I am totally thrilled to be here. It seems a little bare right now but with all the action and happenings in a poker game/room, this page will soon fill up and over run its brim, like a pail put under a leaking roof during a monsoon.
Linda has spent a lot of time pondering whether or not she would give up her Diary and allow me to write my experiences here. Finally….
I’m on…I’m here…I’m in your face…in your thoughts…writing what you want to read…and ready to ROCK AND ROLL…Show Time is an understatement of the plethora of events and happenings that I will write about. Stay tuned.
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December 24, 02. Christmas Eve and Christmas:
There were no stockings, the cards were in the air. Some players were still on their way, others filled the chairs.
It’s Christmas? Oh Hell, it’s poker, it’s a zoo. They bantered, they laughed, some argued too.
Others drew out with a scream and a shout but there were no children milling about.
The visions of sugar plums had long since passed, these kids were gambling, they were having a gas.
No curfew, no hiding to watch Santa creep…not once did they think of being fast asleep.
With chips in their hands and cards being dealt, they came to play, to meet and battle across the green felt.
No one went home, they’ve managed to stay…they’re still slamming chips and play, play, play, And it’s way past Christmas Day.
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Well you get the picture. Most people think that Christmas is slow, the players stay home or whatever it is they do when they aren’t playing poker. Absolutely untrue! Jamming! It will stay that way until sometime into January.
If you plan on a New Year’s Eve visit to Bellagio, come early. The Strip is locked down at 7 p.m. and does not open again until after 3 – 4 a.m. It’s open only to foot traffic. Party on, dudes and dude-ettes.
But if you want to play poker, the casinos close around 8 p.m. Yes, Kids! Close is the key word here. If you don’t have a room key or an employee ID, you are not admitted after that time period. You can leave but you can’t come back unless you get a stamped card from the poker room. If you are in Valet or the parking garage, you may NOT leave because the Strip is closed. This is not a joke, it’s the way it is.
Swing shift employees hate it because it’s a 10 1/2 hour shift. They are required to be onsite by 6 p.m. and encouraged to car pool because parking is absolutely a B-I-T-C-H! But it goes with the territory.
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Last week in a Mixed $1,500 – $3,000 Omaha 8 or Better Limit game and Omaha Pot Limit game, Doyle B. was giving Black Birds as Christmas presents to the dealers when they went through his game. Yep, that’s a $100 Toke. Thank you, Doyle!
On Christmas Daniel N. came into the room, appeared to be slightly on the tipsy side. U-m-m-m-h-h-h-h, slightly?
Evelyn was playing $15-$30 Holdem and he ran up to her and demanded, with his impish little grin, that she raise in the dark. He knew she would win if she did. She said, “No!”
As her cards were dealt, Daniel picked up six $5 chips and threw them out at the same time that she threw her cards into the muck. It was simultaneous raise/muck. Funny! He rambled on with her for a few more minutes before he moved off to create havoc with other players. Who’s Evelyn? A tall, sleek, Asian Beauty from Canada. She’s been in and out of town since the Mirage days. Graceful and beautiful, she’s an asset to any poker room.
But let’s get back to Daniel. A few hours later he was walking through the poker room with a stack of $10 chips in his hand and stopping at each table, he threw each dealer a chip, “This is for you!” until he ran out of chips.
Dealing isn’t always easy and sometimes it makes such a huge difference in your night if someone even tells you that you do a good job, let alone throw extra money at you. So to all of you that spent Christmas Eve and Christmas and will spend New Year’s Eve and New Years with us and give us money on top of that…Yippeee! Thank you.
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This post is done by Chanzes – during the time period that I took a break from posting in the Diary.