Sunday, February 22, 2004

The stars were out this afternoon at Bellagio. Light, Bellagio’s hottest nightclub, sponsored a Celebrity Challenge No Limit Holdem Tournament, prizes and winners here.

The sky is crying giant rivers of rain. Consequently the stars are stuck in town, the flights are cancelled. The No Limit Game at Bellagio is in the ‘rock and roll’ mode.

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I had a hike planned with some members of the Poker Clan discussion group but we didn’t go because of rain. Some of us did meet this afternoon for an annual F.U.C.C. (February U Come Clan) buffet at the Suncoast Casino. It was fun, nice to meet in person and be able to visit for a few hours about nothing in particular and everything in general.

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Upon occasion I hear from a reader that my posts are a little dark and gloomy. While I find this comment to be a bit bizarre, I wonder how people perceive and digest what I write.

One reader wondered if he swore at me while I dealt to him, if he’d make it in my column.

Another reader felt that I was star struck over Matt Damon and Ben Affleck after I wrote about dealing to them.

Other readers have said they know that I hate poker players.

I feel that I’m a ‘on the scene, in the middle of the action’ reporter. Yes, my writing is tinged with my viewpoint and my perception of what is happening around me and to me but I don’t make things up or even tell a story that someone else tells me, unless that person specifically says I can…which will bring another Lance Tale soon.

On the dark and gloomy side of things, it’s difficult to portray anything in a bright sunny light. Every day, normal circumstances have gloomy sides to them.

All the people that walk into a poker room are not clean, shiny, smell great, have lots of money, happy at home, great job, good future kind of folks. So how could I write as if they all sat down in an orderly fashion, were kind and polite, waited until it was their turn to act, stacked their chips out in nice little rows and pushed them in so the dealer could reach them, never went broke, and when they lost a hand, they chuckled and said, “Nice hand!” as they pushed their hand in and talked about their kids and the weather while they waited for the next hand.

IT JUST DOESN’T HAPPEN THAT WAY!!! We’re talking real people, real emotion, real win/loss situations and that’s what I write about.

On the swearing at me side of things…what does that prove? To me it means that you can’t express yourself without using profanity.

On being Star Struck, I’m totally head over heels with my granddaughters…they’re my STARS! And soon I’m going to have my first Grandson!!! Movie Stars are just people that happen to entertain us with movies…real people turn my crank.

On hating Poker Players…not even. I enjoy the hell out of them. They’re my social life. They put money in my pocket. They welcome me when I enter Poker Land, they wish me goodnight when I leave. They fuel my thoughts and dreams. They are the ingredients in a book and a screenplay I’m writing.

Hey…I are one too! See you there!