on the weekends. That's when we would lay on the couch together and watch sports.

Next part.....

I find the Caesars poker room. Not bad. Not as big as Trop, but a lot of tables. Electronic waiting lists. I make my way up to the desk and get my name added to the 1/2NL. I'm 11th, but it looks like three people ahead of me are 'locked' and I think that means they get skipped. The tables are all green felt with the WSOP logo on them. Auto shufflers, and cup holders in the padding. It's busy and loud. And it stays loud the whole time I'm there. I have a lot of trouble hearing people in loud rooms and I'm constantly asking one guy to repeat himself throughout the night because I just can't hear him. Probably the loudest room I've been in.

Quickly I'm third on the list. No cage in the poker room so I hurry to the cage across from the poker room and get $200 in chips. Min/max here is 60/300 and $200 seems about right so far this trip. A few minutes later and I'm sitting at a table at 5:35PM. And just as I sit, my cell phone goes off. I don't recognize the number and can only assume it's Mike_Eagles calling to make plans for tomorrow. I decide to let it go to VM since I just sat down.

No hands to speak of for a while...pocket deuces UTG, I try to limp, but there's a hefty raise behind me and I fold. It's 6:45 and I'm down $19. Played a couple hands, but have not won anything yet. Usual table...two big stacks, most other stacks are at or below me. One or two aggressive guys, but nothing too bad. Guy next to me thinks the guys in seats 4 & 5 are working together, but I don't see it. Later, one leaves and the other was still there when I left some 8 hours later, so I don't think they were together. There's a couple here (boyfriend/girlfriend) and I think they're weaker players so I'm hoping to get some money off them. He's a calling station...she's not as bad as he is.

57o on the button, enough limpers in front of me so I decide to limp. Flop comes 3-4-x and it's checked around. River is a nice 6. Perfect. Finally a hand. There's a $5 bet and a call, I raise to $20, original bettor folds, other guy raises to maybe $50 (yes!), I go all in, he insta-calls and we flip up the same fucking hand. I finally get a hand and it's a split pot. You would have thought I lost the hand based on the way I acted. I was pissed since I think I still haven't won a hand to this point.

Not a lot of notes on this hand, but QQ, I raise to $11, 2 callers and my c-bet on the flop takes it.

I call a $12 raise with pocket tens and fold on the flop. AQ in LP, multiple limpers, weak me just calls. Flop comes queen high with two hearts (I didn't write down if I had any hearts or not), bet of $8 in front of me, I raise to $20, all fold.

My big hand of the night...A4 of clubs on the button. Multiple callers see a flop of J-3-3 with two clubs...I think that's the flop. Can't read my notes. SB bets $11, 1 caller, I call. Turn is the two of clubs, giving me the nut flush. Checked to me, I bet $20, one caller. River puts out another club, checked to me, I bet $25, he folds. He says he had me until the river and he didn't think I had the flush until then. Damn, that fourth club cost me. This pot actually puts me up $10 for the night. And this is just one case of many during my stay where someone said what they thought I had and was wrong.

Right after this hand, I get up and call mike_eagles back. We make plans to meet at the Taj tomorrow somewhere between 10-10:30 or so, so he can sign up for the 12:15 tournament.

Again, not many notes on this hand, but I have A10 on a board of 7-8-9-J, guy goes all in for $35, I call, river is a ten, split pot. WTF? He had 5-6. Very next hand, in the BB with KK, same guy goes all-in again, I'm the only caller and my hand holds against J10...although at the end he needed a K for broadway FTW. I'm up like $26 at 9:30PM.

We float between 7 and ten players...at one point, three people are sitting out and not at the table. I stay in waaaaay too long with KQo in the BB. Should have never called the turn bet and now I'm down again. Sorry...no notes on this hand either but as I remember, I think I was on a draw. When I'm not having a good time, I tend to slack on the note taking. The BF/GF combo return from dinner. It's 10:00 and I'm thinking that if I can get back up to even, I might leave for the night. I'm not having fun, although the guy next to me was a nice guy and I enjoyed talking with him.

Around 11:00, I add another $20 to my stack. Guy next to me asks what I'm doing. I said I like to have a certain amount in front of me and by adding $20, if I double up, that's an extra $20 I can make. He asks if I feel a big hand coming on. I don't think too many live players at this level are used to people topping off their stacks.

At some point, this same guy gets up to use the bathroom. While he's gone, he misses the BB. He sits down and attempts to get back in the game by posting the SB (I'm the button). Sorry, the dealer tells him....you have to wait until the button gets past you. He's miffed and says the dealer's wrong. The whole table says no, you have to wait. He's stewing as we play the hand. Then the button goes past him and the dealer tells him he has to post $3 because he missed both the SB and BB. He goes off on the dealer...he's been here 12 hours, he left for 30 seconds to take a piss and now he's gotta pay $3?? No other dealer would try this shit, this is unbelievable, etc. We all try to tell him that the dealer is right. He doesn't listen and actually gets up and leaves because he doesn't want to post the $3. This same guy was lying to someone on his cell phone the whole night...claiming he was in the 8:00 tournament (he wasn't), claiming he was doing OK (he wasn't doing well at the cash game as I saw him whip out at least $200 after being felted at least once).

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 9/06/08

I forgot all about the $3 guy.

If I remember correctly, I think the lock means that they are also on another list for a different game. This way if they get called for one there names are cleared from the other lists they are on. I may be wrong.... I remember a lot of guys were on the 1/2 and 2/5 list, as the 2/5 had less tables and a longer wait. That may have been a different casino. I am getting old and can't remember as well.

At the french casinos, they just take your blinds if you have left your chips on the table, but are not there.

Last part of Day Two....

A hand I'm not involved in..UTG limps, button (the GF in the BF/GF combo) raises, UTG reraises, button calls. Flop comes Queen high, UTG bets, button folds KK face up. UTG shows AA. The table is amazed she was able to lay down KK and most agree that we're going broke there.

Big AQ hand that I probably misplayed. I'm in EP and just limp. I think the plan was to repop someone if raised. Sure enough, it's raised, 2 callers, and I...with my plan working...just call. WTF? Man. But wait! Flop comes A-J-x. OK, I'm betting and if someone bets, I'm raising. There's a $15 bet in front of me and I....just call. OMG. I'm so weak. Two others call. Blank on turn and the same thing...$15 bet, call, call, call. K on river. Surely I fucked up this hand beyond repair. First to act now checks. Hmmm. Let's see if I can further screw this up by betting an amount that will only get called if someone beats me...let's bet $20. Original raiser thinks for a long time. I try to fill the air with the idea that I have AK hoping he picks up on my thoughts. He lays it down. Other guy lays it down. Guy that had been leading out each time thinks for a while and calls. He flips up AQ as well. Another fucking split pot, but I got some money out of this one. Original raiser says he had AQ as well.

Not a fun night of poker because I suck. It's after 2:30AM, I'm hungry, and I have to meet mike_eagles in 8 hours. There's an Asian woman to my left who is throwing chips around and several people trying to get her chips. I think I'm done. I lose $129.

I remember what the lady at the promotions booth said about free parking. I swipe my card at a kiosk to see if I earned enough points and sure enough, there's a comp for free parking! Sweet! Saved myself $5. BTW, kinda like the Trop, some guy would come around and gather our cards and swipe them as we played and then hand them back. I guess this is to make sure you are really playing. But what if you happen to be in the bathroom when he comes around? Anyway, the poker room was still hopping at 2:30AM, but the rest of the casino was dead. I make my way to the parking garage, comp in hand, and wind my way down to the bottom. I come up to the parking booth and...there's nobody there. The light is green and the gate is up. Wait. Are you telling me I finally get a comp, printed it out, and there's NOBODY there to collect it and I would have been able to leave without paying anyway? Argh!!

By the time I get back to the hotel, it's around 3:30AM. I flip on the TV and eat some Fritos I brought with me from Pittsburgh. By the time I get to bed, it's almost 4AM. I have to get up at 8:30 to shower and hit the breakfast in the lobby before heading over to the Taj. Hope I at least get a good four hours of sleep.

Last thing...the drunk guy at the Circuit Event. The whole poker room was talking about him. Apparently, he was sloppy drunk, was rude to the dealer and other players, was shoving chips all over, not stacking his chips, and was repeatedly warned. The way I heard it (from someone who claims he was at the final table and picked up $7k), he threw chips at the dealer. In AC, it's a crime to abuse a dealer. He was arrested, lead out in handcuffs, DQ'd from the tournament, and given 5th place money (it was down to 5 at the time). His chips were removed from the table. Other people were talking about this later in the week and according to someone who claims he knows the guy, this guy is suing over this. Claiming that yes, he was drunk, but it was Caesars fault because they were giving him drinks for free. He is also upset that he was DQ'd. He feels his chips should have been left on the table and blinded off. He could have moved up a couple spots if other people busted before he was blinded off (he was chip leader). You can read a little about it by clicking here.

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 9/06/08

Crazy story. Interesting to see if he does file a lawsuit.


Bummer about he comp, but at least your earned one

This goes back to the other thread we had, it's not my fault I drank all that booze, it's the people who gave it to me. Thanks asshole, if enough people start thinking like this next thing you know no one gets free drinks.

Around Philly, this is known as the Leonard Tose defense. Tose was owner of the Philadelphia Eagles who pretty much had to sell the team to pay off gambling debts. From Wikipedia:

In 1991, the Sand sued him for $1.23 million in gambling debts. He countersued, contending that the casino got him too drunk to know what he was doing. Eventually, the casino won. There was testimony from a cocktail waitress swearing that her job description was "to keep Mr. Tose's glass filled." A monogrammed glass, courtesy of the casino, which she kept filled with top-shelf scotch.

Everybody agreed...the guy who got tossed from the tournament is not going to win with the Leonard Tose defense.

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 9/06/08

All part of the Eagles curse....... I sometimes wonder why I like to torture myself rooting for Philly sports teams.