Thinking of Heading Home

Just thinking…I do want to go. The time at home will be short simply because the flight out to Oregon is the 19th. I may have my star border from the time I return until sometime after school starts – that would be Riot. WOW! Will that be an adjustment – mentally, physically, and emotionally – if it works that way. But that’s a ways away, right now I’m still in Vegas with another six days of WSOP looking at me.

I do wonder about me. I played the Media Event of the WSOP today and I didn’t take one picture…nope…not one. That is a bit startling. I usually jump up as I try to play and run hither and yon between hands and take pictures of everyone that I can manage to get as I go. Not today. Maybe I’m ill (let’s don’t go there). I really enjoyed playing in it. I don’t even know the people that were at my starting table but they were a nice crowd. One guy was wearing PokerRoad gear and his chips were seriously active. One never knew if he had a hand or was just fluffing so he managed to get action from several people. He had a kindly attitude about getting a set of Kings snapped off by a gutshot Queen for a Broadway on the river (nope, not by me), and eventually went bust.

I bluffed the first pot I won and then picked up a few stray chips with Aces but was never a contender. I finally pushed with A-J off and a player behind me found 8-8, he had me covered and it was over. No pain, no stress, just mostly people watching from my end.

Nolan Dalla was quite appreciative of the media when he held the microphone and listening to him makes everyone realize that as hard as he works, he knows how to appreciate everyone else that brings the biggest poker show in the world to the eyes and ears of the rest of the world.  Food was spread for the media players, laughter was heard at most tables, and the very first hand dealt was the biggest cold deck in the world – yah – it was set-up.  Four all-ins, but the way it started, the rest of us would have no idea it was planned.  Everyone all-in had to turn up their hands, Aces, Kings, Tens, and Treys.  Flop A-K-10, Turn a 3, river a 3, and that’s when the words came over the mic about the hand being a set-up.  The whole room exploded with laughter and noise…we were in the Amazon Room…media…the ONLY people in the Amazon Room almost since the WSOP began some five or six weeks ago.

I saw Michael Craig, he was busy being a reporter and apparently didn’t play the event, and Gareth Edwards, one of my first contacts when PokerWorks merged with the  PokerNews LTD family.  Gareth had played the event but he was immersed in the World Cup by the time we shared a hug and “HI, how are you?”

When I busted out, I left.  I wonder if I’m really getting old and have no patience to just sit and watch the World Cup (LMAO at that thought…I’ve never watched sports on TV and now is not the time in my life that I’m going to get into it).  Aside from never being sure what the real internal loon is thinking, I knew I was ready to fly as soon as I was out.  I guess I have no social skills, I just don’t want to be anywhere and I’m quite happy being alone.  Sure seems a far cry from the nights I used to spend burning and turning at the poker table eight hours at a pop.

I did a run to Aria a few nights ago.  I parked on the top floor of Bellagio’s parking garage and took the tram over.  The walk to the tram from the Bellagio Gardens is quite a little hoof, and then it’s up escalators and the hot night air waiting for the tram.  I marveled at the fact that I took pictures of bare ground back some years ago of places that now were filled with concrete, steel, and glass, and hundreds of taxis and vehicles in and out, and people milling everywhere.  I did take some pictures, it was obviously dark, some are great, some aren’t but most of the ones I took inside the casino were of some of the food shops – ice cream, etc., along my route.  Those are for another day…too damned lazy right now to dig through, resize, and put up.  I need to do a one day, broad daylight, drive/walk around City Center and get some shots so I can have a before and after type of photo spread for my grandkids someday.  That is funny in itself because by the time my grandkids are old enough to even think about visiting, City Center will be ancient according to the Vegas life span and probably imploded or put on the auction block because it’s too old and the repairs would be too costly…maybe it will be a ghost town of steel and glass by that time.  Kee-rist!

When I caught the tram back to Bellagio/Vedara, I walked down the open air walk to Vedara, out to the front drive/passenger drop off/pick-up area and took a few pictures.  This is so weird to me – just past the edge of the framework of the building I could see what looked like a small strip of water that separated something from the drive area.  On the building side of the water, there was a small girl, about 3-4 years old, bending over the water and putting her fingers into it.  It was fairly dark and there were potted plants on the drive side of the water and a small fence that clearly separated the water from the driveway and public foot traffic.  I couldn’t see an adult, just the little girl bending over the water and my first thought was “Who the hell would leave a little girl out there by herself/how did she get there?”

I walked past the edge of the building that cut off the rest of the view to spot a semi-private alcove that had several swinging benches that were covered with either fabric or synthetic material and a guy leaning back on one by the little girl as the bench swayed gently back and forth.   Through the dimly lit distance, it took a minute for it to register.  Tex Barch.  I called out to him, he jumped up and we visited for just a few minutes, he was still in the main event and there with friends and family.  SWEET!  I’ve mentioned him before in posts, he’s one of the most dealer friendly people I’ve ever met and extremely generous for a high limit player.  He used to play in MT when he went to college and he knows my sis and Monte (the truck driving duo) from there so we always have a moment of the “How’s Vickie?….” no matter where we are or what he’s playing.  What a crazy world it is, to be there at that moment in time and only take a few steps further around the building because of concern for a little girl.

For the second time in my life I almost hit a person on foot in Las Vegas while driving.  It was this same night and makes me feel sick just thinking of it.  I had turned onto Las Vegas Blvd. and was in the far right lane which is a right turn only into Bellagio’s entrance/valet and parking garage and this lane runs almost the full length of Bellagio’s front side.  It’s usually jammed with vehicles as people drive slowly along trying to enjoy part of the Fountain show from the air conditioned comfort of their vehicles or because there’s something going on that is sending everyone to Bellagio.  This time, here was no one in front of me other than a limo clear up at the end waiting for the light to turn so they could pull into Bellagio’s drive.  All of the three lanes on the left were stopped/bumper to bumper traffic waiting for the same light to change.  I was doing about 25 MPH in Marie’s car when a guy (around 25ish) flew through the air in a spread eagle stance facing me as he landed right in my lane about 20 feet in front of me.  Stupid Fucker!  He didn’t even slow down to look as he came racing through the cars that were stopped for the light and then decided to jump out and try to clear the lane I was in.   I had already hit the brakes when I saw him leaping through the air…he made it without a hitch but hopefully he wet his pants when he saw my headlights.  That wasn’t the worst of it, he had a friend.  The friend was a few feet behind him and managed to stop, just as I got to him…suspended almost in air between two cars on the left.  He looked at me like, “Hey…just keep on driving.”  Once I knew he was stopped, I did.

Where is a cop when this type of shit is going on?  If I’d hit that guy I would’ve done some serious damage to him, not to mention what it would have done to Marie’s car.  Or to my poor head and stomach because I would’ve puked and been an emotional wreck forever!  UGH!

When I left Bellagio and turned onto Las Vegas Blvd. to head home, I was behind two cops on horseback.  I have no idea when horses came onto the beat but it was kind of kewl.  They had flashing red lights on the back of the saddle so people would easily spot them.  I couldn’t help but feel a bit of empathy for the horses with the heat that night and especially with all the traffic and exhaust fumes.

I’m off to walk Pueblo Park with my oldest son here in a few.  Laters.